The University of KentCareers and Employability Service

How to pass Employer Aptitude Tests

You can download a copy of this presentation at

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

Aptitude Tests• Mainly used by larger organisations• Often now given on-line when you apply• Test your numerical, verbal and non-

verbal reasoning• Multiple choice answers • Also personality tests!

NON-VERBAL TESTS

SPATIAL OR DIAGRAMMATIC REASONINGWhich is the next shape in the sequence: a, b, c, d or e?

1. d 2. b

1) 15

Numerical aptitude test

• 22 questions• 25 minutes• Very similar to the tests used by

employers when recruiting graduates• Can use calculator and scrap paper• Work quickly!

Tips• Increasingly tests are on-line.

Try our on-line practice tests to gain familiarity. Make sure you are in a quiet place where you won't be disturbed and in a good frame of mind.

• If the test was taken unsupervised on the web you may be asked to sit a short test at interview to check you didn't get someone else to do it for you!

• Listen to the instructions and follow them precisely. Many people make errors because they've misunderstood what they have to do.

• Check the time limit and the number of questions you have to answer in that time. Often there will be a lot of questions in a short time.

• Work quickly but pay attention to accuracy. Try not to get bogged down on one question: leave it until the end of the test, but remember that questions often get harder as you proceed. Don't panic if you can't complete the test as not everyone will be able to: most candidates find these tests hard! Do try to answer as many questions as possible though: you can only score points for questions you answer! If you have time left at the end, check your answers.

• Don't worry about worrying: you'll do your best if your adrenalin is flowing! But try to stay calm and focused and try to enjoy the experience.

More tips!• Practice makes perfect. Some practice of similar tests may improve your

performance by 5% on actual tests but don't spend too long practising. Brush up on your exam technique and become familiar with the types of test you may face.

• Before the actual test, you will be given practice examples to try: study these carefully and ask questions if anything is unclear .

• Get a good night's sleep, plan your journey to the test site, arrive on time and appropriately dressed. Tiredness and alcohol can affect your ability to do well! Take a calculator with you: many maths tests now allow a calculator. If so you will be given one, but may be allowed to use your own.

• Educated guesses are worthwhile if you are running out of time. In multiple choice tests, you may be able to quickly rule out obviously wrong answers and concentrate on those that are left. In maths tests you may be able to estimate the answer rather than working it out precisely, to save time.

• If you haven't done any maths since school then brush up on your numeracy .Try BBC Skillswise Practice your multiplication and division, ability to calculate percentages and rations, and to read graphs and tables. Similarly if your English is weak brush up on this.

If you’re poor at tests ….• Remember that few employers will look at test

results on their own and will also look at you academic performance and personality.

• Some large companies and most smaller companies don’t use tests – apply to these!

• Numerical scores can sometimes be much improved by practice. Others are harder to improve significantly.

• Aptitude Test Web Page Many practice numerical and verbal reasoning tests plus answers, working out and links to more online tests

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/psychotests.htm

Careers Employability Award on Moodle

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm

Moodle Careers Employability Award

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm#subject

14 Quizzes: need 75% to pass but allowed unlimited attempts

Complete 3 of the following seven

assignments•Employability skills quiz•Employability skills quiz: drag & drop•How to develop the skills employers want?•Test your spelling and grammar!•What makes you happy at work?•How commercially aware are you?

•Special interests topic lesson•Interview preparation•Practice interview•What are the most common interview questions?•Aptitude tests and assessment centres•CV quiz•CVs and covering letters: drag & drop quiz•Career planning drag and drop quiz

•Analyse your skills and learn how to make top quality applications

•Do you want to live to work or work to live?

•Researching careers 

•Choosing a career

•Submit a CV

•Social media

•Action planning

 

Comments from students who have completed the award

You get a really nice certificate!

It was so easy, quick and I learned a lot.

Without realising, you have finished the course

and have already put together a very good CV

and covering letter.

It really blew my mind with some ideas I’ve never known

before, such as portfolio working and working from

home. I never thought about obtaining happiness from my

work before.

