Foreword

Numerical reasoning tests are amongst the most widespread measures that employers apply in selecting staff. I have come across their use for shop-floor factory and retail staff, for computer programmers, croupiers, sales people, managers, space scientists and top civil servants. The last group included the head of the Inland Revenue – the most senior tax job in the United Kingdom – and it was interesting that even there not all of the highly qualified candidates did well! So, numerical reasoning tests are widely valued by employers to help them make distinctions amongst candidates who might otherwise seem to be much of a muchness. I have also become aware that facing a numerical reasoning test is a big challenge for many. It is more often with this type of test than any other that the ‘rabbit in the headlights’ reaction is found; some people are just too alarmed to demonstrate their true numerical ability. And then there are those who have a blind spot in one or more areas of working with numbers, perhaps going back many years, so that decimals or percentages, say, always floor them.

This book is for all those who can anticipate taking numerical reasoning tests, but who know that they might not do themselves justice – and that is a very large group. It is not only the fearful or those with the blind spots, but also those who are rusty with numbers, perhaps not having had to use them much in their work for several years. The emphasis of the book is on practice, and it is a particularly rich source of sample material of all types of numerical reasoning items that gives readers the opportunity for a dedicated course of exercises to improve their performance. In addition to the sample tests there are a host of tips to ensure that the right approach to practice is adopted, such as examining what might lead you to have guessed an answer and how each bit of practice can be seen as like a single coin – ‘not worth much on its own, but valuable when you amass several, giving you a wealth of knowledge’.

Whilst stressing the use of the practice material as such, the book also advises on how to make use of day-to-day opportunities to hone numerical skills. Altogether, this is a very comprehensive and rounded volume for anyone seriously wishing to do brilliantly at numerical reasoning tests.

Dr Robert Edenborough
Director, Bradenlaw Ltd