What Is A Kenexa Assessment?
The IBM Kenexa suite has over 1500 assessments and is used for talent acquisition and management, as well as employee performance management. These tests are often used for an early stage screening, however, the wide range makes these assessments customisable and suitable for any point in the process.
Kenexa began in 1986 as a recruitment company, pioneering the use of automated management systems. It grew to 2,800 employees in 21 countries before being acquired by IBM in 2012 for $1.3 billion.
Kenexa Assessment Categories
The Kenexa assessments are used for a variety of employment management aspects from recruitment, performance analysis, and career progression. There are five main suites of assessments:
- Advanced Reasoning Tests
- Kenexa Career Fit Tests
- Kenexa Job Fit Tests
- Kenexa Performance Indicators (KPI)
- Kenexa Prove It!
Advanced Reasoning Tests
These are Kenexa's traditional psychometric assessments, which cover skills like verbal and numerical reasoning. These test general intelligence and aptitude with skills such as communication, data interpretation, and problem-solving.
Kenexa Career Fit Tests
This is a competency assessment and helps identify your strengths and suitability for particular roles and environments. It shows your workplace values, typical behaviours, and predicts potential development.
Kenexa Job Fit Tests
Similar to the Career Fit Test, the Job Fit Test is an examination of your compatibility with the specific job that you have applied for. Each test is tailored to assess the expected skills and personality traits for that role, so it gives the recruiter a strong predictor of who will excel.
Kenexa Performance Indicators (KPI)
A KPI assessment looks at how likely you are to engage with specific workplace behaviours that are essential to the role. This often includes teamwork, information retention, customer service, and willingness to follow safety guidelines.
Kenexa Prove It!
The Prove It! tests are a battery of over 1200 hands-on skills assessments that employers can pick from to ensure you have the skills that are needed. These can include using excel and word, typing tests, general data entry, and psychometric tests.
Kenexa Aptitude Test Types
The aptitude testsare the most common kind of recruitment assessments and therefore, the ones you are most likely to come across.
Kenexa has recently introduced the Computer Adaptive Test, which is a blended test including verbal, numerical, and logical reasoning, and adjusts its difficulty depending on if you answer correctly or incorrectly.
Kenexa Verbal Reasoning Test (VRT)
The verbal reasoning test is an assessment of your language and communication skills. You will be given passages of texts and corresponding comprehension questions. For each statement, you will have to answer if it is 'true, false, or cannot say' according to the information that you have gained from the passage.
There is no prior knowledge needed for this test, it is all based on information that is contained within each passage. Therefore, a VRT assesses your ability to quickly process and filter information, separate fact and inference, and identify key points within dense pieces of text.
This test comprises 24 questions in 20 minutes, so speed and accuracy are important here.
Kenexa Numerical Reasoning Test (NRT)
For the numerical reasoning test, you are being assessed on your ability to work with numerical data and apply mathematical concepts. Generally, the test will include questions on basic arithmetic; data interpretation from graphs, charts, and diagrams; ratios; sequences; and more role-specific concepts such as relating to finance or engineering.
The NRT is 20 questions in 20 minutes, and all answers are multiple-choice.
Kenexa Logical Reasoning Test
A logical reasoning test is designed to look at how you think and your competency when it comes to abstract problem-solving. The most common format given is diagrammatic reasoning, which is where you are presented with sequences of shapes and patterns, then asked to identify the image that follows the sequence rules.
These can be trickiest as they test skills that are not necessarily used in everyday life but show vital critical thinking abilities that are needed for many jobs. The format is 24 questions in 20 minutes, so you will have to work quickly in order to answer everything.
Tips To Pass Kenexa Tests
Practice Answering Kenexa Questions
When it comes to passing a test, the best way to prepare is to practice as much as possible. Try your hand at some practice psychometric tests to find your strengths and weaknesses, as well as becoming more comfortable with the test conditions.
Read The Questions Carefully
When under pressure it can be tempting to rush through the test as quickly as possible, however, this can lead to careless mistakes and confusion. Take your time to read the questions thoroughly so that you fully understand what is being asked of you. This way you are more likely to answer correctly, which is more important than finishing everything.
Embrace Failure
Don't get disheartened if there are some areas that you find more difficult than others. It is important to identify where you need to improve to create a more focused approach to preparing for your tests. Showing that you are self-aware and willing to learn from failure to improve is a highly desirable trait to have.
Avoid Distractions
Both when preparing for and taking your tests make sure that you are in an environment free from distraction. Set up a space to work in that is quiet and prepared (pens, paper, water bottle, etc.) to get you in the right frame of mind to concentrate and do your best.
Widen Your Approach To Practice
Practice doesn't need to just be doing test after test, there are lots of more engaging and creative ways to develop the necessary skills. Doing tasks such as crosswords, Sudoku, reading more novels, newspapers, or financial reports, can help expand your vocabulary, train your critical thinking skills, and improve data analysis understanding.
