What to Expect From the Caliper Test

Caliper is the name of a workplace assessment now offered by Talogy. Previously known as the Caliper Profile, it is a psychological assessment designed to measure personality traits and abstract reasoning.

The assessment has been used by employers for more than 60 years. Today, businesses use it for hiring, employee development, leadership planning, and succession planning.

If you have applied for a job and have been asked to take the Caliper assessment, here is what you should expect.

What to Expect From the Caliper Test

The current Caliper assessment consists of 98 questions. There is no set time limit, but it usually takes about an hour to complete. Some people may need more or less time.

The assessment includes both personality questions and abstract reasoning questions. There are no right or wrong answers in the personality section because the questions ask you to describe yourself. The abstract reasoning section, however, does have correct answers.

Personality Questions

A question may give you several statements and ask which one describes you best and which describes you least. For example, the options might include statements such as:

• I am responsible.
• I am resourceful.
• I am a leader.
• I have excellent communication skills.

All the descriptions may sound positive, but that is part of the point. By choosing one positive statement over the others, you reveal something about your priorities and natural tendencies.

One common complaint is that personality assessments can be confusing when they use negative or very definite words such as “not,” “never,” and “always.” This may not be a problem at first, but the assessment is fairly long. As your attention begins to drop, it becomes easier to misread a question.

Take your time and pay attention to the wording. Don’t choose an answer until you are sure you have understood what the statement actually says.

Abstract Reasoning Questions

In addition to the personality questions, the Caliper assessment includes abstract reasoning problems. These questions may involve patterns, geometrical shapes, numbers, or sequences.

A few of them may seem very difficult, especially if this type of question isn’t familiar to you. That doesn’t mean they are deliberately unsolvable. They are designed to measure how well you recognize patterns and understand relationships between different pieces of information.

If you get stuck, don’t panic and don’t spend too long going over the same question. Move through the problem carefully and choose the answer that makes the most sense to you.

How Caliper Test Results Are Used

After you complete the assessment, your answers are used to build a profile of your workplace-related traits and abstract reasoning ability. The Caliper Profile measures 21 personality traits as well as abstract reasoning.

Employers may compare your results with the requirements of the job. They can select a job model for a particular role and look at how closely an applicant’s likely behavior and strengths fit that position.

This doesn’t mean that the assessment can provide a perfectly accurate psychological profile or predict exactly how someone will perform. It is one source of information that an employer may consider along with experience, qualifications, interviews, and other parts of the hiring process.

How to Pass the Caliper Test

As mentioned above, most questions in the Caliper assessment are personality questions. It is probably safe to say that your best approach is to be yourself and answer honestly.

You could try to work out which personal traits might be desirable for the position and answer accordingly. The problem is that personality tests often ask similar questions in several different ways. Trying to maintain an invented personality throughout the assessment can easily result in inconsistent answers.

There is another problem too. You might increase your chance of being hired for a position that doesn’t fit your personality and makes you miserable in the long run.

The abstract reasoning section is different because it does have correct answers. Practicing number sequences, shape patterns, and other abstract reasoning exercises beforehand may help you become familiar with the question format. This isn’t the same as finding the actual test answers.

Caliper Test Answers

Caliper is a protected commercial assessment, so its current questions and answers aren’t publicly available. You may find general information about the test and reviews written by people who have taken it, but don’t take websites claiming to reveal all the real Caliper questions and answers too seriously.

The assessment may also change over time. Old articles still describe a 180-question version that could take up to two hours, while Talogy currently describes it as a 98-question assessment that usually takes about one hour.

Knowing what kinds of questions to expect can make the experience less stressful. For the personality section, read carefully and answer sincerely. For the abstract reasoning section, stay calm, look for the pattern, and give each problem your best attempt.