How to Prepare for a Your Upcoming Pre-Employment Test

Written by: Jennifer Feldman

You have created the ideal resume and targeted specific companies to send it to. What should you do next? Sitting and waiting never helped anyone land a job. Now's the chance to start thinking about how to best use your time. The answer is simple-start preparing for your psychometric test. The sooner you start preparing, the more self-confidence you will display at the interview.

In today's employment climate, the interview process is far from simple. Employers have begun to increase the use of aptitude tests and personality tests as part of the interview process. They realize if they spend more time and resources on a thorough hiring process, they will save money in the long run. In many ways, this process helps the candidate as well. A more complex hiring process offers a clearer picture of what will be expected of you in the job. However, this also means that getting hired is much tougher than it used to be. Thus, it is extremely important to make sure you are ready for any assessment test you may encounter. I am here to walk you through these five easy steps to help ensure you are prepared.

1. Gather Information About the Test

Most employers don't provide enough information about what assessment tests you will need to take. This means it is in your own hands to figure out the exact exams and exercises you will encounter. Removing this ambiguity makes you an active, rather than a passive, player in the recruitment process. You can reach out to the employer's HR team or your recruiter and ask for more information. You can also use online resources, such as the company's website, Glassdoor, Indeed or take a look at this list of tests by top employers. These are great resources for reviewing information from past candidates.

2. Figure Out Who Provides the Test

There are numerous testing companies, and each offers itsown testing style. It isrecommended to review questions that are similar in style to those given by the test provider. Check out these various practice tests, organized by profession, sector, and job level. Get an idea of the test format, length, content, style, directions, and requirements.

3. Ask Friends for Advice

Try to ask peers for advice. Reach out to your extended network on LinkedIn or Facebook and see if anyone has gone through a similar type of interview. Using your online community as a tool is always a great way to prepare and access information. You will quickly discover you're not the only one going through such a process, and you can also get useful guidance.

4. Create a Study Plan

For most of us, it is difficult to just sit down and study. Create a timeline for yourself with goals related to what you would like to achieve within a certain time frame. Begin with reviewing the basics. You can make it interactive by watching video tutorials and reviewing guided explanations. Take a practice test based on the correct assessment company provider, and compare your progress as you go along. As the test date approaches, focus on your areas of weakness.

5. Get a Good Night's Sleep

A good night's sleep ensures that you are fully rested and alert. According to a study from Ghent and KU Leuven universities in Belgium, which surveyed 621 students about their sleep quality during exam time, students who slept seven hours a night during the exam period scored higher than those who slept six hours. Not only will more sleep help you perform better on the exam, it will also make you feel and appear less stressed.

This article was contributed by Jennifer Feldman. She is a speech and language expert and blogger for JobTestPrep. She specialises in writing about the employment hiring process.