Psychological tests are conducted in almost every company during interviews. Tests like DISC, STAR, and others that assess a candidate’s essential skills are quite effective. But what if the recruiter has limited time for the interview or hasn’t had the opportunity to prepare thoroughly? In such cases, quick psychological tests can help determine the suitability of a candidate for a particular position.
Psychogeometric Test
To determine behavior traits and individual character features, use the psychogeometric test. In 2-3 minutes, you can assess the necessary competency for a candidate for any position.
How to Conduct: When conducting this test, the recruiter asks the candidate to arrange geometric shapes such as a square, rectangle, triangle, circle, and zigzag in any order. The most significant shape for the candidate is placed first, and the least appealing one is placed last.
Interpreting Results: The shapes preferred by the candidate reflect their strongly pronounced character traits.
Here’s the interpretation of the psychogeometric test results:
- Square: Punctual, organized, rule-abiding. Suitable for positions like secretary, accountant, engineer.
- Triangle: Aspires to power, hardworking, determined, self-confident. Suited for leadership roles, managers, top executives.
- Circle: Balanced, other-oriented, excellent communication skills, empathetic. Appropriate for roles such as psychologist, customer relationship manager, HR manager.
- Rectangle: Positive, initiative-taking, sometimes indecisive, non-confrontational, communicative. Suitable for positions like sales manager, customer relationship manager.
- Zigzag: Creative thinker, continuous learner, embraces change, possesses strong intuition. Suited for roles like designer, artist, creative professional.
Advantages of the test: It doesn’t require preparation from the recruiter and doesn’t consume much of the candidate’s time. Since the psychogeometric test is quite common, the candidate may know how to interpret the results, but, on the other hand, they cannot predict the specific psychotype you are looking for.
Disadvantages: This test does not reflect the complete picture of competencies and does not fully reveal the candidate’s psychotype. Moreover, its results can be influenced by many factors. Therefore, it is recommended to use this test in combination with others.
“The Favorite Color Test”
This test is ideal for assessing a candidate’s personality traits and identifying those that are relevant to a specific position. For example, if you are looking for a sales manager, the most effective candidate may be the one who prefers red and yellow colors.
To conduct this test, you’ll need to prepare 8 cards with the following colors: blue, green, red, yellow, purple, brown, gray, and black. The candidate should arrange these colors in descending order from the most pleasant to the least pleasant.
Interpreting the Results
Let’s break down what these colors and their order signify:
Blue: This color represents a need for emotional calm, inner harmony, and relaxation. Individuals who prefer blue tend to value order and stability, and they act in an organized manner. Blue enthusiasts are calm, inclined to trust people, and follow moral and ethical principles.
Candidates who place blue in the 6th, 7th, or 8th position might exhibit anxious behavior and prolonged inner tension, desiring to free themselves from burdensome obligations.
Green: Those who favor green aspire to improve living conditions, possess good logic and critical analysis skills, and seek recognition. They control not only their lives but also the lives of those around them, aiming to remain effective and necessary.
Opponents of green suffer from a lack of recognition and face difficulties overcoming obstacles in pursuit of their goals. The further down the list green is placed, the more candidates may demonstrate a desire for self-affirmation, a tendency towards criticism, and stubbornness.
Red: This color is loved by individuals with strong willpower and an active nature. They know what they want, live in the present, and almost always achieve their goals. “Reds” work successfully both in a team and independently. Those who reject this color may lack life energy.
Placing red at the bottom of the list might indicate a desire to protect oneself from anything that could go out of control and complicate the situation.
Yellow: Those who prefer yellow always move forward. They are ambitious, optimistic, and energize others. Similar to “greens,” they aim for high positions, but they do so in a more relaxed and restrained manner. Yellow is not favored by people who are going through a challenging period in their lives or who are naturally loners.
Rejecting yellow and placing blue at the top might signify a desire for peace and tranquility, a tendency to hold onto the familiar without embracing change.
Purple: Enthusiasts of purple are hardly considered realists. They enjoy captivating others, evoking admiration and awe. “Purples” need constant praise and react strongly to criticism, avoiding taking responsibility.
Opponents of purple are emotionally reserved and critical. They find it challenging to build truly close and enduring relationships with others.
Brown: Those who rank brown in the first and second positions value family comfort and safety. They possess a strong sense of belonging and need the physical feeling of well-being.
If brown is ranked from 5th to 7th, it doesn’t have significant implications for candidate assessment. However, if it occupies the 8th position, you are dealing with a typical individualist.
Gray: This color is often called colorless. It is neutral, just like the behavior of “gray” individuals. When it’s placed at the top, it indicates a desire to distance oneself from the rest of the world and remain unnoticed.
Those who rank gray at the bottom might be overly intrusive and curious. They consider this color dull, preferring other colors with specific stimuli and seizing any opportunity to achieve their goals.
Black: By its nature, black symbolizes denial and rejection. When black is in the first half of the list, it signifies protest against existing conditions and unreasonable rebellion against certain life circumstances. If black is in the second position, pay attention to the color that occupies the first. For example, having black and yellow in the top positions indicates a desire for dramatic changes that are meant to improve the current situation.
Placing black in the 8th position suggests a candidate’s inclination to retain control over their decisions and actions.
Please note that the Lüscher eight-color test has a detailed and in-depth interpretation. For more accurate results, it’s advisable to conduct it online.
Advantages: A person’s favorite color is often chosen at the subconscious level, making it difficult to provide socially desirable answers.
Disadvantages: It requires time for a detailed interpretation of the results. The test does not provide a 100% reflection of the candidate’s personality but can be used as an additional questionnaire.
Honesty Test
Another interesting and quick test used by managers in some large companies. It allows assessing a candidate’s courage and honesty.
Assessment of the Interviewer
At the end of the interview, HR specialists ask the candidate to rate their interviewer on a ten-point scale.
Interpreting the Results
The candidate’s response can reveal a lot about their personality. For example, flatterers
typically give a 10, while critics tend to give a 1. An objective assessment typically falls between 6 and 9, assuming the recruiter didn’t perform poorly in the interview.
Pros: In this test, candidates demonstrate their ability to combine courage and diplomacy by providing an honest response.
Cons: Candidates may still attempt to give a socially desirable answer.
When to Use Quick Tests?
If a recruiter, due to various circumstances, is unable to prepare a full-fledged questionnaire, quick tests can partially replace it and provide the necessary results. It’s important to remember that these psychological tests are not aimed at identifying specific competencies but rather provide information about the candidate’s overall personality. The results should ideally be confirmed by other assessments conducted in subsequent interview stages because, due to the prevalence of these tests, candidates may provide answers that align with what you want to hear.
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