It would be mad to apply for a job or attend an

interview without doing it! Before the course I had only a vague

idea of my career path and opportunities. Now I am applying for summer internships and know how to

effectively sell my skills to a prospective employer and have a much

more focused plan for my future.

The module is very, very useful! I really love how it makes you to think about your personality and helps you to identify your

strengths and weaknesses.I found the module to be highly thought-provoking as it really

encouraged me to consider how my degree will benefit my future and what I can be doing now to

improve my graduate employment prospects.

I enjoyed the depth of the module. It went far beyond some general tips on

how to write a good CV and prepare for an interview. Rather it went in to detail

about the whole process of graduate job search from the beginning to the end. It

was very instructive .

The amount of time put into this is astounding! I actually spoke to friends from other universities who said they

wished they had something like this.

It has made me feel a lot more confident when it comes to

applications and interviews and has also made me think about skills that I didn't think I had

before. I recently had a very successful interview

largely because I put the advice on the module into

practice.

Links

Multimedia/Digital Arts careerswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/multimedia.htm Electronics careers www.kent.ac.uk/careers/electronics.htmAssessment Centreswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/selection.htmAssessment Centre Videoswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/IntVid.htm

Bruce Woodcock

• A careers adviser is on duty for short (15 minute) consultations in the Careers and Employability Service any weekday morning 10.30-12.30 or afternoon from 2 pm to 4 pm. You don't need an appointment to see the duty adviser at these times. Just ask at Careers Reception to see them.

• Email: bw@kent.ac.uk• Monday careers events and vacancy emails

Location of the Careers Service

The University of KentCareers and Employability Service

You can download a copy of this presentation at

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

Programming Tests Some computing firms may give you a

programming aptitude test. Some of these use "pseudocode",

flowcharting, or assembler language.

VERBAL REASONINGCardiovascular disease is so prevalent that virtually all businesses are likely to have employees who suffer from, or may develop, this condition. Research shows that between 50-80% of all people who suffer a heart attack are able to return to work. However, this may not be possible if they have previously been involved in heavy physical work. In such cases, it may be possible to move the employee to lighter duties, with appropriate retraining where necessary. Similarly, high-pressure, stressful work, even where it does not involve physical activity, should also be avoided. Human Resources managers should be aware of the implications of job roles for employees with a cardiac condition.

A) The majority of people who have suffered a heart attack can later return to work.

B) Heart disease can affect people of any age.

ANSWER TRUE, FALSE or CANNOT SAY

A) TRUE B) CANNOT SAY

Personality Tests

Which of the following fours words is a) most like you and b) least like you? Gentle Persuasive Humble OriginalAttractive Dutiful Stubborn PleasantEasily Led Bold Loyal Charming etc.

• Used in order to determine your reactions and attitudes to situations: how well you get on with others, reaction to stressful situations or feelings about the kind of people you like to work with.

• Unlikely to be timed or have right or wrong answers • Unwise to fake answers. Questionnaires may have internal

checking where the same question is asked with different wording early and late in the test. Little point in pretending to be the kind of employee a firm is looking for if you are not right for them. Find something else you enjoy doing!

• May be used as a basis for interview questions

Situational Judgement Tests (SJT)Allows recruiters to gain an insight into the candidates decision-making within the relevant environment. SJTs also give candidates clear understanding of the role and kind of work situations they may encounter. There is usually a minimum cut-off score. A typical question may ask "If you saw your line manager stealing at work, what would you do?" and then there would be three options to choose from. Becoming increasingly common and are used by Accenture, PWC, McDonald's and many others. Practice situational judgement test www.assessmentday.co.uk/situational-judgement-test

Practice test books

Several books on tests, with practice examples, are available for reference in the Careers Service: ask at Reception. These include:• Succeed at Psychometric Testing• The Graduate Psychometric Test Workbook • Ultimate Psychometric Tests • How to Pass Numeracy Tests • How to Pass Graduate Psychometric Tests • Plus many more

Numerical Examples

Which is the missing number in the sequence? 2 ? 8 16A. 3 B. 4 C. 5 D. 6 E. 7 ? 14 12 11 11A. 13 B. 15 C. 16 D. 17 E. 28

ANSWERS Q1. 4 Q2. 17