How Do I Prepare for the Leadership Test?

The Preparing for the SHL Personality Test has been known to be a major roadblock for
many professionals today even if they have the best of credentials or a stellar resume.

This is because companies and organizations have learned to be more scrutinous with the candidate themselves, not just their application.

There is also a high chance that the people on your reference list are just giving you the courtesy of vouching for them or that they are close friends of yours that are willing to put in a good word for you to increase your chances of being hired.

Such is the purpose of the SHL Personality Test: it is a way for your prospective employer to see what can’t be seen in your resume and to know if your attitudes, behavior, and motivations, are in line with their own.

That being said, here are a few tips to help you in preparing for the SHL Personality Test better.

Know Your Job Profile

A common mistake done by aspiring applicants is by having their results too friendly or too stern for the position that they are applying for.

While it may be different to some extent for each company across industries, there is still a set behavior or personality profile that they deem as either ‘ideal’ or ‘acceptable’

For example, those applying for a position in sales sometimes make the mistake of making themselves look too standoffish when they intended to present themselves as independent

As a result, it would be in your best interest to look up the tasks and responsibilities of the vacant position and see if the company prefers someone who is friendly or someone who is strict with enforcing policies or rules.

Watch Out for Extreme Answers

The SHL Personality Test uses a likert-scale-like answer format for its items or questions like the example below:

I always set aside some time to help a colleague

Highly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Highly Disagree

Although there is nothing wrong with helping out a coworker when they encounter a problem, you must first take a moment and analyze if you want to present yourself as someone that’s always setting aside time to help others while taking into consideration the position that you are applying for.

What if you are at an important meeting with the board of directors of the company?

What if you are talking to an important client?

These are just a few things that you must take into account before agreeing or disagreeing on an extreme statement.

Don’t Avoid Extreme Answers

 Although this may be inconsistent with the previous tip, avoiding extreme answers or choices in the SHL Personality Test is actually also a way to lower your chances of being hired because companies will think that you are playing it too safe and thus your answers are not reliable.

The best way to go about this is to focus on statements or questions that show vital employee skills like the one below:

Being Punctual is One of My Most Defined Qualities

Highly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Highly Disagree

Once you’re hired, you are expected to always come to work on time, so answering ‘Highly Agree’ is the best choice.

Answering otherwise, however, would put your ability to arrive at the office on time or meetings in question, making your prospective employer assume that you are tardy from time to time.

So, if you encounter a statement that includes a skill or competency that is vital to the position and you know you can bring to the table, do not hesitate to answer in the extreme.

Take Full Advantage of Online Resources

Lastly, the best way to prepare for the SHL Personality Test is to make good use of online resources available.

Such resources will get you familiar with every aspect of the test itself by giving you all possible question formats, sample questions, mock tests, and even preferred profiles for each position, allowing you to know just what series of statements you should look out for.

With the SHL Personality Test being tough and the competition being tougher, you need to have every bit of advantage that you can, when you can.

All in all, we hope that this article helped you in your journey to land that dream job of yours in one way or another. Good luck!