Why 200 Questions Beat 20 Interview Questions Every Time
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Fermion is a Wollongong-based HR consultancy that specialises in helping companies across Australia save money through innovative recruitment and retention programs. Let us help your organisation thrive.
Why Psychometric Testing in Recruitment Matters
When it comes to recruitment, most organisations still rely heavily on interviews. A hiring manager might ask 15–20 questions and hope to gain enough insight into a candidate’s intelligence, personality, and emotional intelligence.
At Fermion, we’ve seen the limits of that approach. That’s why we use psychometric testing in recruitment — structured assessments that measure IQ, EQ, and personality. In fact, every candidate answers around 200 questions in our pre-employment psychometric assessments.
The Advantage of 200 Questions Over an Interview Alone
While 200 questions may sound like a lot, they’re not random. Every response is organised into meaningful scores and insights that show:
- How candidates process and analyse information (IQ).
- How they understand and manage emotions (EQ).
- How their personality traits align with your workplace culture.
This structured insight gives hiring managers far more depth than a traditional interview ever could.
Why Testing Before Interviews Works Best
We strongly recommend completing psychometric testing before the interview. Why? Because it allows you to:
- Enter the interview with data-driven insights already in hand.
- Ask targeted, smarter questions instead of relying on gut feel.
- Confirm or challenge what you observe in person with objective evidence.
This combination of data and dialogue leads to more reliable hiring decisions — and reduces bias in the recruitment process.
Psychometric Testing Complements, Not Replaces, Interviews
It’s important to note that psychometric testing for hiring is not a substitute for interviews. Instead, it’s the perfect complement. Interviews reveal how a candidate communicates and engages in real time. Psychometric assessments reveal the underlying cognitive ability, emotional intelligence, and personality traits that drive long-term performance.
Together, they create a structured hiring process that significantly improves your chances of selecting the right candidate.
Final Word
If you’re looking to improve hiring decisions, reduce guesswork, and make your recruitment process more reliable, consider IQ, EQ, and personality testing as part of your selection strategy.
With over 200 structured questions analysed into meaningful insights, you’ll know far more than you ever could by relying on an interview alone.
👉 Learn more about Fermion’s approach to psychometric testing in recruitment and how it can transform your hiring success: Contact us today.
About the Author:
Fermion specialises in psychometric testing for recruitment. Please contact Fermion to discuss how a test of IQ, EQ and a personality profile, or any other psychometric test, can help with you your recruitment decisions.
Christopher Apps is a Workplace Psychologist and the owner of Fermion. He stays updated on the latest psychology research and shares evidence-based insights. The focus of Fermion is "Psychometric Testing for Recruitment" and “Recruitment to Retention: How to Select Good Staff & Keep Them”. If you would like to learn how to select good staff and keep them, please feel free to contact us at Fermion.
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Eleanor Roosevelt.
