Careers and Employability Service

Psychometric tests

Psychometric tests can range from ability tests, aptitude tests, verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, diagrammatic reasoning, situational judgement tests and personality tests.

Your objective for investing time in preparing for taking a test should be to improve both accuracy and speed in order to achieve a small margin of improvement. A small improvement in your test performance can increase your chances significantly of getting through to the next stage of a graduate selection process. With the help of our in-house business psychologist, we have developed a three-step Guide (the 'Leicester 1-2-3 Approach'), where each step will help you improve both accuracy and speed (including free practice).

How can I prepare?

Follow the 'Leicester 1-2-3 Approach' to help you prepare for the Psychometric tests, or come along to our new highly practical psychometric workshop which will take you through the approach. To find out when the next sessions will be and register, visit the MyCareers site.

Step one: Research and revise

  • Research which tests you are likely to be asked to do to give focus to your practice
  • Then research what the test is likely to involve. The Assessment Day website provides an in-depth analysis of the different types of exercises, including numerical and verbal reasoning
  • Revise what you may be tested on. Practice doing arithmetic both with and without a calculator. Brush up on your numerical skills generally and revisit some of the maths you did for GCSE. Study data presented in tables, charts and graphs

Step two: Have a go

The best way to learn is to practice! So use our recommended free external resources:

  • Graduates First – University of Leicester students have access to an array of verbal, numerical and logical tests, as well as a Situational Judgement Test (SJT) and a Personality Questionnaire. They have been developed by consultants who have worked for SHL, the major UK publisher of psychometric tests. Contact usto get access to this as a graduate.
  • SHL
  • Assessment Day

Step three: Reflection and ask for help

  • Using the feedback forms developed by the provider, identify the areas or issues that are causing you the most trouble and then identify how you can improve on these next time. If you can identify problem areas – try another test.
  • If you are unsure as to how you can improve, book either a psychometric testing workshop or an appointment on MyCareers for further guidance.
  • Start the 3-step process again!

Useful resources

The following websites have useful information and many have practice questions. Some of these are specific to certain sectors or occupations. Please note that some sites charge a fee.

  • Bloomberg Assessment Test: three-hour online test, used mainly in the financial sector
  • Educational Testing Service (ETS): private educational organisation - includes practice questions relating to:
    • GRE    - Graduate Record Examination
    • Praxis  - Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers
    • TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language.
    • Praxis  - Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers
  • Watson Glaser is a critical thinking test particularly common with law firms and increasingly by other employers. There are sample tests available on the Hogan Lovells and Linklaters websites
  • GMAT - Graduate Management Admission Test
  • Practice Reasoning Tests - Free employer reasoning tests to help improve performance and includes numercical tests, logical, inductive and diagrammatic reasoning tests (A Guide to Aptitude Tests)
  • Psychometric-Success: provides practice questions
  • SHL: provides example questions from a variety of tests
  • TARGETjobs: provides general information about psychometric assessments and links to various practice assessments
  • TARGETjobs Graduate Benchmark: Use the test to understand your strengths and then see how your performance in standard aptitude tests may compare to your peers
  • Test Partnership - Psychometric Tests - tips on how to tackle psychometric tests and opportunity to take practice tests
  • UKCAT: (UK Clinical Aptitude Test) is used in the selection process by a number of UK university Medical and Dental Schools
  • Practice Aptitude Tests - free service which allows you to practice various aptitude tests
  • CandidateTalent: Free access for students and graduates to hundreds of practice tests in deductive, numerical, and verbal reasoning alongside other resources to help you succeed. Answers are given to help you understand how to improve

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