In brief: Psychometric tests are standardised tests designed to measure mental performance and behavioural style, covering interests, personality differences and aptitude. They are used in recruitment, individual and career development, team building and employee progression. To be effective a test must be valid, meaning it measures what it is intended to measure, and reliable, meaning it produces consistent results each time it is used.

What psychometric tests measure

Psychometric tests are generally standardised tests designed to measure mental performance and behavioural style.

They can include tests for interests, personality differences, and aptitude.

How employers use them

They are often used in support of recruitment, individual and career development, team building, as well as employee progression.

Validity and reliability

For tests to be effective, they need to be valid and reliable.

This means they must test what they intend to test, and test it consistently each time.

Update (November 2026): The evidence on how well selection tools predict performance has shifted since this was written. A re-analysis of the classic meta-analytic estimates (Schmidt and Hunter, 1998) found that earlier work had ‘resulted in substantial overcorrections for range restriction’, so most predictors ‘exhibit lower operational criterion-related validity with regard to overall performance than has previously been reported’; structured interviews ‘emerged as the predictor with the highest mean validity’ and ‘cognitive ability is no longer the stand-out predictor that it was in the prior work’ (Sackett et al., 2022; 2023). For employers, the practical lessons are to treat any test as one input alongside a structured interview, to use ‘valid procedures’ interpreted by people qualified to do so, and to report results ‘in language that the recipient can understand’ (Australian Psychological Society, 2007).

Linq HR provides fractional employee relations support to Australian employers and operates Workforce Directory, Australia’s HR services marketplace. Ph 1300 234 566.

Further reading:The role of HR professionals in purchasing HR products and services and Does a high performance culture lead to higher performing employees?.

References

Australian Psychological Society (2007) Code of Ethics. Melbourne: APS. Available at: https://psychology.org.au/about-us/what-we-do/ethics-and-practice-standards/aps-code-of-ethics (Accessed: 6 November 2026).

Sackett, P.R., Zhang, C., Berry, C.M. and Lievens, F. (2022) ‘Revisiting meta-analytic estimates of validity in personnel selection: addressing systematic overcorrection for restriction of range’, Journal of Applied Psychology, 107(11), pp. 2040–2068. doi:10.1037/apl0000994.

Sackett, P.R., Zhang, C., Berry, C.M. and Lievens, F. (2023) ‘Revisiting the design of selection systems in light of new findings regarding the validity of widely used predictors’, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 16(3), pp. 283–300. doi:10.1017/iop.2023.24.

Schmidt, F.L. and Hunter, J.E. (1998) ‘The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings’, Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), pp. 262–274. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.124.2.262.