What Is A Thomas International Assessment?
Thomas International is an aptitude test publisher that works in 60 countries and has partnered with over 11,000 companies, including Siemens, JP Morgan, Frank Knight, and universities. The assessments cover a range of aptitudes such as verbal and numerical reasoning, personality tests, and behavioural profiling.
Each assessment is based on decades of research by experts in the field and certified by the British Psychological Society. Thomas International aims to make recruitment faster and more accurate by capturing more information about candidates and employees in less time. This makes it a very popular test publisher to use as the assessments are less resource-intensive and can be used to screen high volumes of candidates, as well as provide insights for employee development.
Thomas International Assessments
Thomas International provides a range of assessments, which are designed to give a fully rounded view of each candidate. The tests cover four categories: aptitude, behaviour, emotional intelligence, and personality.
Thomas International GIA Test
The General Intelligence Assessment (GIA) is Thomas International's aptitude test. Developed for 15 years, it is designed to test your fluid intelligence and procedural cognitive abilities. This means that it looks at how well you process information, how quickly you work through problems, and your logical thinking skills.
The GIA consists of 5 assessments:
- Word Meaning - A comprehension and vocabulary test. You will have to identify the meanings of words, and parts of speech, and differentiate between words that have similar meanings to show your level of English language ability.
- Perceptual Speed - This is similar to an error-checking test. You are assessed on how quickly and accurately you can identify inaccuracies in written, diagrammatic, and numerical data.
- Speed and Accuracy - This is a basic numerical reasoning test. It measures your comfort in working with numerical data and simple mathematical concepts.
- Spatial Visualisation - Here you are assessed on how well you can visualise and manipulate mental images. This is related to diagrammatic reasoning, where you have to continue a sequence of images and so must be able to rotate, flip, and mirror images to do so.
- Reasoning - This is very similar to a verbal reasoning test, where you are given a passage of text to read and ask to draw logical conclusions from the information given.
The test takes around 30-45 minutes to complete. You are scored on both speed and accuracy, and your score is measured against the other candidates' results.
Thomas International Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) Test
Thomas' Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) is a personality test that employers use to evaluate candidates' values, motivators, and fears. PPA test has 24 questions and takes just 8 minutes to complete.
The test works on the DISC Theory, which posits there are four main behavioural tendencies: dominate, influence, steadiness, and compliance. You will be asked to rate statements on whether they are 'least like' or 'most like' you, giving a response pattern that shows your strengths, limitations, how you behave under pressure, and communication style.
Thomas International TEIQue Test
The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire is designed to understand employee and candidate's emotional traits. This includes things like empathy, understanding emotions, stress management, and conflict resolution. It can be used for several things such as recruitment, appraisals, team building, and life coaching.
It is a self-report questionnaire rather than a test, so there are no right or wrong answers and you cannot fail. There are 153 statements, which you must rate on a 1-7 Likert scale from 'completely disagree' to 'completely agree'. It takes around 30 minutes to complete.
Thomas International HPTI Test
The High Potential Trait Indicator is another Thomas personality test that focuses on suitability for a specific workplace or position. It measures six traits, which show in more detail how you respond to certain work situations.
- Adjustment - How well you adapt to change and cope with stressful situations.
- Curiosity - This shows your innovation and willingness to explore new ways of thinking.
- Risk Approach - Measures your approach and comfort with risk-taking.
- Conscientiousness - This is your self-discipline and awareness of yourself as a team member, which is a good trait in a leader.
- Ambiguity Acceptance - Shows how you cope with unknown factors and not needing to have the entire picture mapped out.
- Competitiveness - How driven you are to push for success and higher achievements.
This test is 10 minutes long and has 78 items on it. You will have to rate them on a 1-7 Likert scale from 'disagree completely' to 'agree completely'.
Tips To Pass Thomas International Tests
1. Practice, Practice, Practice
The more practice you can do, the better you will perform on the day. Make sure that you know which test you are taking so that you can prepare accordingly. We have loads of practice tests, covering everything you'll need for your Thomas assessment.
2. Balance Speed With Accuracy
The GIA is tested on both speed and accuracy, meaning that how quickly you answer is also taken into consideration. Practicing under timed conditions will help immensely with how well you can perform under the pressure. However, remember to always read the questions and take enough time to process the information so you can answer correctly as well.
3. Answer All Questions
To maximise your potential score, you should always aim to answer every single question. This is also important on the personality tests as not answering the questions can mean that your questionnaire lacks vital information needed to fully assess your application.
4. Understand The Format
Since the tests are uniquely developed by Thomas International, the format of the tests will be slightly different from other aptitude tests you may have already taken. Again, make sure that you know which tests you are taking and do some research on them. Thomas provides a breakdown of their assessments and sample reports.
