Has anyone else had to do these. They really irritate me. I don't like the fact that some companies base my numeracy skills on a 20 minute test in circumstances I would never have to work in - rather than a very good CV in numeracy related jobs.

Bah, I'm in a bad mood.

I know of companies who will spend a whole day testing several interviewees together psychometrically, along with the usual round of two interviews, and CV. I suppose that's better than a 20 minute test. I don't think 20 minutes is enough to find out if a potential staff member will be the right person three years down the line.

It's quite trendy for companies to rely on psychometric testing...it's good but not infallible.

How'd the trip to Leeds go? I take it you got back from Leeds in one piece... see any Big Issue sellers, eh? ;)

The London of the North? yeah right...if you mean the number of homeless people on the streets :roll:

I've done psychometrics several times when I was looking for a graduate job. Normally in conjuction with interviews or entire assement days.

There are figures for how accurate these types of assessment are (ie how many people they hire that turn out to be good for the position they were hired for).
Based on an interview alone it's as low as 20%.
With a full assessment day including psychometrics they get it up to 60 or 70 % I believe.
I quite like psychometrics, I do well in exam situations and my maths, spatial awareness and linguistics skills are very good. I find the interviews harder, and generally do quite well in group work.

I suppose your opinion of psychometric interviews comes down to whether you got the job or not.

Mine did :)

I really hate Numerical/Verbal Reasoning tests as I find them impossible to do.

I went for a job last year with a blue chip company, they turned me down for the position solely on me not performing well in these tests, in particular the numerical test. At this point I should let you know I am a mathematics graduate and got a upper second from a respectable red brick university.

Apparently they couldn't fault me on the interview, I had all the skills, experience and qualities they were looking for and gave good answers to their more involved questions. Also my presentation was well structured and well presented.

Given that I have shown to excel in mathematics, and all the other essentials they were looking for were there, then I would have thought they would have offered me the position.

Apparently these numerical/verbal reasoning tests know everything though according to businesses and if you don't excel in them tough luck regardless of any other evidence of your suitability for the job.

Unfortunately I don't see myself ever getting a well paid job with a major company due to myself not being able to perform well in these tests.

It's a shame that they attach such weight to the tests. They should only form part of the recruitment test (although sometimes it's the first part and is used to short list candidates).

I would suggest that you download a lot of examples of the numerical ones and get lots of practice in. You'd be surprised how often the same questions are used (or variations), and practice can never hurt.

I think some of the problem with the Numeracy/data interpretation is due to how you look at things. I work with Maths a lot - that's basically my job - and know exactly how to work out the answers, using my calculator but after having learnt methods assuming I use a calculator for so many years I find using mental arithmetic harder. I tend to estimate things for speed but find this annoying when I could so easily have the answers.

Skatiechick, I know exactly what you mean. I also have a very good maths degree - and find these tests much harder than I should, yet do well on the verbal and logical ones.

Aren't we getting confused between psychometric testing and normal numeracy and literacy tests? afaik, psychometric testing uses many questions, often the same question posed in several ways to check for consistency, designed to determine your character. Psychometric testing can provide information on a candidate's relative strengths, personality profile, motivation, likely team role behaviour (Belbin) and many other characteristics

I always end up being classified as a non finisher/completer which explains the abrupt

are there any that people can do on the web?

Originally posted by Fletch
are there any that people can do on the web?

try these http://www.morrisby.com/test_takers_guide/sampletests.asp

Originally posted by Skatiechik
At this point I should let you know I am a mathematics graduate and got a upper second from a respectable red brick university.

Unfortunately, a degree doesn't mean you'll automatically get the job anymore (as you no doubt know), and employers don't hold a degree as 'the standard' for getting a good job anymore. These psychometric tests give your employer an idea of what kind of person you are, and it doesn't really tell them how intelligent you are, just gives them an idea of if you'll be a good salesperson, admin worker, line manager, etc.

I did one when I was joining a mate's company and he said he could clearly tell it was me without looking at the name.

I must admit, I was a bit spooked!

psychometrics aren't designed to identify your personality like a belkin test. They are designed to give normalised scores in numeracy, literacy, spatial awareness, etc....