Time pressure during the aptitude test; How to best deal with it?
Reference: assessmentcoaching.nl
Many people experience the time pressure associated with aptitude tests as most bothersome. Do you recognize that? Unfortunately, a time limit is necessary to properly distinguish the different levels of intelligence. The speed in which you can answer the questions correctly is as much of an important factor as just being able to solve the difficult issues, as it says a lot about your intellectual level. Therefore, it is important that you learn how to deal with the time pressure so you will not let it undermine you.
Use the following tips:
- Use the instructions carefully. Time is not yet running at this point. So, do not start the assessment until you are sure you fully understand the instructions. If you don’t properly read the instructions there’s a good chance you will lose time during the actual test because you still have to figure out what the purpose of the test is.
- When reading the instructions, you will see the number of questions and the available time. With that, figure out how much time you have for each question, so that you have a guideline for yourself (usually around 30-90 seconds per question, depending on the type of test). Read the instructions carefully because it makes a difference whether you get time per question or time for the entire test (and therefore can take longer for some tasks).
- Remember that most intelligence tests are made in such a way that most people will not complete all tasks. It does not matter if you spend a little longer on some questions; the test does not have to be completed. But beware; this does not apply to all tests. If you have to complete all tasks within a certain time, this will be stated in the instructions.
- View every new assignment as a new opportunity. Take a piece of scrap paper and concentrate on the new assignment. Don’t look back on previous tasks. This way you will make sure you will be fully focused on the task that is in front of you, distraction can result in making mistakes.
Are you getting more nervous anyway? Take a short break. Take a sip of water, look out the window and take a few deep breaths. It is better to lose a little time than to proceed with excessive nerves and answer a lot of questions wrong. And if you anticipate that stress could get the best of you and you’ll fail the assessment because of that, then assessment coaching could be helpful for you. Contact the coaches of our partner assessmentcoaching.nl for more information or to schedule a coaching session.
