Practice Aptitude Tests

Aptitude tests are designed to be challenging.

To ensure that you do as well as you possibly can, there really is no substitute for practice.

But don’t waste time practicing more than you need to.

Find out exactly what type of aptitude test you will be taking and practice just this type of test.

First use example questions with explained answers to familiarise yourself with the types of questions you will be asked and then take practice tests to improve your performance.

Aptitude tests are typically quite short, often less than 15 minutes long, and are usually completed online.

Tests generally have challenging time limits and often increase in difficulty throughout the test.

This is to put the candidate under pressure and try to understand what their maximum level of performance is.

Typically, tests present the candidate with some information and ask them to use this information to answer a question, usually providing a number of possible answers.

The more questions the candidate answers correctly within the time limit, the better their score will be.

While some aptitude tests will only focus on one type of thinking (either verbal or numerical reasoning, for example) some will have multiple sections that will test various different types of skills.

A multi-part assessment such as that will often take about an hour to complete.

Each section will be roughly 10 to 30 questions, depending on how complex each question is on a particular test.

Basically, if there are more complex questions, the assessment section will have fewer questions.

The position for which the test is being given may also determine the complexity and length of the assessment, i.e., the higher-level the job, the more questions and more complex questions are likely to be asked.

Aptitude tests are norm referenced.

This means that your performance on the test will be compared to a “norm group.”

A norm group is a group of people with similar characteristics to the candidate, a group of graduate trainees for example.

Your score will be compared to the scores of the people in the norm group, and this will allow the assessor to understand your performance relative to others who are similar to you.

Usually, a candidate’s score is expressed as a percentile.

This, then, tells the assessor what percentage of the norm group their performance surpassed.

If a candidate scored on the 75th percentile, for example, they have performed better than 75 percent of the norm group.

Each particular employer may have a different performance level required for specific positions.

To be successful, the candidate must achieve a level of performance that exceeds a stated minimum.

Candidates will usually not know what the minimum score requirement is before they take an aptitude test.

Aptitude tests are often used by employers as part of a selection process for a job.

While aptitude tests won’t necessarily test candidates on their ability to perform a specific job within a company, they will give the employer a general sense of how well a candidate can think on their toes and demonstrate critical-thinking skills that would be reflective of the type of thinking they’ll need to do on the job.

Administering aptitude tests allows companies to narrow down the number of candidates who have applied for a job to a more refined group that may be more qualified for the job.

Aptitude tests are most often used before a formal interview and are normally conducted online.

Employers often use the results of the tests in conjunction with how a candidate has performed in an interview to make a final hiring decision.

Combined, the two modes of assessment give employers a clearer picture of a candidate’s ability.

1. Familiarize yourself with common types of questions that you will be asked. For example, numerical tests often have questions about percentages. Make sure you know how to work these out before your test!

2. If you’re taking an aptitude test online make sure you are sitting somewhere quiet where you won’t be disturbed for the duration of the test.

3. When you are taking tests, work quickly but accurately and ensure you take a few seconds to double check you’ve understood the question and that you’ve actually selected the answer you had in mind.