November 2021 - Test The Talent

Personality Tests

What are Personality-Tests?

Personality Tests are an important factor in the application process, especially in big corporations.

Did you know?

Many companies want you to take a personality test in addition to the aptitude test.!

While skills tests can reveal a potential candidate’s cognitive abilities, personality tests provide prospective employers with insight into what a skills test and resume don’t show. What are the candidate’s personal strengths and weaknesses? How strong is his or her motivation for the advertised position? Is there a culture fit?

Especially when it comes to filling management positions, personality tests are very popular because certain qualities are required, especially in these positions. Someone working as a manager or boss should be dominant, proactive and open to new things within healthy limits. So, to see if the candidate brings such qualities, many companies use personality tests.

In addition to management positions, personality tests can also be used for any other position to see to what extent the candidate has soft skills (such as team ability), work ethic and manners. Also how the general attitude of the candidate and his or her decision-making ability is, can be interpreted by personality tests.

It is also particularly important for the company to see how much the candidate fits into the company, i.e. whether there is a human and professional fit – in other words, whether there is a cultural fit.

Quick Explantation!

“Culture Fit”
How well your character traits fit with the company’s work culture, values and norms.

Who offers personality tests?

If you are invited for an assessment test in the near future, it is quite possible that you will also take a personality test.

The well-known providers of typical skills tests usually also offer an additional personality test.

So, should you be facing a skills test from the following providers, it is recommended to also look into the additional personality tests:

SHL test
PICA
Cubiks
Saville
Thomas International
As well as, the Big Five Personality Test

At Test The Talent, you can prepare extensively for the skills tests from these test providers so that you can get your best possible score on the final test.

Personality tests are a bit different. Preparation is only possible to a limited extent, because this type of test examines your personality, which is difficult to influence. In addition, there are no right and wrong answers.

In the following, you will learn why it still makes sense to deal with personality tests, which ones are available and how they are structured, whether you can still prepare yourself to a certain extent, and which personality companies look for in the application process.

Can you prepare for a personality test?

Yes, you can! But you cannot train for it, nor can you influence the result.

The test reveals your personality and gives the recruitment team important information about whether you fit the job position. Since you can’t really train your personality, you can’t train for the test.

What you can do, and should do, is study the structure of the test, the values of the company, and the tasks of your desired job. You should ask yourself what is required in this position, and whether and to what extent you possess these qualities. Possibly you can also consider in the previous what the company wants to hear and answer the questions accordingly. However, you should do this only to a certain extent, because in the end the test will show whether you have enough qualities where it is needed in the new position or not. So if you answer the questions the way the company wants to hear it, when you get the job, it will eventually be evident. So rather try to answer the questions as honestly as possible and prepare extensively for the associated skills test.

These companies offer the following personality tests:

SHL

SHL OPQ32 – Occupational Personality Questionnaire

In this test you have to answer questions related to your behavior, which in turn provide information about your character traits and show whether they match the qualities required in the position in question. You will be given four statements for each question and must indicate which statement you agree with the most and which the least. There is no time limit. As a rule, candidates need around 30-40 minutes to answer the total of 104 questions.

PICA

PIBA Behavioral Assessment

The test takes about 5-10 minutes and contains two different parts. Part 1 lists 86 adjectives. You are asked to choose the adjectives that most closely reflect you and your behavior. Part 2 includes the same list of adjectives, but this time you must indicate which adjectives others would use to describe you. Your answers from both parts will be compiled into a profile, which will be sent to the company where you are applying. This gives the company insight into how you will behave in certain situations and whether you fit the advertised position, purely in terms of your personality.

Cubiks

Cubiks Factors

Based on the „5 big Personality traits“

PAPI N: PAPI Normative

Known as first candidate screening to see who tends to fit. You are given statements and have to indicate how much you agree or disagree. There are no right or wrong answers. The answers of all candidates are compared with each other and patterns become apparent that show which candidates are more likely to be considered for the open position.

PAPI I: PAPI Ipsative

Used more often later in the application process. You are asked a question and you have to choose the answer that fits you the most and the one that fits you the least. The answers will determine your work direction and behavior.

Saville

Wave personality Questionnaire

Considered a strong indicator of how the potential candidate will do later in their career, as well as whether there is a culture fit with the company in question. The test includes statements with which the candidate either agrees or disagrees.

