Psychological Testing - The essential guide to using & surviving the most popular recruitment and career development tests - Stephanie Jones
Reviewed by Valerie Dwyer - Serial Entrepreneur, Coach, Mentor, Inspirational Speaker, founder of My Wonderful Life Coach?, Everything is Possible?, and other enterprises. http://www.mywonderfullifecoach.co.uk
People are one of the biggest business investments. So, if there were tests to significantly improve your chances of being right you?d want to know all about them ? wouldn?t you? Get all the help you can to substantially improve your own prospects and to find the right people! Don?t leave it to chance!
Want help to avoid ?round pegs into square holes?? Whether you want to match, or be matched, to specific jobs and career/development opportunities the ?know thyself? mantra could not be more appropriate in today?s competitive arenas. Be at least well-informed, read the book and make up your own mind.
Psychological Testing is exactly what it says on the cover. It delivers an invaluable working understanding for Boards, ?HR?, management, leaders, team builders, students, career developers and much more?to achieve the best fit and maximise potential. Whether you?re keen to get to the top yourself or want to find the right people for your business, neither of which is especially easy, you will benefit from reading!
So popular, this second updated and enhanced edition from an exceptionally qualified and experienced author comes 17 years after the first, which is still in daily use! Stephanie shares her personal experience and wealth of knowledge about off and online testing, a selection of the most commonly used tests with categories that focus especially on intelligence and personality assessments. In non-technical language she explains what each test involves; when to use and how to combine with other tests to reveal a rounded picture of someone?s strengths and weaknesses. Importantly, you?ll get a real flavour of what it is like to do the test yourself, in the words of someone who has been there, and done that.
You may be familiar with some of the most established and respected tests, including Watson Glaser Critical Thinking; Raven?s Progressive Matrices; Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Belbin?s Team Role Model Test ? all are still widely used. You are taken through 14 of the most popular which are analysed and reported in detail. Fascinating, but understandable, to see the DMT described as ?mind-blowing? of all the tests in this book ? but when you read the specific details ? it is clear to see why?Most helpfully, words with specific meanings within the psychological testing discipline are highlighted the first time they appear, and explained in the glossary.
Importantly, the format for each test section is comprehensive. This includes:- background to the test; aims of the test; the range of applications; doing the test; content example; time needed to do; time to score; time for feedback; format/structure of feedback; value to employer/user; value to employee/person tested; value to user organisation; can test results be deliberately falsified; advantages and disadvantages over other tests; tests these may be combined with; static/predictive values; overall review; how to prepare for this test and whether the test will produce a different result over time. That?s COMPREHENSIVE!
User-friendly for the non-specialist. Clear focus on practical use beneficial to the first-timer. Check the scenarios, there?s sure to be one for you. A useful learning tool for a small business taking on people for the first time. When you have ambitions to develop, people are key! There?s also a timely warning for potential users and helpful perspectives from ?Testees? and ?Users?.
Matching people to company culture is nowhere more important than in a small business aspiring to grow! It rubs off! With hindsight, I see that I?ve been really ?lucky? with my own intuition from my early days as an employer over 20 years ago. ?Attitude? is paramount for me because skills can be taught. I also placed high importance on practical tests. From one employee up to 6 in a short period of time was a steep learning curve. By happy accident we developed a cohesive team that looked out for each other! My first ever employee writes to me from Brazil that she has started her own import/export and translation businesses! My second, whom I funded through accountancy training, became a successful property developer. I digress, in wondering if entrepreneurial skills rub off - stories for another time!! It?s amazing what the right people will do though ? in their element and provided with opportunities.
For ability to make a complex subject simple and user-friendly - Highly recommended
