Candidate Preparation

Test advice for candidates taking a Test Partnership Test

Employing organisations want candidates to perform well on their psychometric tests and research suggests that psychometric tests become more valid once candidates have prepared beforehand. Therefore, candidates looking to practise psychometric tests for an upcoming assessment should use the following advice to maximise their chances of performing to their best:

1. Practise thoroughly: Practice reduces anxiety and helps you perform to the best of your ability. You will be less likely to panic or make silly mistakes if you are familiar with the style of test you will be taking. We have some free practice tests at the bottom of this webpage.

2. Stay calm: Easy for us to say, but if you can manage to remain calm, you are much more likely to think rationally and have better focus. Try breathing slowly and deeply, and take your test in a quiet, familiar environment.

3. Download an up-to-date web browser: Modern psychometric tests are conducted online via specially designed test platforms. These platforms will often require an up-to-date version of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari or other modern internet browser. Candidates are advised to check they have a stable internet connection.

4. Reasonable adjustments: It's only fair that all candidates are assessed on a level playing field. If you need reasonable adjustments to accommodate a disability, please do get in touch with the employer. There are lots of reasonable adjustments which can be made including: extra time; adapted input peripherals; screen readers; screen contrast and colour software; and test administration assistants.

5. Brush up on basic skills: Even the most complex psychometric tests will only ever use mathematics that most early school-leavers will hold; addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages, ratios, and reading graphs, charts and tables. So almost everyone will know the maths required but not everyone will be able to answer within the time limit. Time to brush up on your percentages, ratios, multiplication and division.

6. Choose your testing environment: Candidates taking psychometric tests have the choice of when and where they take their test. Candidates are well-advised to pick a quiet, stress-free environment in which they will be able to concentrate when completing their test. Similarly, it is very important to ensure that your chosen location has a stable internet connection.

7. Don't try to cheat: It may be tempting to get a friend to sit in when taking an aptitude test, but this strategy is doomed to fail. You will spend more time discussing answers than answering them. As a result, you are very unlikely to perform better when working as a team. Similarly, with personality questionnaires, publishers build in measures of rating acquiescence and exaggeration, so they can detect when a candidate is trying to lie. Play it safe and play by the rules. Sometimes employers ask you to sit a verification test when you go to interview, to check that the scores you got online roughly equate to the scores you can achieve in-person.

Practice tests

We have some short practice tests to help you get familiarised with the style of Test Partnership tests.