How To Prepare For The Psychometric Tests To Join FRNSW
If you want to apply to become a firefighter with Fire & Rescue NSW, you have to be aware of the application process. This includes a number of psychometric tests that you have to complete.
You’ll receive an invitation to complete these online assessments immediately after you submit your application. It’s recommended that you complete these as early as possible as FRNSW will not extend the assessment timeline.
The psychometric tests have four parts. These are:
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The Cognitive Ability Assessment
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The Work Safety Assessment
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A Work Reliability Scale
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An Emotify Assessment
These tests have to be completed on a computer with an internet connection. It’s also recommended that you have a mouse attached if you’re using a laptop. They can be accessed either on Chrome or Firefox browsers.
It’s really important that you prepare for these tests as much as you can so that you’re prepared for the types of questions that you have to answer.
Let’s look at each part in more detail.
1. The Cognitive Ability Assessment
This test is conducted by Revelian and includes 51 questions divided into 3 different segments. It’s a timed test and has to be completed in under 20 minutes.
The 3 different segments include:
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Abstract cognitive questions
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Verbal cognitive questions
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Numerical cognitive questions
It’s vital that you are well prepared for this test so that you can power through the questions and answer as many as you can correctly. The test is actually designed so that only two to three percent of participants will be able to complete it on time.
While you’re completing these tests, it’s a good idea to answer the questions that you’re most confident in first and then go back and attempt the others. Your aim is to get as many questions answered correctly as you can.
Although Revelian doesn’t reveal or give out any test questions, there will be example questions available at the beginning of each test.
Here are some examples of the type of questions that may be asked so that you can familiarise yourself with their formats.
Abstract Cognitive Questions
Each of these questions will have four or five answers that you can choose from. Of course, only one of those is correct. The questions are all abstract and come in the form of shape sequences.
You have to identify the pattern displayed and determine what the next correct shape is in the sequence. Here’s an example of this type of question.
To answer this question, you have to identify the pattern that’s displayed in the shapes and how it changes. So, let’s break it down step-by-step.
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Each square has a shape in it – a circle, square or triangle.
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When you look at the sequence, you’ll see that these shapes are repeated in the same order.
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From this, we can deduce that the missing shape would be a circle. But, there are 3 answers with circles in them.
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So, we have to look at the number of lines displayed in each shape across the corners.
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In the first square, there are 2 lines across each corner, making 8 lines.
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In the second square, one line has been dropped, so there are now 7 lines.
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In the third square, the number of lines is the same as the second square. So, there is a repetition of the number of lines.
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Next, look at the squares after the “mystery” fourth square.
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In the fifth square, another line has been dropped so there are now 5 lines.
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In the sixth square, there are also 5 lines.
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In the seventh square, there are only 4 lines.
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In the remaining 2 squares, there are 3 lines in each.
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We can deduce from this that the squares with the uneven number of lines are repeated once, while the square with the even number of lines is not repeated.
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Therefore, the answer square with 6 lines (D) is the correct one.
As you can see, there’s quite a lot to work out with these questions to get the right answer. Therefore, if this is not your strong suite, it’s best to practice these types of questions so that you get familiar with the variety of patterns to look out for.
Verbal Cognitive Questions
The verbal questions will all have multiple choice answers. You just have to select the correct one. These are designed to test your English language skills so that you are able to communicate and receive direction in an effective manner.
The questions in this part of the assessment fall into 3 categories. These are:
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List of Statements
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A Word List where you have to choose the odd-one-out
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Word association
Here’s an example of a “List of Statements” question:
Identify the 2 statements that prove that John has a blue car.
A. Andrew likes the colour of John’s car
B. John likes fast cars
C. Andrew also likes fast cars
D. Andrew only likes blue cars
E. John does not have a red car
To get the right answer, you have to read each statement carefully. So, because Andrew likes the colour of John’s car (A) and Andrew only likes blue cars (D), we can deduce that (A) and (D) are the correct answers.
Here’s an example of a “Word List” questions:
Look at the following 5 options. Four of them are similar. Select the one that doesn’t fit.
A. Joyful
B. Happy
C. Cheerful
D. Troubled
E. Carefree
It’s easy to choose the odd one out here as four of the terms relate to being happy. But, (D) Troubled, does not. The actual questions may not be as easy as this but at least you’ll get the idea of how they work.
Here’s an example of a “Word Association” question:
Happy: sad, Fortunate: ?
A. Auspicious
B. Unlucky
C. Opportune
D. Favourable
E. Lucky
To answer this question, you have to work out what kind of word association the example has. We can say that Happy & Sad are opposites, therefore, (B) Unlucky would be the opposite to Fortunate.
