How to Pass an Employment Math Test
As many as 70 percent of employers use job aptitude exams. Therefore, it's likely that your prospective employers will make you take employment math tests as part of the application and interview process. These tests are instrumental for positions in fields like accounting where math is required to serve clients or the employer. To pass an employment math test, you have to properly review and get some basic information from your potential employer about the test content.
Ask your potential employer outright what kind of math will be on the employment math exam. This will give you some direction for your preparatory study and stop you from studying material that won't be on the test. For example, if you are going for an architecture job, you may need more algebra than someone who is applying for a retail clerk position. Be specific when you inquire and try to get percentages of the different content. For instance, if you know that 75 percent of the test uses multiplication, you'll definitely want to go through your times tables. You can spend less time studying for problems that won't count as much toward your score.
Get some math resources from your local bookstore or library. Refresh your basic math skills such as working with multiplication or percentages, estimating and reading tables. These are the math skills that are the foundation for other math-related tasks. Move on to more complex mathematics like algebra once you're confident with the basics.
Get a good's night's rest and eat breakfast on the day of the test. Being tired and hungry can hinder your concentration and increases the odds you'll make unnecessary mistakes.
Read all the instructions for the entire test before you do any problems.
Do the simplest problems first. Then move on to harder ones. Try to finish problems you can see easily relate to job functions you would perform, regardless of their level. Estimate as you work so you quickly can check whether your final answer is close.
Double check your work only when you have completed as many questions as you can. If you double check as you go, you may not get through all the test, which can drastically lower your score, even if everything you did is correct.
Tip
Check with your potential employer about the use of calculators on the test. If you can't bring one with you to the test, you'll have to brush up on your manual math much more and should work a little harder on mental math practice. If you are allowed to bring a calculator, program in a few notes with some basic formulas you may need to remember. These don't provide any answers to the test questions, but they can help you choose how to solve a given equation.