Testing

Often when we tell a candidate that the next stage of the interview process, is testing, it strikes fear into the heart of many. This is often referred to as psychometric testing which is a field of study of educational and psychological measurement. You may have heard of Myers-Briggs, MMPI, Pop test etc. There are thousands of tests available and some companies administer the test before the interview to weed out candidates. The test could be a 20 minute online test or a full day test with an industrial psychologist. What companies want to do is to see whether there is a fit with the sales candidate’s ability and the job and/or organization. Often they want to see if there is a personality fit.

What many sales candidates try to do is guess what the employer is looking for. This may be good when working with your customers; it may be self-defeating in the test. The employer is looking for soft skills, sales skills and personality fit. Another thing that employers are looking for in sales candidates is your sales call reluctance and leadership ability. No test is perfect and there has been much criticism of such tests but they seem to be here to stay.

My advice when faced with a test, long or short is to get rest, try and do it in a positive relaxed frame of mind and take the time necessary to complete it. Most importantly, be truthful. You would not want to lie yourself through a test, get the job then later learn that the job and work environment does not suit your personality. The goal is to have a match made in heaven; so to speak.

Happy selling
D