Calmer candidates perform better on tests for job seekers

Job candidates' reactions impact their performance on the test, a new study has found.

Julie McCarthy, an associate professor in the Department of Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough who is cross appointed to the Rotman School of Management, said that tests remain reliable predictors of job performance regardless of how candidates respond to this step in the selection process.

She said that candidates who experience high levels of anxiety for instance, will have low test performance while those who are motivated by tests will perform better, both on the test and on the job.

Prof. McCarthy points out that it is these types of behavioural responses that can also positively or negatively affect job performance.

Reactions considered situational, such as general skepticism about the tests themselves or about the fairness of using these tools, are also linked to test performance but are not directly linked to performance on the job.

The new study has been published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.