What is a Thomas International test?
There are a variety of different Thomas International tests, designed to assess everything from your cognitive abilities and emotional intelligence, to your unique personality type and how this affects the way you work.
As well as this, Thomas International also runs assessment centre days to help employers make informed decisions when they hire.
Both the Thomas International assessment centres and tests are driven by results and data, and have helped tens of thousands of businesses to streamline and improve their hiring processes.
Thomas International tests are used by organisations including numerous major universities, Virgin and some police force departments.
There are four main Thomas International test types. Before taking your test, It’s important to find out which one(s) you’ll be asked to complete, so you can put in the relevant preparation and practice. Each type is covered below.
Thomas International PPA test
The Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) has 24 questions and takes eight to twelve minutes to complete. The test uses psychological analytics to piece together an individual’s personality profile.
A PPA test provides potential employers with a better understanding of your workplace persona: how you react to certain scenarios, your preferred communication style, how you deal with pressure and what motivates you to succeed.
Far from a ‘test’ in the typical sense of the word, this is a chance to share what makes you tick, so that an employer can assess whether you’re likely to fit into the company and role you’re applying for.
As a result, answering openly and honestly is really important (although it doesn’t hurt to keep in mind the ethos and beliefs of the company, as well as the key traits and competencies it’s likely to value).
The four traits being examined in the PPA are:
- Dominance — A natural leader, courageous, assertive? Perhaps even domineering or aggressive? This trait can mean many different things depending on the context.
- Compliance — How good are you at taking instruction and listening? Are you able to follow rules and adhere to company policies and procedures?
- Influence — Your ability to fit into a team and whether you’d take a more active or passive role within that team.
- Steadiness — Being able to perform under pressure is a vital skill in many roles. It’s also important to showcase an ability to multi-task and prioritise in changing scenarios.
Each of these traits is represented by different words that are available for you to select in answer to the statements or questions. You’ll be asked to choose two adjectives from a possible four that you think best describe you.
By the end of the test, you’ll have chosen 48 different adjectives describing your approach to work — which can greatly help an employer to piece together a fuller picture of you and your working style.
Thomas International GIA test
The General Intelligence Assessment (GIA) is, as its name suggests, a test designed to examine your general intelligence.
The online test comprises 20 minutes of instructions, followed by 20 minutes of testing time. As well as accuracy, the GIA is scored on speed, so it’s important to work through the questions as quickly as you can without compromising on precision.
Most psychometric tests focus on one particular area, for example your verbal or numerical skills. But the GIA takes all of this into consideration, in a bid to help an employer get a better idea of how you’ll perform as an employee.
Being able to adapt quickly, solve problems and work well as part of a team are all crucial skills for most roles, and the GIA helps an employer to get an idea of how capable you’ll be.
You can expect the test to be broken down into five different sections:
- Perceptual speed — You’ll be asked to spot inaccuracies in text, tables and numbers, as well as prove you can filter out irrelevant information.
- Reasoning — After reading through passages of text, you’ll need to showcase your ability to draw logical conclusions from what’s been inferred.
- Number, speed and accuracy — Similar to a classic numerical reasoning test, this section will look at your general aptitude for numbers.
- Spatial visualisation — Mentally manipulating shapes and objects isn’t easy, but it’s a useful skill to show an employer how adept you are when it comes to visualisation.
- Word meaning — Your vocabulary is under the microscope here. You’ll need to show how well you understand the meaning of a series of different words, by selecting which one doesn’t belong in a group of other words.
As well as showing a potential employer where you excel, the GIA has the added benefit of helping them to spot development opportunities early.
Thomas International HPTI test
The High Potential Trait Indicator (HPTI) assesses six important workplace personality traits.
This test is most commonly used to indicate those that are likely to rise the ranks into senior leadership positions, so ensuring you’ve practised and prepared by trialing a few mock tests beforehand is really important.
The six traits you’re being examined on are:
- Conscientiousness — If you’re conscientious, you’re likely to have the levels of self-discipline employers look for in their leaders.
- Adjustment — This is a good indicator of how good you are at coping under pressure and being able to adjust to changeable scenarios.
- Curiosity — Being curious suggests a desire to think differently and not always rely on tried and tested approaches. Being innovative is a desirable trait in a leader.
- Approach to risk — Willingness to take risks can be both a positive and a negative, but it does indicate you’ll be more comfortable dealing with change and challenges.
- Ambiguity acceptance — As a leader, being able to cope in unique and unexpected circumstances is important if you’re to expect a team to do the same.
- Competitiveness — It takes a certain amount of competitiveness to make it to the top. Competitive people are likely to enjoy working alone and strive for higher positions.
Thomas International TEIQue test
The Thomas International Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) test is all about how well you can control your emotions, how measured you are as an individual and how you cope with the demands of other people’s emotions.
The test takes 25 to 30 minutes to complete, and is more of a questionnaire than a test. It’s important to answer honestly and consistently, so employers get a true sense of your character.
You’ll be given a series of different statements to read, and then asked to rate how strongly you agree or disagree with said statements.
As well as learning more about your emotional intelligence, ability to connect with others and your communication style, this test is really useful for employers who want to select candidates based on their ability to evolve and adapt, and their potential as future leaders.
As we’ve already said, in personality assessments such as these, honesty is the most important thing. Not just for the sake of the employer, but to ensure you end up in a job that’s suited to your character.
When preparing for the test, it’s always a good idea to ensure you understand the type of characters that might be suited to the role and the company.
