Psychometric Testing

[Transk53]

I have today been accepted for a assessment day up in London. This is for Southern rail for a trainee driver position. Anybody who has gone through psychometric training I would be keen to hear from. For me knowledge and what not is not a problem, it is the testing process. I usually start to panic upstairs and have failed exams in the past that should have been nailed. A tad concerned as this really is one of those dream type jobs and well paid.

Can a mod please alter the title to Psychometric Testing. Thanks!

 

[drop bear]

The first thing I did was Google it.

Apparently there are tricks to it.
http://m.wikihow.com/Succeed-at-Psychometric-Tests

 

[Transk53]

The first thing I did was Google it.

Apparently there are tricks to it.
http://m.wikihow.com/Succeed-at-Psychometric-Tests

Yeah. I was hoping someone around here had done it.

 

[Carol]

Have I done testing, yes...but not for that organization. Did you have a question? The WikiHow page is pretty good.

 

[Transk53]

Have I done testing, yes...but not for that organization. Did you have a question? The WikiHow page is pretty good.

Not so much a particular question, but I am trying to get a sense of what's what. From what I have read about the testing, the tester will place a person in a scenario. In this case I would think it is literally life and death. One example would be what is the correct action for a driver if they spot someone on the tracks up ahead. Now many people would automatically try to slow down and prevent a death. However, no one is going to stop a 133 - 176 ton train easily, if at all without causing injury to the passengers. So of course you don't stop. It is the emotional aspect that I would be expected to portray to the tester which concerns me. I tend to be a very matter of fact person, I do not want to be seen as being completely emotionally unattached if you see what I mean. Not asking for a script here, that would be wrong of me to ask. I am just trying to visualize the process.

 

[Carol]

Wow, that's a helluva how-do-you-do, isn't it?

This is what's called a situational question, it is a technique used in a lot of industries. Your interviewer doesn't just want to hear your answer, they also want to hear how you arrived at your answer. These questions are generally not about emotion, they want to see how you would think a situation through. These questions are common in many professions. When asked for a question like this, think of the acronymn STAR -- Situation, Task, Action, Result. Your interviewer will give you the Situation, its up to you to come up with the Task, Action, and Result.

Situation: A person is on the tracks.
Task -- What's the task here? Addressing person on the tracks while minimizing injury to your passengers? Anything else?
Action -- What action do you take? Would you slow the train down at all? If you wouldn't stop, why? (Because 150 tons doesn't stop so easily?) Can you take any other measures such as sounding a horn or flashing a light?
Result -- What was the result of the action you took? Perhaps the person was someone intoxicated and the sounds and lights scared them off? If hitting the person on the tracks is unavoidable (such as a person intent on suicide), what then?

I don't know what exactly they are looking for, just throwing ideas you can work through and think about when constructing your own answer.

If you have an idea of other types of situational questions that are asked in the interview, work out your answer in the STAR format ahead of time. Practice them out loud, and rehearse them until you sound confident to yourself. This will take an amazing amount of stress off you when it comes time for the spotlight of the interview.

As far as appearing emotionally detached, I wouldn't worry too much about that. In an emergency situation, one's body is going to be in an adrenaline dump. The ability to compartmentalize your emotions and follow a logical procedure is absolutely essential to working through that situation. If you practice your answer until you sound confident, you won't sound emotionally detached, you'll sound like you are taking the questions seriously.

If they throw questions out there that you didn't expect (which may also happen), keep your answer in the STAR format. Use the actual words if you have to "In the situation of X, my task would be..." Having this format as a framework will keep you focused in the heat of the moment.

Does that help at all?

 

[Transk53]

Wow, that's a helluva how-do-you-do, isn't it?

This is what's called a situational question, it is a technique used in a lot of industries. Your interviewer doesn't just want to hear your answer, they also want to hear how you arrived at your answer. These questions are generally not about emotion, they want to see how you would think a situation through. These questions are common in many professions. When asked for a question like this, think of the acronymn STAR -- Situation, Task, Action, Result. Your interviewer will give you the Situation, its up to you to come up with the Task, Action, and Result.

