Employers these days are now asking for more than just a well-written resume and an impressive interview experience from prospective employees.
No one can blame them since there are now many talented technical writers out there that can make even the most inexperienced of candidates look like they are the most compatible one for the available position.
There are also numerous online resources that can coach job seekers into delivering their answers in a manner which they can sound like an experienced or dependable employee.
As a result, many companies now prescribe a pre-employment test in the early stages of the hiring process. Some companies now have candidates take the Wonderlic Personnel Test to help filter out candidates. These scores help look past a resume and reveal the true strengths and weaknesses of a potential employee.
The Wonderlic Test is a popular assessment used to measure the cognitive ability and problem-solving aptitude of prospective employees. Putting in the extra effort of preparing for the Wonderlic test can help you not only find the best job for you but find the best employee for a company!
Here are some SMART Tips to help you prepare for the Wonderlic test and present yourself as the best candidate for the job!
Secure your points early
Let’s start with what makes the Wonderlic personnel test difficult: its time limit.
When you take the exam, you are only given 12 minutes to answer 50 questions. This makes the main challenge of the test getting as many points as you can before the time limit expires.
If you are skilled with English grammar and reading comprehension but can’t handle calculations well, then it would be a good idea to focus on the verbal reasoning section and get every point that you can. Then move on to the math section.
This goes the same for the opposite: if you’re good at math but bad at English, then you should focus on the former. The key is focusing on your strengths.
Another reason why you should do this is that each question, no matter how hard or easy it is, is only worth a single point. As a result, it would be in your best interest to do the ones that are easy for you first.
Don’t fall for the trap!
While going through the questions, you may notice that a few of them are absurdly long in description, have a lot of variables, or require multiple formulas to solve.
Such questions are included by the test developers for one reason only: to see how the test-takers manage their time. If they focus too much on one question, they will not be able to answer others.
If you spend 3 to 5 minutes to answer a single question, and even if you did manage to get it right, you are basically trading 15 points for one if you allow yourself to be caught in the time trap.
Skip them over and focus on questions that are easier to answer. Then come back and ensure you answer since they are still worth one point, which is better than none!
How can you still get points from the time trap questions? Well, the trick lies in the next item.
Having trouble? Don’t be afraid to guess!
Due to the logical reasoning portion of the Wonderlic exam as well as the questions that require you to examine tables and other graphs such as statistical and business data, it is very likely that you will have some difficulty.
At one point, you will encounter a question or a number of questions that are not time traps but will take a lot of your time because you are not familiar with the specific way to solve them.
When you encounter such questions, you have two options: either SKIP or GUESS!
You are not penalized for guessing so make an educated one and there is a chance that you choose the right one! By making an educated guess, you are actually showing your prospective employer that you are able to make quick decisions on the go while taking into account the risks.
Take full advantage of any online resources out there!
Whether it’s free or paid, never underestimate the usefulness of an online Wonderlic personnel practice test.
It is very likely that you are competing with other applicants for a single job opening and a single point advantage can be the difference between being hired or skipped over for another candidate.
These practice Wonderlic tests contain questions that are similar or near-identical to the ones that can appear in the actual exam. Furthermore, most of these tests also have the time limit in place, allowing you to get a feel for it and prevent you from panicking on test day.
The more you use these practice tests of the Wonderlic exam, the better you can handle the timed environment of the actual test.
This means that you’ll also have a good idea on which section, or sections, you are most likely to have difficulty or trouble with, allowing you to plan accordingly or study for so that you’ll be able to turn these ‘possible’ points into ‘certain’ ones.
Learn how to answer questions the smart way
Last but not the least, it is highly important to know that there are ‘shortcuts’ or tricks when trying to answer any of the questions of any subjects in the Wonderlic assessments.
This is most observable with the math section of the exam where you can actually do a much simpler calculation to answer it in mere seconds instead of trying to solve it conventionally and waste a minute. Look for shortcuts in answering certain math equations.
On the logical reasoning and spatial questions, there is typically an observable pattern or sequence that will easily lead you to the correct answer.
From here, it is clear that finding out the quickest, and smartest, way to answering each question will improve your chances of getting hired because you are not only giving yourself the means to pass the Wonderlic test but also because doing so will increase the time that you can spare for other questions, thus potentially increasing your final Wonderlic test score.