10th July 2020
Can we acknowledge that many of our career decisions are often steered by what our friends and family members have to say? They know us so well through the years that makes them inclined towards suggesting what careers will suit us in the long run. However, it can sometimes turn erroneous since most of these suggestions may be the result of their own perceptions about us and beliefs, or what looks primarily attractive and predictable. Considering these, we might eventually “fall” into a career, where our specialization in the final year of our degree is the determining factor of the job we get. Few years into the job, we might start questioning, are we at the right place? We spend the first 6 months in rationalization, the next 3, fitting into the company and after a first bad annual review, we realize we might need a job switch. Imagine the amount of time we could save there!
This is where Psychometric Assessments can help take better decisions - based on the true, objective potential of an individual and not subjective opinions or biased assumptions. So, what are these psychometric assessments really?
The word Psychometrics refers to the science of designing the metrics in the form of objective and standardized, quantitative tools for assessing psychological trends. Psychometric tests are quick, convenient, reliable measurement tools for evaluating Attitude (Personality, Behaviour, Motivation) and Ability (Cognition and Reasoning). They can be self-report tests and situational tests of judgement which can help determine your inclination and orientation towards a job or workplace, based on your personality, interests and motivation.
Let us say you want to find out whether a person can excel in a job that requires a high level of collaboration with people. One way is to wait and observe how they perform at work for days, assessing how they think and perceive their environment, how they connect with people and ultimately get work done. But this exercise is highly subject to one’s own biases too, for we may depend on thumb rules of assuming behaviour. The other way is to take a quicker, reliable approach – using a psychometric test can instantly provide results with precision and accuracy.
It is said, untouched by kind of reliable and predictable measures of success with a career choice, the average Indian youth is wasting 2-3 years of their education in the wrong direction! With increased awareness in the average household about career options that yield not only stability and security but also satisfaction, excellence, a sense of purpose and daily motivation, more and more youngsters are encouraged to take psychometric tests. Often used as diagnostic tools by educationists and career counsellors to offer counsel, backed by credible data about students, psychometric tests have been used widely in India now. As a student, you are encouraged to choose life goals early, hone the required talent because this is the perfect time to fuel your growth, build aspirations around areas of interest and attain clarity of intent with every step you take towards career selection. With a battery of assessments, you can better plan a career that is fulfilling and motivating and enter professions that you will be delighted about. Career counselling guided by psychometric assessments is geared towards identifying the hidden professional skills and talent inside you.
If you are a young professional looking for a successful career change, you need to gauge fitment with various aspects of a job and psychometric tests can help to get an idea about your skill sets, ambitions, and aspirations. However, the idea is to save time on all that prediction. One person can be good at leadership skills and another could be good in calculations, and yet, both would be unaware of that. If we get to know about these traits in the beginning, then it can help tremendously in making several career choices that will indirectly impact other aspects of life.
To know where you fit, take the test.
To know your culture fitment with a type of company, try out the test.
Using psychometric tests at the right points in career decision making can save one from early career derailment, by a time-to-time evaluation of your performance in college or at work. Delaying important decisions on upskilling for quicker growth can waste a lot of good time. Choosing careers based on family recommendations can lead to disconnection with your long-term life goals in future. Since these tools are developed after strong research and customer understanding, they are the best way to objectify the measures that are supposed to be non-measurable. It is therefore imperative to take the help of these and pace up the next course of action in one’s career