20 of March, 2025

Do you want to improve your recruitment tools to select the best candidates? One of the most popular techniques are job psychotechnical tests.

These tests allow you to evaluate the aptitudes and skills of candidates to determine if they fit the job profile. As a recruiter, it’s important that you know these tests well to apply them correctly and streamline your personnel selection processes. So if you want to know more, stay with us!

What are psychotechnical tests?

The job psychotechnical tests are designed to measure certain aptitudes and personality traits. They assess the cognitive and non-cognitive skills of candidates for a job.

There are various types of job psychotechnical tests that measure aptitudes such as verbal, numeric, or spatial. There are also tests for logical reasoning, attention and retention. In addition, there are personality tests that analyze traits such as responsibility, sociability or adaptability.

These psychometric tests are applied during the processes of personnel recruitment to find the ideal candidate based on the profile sought. This way, they help to make better decisions and reduce costs in hiring.

Steps to propose psychotechnical evaluation tests

If you want to evaluate the aptitudes of your candidates, you need to properly plan the job psychotechnical tests. With good planning, they are a valuable tool to hire the right staff. Here we summarize the 5 basic steps for you to succeed in this process.

1. Type of aptitudes to evaluate

To evaluate your candidates, first you must determine what specific aptitudes you want to measure. Are you looking for verbal or numerical capabilities? Or perhaps personality traits like sociability or organization?

Define well the aptitudes to evaluate, as they will mark the choice of the ideal test for this process.

2. Test selection

There are job psychotechnical tests, standardized to measure skills such as verbal, numeric, spatial, logical and attention abilities.

Make sure to choose validated, standardized tests that are adapted to the culture of your country. They must have good reliability and validity to accurately measure the aptitudes you want to evaluate. Maybe you consider combining several of them in a certain process, everything is possible.

Also consider your budget, the time available to apply and score the tests, and the ease of use and interpretation of the results.

3. Choice of support

When choosing the support of your job psychotechnical test, you must carefully decide which one suits your candidates’ capabilities best. Keep this especially in mind if your candidates have very basic digital capabilities.

In addition, you will need to consider the easiest way to perform a subsequent analysis of the results obtained. If you opt for HR software, you can automate the collection and interpretation of results.

On the other hand, make sure that the instructions are clear and that they match with the selected support. Use a simple and direct language so that all candidates understand what is expected of them.

The test presentation is also important. Leave wide spaces to answer and clear numbering on each question or item. A good template allows to obtain objective and comparable results. With a careful selection of questions, you can evaluate multiple capabilities in a single test.

4. Test implementation

The implementation of the job psychotechnical tests must be standardized to ensure objective and comparable results among candidates.

You must ensure that the conditions of application are the same for everyone, in terms of time, space, instructions, etc.

It is recommended to carry out a pilot test with some participants to detect possible faults in the procedure before the definitive evaluation.

The results of this implementation will be the basis for decision-making in the selection process.

5. Results analysis

Once you have applied the job psychotechnical tests, it’s time to analyze the results. You should review each test individually to determine the performance of the candidates in the different aptitudes evaluated.

Then, compare the results among the candidates to identify those with the highest potential. Look for similarities in the strengths and weaknesses of each participant. This will allow you to select the most suitable applicants for the position. And if you want to speed up the process, you can use tools like Artificial Intelligence in HR.

Finally, combine the test results with the interviews and references to get a comprehensive view of each candidate. This way, you can make the right decision based on more quantifiable data and choose the applicant who best suits the job profile.

Types of psychotechnical tests

There are different types of job psychotechnical tests that can be applied to evaluate the aptitudes of candidates in a selection process. We will explain the most commonly used ones below.

1. Personality test

The personality tests seek to evaluate personality traits, such as extroversion, responsibility, emotional stability, friendliness and openness to new experiences.

These job psychotechnical tests usually include questions about preferences, beliefs, values, usual reactions and ways of thinking.

