Psychometric Tests

In the current job market, being invited to a job interview almost always entails taking psychometric tests. The two main elements in psychometric testing consist of – personality tests and aptitude (IQ) tests.

Personality Tests

Personality tests are the most mystifying element of the selection process. Most people don’t know much about them.

One of the main reason personality tests are used is that they provide insight that is often lacking in the interview process. Unlike the interview, personality tests are both more objective and more resilient to the assessors’ biases. This is a clear advantage for you, the test-taker. It means that you’ll face the personality test without any judgmental bias from others.

Bad Advice: “Just Be Yourself”.

The worst advice you’ll ever get before taking a personality test is,

“On the day of the test, just be yourself”.

It assumes that if job candidates behave as they normally do during the job selection process, it will increase their chances of success. According to this philosophy, if you’re generally a shy person you should be shy during the job interview and selection tests, and if you’re impulsive by nature you should answer impulsively on the test.

Our day-to-day behavior is strongly influenced by the situation we’re in. The nature of the situation influences our stress level, which in turn has an impact on our behavior. For example, you can be intolerant in one stressful situation but courteous in another. Which side of your personality do you want to show on the test?

Our experience at Job Test Prep, gained from preparing thousands of job applicants tells us that the recommendation to “just be your self” is potentially harmful. On the day of the test you should emphasize your strengths, not your weaknesses. A spontaneous “natural” response is not necessarily the best one, neither in life nor on a selection test. For example, if your boss has treated you rudely at work, telling him or her off would likely be a foolish mistake that might cost you your job. It’s usually best to swallow the insult, cool down and approach the situation in a more rational manner later on.

The rule is the same during a selection test – do the smart thing and be calculated.

Be honest but sensible.

Imagine that the personality test was a conversation with your boss: would you tell him/her everything about your personal life? The personality test is not the forum to mention hidden fears, doubts or occasional mood swings. In the personality test you should express honest, work-related behavior. Ultimately, that’s the only thing the assessors are really interested in.

During the test you need to be calculated, focused and determined to do well. Be honest, but be sensible.

Learn, practice and familiarize your self with personality tests – the more you know the better your chances of success!

Aptitude Tests

Aptitude tests fall into three broad skill categories: verbal, numerical and abstract (or diagrammatic). Additional skills are assessed in specific fields and for specific positions.

Can we develop our aptitude skills?

Some academics argue that it’s impossible to prepare for abstract reasoning tests because they are based on innate abilities. This is not something that should be accepted at face value.

Your chances of doing well on any test increase if you:

- are familiar with the test format and type of questions asked.

- practice solving aptitude questions.

- improve your verbal and numerical skills – your crystallized intelligence.

- learn the key rules that underpin each test, and practice effective strategies for dealing with specific question types.

There are over a thousand different aptitude tests on the market. However, because there are only a few major publishers that develop these tests, while they may vary slightly in format and in appearance there is very little variation in the types of questions. When you prepare for these tests you should focus on the essence, format and type of questions on the test. It would be a waste of your precious time to concentrate on a specific set of questions. Even if you ended up taking the same test that you prepared for, the questions would likely be different and only the format the same.

You have the ability to improve your performance dramatically. Our experience at Job Test Prep has taught us that 80% of the people who practice thoroughly pass the selection process. On the other hand, only 15% of those who come unprepared complete the selection process successfully.

The key to success is in your hands. With enough practice, you should feel confident and relaxed on the day of the test.

Psychometric Advantage Testing provides a resource base from which you can find the right providers for psychometric tests and testing services, authoritative advice on how to complete a psychometric test, and a growing knowledge base that you can refer to to find out more about this powerful job-matching tool.

One of the major mistakes common job seekers make is to search only the super job search engines. Admittedly more job openings are posted on the super job search engines, but in the mean time, the employers who use the supper sites will also receive much more applications for the posted position. A large portion of job bank traffic is generated by job seekers, not employers, therefore the higher a job site’s traffic is, the more competitive the positions are. Additionally, many employers, especially those smaller companies, are posting only to second tire job banks for various reasons, some to reduce the influx of applications, some for a better posting plan, some to retrain applicants to local area.

