SHL is a test publisher, and there is no single SHL test to revise for. The assessment you are sent depends on the employer. SHL's example questions cover calculation, checking, numerical reasoning, personality, inductive reasoning, motivation, situational judgement and verbal reasoning, so use them to identify the format before you start practising.
First, identify the format
SHL says its example questions give you an idea of the type of assessments you may be asked to complete when applying for a job (SHL). Use the name in your invitation to identify the closest format before you start practising.
SHL describes ability tests as looking at how far you can carry out aspects of a job, such as verbal and numerical reasoning (SHL). Check for that wording first if your invitation names a reasoning test rather than a personality questionnaire or a motivation questionnaire.
What the main types measure
| Type | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Verbal reasoning | SHL's practice page says verbal tests measure your ability to understand written information and to evaluate arguments about it. |
| Numerical reasoning | SHL's cognitive ability page says numerical reasoning tasks include solving word problems, performing numerical calculations, and interpreting charts and graphs. |
| Inductive reasoning | The same SHL page says inductive reasoning tasks involve working out the pattern in a set of images and identifying the correct next image (SHL). |
| Deductive reasoning | SHL says deductive reasoning tasks involve reading statements and then deciding which later options cannot be true or must be true (SHL). |
| Situational judgement | SHL says situational judgement tests assess your ability to choose the most appropriate action in workplace situations (SHL). |
| Personality questionnaire | SHL says personality questionnaires look at behavioural preferences, meaning how you like to work (SHL). |
What numerical tests ask you to do
SHL says numerical tests assess your understanding of tables of statistical and numerical data and your ability to make logical deductions (SHL). Prospects says numerical reasoning tests assess how you interpret charts, graphs, data or statistics and deal with numbers quickly and accurately (Prospects).
When you practise, read the table or chart first. Then time the calculation.
Practise the formats, not just the answers
SHL's practice assessments provide a similar testing experience, in terms of question types and formats, to the tests you may be asked to complete. That makes them useful for getting used to the wording and the pace. SHL also warns that the difficulty of its practice tests may not exactly reflect the difficulty of the real test, so do not treat a strong practice score as a forecast of the real one (SHL).
You are not permitted to share your practice test results with any third party, SHL states. Keep your results for your own preparation. Do not post them or pass them to friends.
Prospects advises simulating the real test by setting a timer and working through full-length practice sessions (Prospects). Do more than one practice test and track your progress across them (Prospects).
Imperial College London Careers says practice is the best way to improve on aptitude tests because the question formats may be unfamiliar (Imperial College London Careers). If a format feels strange, that is the one to practise next.
Read the instructions and answer honestly
SHL advises reading the instructions carefully and completing any practice and example questions when you take online assessments (SHL). Treat that as part of the test, not an optional warm-up.
SHL warns that if you try to guess what assessors are looking for, you may be wrong (SHL). That matters most on personality questionnaires, where the aim is to describe how you like to work, not to invent the profile you think the employer wants.
Prospects warns that trying to cheat a personality test can backfire, as consistency checks are built in (Prospects). Answer as yourself and keep your answers consistent.
Prospects describes situational judgement tests as giving you a hypothetical work-related situation and asking you to choose a preferred course of action from a list of options (Prospects). The same page says you may be asked to choose the most and least effective responses, so read the instructions carefully (Prospects). If the format asks for both, answer both parts.
What the score is compared with
Prospects says aptitude test results are compared to a standard, so you must achieve a certain score to pass (Prospects). Use practice to check your own accuracy and speed. The comparison to a standard does not tell you what score your employer will require.
A plan for this week
- Find the format named in your invitation.
- Match it to one of the example question formats described above.
- Set a timer.
- Work through a full-length practice session.
- Do a second practice test later in the week.
- Note your progress across both tests.
- Read the instructions before the timed section.
- Complete any practice or example questions first.
- Answer personality questions for yourself.
Use the plan to prepare. It does not tell you what your employer will ask.
Where practice fits
On this site, the psychometric tests page has four timed sets written for this site; they are not real tests from any publisher. You can also ask Pip to run a mock interview on the mock interview page.