Importance of Psychological Testing in the Recruitment Process

When we begin reading a novel, we quickly learn the characters' names and maybe a little bit about them. Similar to when we first meet a candidate, we learn their name and a little bit about them. At this stage in the book, we don’t really know the characters. As the book progresses, we learn more about the character, their behaviour and how they respond in certain situations. When the character is presented with a problem, some of us may be able to guess how the character will tackle it. Or sometimes through their behaviours and interactions we can foresee a problem before it occurs. Have you ever thought that some of this sort of knowledge about a person would be good to know before hiring them?

Wouldn’t it be nice to know how a person will deal with certain things? Or if they have “drive” in their work?

We’d recommend some behavioural questions during an interview. Sure, questions around direct experience are good to know, however, questions about how one might respond or what their ‘behaviour’ might be in a certain situation might benefit you also.

Think along the lines of: ‘How do you feel about learning a brand-new system from scratch, with training provided?’ This could give you some insight into how a person deals with new things. Or ‘Give an example of a time accuracy in a spreadsheet really mattered, what happened if a number was off?’ This could give a good indication of how one might respond when a situation doesn’t go as planned or even how they might respond to making a mistake.

When we complete our hiring process as employers, anyone within the business wants it to be a success. Just as most of us want to finish a book feeling happy that things are progressing well in the character's world. Just as an author fills in more information on a person as the book progresses, you too want to make sure you have the information you need to make the right decision for your business.