Situation: A person is on the tracks.
Task -- What's the task here? Addressing person on the tracks while minimizing injury to your passengers? Anything else?
Action -- What action do you take? Would you slow the train down at all? If you wouldn't stop, why? (Because 150 tons doesn't stop so easily?) Can you take any other measures such as sounding a horn or flashing a light?
Result -- What was the result of the action you took? Perhaps the person was someone intoxicated and the sounds and lights scared them off? If hitting the person on the tracks is unavoidable (such as a person intent on suicide), what then?

I don't know what exactly they are looking for, just throwing ideas you can work through and think about when constructing your own answer.

If you have an idea of other types of situational questions that are asked in the interview, work out your answer in the STAR format ahead of time. Practice them out loud, and rehearse them until you sound confident to yourself. This will take an amazing amount of stress off you when it comes time for the spotlight of the interview.

As far as appearing emotionally detached, I wouldn't worry too much about that. In an emergency situation, one's body is going to be in an adrenaline dump. The ability to compartmentalize your emotions and follow a logical procedure is absolutely essential to working through that situation. If you practice your answer until you sound confident, you won't sound emotionally detached, you'll sound like you are taking the questions seriously.

If they throw questions out there that you didn't expect (which may also happen), keep your answer in the STAR format. Use the actual words if you have to "In the situation of X, my task would be..." Having this format as a framework will keep you focused in the heat of the moment.

Does that help at all?

Yeah it does help thanks. I will remember the STAR format as that looks a great tool. I guess the more difficult thing for me to imagine would be the consequences of somebody dying on the tracks. Not the average job so I suppose no one could know what that would be like until it happens. Unfortunately while not exactly common, a few people intent on suicide do favor the tracks. Using the above I think will at least not convey as being a robot.

 

[Transk53]

Right, I now know what I have to do at the testing a week from today. Attention and memory tests and such like. One of them is spotting characters and marking them with a back slash. Does not look so scary after all.

 

[Carol]

Excellent! Congrats on the test appointment. Hoping you'll have some good news before too long

 

[jezr74]

Wow, that's a helluva how-do-you-do, isn't it?

This is what's called a situational question, it is a technique used in a lot of industries. Your interviewer doesn't just want to hear your answer, they also want to hear how you arrived at your answer. These questions are generally not about emotion, they want to see how you would think a situation through. These questions are common in many professions. When asked for a question like this, think of the acronymn STAR -- Situation, Task, Action, Result. Your interviewer will give you the Situation, its up to you to come up with the Task, Action, and Result.

Situation: A person is on the tracks.
Task -- What's the task here? Addressing person on the tracks while minimizing injury to your passengers? Anything else?
Action -- What action do you take? Would you slow the train down at all? If you wouldn't stop, why? (Because 150 tons doesn't stop so easily?) Can you take any other measures such as sounding a horn or flashing a light?
Result -- What was the result of the action you took? Perhaps the person was someone intoxicated and the sounds and lights scared them off? If hitting the person on the tracks is unavoidable (such as a person intent on suicide), what then?

I don't know what exactly they are looking for, just throwing ideas you can work through and think about when constructing your own answer.

If you have an idea of other types of situational questions that are asked in the interview, work out your answer in the STAR format ahead of time. Practice them out loud, and rehearse them until you sound confident to yourself. This will take an amazing amount of stress off you when it comes time for the spotlight of the interview.

As far as appearing emotionally detached, I wouldn't worry too much about that. In an emergency situation, one's body is going to be in an adrenaline dump. The ability to compartmentalize your emotions and follow a logical procedure is absolutely essential to working through that situation. If you practice your answer until you sound confident, you won't sound emotionally detached, you'll sound like you are taking the questions seriously.

If they throw questions out there that you didn't expect (which may also happen), keep your answer in the STAR format. Use the actual words if you have to "In the situation of X, my task would be..." Having this format as a framework will keep you focused in the heat of the moment.

Does that help at all?

Well thought-out as always. I like the STAR methodology, I guess you could apply this to a lot of things.

 

[jezr74]

Goodluck Transk

 

[Transk53]

Goodluck Transk

Thanks. Have had to put it on hold as the criteria for ID cannot be modified. Need a passport by default. Due to the overly moronic thinking of the UK passport office, I cannot present a copy of my short birth certificate, so I may have to go up to London for a interview. So annoying when I am a UK national by birth. Utter morons the lot of them.