Every so often we get people asking about how psychometrics work. This will often be accompanied with some element of doubt, and understandable discomfort about using them to make recruitment decisions.

While it can sometimes be difficult to measure the tangible benefits of implementing any new software, HR teams are increasingly being required to justify their investments and have a good idea of an expected ROI.

We used to hear clients worry about this one a lot, and I can see why some companies would be concerned, as it is a common misconception among candidates that psychometric assessments are designed to catch them out or trick them in some way. People think they are too hard and loom dauntingly over the application process, which could perhaps even motivate a candidate to cheat... but we’ve already busted that myth in a previous blog.

As business psychologists we hear this question a lot. People often worry that candidates can easily tweak their responses to a personality questionnaire to appear in a way that they think will be more desirable, or they can get a friend to complete their ability tests to get a higher score. Similarly, candidates believe that these tests are pitted against them, and that the only possible way to get through them is to cheat.