Putting the job candidate to the test
Psychometric testing is becoming increasingly prevalent in theinterview process, as many accountants are discovering.
Research has shown that face-to-face interviews are not always a good predictor of how a person will perform in the job. Though the traditional methods of interviewing will probably always be seen as an essential part of finding the right person, increasingly psychometric testing is used to supplement interviews. A recent survey of 122 UK companies’ management selection methods found that around 30% used some form of psychometric testing.
Betsy Kendall, principal psychologist at Oxford Psychologists Press, a leading distributor of psychometric tests, said: ‘The tests add objectivity and balance to the job selection process. A realistic personality test allows the employer to get a slice of a person’s typical behaviour. They show what you are like to work with and what sort of management style you respond to.’
She explained: ‘Psychological tests are a structured and researched way of getting information about people. They are tested to ensure that what they say they measure, they actually measure.’
Anyone being psychometrically tested for a job will be faced with one of two types of test. The first is the personality test, which tries to measure behaviour and how you are likely to act at work. The other is the ability test, which measures mathematical, verbal and other aptitudes.
Very often a company will ask a candidates to do both types of test.
Anyone taking these tests should think about their approach. Ability tests are nearly always done under time pressure. Very often there is no penalty for getting the answer incorrect. Under these circumstances the best approach is to answer as many questions in the allotted time as possible.
Personality test are not done under time pressure. According to Kendall the best advice is to answer questions as openly and honestly as possible.
‘Give the first response to a question, there is no right or wrong answer.’
The one problem with using psychometric testing in the interview process, according to Kendall, is the tendency for bosses to recruit people in their own image. ‘This can be bad for an organisation, because if they employ the same sort of person, everyone starts thinking the same way and the organisation can become one-sided.
‘The accountancy profession is represented by many different personality types. The varied nature of the work means there is room for different personality types in the profession,’ she added.
Research in the USA into Certified Practising Accountants found there was a significant difference between personality profiles, depending upon their area of work. CPAs employed in national practices tended to be extroverts, whereas accountants working for local practices tended to be more introverted.
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OPP have conducted their own UK research by psychometrically testing 430 accountants and classifying them into one of 16 personality types.
The most common personality type in the group, which applied to 20% of the survey, have the following traits: serious, quiet, practical and orderly.
The most infrequent group, which represented less than 2% of the sample, could be described as outgoing, accepting and friendly.
