Some of the most important things to know about a person are the hardest to see in an interview: how they reason through a problem, what keeps them motivated, how they respond under pressure and how they prefer to work with others. Psychometric assessments measure these qualities in a structured, consistent way, so that decisions about people rest on evidence as well as impressions.
Dr Mercy Igoki is an assessment administrator for a library of around fifty psychometric, aptitude and skills tests. Organisations use them to recruit and promote fairly, to plan staff development and to understand their teams. Students, graduates and professionals use them to make better-informed choices about study and careers.
Choosing the right assessment
More testing is not better testing. Each engagement starts with the decision the results need to support, whether that is shortlisting candidates for a finance role, preparing a leader for promotion or helping a school leaver choose a course. We then recommend the smallest combination of assessments that answers that question well.
The assessment library
The tests are grouped by what they measure. Several come in more than one version or level, shown beneath the description.
Personality & working style
How a person tends to think, behave and work with others.
- Big Five Profile
- Personality across the five most widely researched traits, from openness to emotional stability.
- CTPI-R
- A detailed personality inventory for managers and senior professionals.
- Work Profile
- Behavioural preferences and working style in everyday job situations.
- AVATAR
- A game-based personality assessment.
- Profil Compétences 2
- A profile of core workplace competencies and soft skills.
Emotional intelligence & stress
Self-awareness, emotional regulation and how pressure is experienced.
- EMOTION
- Recognising, understanding and managing emotions in yourself and others.
- EMOTION · EMOTION 2.1
- e-Stress Profile
- Sources of pressure, ways of coping and early signs of strain.
Motivation & career direction
What energises a person and the kinds of work they are drawn to.
- MOTIVATION
- The drivers and working conditions that keep a person engaged.
- MOTIVATION · MOTIVATION+
- Motivations test PRISM
- The motivations and values that shape satisfaction at work.
- VOCATION
- Career interests, linked to the fields and occupations that suit them.
Reasoning & aptitude
How accurately a person works with words, numbers, logic and space.
- GAAT
- General aptitude and critical thinking.
- Critical Thinking · Short version
- Reasoning Test-R
- Abstract and logical reasoning: spotting patterns and drawing sound conclusions.
- Reasoning – Spatial
- Visualising and mentally manipulating shapes and objects.
- SMART tests
- Short, focused reasoning tests, useful for early screening.
- Verbal · Numerical · Logical · Analogies
Technical & industrial
Practical reasoning for production, mechanical and plant-based roles.
- Basic Industrial Math
- The everyday arithmetic and measurement used on the shop floor.
- MECANICA
- Mechanical reasoning: how machines, tools and physical forces behave.
- FACTORY
- Aptitudes and working habits suited to production roles.
Sales & enterprise
The behaviours behind commercial results and new ventures.
- Sales Profile
- Sales style, drive and approach to clients.
- Sales Profile 2 · Sales Profile-R
- Entrepreneur Test
- Traits and motivations associated with starting and running a venture.
Digital skills
Practical proficiency in everyday Microsoft Office tools.
- Microsoft Excel
- Spreadsheets, from basic formulas to advanced analysis.
- Basic · Advanced
- Microsoft Word
- Creating, formatting and editing documents.
- Basic · Advanced
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Building and formatting presentations.
- Basic · Advanced
- Microsoft Outlook
- Email, calendar and contact management.
Languages
Workplace proficiency in English, French and German.
- Business English Test
- Grammar, vocabulary and comprehension in business settings.
- Business English Test · Business English Test ’30
- French Language Test
- Workplace French, from foundations to confident use.
- Beginner/Intermediate · Advanced
- German Language Test
- Workplace German comprehension and usage.
French-language assessments
Tests delivered in French, including job-knowledge tests for finance and administration roles.
- Test de Communication-R
- Communication skills.
- Test de Culture Générale (2020)
- General knowledge.
- Standard · Extended time
- Collaborateur Comptable
- Accounting assistant.
- Comptable Fournisseurs
- Accounts payable.
- Contrôleur de Gestion
- Management control.
- Gestion de compte bancaire
- Bank account management.
- Gestionnaire de paie
- Payroll administration.
- Gestionnaire Recouvrement
- Debt recovery.
- Responsable Administratif et Financier
- Head of administration and finance.
What taking an assessment involves
Candidates are told beforehand what to expect and how long each test takes. Ability and skills tests are timed. Personality and motivation questionnaires have no right or wrong answers and work best when they are completed honestly rather than strategically. Extended-time versions are available for some tests.
Results are explained rather than simply handed over. For an organisation, that means a discussion of what the findings suggest for the role or the team. For an individual, it means a feedback conversation about strengths, preferences and possible next steps.
Using results well
An assessment describes tendencies and abilities at a point in time. It does not define a person. Results are read alongside experience, interviews and the demands of the role, shared only with the people agreed at the outset, and explained to the person who took the test.
