When it comes to pre-employment tests, most aspiring professionals assume that you only need to meet the minimum score required of your future employer because the rest is pretty much up to luck or the results of your interviews and strength of your credentials.
To an extent, yes, this is somewhat true.
Most companies don’t primarily depend on the test scores of an applicant, and each of them has a fair chance because they still have to go through other parts of the hiring process.
This means you can just do your best to merely meet the minimum score then prepare for the rest, yes?
Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT), where, apart from having to worry about the minimum passing score, you also have to be in the top percentile of passers.
This is the very reason why a lot of job seekers make good use of a CCAT free practice test online so that they can solidify their chances of being hired.
So even if you managed to pass it by meeting the minimum score, if there are other candidates with a much higher score, it is very likely that your application will be ignored, if not at least given low priority so that they can focus on more ‘promising’ applicants.
As a result, you should strive to do more than what’s required, and surprisingly, you don’t need to be a genius to do it, you just need to be smarter.
Let’s take a look at a number of things that you can do to excel at the CCAT.
1. Learn that the time limit is what you have to worry about
On its own, the CCAT, as well as the subjects contained within it, is actually rather easy since it’s designed to only measure critical job-related skills such as your verbal, numerical, and logical reasoning skills…. In theory, at the very least.
The main reason applicants turn to a CCAT practice test is because of the absurd time limit that they need to make do with.
When you take the exam, you are only given 15 minutes to answer all 50 questions.
It is due to this that many test-takers panic, try to rush the exam, and select the wrong answer in the process.
As a result, it would be in your best interest to try and stay calm so that you can answer as many questions as you can correctly.
2. Focus on the subjects that you are most familiar with
It goes without saying that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, so if you’re not quite good at math but excel in English or reading comprehension, then you should focus on the one that is easier for you to do first.
The same goes if the opposite is true.
By answering the questions that will only take a few seconds to answer, you will have more time to spare on the ones that are more difficult for you, thus allowing you to get more points in the CCAT.
3. Answer everything even if you have to guess
If you are pressed for time or if you really don’t know how to answer a question, then the best thing to do is to make an educated guess in the CCAT so that you’ll at least have a chance of getting a point instead of leaving it blank.
The reason why this is allowed is because there is no penalty for doing so since the computer can’t really technically know which of your answers is a wild guess or a mere assumption.
Furthermore, this trick can also be used early on in the exam itself so that you can have the time to answer questions that you have a better chance of getting right.
Of course, you shouldn’t use this for a lot of questions because this may do you more harm than good.
4. Look up online resources
When it comes to preparing for the CCAT, never underestimate how useful a CCAT practice test can be because not only does it familiarize you with the subject matter contained within the exam, it also gives you a feel for the timed nature of the assessment.
By giving yourself firsthand experience on how short the time limit is in the actual exam, you will be able to adjust your strategy on how to tackle the CCAT on test day, especially if you discover which subjects or sections are the most difficult to answer.
Many CCAT practice tests and study guides are designed to contain tips, hints, or shortcuts on how to answer nearly everything in the exam, allowing you to gain more points in the process.
While this isn’t vital at all, you must understand that other applicants are likely to take advantage of the availability of these guides because they really want to secure their chances of being hired by the company by putting themselves in the best percentile possible.
Knowing this, it would be disadvantageous if you didn’t give yourself the same edge as them, especially if there’s only a single position available.
Share
Contributors
