The Complete Guide To Aptitude Tests

These tests assess a candidate’s ability to identify errors and assess the correctness of information.

Personality Tests

Cognitive Ability

Spatial Awareness

How are the tests structured?

Prior knowledge

Online or on paper

Multiple choice

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How are aptitude tests scored?

• There is no passing score for most aptitude tests. Your numerical test result is calculated relative to that of other people applying for the same role or similar roles.
• This allows employers to learn how good your aptitude skills are in comparison to other candidates.
• Occasionally tests will use negative marking. This means that incorrect answers will produce a negative score. Find out if your test uses negative marking before you start the test.

How do you prepare for a test?

Practice in advance

There is no substitute for practice. Try as many questions as you can before sitting your assessment, to learn which questions you tend to get wrong, and the types of responses required.

Test preparation

Make sure you get a good night’s sleep before the test day. Make sure you arrive on time, listen to the instructions and ask questions if anything is unclear. You will normally be given some paper on which to make rough workings.

Plan your time

Don’t get stuck on one question. Work out roughly how much time you have per question before you start each test. Try a question, don’t guess. You can always come back to the question if you have time left at the end.

Taking the test

• Divide your time per question as accurately as possible. It will be typically 60 seconds per question.
• Focus on the areas you find hardest, focus the majority of your time on these questions.
• Further to this don’t simply guess, the more practice you undertake the easier you’ll find it to make educated guesses.

Maintain a positive mental attitude, think of your aptitude test as an opportunity to demonstrate your ability and outcompete other applicants, not as an onerous mandatory task.

Your competitors will be fully prepared so you must be too. Don’t fool yourself and think you don’t need to practice as many questions as possible.

Our top 5 practice tips

These five tips are well worth remembering before you take an aptitude test for real:

1. 1 Practice as many aptitude tests as you can beforehand.
2. 2 Make sure you make a note of how much time you have and roughly how long you should be spending on each question.
3. 3 If you get stuck, don’t let the clock run down, move on, you might find the next question easier and you’ll pick up more marks by moving on.
4. 4 Use a good calculator. Make sure you are familiar with the calculator you’re using. The quicker you are with your calculator the higher you will score.
5. 5 Get used to working on paper. We recommend using a big A4 sheet as you’ll have enough room to do your workings.

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