Curriculum Vitae/Resume
- Your CV should give a complete chronicle of what you have been doing in your Career in the past; in particular, what have you been doing over the past 10 years.
- It is up to you how you present the information; you should aim to make your qualifications and experience look outstanding.
- Your CV should only be 2 pages in length, unless you have had a lengthy Career, where you should only include information that is relevant to the job you are applying for.
- Tailor it for each application; each job application requires different things.
- There are many different CV types and ways to format them. You have to decide the best way to present yourself.
- Get as many people as you can to proof read it and check it for spelling and grammatical errors.
How to Deal with Ability/Aptitude Tests
The whole area of psychometric testing is a technically complex and often confusing one. Many people (including some who actually use tests professionally!) often misunderstand or misinterpret the terminology and procedures involved.
Most ability tests tend to share a number of characteristics:
2. There are usually right and wrong answers.
3. Your score is usually interpreted in comparison to the scores obtained by some other group e.g. the general population or graduates. Usually, you are not penalized for getting an answer wrong, other than not getting a mark for answering it correctly. 'Negative' scoring is very rare.
4. Ideally you should receive feedback, although logistical or practical issues may mean that this does not always happen. If you are invited to the next stage of selection, for example, an interview, then the results of the tests will usually be explained to you then. If not, then you could ask or write to see if you can receive feedback. Actual copies of test answer sheets etc will usually not be released to you.
Many of these points may seem like common sense, you should try to remember -
2. If you wear glasses or a hearing aid then take them along. If you have any disabilities tell the test administrator about them beforehand.
3. Eat breakfast. Research shows that skipping breakfast reduces intellectual performance (although it can be difficult to make yourself eat if you are very nervous!).
4. Test administrators follow a standard set of instructions. Don't be worried if they seem a little rigid or unfriendly - this is what they are supposed to be doing and it helps to ensure that everyone takes the test under exactly the same conditions.
5. Stay calm - arousal too can decrease intellectual functioning. Try to remember that ability tests usually measure underlying ability rather than overt knowledge. Even though something such as a numerical reasoning test may look very complex, the actual mathematics involved is likely to be very simple - do not be 'blinded by science'.
6. Reassure yourself that you cannot prepare for a psychometric test in the same way you can for a school examination - traditional revision is likely to be pointless. Although if you have an idea of what type of test to expect, for example, numerical ability, then you might practice writing some test questions yourself and then trying to answer them.
7. Try to picture what the session will be like. This program provides a close approximation to the three most commonly used ability tests, both in terms of item style and the time allowed to complete them.
8. Be systematic, try to work out a routine or system for analysing the test items.
9. Avoid 'skimming' to seek out obvious easy answers. This wastes time.
10. You will almost certainly be taken through a practice or instructions stage before the test proper. This will give you the chance to try one or two practice items, practice making you answers on the answer sheet, and ask questions of the administrator. Listen carefully to test instructions. Experienced test administrators often see candidates just 'switching off' for one reason or another during the instruction or practice phase and then struggle when it comes to the test itself.
11. Get the most out of the examples or practice session and do not be afraid to ask questions. If you need a little more time for practice, then ask for it. Although test administrators' instructions will often say something like - "Allow approximately five minutes for candidates to work through the practice examples," they should still take the time to ensure that everyone understands what is expected of them. Although there will come a time when they will simply ask you to begin the test proper.
12. If you have a certain amount of time to complete the psychometric test, try to work quickly through the questions, but do not despair if you do not finish the test, not all psychometric tests are designed to be finished!
If you know beforehand which type of test you will be taking then you could try writing some test items yourself. This is not as easy as it sounds but is an excellent method of preparation. Also remember that if one of the response options is 'none of these' or similar you will need to be extra careful. At least with five definite answers to choose from we can know that the right answer is in there somewhere.
Abstract Problem Solving/Reasoning Tests
Abstract reasoning is concerned with solving problems that are not verbal or numerical in nature. The items tend to take the form of a series of shapes or diagrams from which you have to pick the odd one out, or identify which would come next in the sequence from a set of alternatives. This is a very common type of test.
The ability being measured here is to do with how well a person can identify patterns and meaning from a mass of seemingly random or very complex information.
When completing abstract reasoning tests, be aware that there is only one clear answer.
In particular try to remember -
- The answer is very often simple or obvious.
- There is usually only one correct answer.
- Look for a common theme to every shape or pattern in the question. For example, is a small square the only shape common to them all, and if so is there another shape or position that appears with it four times out of five?
- Is there one characteristic which every option shares e.g. size, colour, position, and shape.
- Always look for other possible answers, as your first may not always be correct.
Verbal Reasoning Tests
This type of test typically involves items that measure grammar, spelling, language use or comprehension. Above all else it is important to read each question carefully. Concentrate on a single word or even letter at a time. We often skip from word to word and pick the general meaning of a sentence. When one is being asked to look at specific aspects in a sentence or set of words, then one does have to concentrate on individual words or even letters. This is something we may not be used to doing.
In particular try to remember:
- Strange as it may sound, the answer, which ‘looks’ right, may often be the correct one. We are good at recognizing whole words as patterns rather than individual letters. So, for instance, you may have previously seen the word spelt correctly, but may never have actually spelled it yourself.
- Read each word carefully. Sometimes similar sounding or similar looking words are put in to confuse you and add irrelevant 'noise'.
- If you are unsure of the meaning of a word, try eliminating the answers, which you know, are incorrect to reduce the response options open to you.
Numerical Reasoning Tests
Numerical ability looks at how well a person can reason with numbers, and may involve either straightforward mathematical calculation e.g. division or subtraction, or problems that require mathematical calculations to solve them.
In the case of numerical problem solving, the actual mathematics involved may be very simple, but you are being assessed on your knowledge of how to apply them.
In the case of numerical sequences, which ask you to identify a pattern, you should try to look for simple sequences first. For instance, do the numbers increase or decrease, do they seem to have common denominators, is there a sequence of positive or negative figures. Then begin looking for combinations e.g. add one, subtract two, add three, and so on.
In the case of items requiring multiplication or division you may be presented with very complex numbers. These may be an attempt to see how well you can look for the 'big picture'. Sometimes, seemingly impossible problems can be solved easily by applying some lateral thinking. Remember your basic mathematical principles; for example, anything divided or multiplied by zero is zero. Two even numbers multiplied by each other will produce another even number. Any number ending in zero that is multiplied by any other number will always produce another number ending in zero. A negative and positive number multiplied by each other will produce a negative number. Two negative numbers multiplied always produce a positive number, and so on.
Personality Questionnaires
Personality is a term which is commonly used in everyday language but which has been given a particular technical meaning by psychologists. When we discuss personality we must remember that it is not a single independent mechanism but closely related to other human cognitive and emotional systems.
What is personality not?
Before we go onto discuss what exactly personality is it might be useful to just consider what personality is not.
Personality is not the same thing as motivation, which is goal directed behaviour designed to satisfy needs, interests and aspirations. Motivation is related to personality in that while personality may represent the way we behave motivation represents the why. Exactly how the underlying motives of behaviour are conceptualised depends very much on the school of thought to which one belongs, for instance a humanist might see the motivation behind behaviour as coming from a desire to achieve ones full potential whereas a psychoanalyst might look for unconscious motivations.
Personality is not the same thing as culture, which is the values, attitudes, and beliefs we share with others about the nature of the world. Personality is not the same thing as ability (usually held to be synonymous with intelligence), which is the ability to identify, understand and absorb the different components of a problem. Then to identify the way they are related to each other and the logical consequence of these relationships to work out the next step.