Step 1 – Search Meta Job Search Engines

You can jump start your job search using the meta job search engines, which will simultaneously check multiple job boards. No meta search engines covers all the job banks, and different meta search engines supports different job banks. There are two types of meta search engines, respectively Link Engine and Listing Engine. The Link Meta Search Engines save you time in entering search criteria, so that you simply enter keyword, choose region and categories once, and then get cooked links for various job banks. The Listing Engine goes one step forward, will present all the job listings, so that you needn’t pay a visit to each individual job bank. The third type of job search engine is special Meta Job Search Engine Software that not only searches the job, but also assists in composing cover letter and resume sending.

Step 2 – Post Your Resume to Job Banks

Most websites request job seekers to post resume in order to apply online, and to post your resume to all websites is a frustrating task. You can either perform the task manually, or use Resume Posting services, which do the job for you. However, Resume Posting Service is different from resume broadcasting service, which broadcasts your resume directly to recruiters.

Step 3 – Experience as Many Job Banks as Possible to Select Your Job Banks

Meta Job Search Engines only deal with some of the popular job banks. A job seeker should try as many job banks as possible, and then conclude which web sites are more effective for you. There are quite a few less known job banks with outstanding job postings. You don’t necessarily have to use all the resources all the time, but at the beginning you should try different resources so that you known which ones works better for you particular occupation, region and experience level.

ExpatHiring.com is the most convenient and effective way to find expat employment. With the biggest source of expatriate jobs, overseas career advice and job searching tools for expats, international students and multilingual jobseekers, they are the first choice when it comes to international recruitment.

“Careers in Geography” (four-page brochure) Guide to Geography Programs in the Americas 2005-2006

Both items can be ordered from the AAG Publications Division. Email: puborder@aag.org.

AAG also has a list of college and university geography departments in North America.

The University of Colorado at Boulder maintains a Virtual Geographer with links to geography departments at universities and colleges around the world.

Career opportunities at the National Geographic Society for persons with a background in geography are found primarily in our editorial research and cartography departments and in our geography education program. Staff members here are engaged in a broad range of activities promoting research and exploration, working with educators to improve the teaching of geography, and publishing geographical materials, including magazines, books, maps, films, and educational products, for both the school market and the general public. To produce these materials National Geographic employs writers, editors, computer specialists, researchers, artists, designers, and cartographers. Training in the discipline of geography is beneficial in all of these specialties. You can find all opportunities on our Jobs site.

1. Becoming a freelance graphic designer.

You can find many opportunities in freelance Web design and graphic design. Many freelancers are hired as production support assistance. Many graphic designers are hired to help support specific projects. You also have a chance of becoming a freelance art director. Freelance advertising art directors have become common in the industry. Almost every type of design operation uses freelancers. You can get a job freelancing at an in-house art department, or an independent design studio that is looking for freelancers to help with projects.

2. The graphic design industry relies on freelance power.

On both a creative and production level, the graphic design industry relies heavily on skilled freelancers. Highly-skilled freelancers demand higher hourly rates. Even if you are less experienced as a freelance Web designer, the freelance market is a great way to break in and educate yourself about the industry. Many young graphic artists use the freelance industry to sample different work conditions, jobs, and so on. In many cases, designers prefer to work with other freelancers. This is because they’re not locked into the same routine schedule.

3. Transitioning from freelancer to a business owner.

Transitioning between a freelance graphic designer and a graphic designer who owns his or her own business is not as difficult as you might imagine. Freelancing is a great way to establish rapport with clients and to build a solid client base. Freelancers who have worked with many different clients have a better chance of moving to this next professional stage. If you have loyal clients, make sure you remind them about your portfolio and the work they had hired you to do.

4. Setting up your own freelance practice.

Becoming a freelance graphic designer is more than just sitting at home and creating images for clients. You also have to understand the best way to run your business. You are responsible to set up your own home office. You need the necessary equipment. You also have to create a business plan. If at all possible, you may choose to work with an accountant, who can help you develop your financial goals and help you deal with getting a business banking account and squaring out tax information. You are better off keeping your personal finances and your business finances completely separate.

Some of the companies do not want to hire a professional for life time. Looking forward to short-term projects, the skilled labors can be hired as contract basis till the project life ends. This time they are completely depended on the employer service providers. They have enough resources and can be fit to the project based recruitment. Similar kind of contract basis job has a little modification where a temporary assignment that can be extendable or converted to full-time employee. The contract job allows the candidate and the employers to get to know each other for a commitment of further extension or permanent. Direct placement service done by the employment service company to his client. That will be a full-time permanent position based on the performance, talent, personality and career ambition.

