How to Win at Aptitude Tests Vol II
This practical guide for succeeding in aptitude tests, which are increasingly being used to test applicants for jobs and academic courses, offers general information (benefits, drawbacks, use of tests) in addition to many examples of themed tests with recommended answers and explanations.This practical guide for succeeding in aptitude tests, which are increasingly being used to test applicants for jobs and academic courses, offers general information (benefits, drawbacks, use of tests) in addition to many examples of themed tests with recommended answers and explanations. It is an essential aid for anyone faced with an aptitude or psychometric test – particularly one that can make the difference between getting a job or losing it!
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How to Win at Aptitude Tests
Volume II
By
Iain Maitland
Contents
1 Understanding Aptitude Tests
3 Non-verbal Ability Questions
Continuing a Series of Symbols
Continuing a Series of Numbers
Whether you are looking for a new job or for a promotion, you may find yourself being asked to take an aptitude test. Not surprisingly, you will want to know as much as possible about these tests. What are they? What do they involve? How can I prepare properly, and succeed? This book answers these questions, and many more.
Chapter 1 ‘Understanding Aptitude Tests’ discusses why tests are used during recruitment, transfer and promotion procedures, and sets out with examples the different types of test that exist, paying particular attention to those for verbal, non-verbal, numerical and spatial ability. It also explains how to prepare for these tests, which mainly involves practising on similar materials under comparable test conditions, and how to sit them successfully.
Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 look at each of the leading types of aptitude questions in turn: verbal, non-verbal, numerical and spatial ability. The key characteristics of those questions are detailed and supported by as wide a range of examples as you are likely to face. You can read through these questions for information purposes or even use them as mock tests, subsequently referring to the answers that follow. It is up to you.
Chapter 6 lists the answers to all of the questions that were given in Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5. These answers and, where appropriate, the accompanying explanations not only help you to solve the questions but also to gain a better understanding of them. Read this chapter carefully.
Written in a down-to-earth, authoritative style and supported by illustrations, model questions and answers, tactical tips and chapter summaries, this book contains everything you need to know about aptitude tests, and more. It makes essential reading for anyone who wants to be offered that job, transfer or promotion.
So what exactly is an ‘aptitude test’? In theory, it can be defined as ‘a process whereby a person’s general intelligence and/or specific abilities are assessed objectively under controlled conditions’. In practice, it usually involves a person sitting at a desk providing written answers to a set number of multiple-choice questions in a relatively short period of time. Such tests are used with increasing frequency nowadays, as part of firms’ recruitment, transfer and promotion procedures. If you are going to have to tackle an aptitude test (or a series of tests) then you must discover as much as possible about them – in particular, why they are used, the different types of aptitude test that exist, and how to prepare for and sit them successfully.
All types of businesses – large and small, and across many and varied trades and industries – now utilize aptitude tests to help them select the right people for jobs within their organizations. The reasons why tests are used more and more often these days can be understood by considering their benefits. Aptitude tests have drawbacks, too, which we shall also examine.
Benefits
Tests offer several benefits both to the firm incorporating them within their procedures, and to the candidates who sit them. Primarily, they act as an aid when making the selection decision. The recruitment process in most companies normally comprises a similar sequence of steps – application forms are sent out, completed, returned and appraised; interviews are conducted between candidates and a personnel manager (or whoever is responsible for filling the particular job); and referees’ names and details are given, and references taken up before the final decision is made. Tests simply produce additional, and perhaps different, information to be taken into account – and the more information that is available, the better the final decision is likely to be.
Aptitude tests are also objective. The results are compared with ‘averages’ based on the performances of hundreds, or even thousands, of other people who have completed them in the past. Too often, application forms are screened, interviews are conducted and references are read subjectively, with information being interpreted according to personal opinion, and even likes and dislikes. Clearly, a reasoned, scientific approach to selecting people for jobs should generate more accurate and reliable results.
