Job seekers who pass the screening and the preliminary interview are called for tests. Different types of tests may be administered, depending on the job and the company. Generally, tests are used to determine the applicant’s ability, aptitude and personality. Ability tests (also called achievement tests) assist in determining how well an individual can perform tasks related to the job. An excellent illustration of this is the data entry test given to a prospective employee for a secretarial job. An aptitude test helps determine a persons potential to learn in a given area. An example of such a test is the General Management Aptitude Test (GMAT) which many business students take prior to gaining admission to a graduate business school programme.
Personality tests are given to measure a prospective employee’s motivation to function in a particular working environment.
There are various tests designed to assess a candidate’s personality. The Bernsenter Personality Inventory for example, measures one’s self-sufficiency, neurotic tendency, sociability, introversion and extroversion, locus of control, and self-confidence. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) assesses an individual’s achievements and motivational levels. Other personality tests, such as the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), the Thurstone Temperament Survey (TTS), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality (MMPI), and Guilford Zimmerman Temperament Survey, have been designed to assess specific personality traits.
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