Stephanie Jones - Psychological Testing: The essential guide to using and surviving the most popular recruitment and career development tests

The idea behind this book came from my work in researching and writing about various aspects of the corporate human resources world. Over the last few years I have looked in some detail at executive search and selection, interim management and outplacement, all of which make use of psychological testing as a tool to help match people to particular jobs and career opportunities. Psychological testing is increasingly common in the workplace. As a result, I wanted to find out more about it, especially about the different tests, how they are used and what they reveal.

However, all the books that I could find about occupational psychology, and psychological and psychometric testing, were written by professional psychologists, and seemed full of technical jargon and incomprehensible detail. These books were largely about models and theories of personality. They referred occasionally to specific tests, but without explaining what they were like, either from the point of view of the person being tested, or the user of tests.

If you knew you would have to undergo psychological tests in order to be selected for a job, or as part of an appraisal for promotion or transfer, wouldnt you want to know what the tests might entail? If you had not done a test before, you might feel at a disadvantage to someone who had.

Similarly, personnel managers or human resources directors without a background in psychology may be interested in using psychological tests, but have hesitated in the past through lack of knowledge. Many employers know very little about the range of tests available and depend either on second-hand recommendations or opt for the most commonly used tests without an awareness of the alternatives. Training courses are available but may be inconvenient, time-consuming or expensive.

I would like to emphasise that Psychological Testing for Managers is absolutely not the last word on the subject, but is an introduction for the non-psychologist, both as testee and user. It looks at a selection of the most commonly used tests in non-technical language and in a novel format, explaining what the tests involve, when they should be used, and how they can be combined with other tests to give a well-rounded picture of a potential employees strengths and weaknesses.

I have also tried to give the reader a feel for what it is like to do these tests. To achieve this, I have taken all the tests myself, and with some I have explained the nature of the feedback in terms of my own results. After the final test, I was told that I was suffering from test-overload, and that the value of doing any more was now limited so I would not recommend any individual to do more than a few tests in close succession.

One of my first experiences of professional writing more than 10 years ago was as a restaurant critic, and sometimes Ive jokingly referred to this book as The Egon Ronay Guide to Psychological Testing. I certainly hope it will introduce you to the variety and the benefits of psychological testing, whether you are a potential user of tests, or have or expect to have experience of them as a candidate for a job or promotion.

If Psychological Testing for Managers creates a feeling of familiarity with the concepts, banishes anxiety, allows for critical comparison and provokes interest in the wider subject of occupational psychology, then this books goals will have been achieved.