When choosing a personality test, consider which competencies or traits you want to measure in the candidates. For example, for a sales position, you might evaluate extroversion and friendliness.

2. Verbal aptitude

To evaluate the verbal aptitude of candidates, you can use various types of tests such as reading comprehension tests or oral tests.

These types of psychotechnical tests of verbal aptitude are useful to measure important skills like communication, reasoning, and verbal fluency in candidates.

When evaluating the results, both the number of correct answers and the time spent should be considered.

3. Numeric aptitude

To evaluate the numeric aptitude of candidates, you can choose a typical numeric test. It consists of a series of math problems with increasing difficulty that the candidate must solve in a limited time. Keep in mind that you should adjust the difficulty according to the level required by the position.

The numeric aptitude tests measure the ability to reason with numbers, perform mental calculations and estimates, understand quantitative relationships and apply basic mathematical concepts. Some examples of questions you can include are:

Problems of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Calculation of percentages and proportions.
Reading and interpreting tables, charts, and statistics.
Estimation of results.

The results of these tests will allow you to determine the level of numerical ability of each candidate and if they have the required competencies for the position. In addition, they will help you identify areas for improvement in which you can offer training.

4. Spatial aptitude

The spatial aptitude tests measure the ability to visualize and manipulate objects in the mind. These tests usually present drawings of three-dimensional shapes and ask the candidate to imagine them rotated or upside down.

These job psychotechnical tests serve to evaluate thinking in three dimensions and coordination between sight and hands. Spatial skills are useful for many careers, such as architecture, graphic design, carpentry, or any manual work.

5. Logical reasoning

The logical reasoning tests measure the ability to solve abstract problems. These exams present a series of logical patterns that candidates must complete.

Some common examples of logical reasoning tests are:

Numerical series.
Analogies.
Logic problems.

To succeed, candidates will have to recognize relationships between concepts and objects, and apply basic logical principles like deduction, induction, and abstraction.

6. Attention, concentration and retention

When evaluating the attention, concentration and retention of your candidates, there are several job psychotechnical tests you can implement.

You can assess the ability to focus on a task for an extended period. You can also ask them to perform two simple tasks simultaneously.

The important thing is that the tests are brief, well designed and effectively measure the skills you want to evaluate in candidates.

Test examples

When it comes to choosing the job psychotechnical tests to evaluate your employees, you have many options.

Below, we present some examples of evaluation tests widely used in the field of psychology and human resources:

Myers-Briggs Indicator (MBTI): is one of the most well-known personality tests. It helps identify a person in terms of extroversion or introversion, perception or judging, thinking or feeling, and sensing or intuition.
DISC Assessment: is especially valuable for understanding how individuals interact in the work environment. It divides people into four main profiles.
Cognitive Intelligence Test (IC): measures an individual’s cognitive skills, such as verbal and numerical reasoning and processing speed.
Saville & Holdsworth Limited Questionnaire (SHL): they offer a range of tests designed to measure various competencies, from verbal and numerical abilities to job-specific skills.
Moss Test: this test is used to evaluate an individual’s emotional intelligence and social skills.
16 Personality Factors (16PF): is a personality assessment tool that is based on 16 different personality traits.
Cleaver Test: is a tool designed to evaluate critical thinking skills and decision-making.

These are just some of the job psychotechnical tests to support decision-making in human resources management. Each of these tests has its own focus and applicability, so select the one that best suits your needs.

Improve your recruitment with Sesame HR

If you want to find the best professionals for your company, you need the right personnel selection software. Our goal is to ensure the hiring of people who fit well with your culture and values.

So if you want to know more about how the HR software of Sesame HR can simplify your processes, stay in our resources section. We look forward to seeing you!

Professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in various areas of Human Resources (Recruitment, Training, Occupational Risk Prevention, and Personnel Management). Experience in the Management Department: Broad understanding of the company and HR.

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cristinamartin

HR Content Specialist

How to design psychometric tests to evaluate workers