The company was established in 1987 and during its early years it focused primarily on recruitment. Through a series of acquisitions, Kenexa expanded its service offering to the talent management sector. It was acquired by IBM in 2012 for $1.3 billion. Kenexa has a portfolio of more than 1,500 assessments that can be customised to suit the specific requirements of each business. Kenexa tests are usually used during the initial screening stage, though they can be incorporated into the recruitment process at any point.
What Categories of Kenexa Tests are There?
Advanced Reasoning. These are assessments that evaluate psychometric skills such as verbal and numerical reasoning. Career Fit. A test designed to assess personality and/or a competency. Many businesses use this type of test to identify the most suitable candidate based on workplace preference, rather than looking specifically at job descriptions. Culture Fit. In certain work environments, staff need to demonstrate a particular type of personality. This test will determine whether the candidate holds the values that the company believes are important. Job Fit. An assessment that enables the employer to identify the candidate with the strongest job preferences in relation to the job that they have applied for. Kenexa KPIs.The Kenexa Key Performance Indicators is a suite of tools used by employers to highlight whether a candidate would engage in specific behaviours that would be integral to the role they have applied for (such as teamwork). Kenexa Prove It. This is a comprehensive platform including over 1,200 tests that range from job-specific skills through to more general competency or personality tests.
Kenexa tests include numerical, verbal and logical reasoning assessments.
What Types of Aptitude Tests does Kenexa Produce?
There are four core aptitudes covered by Kenexa tests:
Numerical Reasoning. Questions will be selected from a bank of 174 questions and candidates have 20 minutes to complete the test, which comprises 20 questions (so an average of one minute per question). This type of test will be used to review the candidate’s ability to analyse and interpret numerical data, as well as being able to understand profit margins and calculate percentages. See more on numerical reasoning tests, and take a free sample test here. Verbal Reasoning. These tests are also 20 minutes in length, with 24 questions to answer. Each question relates to a paragraph of information accompanied by a statement. This statement may be either false, true or it cannot be determined, based on the information contained in the text. These verbal reasoning tests are often used to determine the candidate’s communication skills. See more on verbal reasoning tests, and take a free sample test here. Logical Reasoning. During this assessment, the candidate will be provided with a series of different shapes, and they must identify the missing pattern to complete the sequence. A logical reasoning test aims to evaluate the candidate’s ability to reach correct conclusions based on the information in the sequence. See more on logical reasoning tests, and take a free sample test here. Kenexa CAT. The Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) is one of the most recent additions to Kenexa. In this test, candidates answer a series of questions that increase in difficulty as they progress. The CAT assessments include three main types of test: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and logical reasoning.
Companies that rely on Kenexa tests as part of their screening process include:
Balfour Beatty and Nomura, which use Kenexa’s numerical reasoning tests Bank of America Merrill Lynch and CVS Caremark, which use Kenexa’s situational judgement tests Grant Thornton, which use Kenexa’s numerical and verbal reasoning tests
How to Prepare for Kenexa Tests
Preparation is key when it comes to passing the Kenexa tests. The more you practice, the better your technique will become. In addition, the more tests that you sit, the more you will be able to identify patterns in the questions. If you are more comfortable with verbal reasoning tests (for example if you are a native speaker of English), put your focus on numerical reasoning - looking specifically at interpreting data, working out percentages, and calculating ratios and currency conversions. When it comes to preparing for verbal reasoning tests prepared by Kenexa, candidates are always encouraged to be aware of double negatives. This is a strategy which is intentionally used to throw you off course or cause confusion. Therefore, it is important to read the information carefully and synthesise what it says. To strengthen your verbal reasoning skills, you should aim to read a commercial magazine such as The Economist or Forbes. Practice by summarizing the key points of the article and try to comprehend complex business information about real issues. This will enable you to approach the real test with more confidence. If you want further practice of Kenexa-style tests, we recommend the Kenexa package offered by JobTestPrep.
