The psychometric test either psychotechnics It is a tool that allows the recruiter to learn more about your personality as a candidate. There are many kinds of tests, some even measure leadership style, mathematical, verbal and analytical reasoning, but regardless of the style, the important thing is to know that they are used to classify people, generally prior to a job interview.

Psychometric tests try to delve into what the person is not through questions that are focused on finding contradictions or identifying whether or not the candidate wants to manipulate the test. This leads us to tell you that the number one tip is to present it genuinely, and not pretend to be who you are not. There are no right or wrong answers to this.

If this part of a selection process seeks to know the personality traits, it would be worth asking ourselves: is personality a guarantee of success or not to hold a position? Opinions are divided.

For Catalina Sáenz, a partner at LHR Americas, “it is wrong to pretend that, for example, the head of finance has to be decisive in his thinking style. There may be a financial boss who is an influencer and does it in his own way and very well. So it is a bit to understand that personality styles are not good or bad, but that they need different strategies to reach the same goal”.

Nevertheless, There are companies that require a certain type of personality, as when there are work teams that need an inspiring boss, because otherwise they do not feel motivated and mobilized to achieve. It should be said that when talking about people, there are so many colors, nuances and edges that it is very difficult to classify.

Returning then to how to prepare, it is key to put fear aside. When you feel afraid of taking a psychometric test, it is because you are weighing on showing what you are not, and forcing is not an option. There is nothing wrong with the results describe you as you are. As we said there are no good or bad personalities.

Keep in mind that some tests also measure skills. For example, they could determine if you are a detail-oriented person or not, and some kind of soft skills could predict. But generally what they measure is whether or not you are a person who approaches math problems easily. And that does not mean that if you are not it is wrong.

It all depends on the position: you are probably a very successful publicist and surely the numbers do not matter to you. But if you're going to be a financial manager, you'd better be very numerically adept.

“People fail tests not because they are difficult, but because they are insincere in their answers. The manipulations to the tests are easy to identify, they appear and the candidate is discarded immediately”, adds Sáenz.

And not only that. They need to identify where they are strong and where they are not so strong, because not everyone is perfect for the same position. Someone can have some skills and lack others; and it is the company that will have to consider whether the person they are looking for needs some kind of support, advice or accompaniment to develop the competencies of the position.

“If it is a truly serious process, the test should be an input, not a reason for decision. I wouldn't write someone off because they're funny or too serious. I don't think that's a reason to rule anyone out. There are companies that do, ”says the expert.

There are also tests that measure values and ethics, issues that filter the process. They tend to be confusing for the candidate to test. Again, the key is to answer calmly, honestly.

Test yourself before the test

Psychotechnical tests are a state secret for recruiters and human talent departments, but at LHR Americas we have an important collection that allows us to train you so that you can learn to approach a test of this nature. Receive the feedback you need, not only so that you lose your fear but also to guide where to focus according to your skills.

We'll tell you if you see yourself as achievement-oriented, business-oriented, if you have an aptitude for customer service, etc. We do not want you to waste time in your job search process, so before you are discarded in a process you can recognize your strengths and weaknesses, to apply much more effectively next time.

The LHR Americas team