Psychometric Testing in the Employee Selection Process

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Pros and Cons of Psychometric Testing

According to Harrison (2016), thirty-nine percent of American companies conduct personality tests when hiring new employees (para. 1). Despite that in Australia the rate is lower, personality testing is becoming widely popular. In the employee selection process, many types of psychometric tests are used. However, when selecting a candidate for the position of an HR Manager, employees are likely to use personality tests, numerical, verbal, and abstract reasoning tests (Institute of Psychometric Testing, n.d., para. 2).

Despite the fact that such tests can be effective, there are some disadvantages that may show that psychometric tests should be subjected to more scrutiny than they currently are. For example, as mentioned by Spillane (2012), psychometric tests do not examine the actual performance of a professional; instead, they measure aspects of one’s personality (para. 2). Such tests are unable to measure inner experiences, which leads to dishonesty on the part of the respondent. On the other hand, psychometric tests give employers a rough idea about the potential employee and offer some objective data. Such tests are useful for measuring one’s intelligence, critical reasoning, and personality profile (Page, n.d., para. 4), which are vital for an employer to make a decision in a hiring process.

Cases of Ms. Stevens and Mr. Hwang do not call for psychometric tests. Given their broad experience in managing, it is evident that both of them can bring value to the company. I will advise conducting a series of separate interviews to get more knowledge about how they communicate and what innovative solutions to the company’s HR problems they can offer. Instead of passing psychometric tests, Ms. Stevens and Mr. Hwang should be asked practical questions about the nature of the business so that the employer’s decision will be based on valuable knowledge and skills rather than on psychometric data.