Employment Service companies work under some principle based on the nature of the Industry. Their working conditions are very tough and challenging to satisfy the clients (employers) and customers (job seekers). Their main object is employment all kind of people, and supplying human resource to various industries. They provide jobs for human resource management related professionals. They work for training, advancement and grooming the human resources. They passively responsible for development, financial (earnings), social, and human value each individual human being.

Our CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL RESUME WRITERS are a team of Professional Human Resource Resume Writers with more than 10 years experience drafting a diverse range of HUMAN RESOURCE resumes for applicants ranging from junior to senior level. We have prepared thousands of HR resumes for clients such as Directors of Human Resources, Human Resource Business Partners, Human Resource Generalists, Human Resource Managers, Labor Union Staff and Benefits Administrators. Our CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL RESUME WRITERS have been trained by top resume companies such as Ladders™, Monster™, Jobfox™ and Career-Builder™. All of our Human Resource Resume Writers have graduated top schools with advanced degrees.

Our team of Human Resource Resume Writers focus exclusively in Human Resources. As a team of Certified Professional Resume Writers with extensive experience drafting professional HR resumes and working with top companies, our Certified Resume Writers have developed a strong expertise in HR. Our #1 goal is to provide all the Resume service and quality of a big name company, without charging the astronomical prices, which is why we charge less than half of our competition, while providing superior quality and customer service.

If companies such as Ladders™, Monster™ and Jobfox™ have used our writers to draft resumes for their Junior, Mid-Level and Senior Professional level clients why shouldn’t you? Why pay the markup of working with these companies when you can get the same quality and same writers for less money and better customer service? Our Certified Professional Resume Writers (CPRWs) know exactly how to match your qualifications to a particular position and level.

.Reference resource: Click Here.

Welcome to Careers 101. In this segment you will be introduced to tips and strategies to follow before, during, and after interviewing. You will learn how to dress, handle tough questions, and follow up after your next interview. The more prepared you are, the better chance you will have to attain the position that you desire.

What to wear.
According to Kim Zoller at Image Dynamics, 55% of how an interviewer perceives you is based on how you look. So according to this study, over half of their perception is based on your appearance. Looking good for your interview plays such a pivotal role when trying to land a job. Listed below are tips for both men and women to follow while dressing for their upcoming interview.

• Wear solid and conservative colors, whites & blues are best
• Coordinate your blouse or tie with your shirt, also solid and conservative
• Have a neat and professional hairstyle
• Hide all tattoos and limit the amount of jewelry that you wear
• Use sparse amounts of perfume or cologne

.Reference resource: Click Here.

I pulled together this list of recommended resume, cover letter, interview and job search resources to help my site visitors who haven’t found the answers they’re seeking on this site. Take time to look through each category. There are some real winners here, in my opinion.

I’ve done my best to provide a comprehensive resume help center here on Your Career Connection. But I also know that it’s hard to anticipate every single need for resume info that might arise. You might have a special situation or want a resume for a different situation than any I talk about here on this site.

So that’s why I included this page of resume resources… to give you access to other quality resume help that might benefit you. I hope you find these recommended career resources useful…

.Reference resource: Click Here.

Every year, Advance Personnel are audited by an Independent Quality Assurance Auditing Body against the 12 Disability Services Standards. In 2003 Advance Personnel first achieved Quality Assurance Certification. To maintain this Certification (Accreditation) the Agency undergoes a major audit every 3 years and smaller audits every year. These audits are a way for the Government to make sure we provide a good service to everybody who uses our agency. For Advance Personnel to continue to receive money from the Government we need to make sure we continue to provide a good service and continuously look at ways of improving our services.

What are the Disability Services Standards?

Disability Services Act 1986 provides for a set of guiding standards for the delivery of quality services known as the Disability Services Standards. These 12 standards, in conjunction with the associated objectives for service provision, remain in place today and are underpinned by social justice values. All Australian Government employment service providers delivering Disability Employment Network Services are required to be certified as complying with the standards.

There are five main areas that the standards fall into:

.values and principles (having the right approach)

.service outcomes (having the right end result)

.service delivery (having the right organisational processes in place)

.service management

.staff recruitment, employment and training (having the right staff).

.Reference resource: Click Here.