Numerical Cognitive Questions
Numerical questions fall into two distinct categories. The first is a sequence of numbers that requires you to identify the next number in the sequence. These questions may also include “Sudoku” tables with 1 missing number that you have to identify correctly.
Here’s an example of a numerical pattern question:
What is the missing number in this pattern?
144, ?, 48, 2, 24, 4, 6
In order to answer this question correctly, you have to identify the pattern first and this is how you would do it.
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It’s a good idea to work backwards in this example because there are more numbers to work with.
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If you look carefully, you’ll see that 48 is a multiple of 24. In fact, 2 x 24 = 48.
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From this assumption, we can confirm that 4 x 6 = 24
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So, to work out the missing number, you just have to divide 144 with 48. This gives you an answer of 3.
The second type of numerical question involves some type of calculation. This could include multiplication, division, or a calculation of averages, percentages, or ratios.
Here’s an example question:
Andrew has been driving down the highway for 30 minutes and he has travelled 50 kilometres. What is his average speed in kilometres per hour?
In order to answer this question, we have to work out the connection of the numerical values.
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We would do this by establishing that Speed equals Distance divided by Time.
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But first, we have to convert 30 minutes to a percentage of an hour. Of course, we know that 30 minutes is 0.5 of an hour because there are 60 minutes in an hour.
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So, our formula would be (Distance in kilometres) 50 divided by (Time in hours) 0.5 equals 100. Therefore, we can deduce that Andrew has been averaging 100 kilometres per hour.
2. The Work Safety Assessment
This is a non-timed assessment that should take around 15 minutes for you to complete. There are around 30 questions that you have to answer.
The test incorporates a series of statements that are related to common attitudes and beliefs regarding safety in the workplace. For each statement, you have to select your level of agreement or disagreement. You normally get 5 options to select from.
An example of these is listed below but they can vary from statement to statement.
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Strongly agree
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Agree
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Neutral
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Disagree
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Strongly disagree
Your answers are graded on a 5 point scale. This scale measures:
1. Your level of risk avoidance or caution.
2. Personal accountability and your level of responsibility.
3. How well you manage stress and your emotional resilience.
4. Whether you have any tendency toward aggressive or violent behaviour.
5. How likely you are to be compliant when given instructions on the job.
It’s very important to answer these questions truthfully as the assessment team also looks out for overly positive responses. Therefore, don’t be tempted to answer how you think you should.
Ultimately, the assessment measures your opinions and attitudes to safety in the workplace and in life in general.
3. Work Reliability Scale
This is another non-timed assessment. It should take you around 10 minutes to complete. It’s designed to measure your attitudes and beliefs around integrity and honesty.
For this assessment, you’ll be given a series of statements with responses that you have to select from. The available responses will vary from statement to statement.
Ultimately, this assessment will determine your attitude to being honest and acting with integrity in the workplace.
4. Emotify Assessment
For this assessment, you’ll be required to correctly identify a person’s emotions simply based on their facial expressions or their behaviour. This assessment consists of 2 parts with a total of 55 questions that are timed. You are required to complete these in around 20 minutes in total.
The 2 sections that are assessed include:
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Measuring your ability to identify emotions based on a person’s facial expression. In this, you’ll be shown pictures of faces with different expressions. You have to identify how the person is feeling.
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Measuring your ability to identify emotions based on a person’s behaviour. In this, you will be required to read a number of scenarios and determine the emotions of the people involved.
Ultimately, this assessment measures your level of emotional intelligence. Before the assessment begins, you’ll be given a tutorial and a sample question so that you understand exactly what you have to do.
What Happens After You Complete The Psychometric Tests?
Once you’ve completed the psychometric tests, you’ll receive feedback after the assessment period has closed.
Then, FRNSW will assess the responses and select a number of the highest-scoring applicants. These candidates will then be invited to take part in the Physical Aptitude Test.
How Can Fire Recruitment Australia Help You To Prepare For These Psychometric Tests?
Here at Fire Recruitment Australia, we’ve done all the research for you. This means that we can provide you with a multitude of practice tests covering all the types of questions that you’re likely to be asked.
Our aim is to ensure that you’re well prepared to pass these assessments with the best possible scores.
Plus, we have a full training course that covers all you need to know about applying to become a firefighter with FRNSW. We want to ensure that your application is successful so that you can join the ranks.
And, if you feel that you need even more help, we also offer personal coaching. This will give you all the confidence that you need to lodge a successful application and complete all the tests to the best of your ability.
Why not try out our Free practice test for yourself to see how you go. Then, get in touch with us via email, phone, or by leaving a message in the comments below. You can also contact us via our Facebook page.
Cheers,
Brent
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