Situational Judgment Test

Involves various realistic scenarios to see how well the candidate fits the advertised position. The candidate is observed how he/she reacts to them. This type of test is very individual, as each test is tailored to the company.

Thomas International

Personal Profile Analysis (PPA)

This personality test measures your personal traits and sorts them into four different areas. These include dominance, influence, consistency, and learning ability. For each question, you will be given four answer choices, each of which will be added to one of the four character traits. At the end, each candidate is given three profile overviews that include the traits the candidate has, the ones they don’t have, and a combination of both.

Big Five Personality Test

ncludes 120 statements where you must indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with the statement. The Big Five Test is considered one of the most scientifically validated personality tests. It is also called the OCEAN Model and provides information about the following character traits:

O – Openness: tolerance, curiosity.

C – Conscientiousness: Attention to detail, planning, etc.

E – Extraversion: The ability to be extroverted.

A – Agreeableness: Indicates how good someone is in dealing with others.

N – Neuroticism: Says about how anxious someone is, especially under stressful situations).

What personal characteristics do companies look for?

Companies try to gain insights into the personality of potential candidates with a personality test. Which characteristics the company focuses on depends very much on the individual job position. In general, however, it can be said that clear strength of character in the following characteristics is an advantage:

Motivation. Both in relation to work, but also in relation to your life. If you want to see a lot, learn new things, make new acquaintances and have many different interests, these are all signs that you bring a lot of motivation and enthusiasm with you.
Work ethic and general manners. The basic qualities that are probably required in any position. It’s important for the company to see that you act in the company’s best interests, and most importantly, that you fit in with the company’s values and standards
Team Ability. This is about how well you can cooperate in a team. Whether you tend to prefer working alone or with others and whether you are supportive of other members or more of a lone wolf.
Dominance and intuitive action. These character traits are especially in demand in management positions. So if you aspire to a position in management, you should have a certain amount of leadership, as well as intuitive action in more difficult situations. This also includes making important decisions, as well as the ability to pull others along and motivate them.

Verbal Tests – Why it matters

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Verbal Comprehension and Why It Matters

Verbal comprehension tasks measure a portion of your cognitive ability. In addition to numerical comprehension and logical/inductive reasoning, verbal comprehension and understanding complex text are an important part of being a successful candidate in the application process. At Test The Talent, you can prepare extensively for your employment test. If you are taking a verbal test, whether as a single test or a combination of numerical and logical/inductive tasks, intensive preparation will make the actual test easier.

Ability tests with verbal test part

At Test The Talent you can take practice tests to prepare for a wide variety of tests, some of which include a verbal section. The PICA and Saville tests are only available in a combined version. You can try out a PICA test for free at Test The Talent. The SHL or Cubiks tests are available both as a combined test and as individual tests for all three test areas. You can try a verbal SHL test for free. In addition, Test The Talent offers a general practice test that you can use to prepare for all common employment tests.

Structure of verbal tests

The test of SHL, in addition to the combined test, also has its own verbal test, which consists of text comprehension questions in multiple choice format. The same structure and type of verbal questions are also offered by Cubiks. Saville offers only combined tests. The verbal part of the combined test also includes questions about text comprehension. The verbal part of the combined test of PICA, is structured differently and includes three different verbal sub-tasks. There are analogies, logical reasoning tasks, and antonyms (explained in more detail below). The general practice tests of Test The Talent are similar, but this one also includes tasks where you have to identify which word does not match.

Text Comprehensive Questions

Based on a text you have to answer questions.

Antonyms

You are asked for the opposite of the given word.

Analogies

Two words that are logically related to each other.

Logical inference

Based on the statement, you must agree or disagree with the conclusion.

What word does not fit

One word does not logically belong to the other words

The most important tips when solving verbal tasks

Although this is true for all tasks, in the verbal part it is even more important to read through all questions as carefully and thoroughly as you can. Some verbal comprehension tasks, are easier to understand and others are more difficult. Watch out for possible comprehension traps or deliberate confusion. Basically, when it comes to verbal tasks, listen to your gut. Often the first, intuitive choice is the right one. The longer you think about the right word or meaning, the more confusing it will seem.

Very important: If you are unable to answer a question, act on the principle of elimination. Go through each answer choice and cross out the ones that you think make the least sense. Incidentally, an incorrect answer is not a detriment to your score. Therefore, you should always answer even if you don’t know the answer and have to guess. Since all questions are multiple choice, you always have a certain chance of guessing correctly.

