How to Prepare for the Testing Session

The best way to prepare for a testing session is to ensure there are no distractions while they are being completed and that candidates are well rested – i.e., it is not a good idea to do them at the end of a long day. The tests are not required to be completed in one sitting – in fact, it is recommended that no more than 2 hours of tests be completed at a time due to fatigue effects. The untimed tests can be paused at any time and completed at another time. The timed tests, once started, must be completed in the same sitting. The problem-solving questionnaires, in particular, are susceptible to fatigue effects because of the tight time limits and it is important that candidates be fresh and alert to perform at their best. A good night’s sleep, a meal with complex carbohydrates and protein, and a stress-free day are all factors that will help candidates perform at their best.

Preparing for Specific Questionnaires

The BLA testing process is focused on the skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with high performance in any professional job.

Personality:

we encourage candidates to prepare to write the personality questionnaires by (a) reflecting on their personal qualities and (b) resolving to portray their personal qualities honestly and accurately. When asked a question like, “I would like to belong to a book club,” candidates are encouraged to reflect on how they feel about joining a book club and respond in line with how they genuinely feel. Some candidates will answer questions like this based on how they think they should answer instead of how they really feel. This is a poor strategy and candidates who use it tend not to do as well as candidates who respond in accord with how they really feel.

Examples of personality test items (true or false response):

• I like to play practical jokes on people.
• When things go wrong, I sometimes blame the other person.
• The most important things to me are my duties to my job and to other people.
• Even when I have got into trouble, I was usually trying to do the right thing.

Intellect:

Study and review can help candidates to prepare for the problem-solving questionnaires. These questionnaires measure thinking skills that can be improved through effort and practice.

The following video tutorials provide information on how to prepare for problem solving tests:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z18IkaAeoEs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJJWp7q_cfY
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD_5IXy3IpU