Assessments and Tests in Interviews

Michel Rothgaenger
Michel Rothgaenger

Many large transport and logistics companies use specific tests in order to assess your personality traits, management style, logical reasoning and ability to learn and adapt. These can be daunting, which is why being aware that such assessments may come up and knowing the various types of tests is useful to calm your nerves.

Behavioral Interview Questions

These questions will assess your behavior in various situations, in order to understand how you will fill out the role you have applied for and how you will be dealing with day-to-day issues. They will be likely to come up during the interview itself, which is why it is important to identify them during the conversation.

You may get asked things like: “Tell us about a time when you solved a problem”, “when did you implement a solution to increase productivity”, or “how would you deal with a difficult colleague who disagreed with you?”

For these types of questions, we recommend using the STAR method, as it will give your response a clear structure and convey the message efficiently. STAR stands for: Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
Situation: describe the situation and context that you found yourself in.
Task: if you were given a specific task to respond to mention it here. If there wasn’t a specific task describe the challenge you faced.
Action: describe what action you took to resolve the situation or complete the task in a timely manner
Result: outline your achievements. Even if the result was not perfect, use this example to explain what you learned from it and how you would improve on it the next time around.

Numerical reasoning tests

These tests want to understand how well you deal with costs, ratios, percentages and conversions. You may be asked to identify trends and patterns in different data sets or work with statistics. Depending on the position you are applying to this may be of great importance, as it will show numerical as well as analytical skills.

Situational judgment test

This may come in form of a test or be incorporated within the interview. This test will outline a particular problem, either providing you with possible solutions or leaving the answer open to you. No matter which form, be prepared to justify your choice. These questions are designed to test different competencies such as communication, teamwork, and leadership. Understand which will be most required for the position and where you think you can excel in personally.

Psychometric tests

Psychometric tests aim to give employers an idea of your personality as a whole, which is why there are often no right or wrong answers. You might get asked questions such as how strongly you agree with the statement “I remain calm under pressure”. While you can guess at certain desirable qualities it will be difficult to guess the exact profile the company is looking for. Therefore answering truthfully will most likely be the best policy.

Can I prepare for these tests?

This depends on the company and if they tell you about these tests beforehand. If you are aware of such tests coming up doing some research and getting to know the format of these questions can be helpful. Not because you will know the answers, this will not be the case, but you will know what to expect and enter the test situation more calmly.

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