What is a Talent Q Assessment?
Talent Q is a popular psychometric test developer founded in 2006 by Roger Holdsworth, who also co-founded another test provider called SHL. In 2014 Talent Q was acquired by the Hay Group and is now administered by Korn Ferry.
Talent Q offers a diverse selection of tests that are available in over 40 languages, which makes them a popular choice across the world. Talent Q tests differ from other tests as they adapt to the candidate's ability level by increasing or decreasing in difficulty depending on the answers given. This gives the employer an idea of the individuals' true level of ability. Talent Q assessments are also 'blended', which means the same test can be used to analyse a mixture of different skills.
Talent Q Assessment Categories
Talent Q has several test suites which cover a range of areas such as cognitive ability, personality, situational judgement and motivations. There are five different Talent Q test suites:
- Elements
- Aspects
- Situational Judgement
- Motivations
- Dimensions
Elements Suite
The Elements Suite is typically used for recruitment at the managerial, executive, professional, and graduate levels. It assesses a candidate's verbal, numerical and logical reasoning skills. Each Elements test has a time limit of 15 minutes to work through all the questions.
Elements Verbal
This assessment is intended to measure your language and comprehension skills by analysing your ability to quickly read, understand and filter key pieces of information from passages of text. Elements Verbal consists of 15 questions based on the text you have just read, typically asking you to select which statement is correct or incorrect from a list.
Each question has an individual time limit of 60 seconds, so it is a good idea to get accustomed to the pace you need to work at by practicing example tests.
Elements Numerical
Elements numerical assess a candidate's ability to analyse, interpret and draw conclusions from numerical data. The information will be presented in the form of tables, so it is a good idea to get familiar with reading data in this form.
This test contains 12 questions, which must also be completed in 15 minutes. Advanced level of maths is not required for this assessment, but brushing up on basic maths concepts such as percentages, ratios and fractions will help prepare you for this test.
Elements Logical
Consisting of 12 questions, Elements logical assesses a candidate's ability to make inferences based on abstract information and apply this to reach the correct conclusion. The test will require you to analyse a series of symbols and look for rules and patterns to determine the missing image from the sequence. Again, you will have 15 minutes to complete this assessment.
This can help employers to understand your capacity to understand and apply novel information, which can be useful in predicting your ability to solve problems and adapt to new situations.
Aspects Suite
The Aspects Suite has similarities to the Elements Suite, however, Aspects is designed to measure the fundamental skills necessary for frontline and service positions, such as those in retail, manufacturing, transport, and emergency services. The assessments in Aspects are quick, typically lasting around 6-10 minutes long.
The Aspects Suite consists of Aspects Ability and Aspects Styles:
Aspects Ability
Aspects ability assesses your numerical, verbal and checking skills, which are all essential in customer-facing and service roles.
Aspects Ability contains the following assessments:
Aspects Numerical: Consisting of 12 multiple-choice questions, this test assesses a candidate's ability to quickly interpret, analyse, and draw conclusions from numerical data typically presented in tables.
Aspects Verbal: Aspects Verbal will require you to read, analyse, and make inferences from a passage of text. You will be asked 12 multiple-choice questions based on various passages of text.
Aspects Checking: In this test, you will be required to analyse and check tables of information against each other. There will be 8 different tables, each containing 5 or 6 rows of data. This is used to measure your ability to recognise errors in data.
Aspects Styles
Aspects styles is a competency-based questionnaire to assess your behavioural characteristics. Candidates are presented with statements, from which they have to express how much the statement aligns with their behaviour at work, ranging from 'completely untrue' to 'very true'. Employers use this assessment to determine which candidates have the competencies required for the position.
Situational Judgement Test
The Talent Q situational judgement test presents candidates with a series of hypothetical workplace scenarios and will ask them to select from a list of multiple-choice responses, which is the most appropriate. The responses given are then used to determine a 'fit' score, which measures the candidate's key competencies, cultural fit, and preferred behaviour against the company's requirements for the role.
Motivations
The motivations questionnaire involves a series of statements regarding motivation at work, in which you need to rate how important each statement is for you at work. You will be presented with statements in groups of four, and will be asked to rate the importance of each statement on a scale of 'Not important' to 'Extremely important.' The questionnaire usually takes around 30 minutes to complete.
The questionnaire assesses your drives and values by looking at what stimulates and energises candidates in the workplace, which can be helpful for employers in predicting whether you will be a good cultural fit for the company.
Dimensions
Talent Q dimensions is a questionnaire that measures a candidate's personality to predict their suitability for a particular job. Dimensions are typically used in the later stages of the recruitment process, and also throughout the employee lifecycle.
Dimensions look at personality across three main areas - people and relationships, tasks and projects and drives and emotions. Each of these categories contains five traits that are understood as predictors for successful job performance.
Dimensions are similar in structure to motivations, with statements regarding behaviour at work grouped into blocks of four. For each statement, you will need to rate how true it is to you personally, from 'completely untrue' to 'very true'.
Tips To Pass Talent Q Tests
1. Practice Under Timed Exam Conditions
The best way you can prepare for Talent Q assessments is to practice with plenty of mock tests. This will allow you to sharpen your skills, whilst also highlighting weaknesses to focus on. Make sure to take the tests in a room free of distractions, and under timed conditions - this will help you get accustomed to the strict time limit, and the pace at which you will need to answer questions.
2. Repeat Tougher Questions
When practicing questions, you may be tempted to stick to the areas you are good at, however, the best way to improve your score on the assessment is to practice those questions that you find more challenging.
3. Understand The Format
Learning which Talent Q assessments you will be taking, and familiarising yourself with how these are formatted will help you stay relaxed as you will know what to expect when it comes to the real assessment.
4. Don't Be Afraid To Fail
Be confident in the practice and preparation you have put in for the assessment. If you do not get the result you want, take this as a learning opportunity, so you can come better prepared for your next assessment.
