Selection tests from an historical perspective
The use of psychological selection tests in Sweden was at its peak during the 1950s and 1960s. Sweden was then a prominent nation in terms of developing tests in order to more accurately assess the suitability of a candidate for a specific position. The persons who carried out the research and developed the tests were psychologists.

Theories relating to personality psychology established the starting point. In conjunction with the construction of the tests, major emphasis was placed on their reliability and validity.

The ideological and political surges of the Seventies came to exert considerable influence on the application of tests, which led to a major reduction in their use. Nevertheless, testing continued in respect of persons applying for high-risk positions, eg. Air Force pilots. It was considered inappropriate and degrading to divide people into categories. Rating individuals by means of testing was therefore denounced as unethical. It was later, in the mid-Eighties, that the use of testing for recruitment purposes was revised.

There were a number of reasons why testing increased as it did during the mid-Eighties. There was increased interest in the subject of Human Capital (Human Resources), and companies demanded more reliable tests designed to minimise the risks involved in employing the 'wrong' people.

Why selection tests?
The aim of the test is to measure an individual's personal characteristics, skills and aptitude. A company wishing to employ new personnel wants to confirm that its own assessment is correct, i.e. they want to finally check that everything is all right, that they have not missed anything important. Questions clients require answers to include, the way a person acts under pressure, his/her level of motivation and ambition, and extent of personal resources and aptitude, and how the person might function within a group and as a manager.

The candidate might either be asked to complete a questionnaire in conjunction with an interview at the employer's place of business, or be invited to attend a meeting at a recruitment company's offices with a recruitment consultant, psychologist or similar.

If the test is carried out at the employer's offices, it is probable that the candidate will be asked to undergo what is known as a personality test. This consists of questions in conjunction with a number of statements, where it is required that a choice be made between alternative answers. The test is marked according to a given model, and the result is shown in the form of a curve or profile.

In order to derive reliable information from such a personality test, the result must be discussed with the candidate. If follow-up dialogue is not entered into, the candidate should seriously question the professionalism of the company conducting the test.

A company can also elect to contract outside help for the conducting of the test/selection procedure. In this case, the candidate is usually asked to attend a testing session at the offices of the recruitment company. Regrettably, all things are possible at this stage. There are a number of disreputable companies in the testing sector, but here we will concern ourselves with tests conducted by reputable companies. Most usual is that the candidate will be asked to undergo both a personality test and an aptitude test, which will be followed by an in-depth interview, when candidate and consultant will discuss the test results.

Aptitude tests
The purpose of these tests is to measure a person's aptitude or intelligence. There are many different ways of measuring these two attributes. In fact, even the classification that follows has been questioned in the light of newer theories. The fact remains, however, that this means of classification serves as the basis for the majority of tests conducted on behalf of the market today. Composite tests are also used, where several variables are measured in parallel. The aptitude and intelligence variables are given below.

Verbal skills
Verbal comprehension and verbal flow. Verbal comprehension involves the test supervisor assessing the candidate's ability to understand words and sentences. This is usually done by having words that are synonymous paired with one another. Verbal flow involves the test supervisor assessing the candidate's verbal creativity, when he/she might be asked to write down as many words as possible that begin with a certain letter, within a specific time period.

Numerical skills
This test is usually one in which a series of figures is presented, and where the candidate's task is to complete the logical flow. There are also more complex variations of this test.

Analytical/logical skills
These tests are designed to examine the candidate's ability to think logically and to draw logical conclusions. They can be presented in a variety of ways, e.g. labyrinths where a way out must be found, or tricky statements that require a true or false response.

Memory
These tests are usually constructed in a very simple way. The candidate might, for instance, be asked to repeat a sequence of figures after having been given them by the test supervisor.

Spatial capabilities
These tests are designed to help assess the extent of the candidate's ability to conceive of spatial dimensions, and his/her imaginative capability. The test may include specific shapes which have to be placed in a particular pattern.

