One of the questions we are repeatedly asked is "How do I prepare for a personality psychometric test?" There is good and bad news associated with this question.

The good news: Personality questionnaires measure what you enjoy doing and your personal style. So for instance, do you enjoy selling or don't you? Do you enjoy detail or are you more of a big picture person? So as you can see, there are no right or wrong answers. And there is no practice or revision that you need to do to improve your personality; as it is, what it is.

The employer will have a personality profile that will reflect the type of person whose style will be appropriate for the job in question and this will be what the employer will be looking for.

The bad news: There are usually anywhere from 100 to 450 questions that you are required to answer when completing a personality questionnaire. The test measures the consistency of your answers. So, if you start to pretend that you have a different personality, because you think that is what the employer is looking for, it is likely that you will forget how you have rated certain traits against others. As a result, your answers will look skewed and very inconsistent. This is called "faking it" and, it goes without saying, no employer wants someone who is dishonest!

The best advice therefore, is to be you and answer the questions honestly. This way we get back to the good news which is that you find yourself in a role that suits your personality and the employer is happy because they have someone who truly fits their requirements!

Post any other questions on psychometrics on our message board.

Meanwhile, if you are a new member of the 1st Step community – we are running a Mock Assessment afternoon at Harpenden Hotel on 20 March. Please click here to book this workshop or email us at contact@1st-step.co.uk for more information.