An Emotional Intelligence (EI) test is designed to understand your level of EI based on the five characteristics of emotional intelligence. It’s your ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathise with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.

Pioneered under the research of Mayer, Caruso, Salovey & Sitarenios (2003), Emotional Intelligence is different from IQ (Intelligence Quota) which measures logical reasoning. EI gives us a greater understanding of how someone deals with their emotions and the emotions of others in day-to-day situations.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is something which can be developed over time. The main components of EI include: Self Awareness (a recognition of one’s own emotions), Social Awareness (recognition of others’ emotions), Self Management (ability to manage one’s emotions) and social skills (an ability to influence and manage others’ emotions). 

An Emotional Intelligence test is designed to analyse these traits and understand what areas require development to help round out a person’s ability to develop their EI in specific situations. 

There are a few different ways to test for Emotional Intelligence. They are primarily split into three groups, self reporting, others reporting and ability tests. Each comes with their own pros and cons but fundamentally they’re designed to test your emotional intelligence based on situations and your responses. 

Self reporting is most commonly used in personality testing. Traits including warmth, empathy, anxiety and so on are tested in this way through a series of questions that ask the respondent on a sliding scale of whether they agree or disagree with the statement. 

As emotional intelligence considers other people, then getting others to report back is also a commonly used technique. This doesn’t mean that it’s a free-for-all attack on your character. Like self report, where the answers are based on a form of sliding scale, the questions are not being asked to you directly, they are being asked to people you have asked for feedback from. Commonly known as observer ratings or 360 degree feedback, this is a way to understand how your emotional responses and behaviour are being observed by those you work with. 

Finally, there is ability testing. EI is an actual ability so it makes sense that it can be measured along with other abilities. There are several ways of doing this but one of the most common methods is to use the MEIS system as developed by Mayer, Caruso, Salovey & Sitarenios which analyses answers based on Identifying Emotions, Using Emotions, Understanding Emotions and Managing Emotions. 

Based on the type of test you’re using (self report, others report and the MEIS test), you will have different methodologies to complete an emotional test. 

Self reporting tests can be done by yourself and give you some insight into your EI. The test works by posing a question and then requiring you to answer honestly based on the options available. For example, “I find it's hard to fall asleep at night” followed by responses which include, “not true” “somewhat true” “very true”. 

Others reporting (360 degree feedback) is similar to self reporting, the primary difference being that, other people are answering. A typical example in others reporting for emotional intelligence includes “Understands my emotions” followed by responses which include, “not true” “somewhat true” “very true”. 

MEIS testing is based on questions from situational scenarios with three potential answers equating to a score per answer (the respondent isn’t aware of weighting). These answers are then evaluated across a database of responses to provide a total score and thus measure your EI. 

Thomas uses the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue). Registered with the British Psychological Society, the test is designed to measure 15 emotional traits concerning Well-Being, Self-Control, Emotionality and Sociability. 

Understanding how your employees will manage their emotions and those of their colleagues will help organisations understand who is better suited to roles which can either be highly stressful or require good leadership skills, two areas where good Emotional Intelligence thrives. 

Being able to conduct Emotional Intelligence tests for leaders is a pragmatic way of understanding who will benefit the organisation with the nuances and soft skills that EI brings to the team. 

Having leaders within an organisation who are more emotionally intelligent can provide a calming workplace environment whilst also helping to improve productivity and create a fun working environment which reduces staff turnover and improves overall business objectives.

Identifying which candidates have soft skills and good emotional intelligence at the interview stage will help provide a greater insight into the candidate and the role they are fulfilling. Knowing which candidate has a better relationship managing their emotions and those of people around them would also be an important aspect for any company that is looking to help guide a recruitment decision around who gets selected for leadership roles. 

Knowing how to test emotional intelligence in an interview is, of course, essential. This can be done during a face-to-face meeting where scenarios are brought out and answers evaluated on both gut feel and understanding the response, or it could be done using one of the many techniques previously described. 

Using the Thomas Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue), candidates can be asked to complete this online assessment before a face-to-face interview. Answers and assessments remain private and are privy only to the recruiter at this stage. 

Thomas’ (TEIQue) assesses our beliefs about our emotional abilities (e.g., how good we believe we are at identifying, understanding, and managing our own and other people's emotions).

These beliefs are strong predictors of a remarkable range of behaviours and achievements, many of which are vital in the workplace (job performance, job satisfaction, job stress, leadership, organisational citizenship, organisational commitment, teamwork, etc.).