Personality tests
The aim of a personality test is to measure personality. Using technical terms, we speak of such characteristics as frustration tolerance, stress tolerance, leadership style and qualities, the ability to function in close inter-personal relationships, and pathological tendencies.

Personality tests are carried out by means of questionnaires, projection tests and in-depth interviews. When asked to complete the questionnaire, the candidate must assume a position with regard to a number of different statements.

Projection tests can assume a number of forms. The candidate may, for instance, be asked to draw something, a tree perhaps, or complete a sentence, or describe what he/she thinks is contained in a series of indistinct pictures. The person conducting the test will always be a qualified psychologist with special training in how to interpret the results of this type of test. The tests are constructed on the basis of psychological findings, and are considered by most psychologists to be extremely valuable, particularly so in conjunction with in-depth interviews.

Specific working tests
These tests have been developed in order to evaluate specific skills. A company might, for instance, want to test a person's fine motor abilities. This type of testing is often applied in situations where having a particular ability is clearly decisive when a person is required to carry out a specific work assignment.

Assessment Center
Tests at Assessment Centres are designed to simulate real-life situations, where the candidate is observed throughout the exercise and the results are afterwards analysed by a qualified consultant. Assessment Centres are expensive, and demand major resources in terms of time and personnel. The likelihood of having to undergo testing in an Assessment Centre is greatest for those applying for a position within a large company, such as Ericsson or Telia.

Other types of test
In addition to those listed above there are many other tests, designed to measure creativity, simultaneous capacity, exactitude, attentiveness, etc.

At which stage of the recruitment process are tests carried out?
A company can choose between advertising a position itself, or engaging the services of a recruitment company from the very start of the process. Alternatively, the company can elect to engage a test consultant at the final stage of selection.

The recruitment process applied to advertised recruitment can take many forms. A typical process contains the following stages:

Advertising - Compilation of applications - Those candidates which satisfy the formal requirements are called to a preliminary interview, either at the client company's offices or those of the recruitment company - The candidate (s) regarded as being most promising undergo a test - References are taken - The recruitment company assists the client company by providing material on which to base a decision - The client company makes its final choice of candidate for the position.

Is it actually possible to prepare oneself for a test situation?
The answer is Yes and No. In our opinion it is certainly possible to train oneself to achieve better results in specific aptitude tests. However, the overall result of a whole series of tests, the skill and experience of the recruitment consultant, and the statements made by the referees, all combine to give a picture of the candidate which is difficult to affect by purposeful training. On the other hand, a result of having undergone these tests and discussions can be that a candidate achieves greater self-awareness, which can be useful in future recruitment situations.

What are my rights when I am being tested?
As a candidate for a position, you always have the right to be told how long the test will take. The time period for a test can vary between half an hour and three days. In general, a test will take about six hours to conduct. You also have the right to know what type of tests will be used, and where they originate from. We are of the opinion that you have the right to receive feedback after having completed a test, and this is the policy of most recruitment companies. We recommend that you assert the right to know who will have access to your test results, and in what form outsiders will receive notification of those results. If the recruiter is a qualified psychologist, you have the right to cite his obligation to professional secrecy following a test or an interview. The only professional group presently subject to any form of control are psychologists. If you feel yourself to have been unfairly treated by a registered psychologist, you can lodge your complaint with the National Board of Health and Welfare. We would like to point out that psychologists mainly represent the company, and their task is to provide that company with an objective assessment. In the case of consultants who are not psychologists, and approximately 80 per cent of all tests are currently conducted by non- psychologists, your rights are not protected in the same way. However, you can enjoy a measure of protection if the company is affiliated to the HRK (Swedish Association for Human Resource Consultants). The express aim of the HRK is to "carefully monitor the professional practices of member companies, with regard to questions of ethics and methods used," and to "safeguard the professionalism of consultants with regard to matters of human resources in working life, where the guiding principle is that persons must never suffer any injury as a result of the operations of member companies".