To pass a psychometric test, find out exactly which test you will sit, practise that format under timed conditions, work out how long you have per question, and read every question carefully before you answer. Ability tests reward speed and accuracy, and both improve with practice. Personality questionnaires are not passed or failed, so the aim there is to answer honestly and consistently.
The single most useful step is to sit a realistic test before the real one. A free psychometric test with worked solutions will show you the formats, the pace and where you lose marks.
Find out what you are sitting
Vague worry is harder to manage than a known task, so turn the unknown into detail. Ask the recruiter:
- Which tests are included, and who publishes them.
- How long each test lasts and how many questions it has.
- Whether you can use a calculator and rough paper.
- Whether wrong answers are marked down.
Most recruiters will answer. Where they cannot, the invitation email often names the publisher in the link or the footer. Knowing that you face, say, a timed numerical test rather than a situational judgement test changes what you practise all week.
Practise in the same format
Psychometric tests are almost always taken online, so practise online rather than from a book. Sit at least one complete test from start to finish. That shows you the instruction screens, where the timer sits, whether you can flag a question and return to it, and how you feel thirty questions in. The real test then becomes the second time you have done this, not the first.
If you want to see the main question types first, work through our psychometric test examples with sample questions.
Work on your weakest area
After each practice test, note the questions you got wrong and why. Patterns appear quickly: percentage questions, “Cannot say” answers in verbal tests, or running out of time on the last few questions. Spend most of your practice on that weak spot, even though it is tempting to stick with the types you already score well on.
Work out your pace as a number
Divide the time limit by the number of questions before you start. Most mid-test panic comes from suspecting you are behind with no way to check, and a number fixes that.
Example. A test gives you 18 minutes for 20 questions.
- Convert the time to seconds: 18 × 60 = 1,080 seconds.
- Divide by the number of questions: 1,080 ÷ 20 = 54 seconds per question.
- Set a halfway check: after 9 minutes (540 seconds), you should be at about question 540 ÷ 54 = 10.
Then decide your stuck rule in advance. For example: if a question has taken twice your per-question time, choose the best supported answer and move on. If the test marks wrong answers down, leave it blank instead. A decision made calmly the day before costs nothing. The same decision made mid-test costs time.
Read the question before you calculate
Fast does not mean rushed. Many questions include information you do not need, and the wrong answers are often built from common slips: using the wrong year in a table, mixing up units, or calculating an increase in pounds when the question asks for a percentage. Read exactly what is being asked, then find only the figures you need.
In verbal tests, judge each statement on the passage alone. In multiple choice questions, glance at the options before you start so you know roughly what form the answer takes, then work it out yourself rather than working backwards from the options.
Have the right tools ready
Check whether a calculator is allowed. If it is, use one you know well. Keep rough paper and a pen on the desk for jotting down figures, which is easy to forget in an online test. If you are not allowed a calculator, practise quick mental methods for percentages and fractions beforehand.
Set up your space and technology
Use the device you will sit the test on, in a quiet room. Update your browser, check the connection, close other programs, silence notifications and put your phone in another room. Tell anyone at home when you will be busy. Have a back-up plan in case your internet fails, and read the instructions on what to do if the test is interrupted.
Manage nerves on the day
Nerves are normal, and the aim is not to remove them but to stop them costing you marks.
- Sleep and eat normally. A full night’s sleep helps more than a late practice session. Do not stack extra coffee on top of your usual amount.
- Do not learn anything new in the last hour. Warm up on one or two questions of a type you already handle well, then stop.
- Use the untimed screens. Instruction and example screens are usually not timed. Read them properly, then settle yourself with a few slow breaths: in for a count of four, out for a count of six.
- Start. Once you have read the instructions, begin question one rather than rereading them.
Personality questionnaires and situational judgement tests
You cannot fail a personality questionnaire, and trying to give the answers you think an employer wants usually backfires. Many questionnaires ask about the same preference in several ways, so an inconsistent profile is easy to spot. Answer honestly and consistently, and think about how you actually behave at work or study.
Situational judgement tests do have better and worse answers. Read the job description and the employer’s stated values, because they show what good behaviour looks like in that role. Then pick the response that solves the problem and keeps the right people informed.
Mistakes to avoid
- Sitting the real test with no timed practice.
- Spending too long on one hard question.
- Skimming the question and answering a different one.
- Skipping the instructions because you assume you know the format. Formats vary between publishers and even between versions of the same test.
- Asking someone to help you. Employers often ask you to sit a shorter test again later in the process to confirm your score.
After the test
If you do not progress, ask for feedback. It may show that you ran short of time or lost marks on one question type, which you can fix. Judge yourself on what you controlled: whether you kept to your pace and used your stuck rule. Those habits carry into the next test.
To understand how employers use your results, read what psychometric testing in recruitment involves. And when you are ready to practise, start with a timed psychometric practice test.
