Psychometric Tests - thoughts?

[WinterGold]

I qualified at 20 as a pilot, was lucky to gain employment immediately and flew for a major European airline for 5 years without incident and always had positive feedback and reports. As a result of the pandemic, last flew in March 2020 and eventually was made redundant along with most of my colleagues. I got a job as a driver for a high street name for the last 18 months and was grateful to be employed as the travel industry was in such dire straits.

I recently applied to another airline having met their criteria. I passed the technical assessment, the online interview and SIM check. Subsequently, there was a 4 hour online psychometric test with a separate HR company where they absolutely destroyed my character. The analysis of my personality apparently concluded I was friendly, a hard worker, willing to learn and a potentially valued team member, but was not assertive enough, had a negative personality and showed an element of anxiety, although they conceded that might be as a result of lack of recent flying experience/pandemic. Consequently, I was turned down for the job

There has been plenty of times when I’ve had to be decisive on the flight deck and speak up when I wasn’t happy about things, has always had a positive working relationship with colleagues, loved the job and was always happy to step in when my previous airline was short staffed. My apparent anxiety was not helped by their administrative incompetence as I was messed about regarding dates/flights/accommodation/venue - all of which were very last minute on their part.

I have no experience of psychometric tests before and I wondered if I was possibly too polite during the interview part as I wanted to make a good impression and perhaps should have been a bit more blunt with them? For example, is it appropriate (and maybe part of the test) to actively disagree with the interviewer and tell them they’ve got it wrong and challenge their conclusion? Can you be too honest in these type of assessments or should you ‘play the game’ and tell them what they want to hear?

I’ve always been a half full person, pretty confident, optimistic and always believed that even if you’re knocked back, it’s all experience and a learning curve so I want to be better prepared when I’m next presented with one of these.

Any advice/experience gratefully received!! Many thanks.

Psychometric tests should only be one part of the recruitment process and wouldn't normally be considered by themselves. Try not to overthink the results. I know it can be difficult and it can feel a bit like character assassination but everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I don't think you can 'tell them to get they want to hear' as most tests are designed to work around they (eg they ask you the same questions in slightly ways).

The information in your test can be used in future interviews eg you are a team player and build and develop good working relationships. You aren't assertive enough, but you have learned techniques to be more assertive. This all shows self awareness.

In the same way, it's difficult to second guess what an interviewer is after. You may come across really badly at one interview but another interviewer may love it. It's very subjective. All you can do, is your best and after that, it's out of your hands. I'm guessing that many pilots have lost work over the past two years, so I assume competition for jobs is fierce, so you may not have something wrong, it's just other candidates performed better on the day.

Focus less on the test and maybe work more i your answers. Most interviewers will ask the same type of questions, so keep practising your interview technique.

Good luck, Op.

@purpledagger

Psychometric tests should only be one part of the recruitment process and wouldn't normally be considered by themselves. Try not to overthink the results. I know it can be difficult and it can feel a bit like character assassination but everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I don't think you can 'tell them to get they want to hear' as most tests are designed to work around they (eg they ask you the same questions in slightly ways).

The information in your test can be used in future interviews eg you are a team player and build and develop good working relationships. You aren't assertive enough, but you have learned techniques to be more assertive. This all shows self awareness.

In the same way, it's difficult to second guess what an interviewer is after. You may come across really badly at one interview but another interviewer may love it. It's very subjective. All you can do, is your best and after that, it's out of your hands. I'm guessing that many pilots have lost work over the past two years, so I assume competition for jobs is fierce, so you may not have something wrong, it's just other candidates performed better on the day.

Focus less on the test and maybe work more i your answers. Most interviewers will ask the same type of questions, so keep practising your interview technique.

Good luck, Op.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and give such a comprehensive reply - much appreciated.

That makes a lot of sense. I understand, particularly with aviation, the need to psychologically assess pilots following the German Wings incident and you’re right, to use this first experience of it as a learning curve. I’ve had a look online and there’s quite a few preparation/familiarisation exercises to download.

Hopefully, with easing of restrictions, there will be a few more flying opportunities opening up in the near future and thank you again for your wise counsel and good wishes.

You mention an interview, was it a behavioural interview that you failed, as opposed to the psychometric tests?

@CorrBlimeyGG

You mention an interview, was it a behavioural interview that you failed, as opposed to the psychometric tests?

Tbh, I was sent a written report at the end which didn’t specify - just gave an overall personality analysis which I assume was an amalgamation of both processes. Following the psychometric test, I was interviewed and asked about some of the results it revealed. For example, the test indicated I was happier working on my own which is puzzling as I very much enjoy group participation and having a colleague at my side. I gave examples of successful partnership workings and experiences whilst flying but presumably, the HR company didn’t feel they were strong enough.to counter their results.

Ive done a number of different psychometric tests over the years and never done one where results of an interview are combined as part of the actual test. Most tests are standardised, so I don't see how it would be possible.

Don't forget, there are no right or wrong answers with the tests, they might be indicating a preference. Just because the test indicated that you prefer to work alone, it doesn't mean that you aren't able to work successfully or enjoy working in a team. Or it could just be a learned behaviour from being in the pandemic and having limited opportunity to work in a team.

I'd recommend contacting the person who undertook the test and asking them to talk you through the results. Most assessors have to undertake training to do specific tests and how to feedback the results to people. It can be really unnerving to read a report about yourself which is different to how you may see yourself. Most assessors are should be happy to talk you through the results and factors which may have affected your results.

I don’t have experience of your industry but when I’ve interviewed candidates and we’ve used psychometric testing, we have not used the results as part of the interview process. They have been part of a matrix of outcomes which are matched against the desirable attributes/skills we want. So if a few things are negative, we would note it but it wouldn’t outweigh lots of positives where the applicant did meet the person spec or attributes we were looking for. It’s just a part of the process and shouldn’t outweigh other parts.

For example, is it appropriate (and maybe part of the test) to actively disagree with the interviewer and tell them they’ve got it wrong and challenge their conclusion? Can you be too honest in these type of assessments or should you ‘play the game’ and tell them what they want to hear? Not from your industry but we recruit for roles where the ability to challenge in a constructive way would be seen as a real asset. The manner in which you challenge could be "make or break" though and needs to be taken in the round. One of our Senior Managers challenged the value of a question he was being asked in an Interview and answered to an alternative he suggested...the HR person interviewing him was horrified, she didn't like it one bit - but I thought he was 100% right and he balanced out his challenge in the rest of the interview by demonstrating a real sense of humility. He got the job and he continues to challenge and get the best out of people, whilst freely admitting and working on his development areas - he is a superstar - people love working with him!