Prepare assessment for best results
As an organization, when you have your candidates take an assessment, you often get questions about how best to prepare them. So how can you best inform them? Read on in this article on how to prepare a candidate for an assessment.
It is important to tell your candidate that preparation for an assessment consists of two elements: first, content preparation and second, mental preparation.
Preparing content for an assessment
Let’s start with content preparation. Most assessments consist of the following components;
- Ability tests
These are timed tests available in various formats, including verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, analogies, spatial understanding, technical understanding, multitasking, and creative thinking. Ability tests assess different forms of intelligence, and their use depends on the specific job’s requirements. These tests are always administered under time pressure. It is beneficial for candidates to practice regularly to acclimate to this time constraint and familiarize themselves with the types of tests relevant to the position they are applying for. There are many practice opportunities available online. However, candidates can only improve their scores to a limited extent through practice. The main objective is to prepare them for the time pressure so they do not perform below their true potential. - Personality questionnaires, and other questionnaires
These questionnaires ask candidates about their preferred behaviors, personal styles, and motivations. There are no right or wrong answers; instead, the assessment focuses on whether a candidate’s typical behavior aligns with the job’s requirements. While these questionnaires are not conducted under time pressure, a target time is usually provided. The premise is that certain personality traits are better suited for particular positions. Candidates cannot, and should not, prepare for this type of assessment, as it is not about performance. Candidates need to answer as honestly as possible because these tests evaluate the consistency of their responses. Candidates who try to answer in a socially desirable way, by providing answers they think are most favorable for the job, often end up with very high or low consistency scores. An assessment psychologist is unlikely to overlook this inconsistency.
- Interview with the psychologist
The interview with the assessment psychologist will primarily focus on the personality questionnaire, along with potentially other assessments. This means that the psychologist has more information than just the candidate’s resume. The psychologist’s role is to delve deeper into the candidate’s profile to understand them better and predict their future performance. An assessment psychologist will always consider the level of self-awareness the candidate demonstrates. To prepare effectively, candidates should take the time to reflect on their true selves. They need to think openly and critically about who they are, how their experiences have shaped them, what they are seeking in a job, and which of their traits are suitable for the position and which are not. - Role plays
Role plays are used to observe real-time behavioral skills that are relevant to a job. The goal is for the candidate to demonstrate mastery of these skills. To prepare effectively, candidates should analyze which behavioral skills are most important for the position they are applying for. It’s also beneficial to consider how the organization’s culture impacts these skills. For instance, a candidate applying for a sales manager role in a highly performance- and revenue-driven culture should be able to motivate lower-performing salespeople to improve their performance.
Finally, mental preparation for an assessment
A candidate must ensure they have the right mindset. The most important advice you can give here is to avoid stress as much as possible. Stress is a performance killer for aptitude tests, role-plays, and interviews.
Emphasize that your candidate should take traffic jams into account, go to bed on time the night before, not eat too much, not drink eight cups of coffee, etc.
Also, advise them to notify the psychologist in advance if any issues could prevent them from performing optimally. These could include burnout, dyslexia, pregnancy, divorce, dismissal, etc. It is likely that these will influence the results.
If this is declared afterwards, the harm is already done.
Finally, you can indicate that your candidate is best positioned to approach the psychologist as an equal interlocutor. Who tries to assess the match with the position as well as possible. This is in the interest of your organization and the candidate.