Strong word comprehension in the application process

Solving mathematical problems in no time and understanding logical relationships are important skills that need to be present in top positions. But what about verbal skills? Is it so important to be able to express yourself well and to know many words?

What is the importance of strong verbal skills in the application process?

Strong verbal comprehension skills indicate that the candidate possesses the basics of direct communication, the ability to understand complex facts, and the ability to relate information and draw conclusions. This is very relevant for professional success, since in many fields complex verbal information must be processed daily, as well as conclusions with possible consequences must be recognized. When selecting candidates for an open job position, recruiters look for these skills to ensure that the potential candidate will do a good job in the future. Thus, it is very important that you also achieve above-average results in this area. Get one step closer to your dream job and prepare for your recruitment test with Test The Talent.

5 tips to get your best SHL test result

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1. confidence

As it will be in your future job: Success comes with time. The SHL test, which you want to pass in the best possible way in your application process, is no different. If you are now facing this big hurdle and are uncertain about the upcoming SHL test, you are in the right place. Turn your nervousness into willpower and motivation and shine in the application process for your dream job.

Test The Talent’s test simulation will enable you to take the SHL test with confidence and, if you prepare properly, get your best personal result.

To make the SHL test as real as possible, the test can be selected in different languages.

SHL tests are used by various companies to evaluate and compare potential candidates according to their skills. So here is your chance to stand out from the crowd and make an impressive and positive first impression in their dream company. Get one step closer to your dream job and prepare for your upcoming SHL test so you can approach it with confidence and poise.

2. schedule

Schedule enough time to best prepare for your SHL test. However, “enough” time is relative. Decide for yourself how much time you want to invest in preparation and practice time. Individually, some will need more hours and others less. Maybe your SHL test is the day after tomorrow? You should practice anyway! Time is an important commodity when preparing for any type of test. Be it an important exam, a piano recital, or an SHL test. It’s never too late to start studying. Especially not if the will is there to pass the test with the best possible score!

Find your own study rhythm and use your time wisely. First, take an SHL test in all three test areas: Numerical Knowledge, Logical Reasoning, and Language Comprehension. Get an overview of where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Focus first on the area that is easiest for you so that you can quickly see your first successes and thus increase your motivation. Then follow the areas where you still have great potential to improve. A schedule will help you to approach the preparation for your SHL test in a structured way. Determine fixed times when you want to train for the SHL test and integrate your learning process into your everyday life. This will help you gain confidence in your abilities and reduce potential nervousness.

3. practice

Test The Talent offers you the opportunity to test your existing knowledge and familiarize yourself with the test procedures so that you can take the test without tension and nervousness. In order to get the maximum SHL test solutions correct, it takes a little training and motivation to understand the background of the questions and how to solve them.

Practicing and reviewing the SHL tests will give you the experience you need to recognize familiar patterns and uncover possible thinking traps on real SHL test day. In addition, you will more quickly recognize the connections between test questions and answers and develop strategies that make it possible to master the SHL test even under time pressure.

Practice, practice, practice is the motto!

4. focus

At the end of each test you will receive an explanation of each solution. This includes how to arrive at the correct result, explains calculation or thinking steps and includes definitions and extensive explanations of the language comprehension tasks – take advantage of this! Where was the error in your thinking, what was missing to arrive at the result? Use the feedback to analyze where your strengths and weaknesses are and deepen them. Thus, in addition to the learning effect, you will also have the opportunity to understand the meaning and logic behind SHL test tasks. It will be easier for you, the more often you have worked on the different SHL tests.

After all, dumb repetition of the tasks is not very effective. The key is to memorize the procedure and solution paths in order to apply them in the real test and get the best possible personal SHL test score.

Place your personal focus where there is still room for improvement in order to improve in the best possible way. Pay close attention to the explanations and try to internalize each step to solve the tasks.

5. repetitions

In order to implement the last point mentioned correctly, to prevent mistakes and to deepen what has been learned in the long term, repetitions are required and as the word implies, this means doing everything over and over again. This may sound exhausting, but this is where you will see the benefits of practicing the SHL test.

You will see the improvements from the results and you will feel them noticeably when solving the tasks. You will get results much faster and notice successes. Memorizing ways you have already learned to solve typical test items and the routines you use to do so are the secrets to getting your personal best SHL test score.