Verbal Reasoning
Candidates will be given a passage of text such as the one below. This is then followed by a question such as: Faulty wiring is the main contributing factor to house fires in domestic properties. Is this:
True False Cannot determine
Numerical Reasoning
In a numerical reasoning test, the candidate is presented with a graph or chart which will be used to assess how well you can process and synthesise data. Here’s an example question:
Email makes £60 Social media generates £104 Paid search generates £20 Direct website referrals make £70 SEO generates £46
Based on this information the candidate would be asked a question such as working out which two marketing methods would account for 50% of the revenue generated by the firm.
How to Succeed at Kenexa Tests
As with any psychometric test, the key to success is practice and Kenexa tests are no different. That said, we have put together some tips to help you succeed not just in Kenexa tests but any psychometric test: Always read the question carefully and make sure you know what it is asking rather than answering what you think the answer should be. Failing to read the question properly can result in missing out a crucial piece of information. Sometimes candidates may find that reading the question twice may help. Be careful though, because this can waste valuable time, particularly in the real test when you only have around a minute to answer each question. If you want further practice of Kenexa-style tests, we recommend the Kenexa package offered by JobTestPrep. The practice questions will help build your speed as well as your confidence. They also get you in the habit of reading questions carefully so you don’t get caught out by them. Remember to keep notepaper with you as you work out your answers and make sure that the logic is properly thought through before you choose your final answer. You can work on this by doing practice questions or even going further – for example, you can strengthen verbal reasoning skills by reading magazines such as The Economist or Forbes. You can then summarize the key points of the article to check your comprehension. This will improve your understanding of complex business information about real issues and then help you approach the real Kenexa test with more confidence. Similarly, practicing your numerical or logical reasoning using graphs or charts will help you show that you can process and synthesize data when you take the tests. The numerical tests from Kenexa are used by Balfour Beatty and Nomura, while the verbal reasoning ones are used by Grant Thornton. There are also situational judgment tests within the large portfolio of assessments that Kenexa holds and these are used by Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and CVS Caremark. The Kenexa tests are often used at an early stage of screening by these big companies. Tests like these help companies during their recruitment and hiring process to make sure they are taking the best candidates. The four core aptitudes covered by Kenexa tests are numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, logical reasoning and the CAT (Computer Adaptive Test). It’s common to feel more confident in some areas versus others, so spend time practicing the aptitude you think you need the most help in. You will need notepaper when you practice and you’ll want to recreate the test situation as closely as possible so it feels realistic to you. Companies can request customization to suit their specific requirements. Kenexa tests are usually used during the initial screening stage, though they can be incorporated into the recruitment process at any point. If they are used later in the process this might be to distinguish between close-run candidates, so these tests are likely to be more difficult. Some tests, like The Computer Adaptive Test (CAT), which is one of the most recent additions to Kenexa, have the candidates answer a series of questions that actually increase in difficulty as they progress. It’s important to do plenty of preparation and practice so that you get speedier at answering questions. Remember you have competition when you’re applying for a job, so you want to make sure you stand out by answering the Kenexa test questions without wasting valuable time. You can get used to the fast-paced nature of psychometric tests by doing as many practice tests as you can manage. In addition, there are more specific tests that Kenexa has in its large portfolio. For example, the Career Fit test is designed to assess candidates’ personalities and competencies. Another is the Culture Fit test where companies who want their staff to demonstrate a particular type of personality will screen for these specific values and traits. The Job Fit test is another assessment that helps employers to identify candidates with strong job preferences that relate to the role that they have applied for. In addition, the more practice that you do, the more you will be able to identify repeated patterns in the questions. For example, in verbal reasoning tests prepared by Kenexa, you will see double negatives popping up as you practice. These are examples of ways in which Kenexa is trying to put you under pressure or cause confusion. Similarly, some tests will intentionally include redundant information, so you need to prepare and practice to learn how to evaluate and discard the information that is not required. Companies can ask candidates to take Job or Culture Fit tests by Kenexa because these help them pick the candidates who would fit in most easily and stick with the job. Companies also use the Kenexa Key Performance Indicators to help them work out whether a candidate would engage in specific behaviors that are important to the role they are recruiting for (for example, traits such as problem-solving or teamwork).
