The
process of hiring people is more akin to witchcraft
than science and studies have consistently demonstrated
that interview performance is a very poor predictor
of how a candidate will behave on the job.
In
the past, organisations would seek out those candidates
with the best knowledge / experience fit for the job
and train them in to the organisation's cultrure / attitude.
Not surprisingly, this approach resulted in more bad
hires than good.
Nowadays,
organisations look to attitude first and knowledge second
and as a result, many now use psychometric testing as
part of their recruitment process. The theory, from
an organisation's perspective, is very simple:
|
Right
person (motivation, personality and core abilities) |
+ |
Right
job description (close match to the person) |
= |
Optimal
job performance (productivity/profit) |
They
may examine you in a variety of ways:
| |
Specific
aptitudes / abilities - numerical, verbal, spatial
etc.. |
| |
Key
factors which make up your personality. |
| |
Intelligence
(IQ) testing. |
 |
Emotional
Intelligence (EQ) testing. |
| |
Simulations
of working environment situations. |
| |
Full
assessment centre workups - which examine some or
all of the above as well as measuring and observing
you in social and in teamwork settings. |
Fortify
can put you through many of these tests in advance of
the real thing, so neither the process nor the results
will come as any surprise to you. This improved self
knowledge is also useful for number of reasons:
| |
Knowledge
is power - particularly if you are about to embark
on a job hunt which will involve repeated, searching
interviews. |
| |
You
will be better-equipped to make decisions regarding
the kind of jobs and corporate cultures to pursue
and those to avoid. |
| |
If
you are unsure of what direction to pursue a career,
the testing can contribute to robust decsion-making
that will ensure that you are going in the right
direction in your life. |