More employers' use psychometric testing

Psychometric testing is becoming an increasingly popular option for employers when determining the best candidate for a job, it has been suggested.

Manager of the British Psychological Society's Psychological Testing Centre Rachel Middleton stated that bosses may not be able to find the most suitable candidate for the job by sticking to traditional interviewing methods.

There's no guarantee that if you just select through normal procedures of the interview process you're necessarily going to have the right candidate for the job, she remarked.

Furthermore, Ms Middleton said that there are now a wide range of psychometric tests available, including exams that test literacy or numeracy, while some are aimed specifically at graduates.

Personality and aptitude tests may also need to be completed by job applicants, she added.

It was recently suggested by the Institute for Public Policy Research that prospective staff should undergo psychometric testing as part of the application process for teacher training courses.

Being able to assess attitude is particularly important to employers, say ClickAJob chief executive Yngve Traberg.

It's the key to determining employee commitment and enthusiasm for the job.

As we see through our own ClickATest facility, a lot of managers look for skills and training, he continues. But no amount of training can compensate for wrong attitude.

If the attitude isn't there, no employee is ever going to feel at home in a job
- much less the employer feeling confident about the apppointment, he concludes.

My advice? Hire on attitude, train for skills, but always test for both.