Ability Tests

Ability (or aptitude) tests may be designed to test your general intelligence, or they may be focused to test specific skills such as abstract reasoning or your numerical, spatial or verbal abilities. The exact type that you may encounter will usually depend on the type and seniority of the post you have applied for. The three major forms of ability tests used for testing job candidates are described in more detail below.

1. Abstract Reasoning

This test measures your ability to acquire and assimilate new concepts and ideas with existing knowledge. The test usually requires you to find similarities and differences within groups of patterns.

2. Numerical Reasoning

This test measures your ability to deal with numerical information in a variety of formats. You will be presented with some information in a number of different ways, such as tables text or graphs, followed by a series of related questions.

3. Verbal Reasoning

This test measures your ability to rapidly extract relevant information from written sources and to make an objective judgement on the basis of that information. You will be given a series of short passages, each of which is accompanied by a number of statements relating to the information or arguments it contains. You will have to mark down whether you think that statement is true, false, or that you have not been given enough information to make a decision. When undertaking this type of test, make sure that you assume what is written in the passage is true, even if you know that this is not the case in reality.

Results

When your ability tests are marked, your score will be compared to a large sample of people who have taken the assessment previously. The organisation is usually interested in correlating your test performance to other people who have a relevant background for the role in question - do you perform in the top 25%, the bottom 25% or is your performance average?