Consultancy Tests

What are the main types of consultancy?

Consultants can be found in a wide range of industries, and the type of consultants vary too, depending on their own expertise. Usually, a consultant tends to work with high-level executives in a business, such as the senior management team.

Forms of consultancy include:

Management consulting

Management consultants work with the management teams of an organisation to improve its performance, offering objective advice from an external perspective. Usually, a management consultant will identify problems by gathering information, and then use this knowledge to suggest or implement solutions.

HR consulting

HR consultants help organisations to solve personnel-related problems and human resources needs. They offer solutions and recommendations to management teams about recruitment and hiring, as well as health and safety knowledge and legal compliance.

Recruitment consulting

In a similar way to HR consultants, recruitment consultants focus on helping organisations to hire the right people. Recruitment consultants create job adverts, screen and interview applicants, and ensure that the candidate and the organisation are a suitable match.

Strategy consulting

A strategy consultant helps organisations create strategies to deliver change. This might include deep analysis of business practices and goals, plans for cutting costs and increasing revenue, or making key decisions and giving high-level advice.

IT consulting

Technology, hardware and software are part of the expertise of an IT consultant. They help organisations develop robust IT strategies and solutions, evaluating and advising on the existing infrastructure, and designing and implementing a technology and software solution where needed.

What skills do consultants typically need?

There are certain prerequisites that a successful consultant usually needs – these are often part of the requirements for employment that are included in the job description.

A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is often required, and in some cases a Masters. Often employers who are recruiting for consultant positions are looking for at least three years of experience too.

In terms of skills and aptitudes, consultants typically need:

• Communication skills (to make complicated ideas simpler to understand)
• Listening skills (to fully understand problems)
• Theoretical and practical expertise (work and life experiences to base knowledge on)
• Analytical skills (to work with data and information to understand a problem)
• Creativity (improvisation; finding multiple solutions)
• Agility (to adapt to industry changes)
• Integrity (successful candidates are trustworthy and responsible)
• Leadership (ability to motivate and inspire staff)
• Project management (to handle staff, data and timelines)
• Self-confidence (knowing your worth and ability, including self-awareness)
• Collaboration (consultants need to be able to work closely with employees at every level)

What psychometric tests do consultancy firms use to assess these skills?

Psychometric tests are used in the application process for a wide variety of jobs across almost every business sector. These are tests designed to evaluate inherent skills like the ability to learn, how you behave in work situations, and what motivates you.

For consultancy roles, there are a few types of psychometric assessments that are more likely to be used in the recruitment process, as follows:

Situational judgement tests

A situational judgement test assesses a candidate on their decision-making and work-related behaviours, using a series of realistic scenarios based on situations that might be found in the workplace.

These are usually multiple-choice questions, and to answer a candidate has to select which course of action would be the most beneficial, given the situation.

In consultancy, making decisions and taking the most appropriate action for the scenario is always important. Situational judgement tests put a candidate in a stressful situation and then asks them to act and make a decision under pressure – much like what could happen in the workplace.

Personality tests

Personality tests are not so much about putting a candidate into a ‘box’, but more about assessing what type of person they are.

In a personality test, applicants often have to select from a number of descriptive words or phrases, choosing the one that is most (and sometimes least) like them. There are no right or wrong answers in a psychometric personality test, though each job role will have specific traits and behaviours sought.

Personality tests in consultancy roles can help demonstrate your leadership style, your ability to deal with pressure, how you work with other people, and what type of work you prefer.

Deductive reasoning tests

Deductive reasoning is one of several types of logical reasoning tests. In a deductive reasoning test, candidates are presented with some information and a conclusion about that information, and they need to deduce from the information given if the conclusion is true.

For consultants, the ability to think logically and make rational deductions based on limited information is crucial. Deductive reasoning assessments allow employers to test a candidate on their ability to reach the correct decision by following a logical process.

Numerical reasoning tests

Numerical reasoning assessments are arguably the most popular type of aptitude test, used across industries and for roles at almost every level.

Numerical reasoning isn’t about a candidate’s maths ability; the actual maths used in the questions is just simple operations, percentages and ratios. However, the test is looking at your ability to extract information from graphs and tables to make the right calculations to find the answer.

For consultants, analysis is almost as important as data-gathering: so being able to read information and data provided in a graph or a table is a skill that employers want to see. There is no point in analysing the wrong information.

Verbal reasoning tests

Communication is vital, and a verbal reasoning test assesses a candidate for their ability to quickly read and understand a passage of text in order to answer a question about it. This is not about previous knowledge; the content of the text doesn’t matter as much as the information presented.

As a consultant, you will be expected to be able to read, understand and apply information in written format, so being able to do this quickly is an important skill that employers looking for consultants will want to see.

5 tips for consultancy aptitude tests

Practice

Like any psychometric assessment, the most important tip is to ensure that you practice. Even if you think that you have the required skills for a role, being asked to demonstrate them under test conditions can make even the most seasoned consultant nervous.

The more practice you do, the more confident you will feel – and the better your score will be.

Know the test

As an extra part of the ‘practice’ tip above, knowing the test publisher will help make your practice more productive. Each publisher has a slightly different style and format to the tests, so while the basic idea might be the same, the way the questions are answered might be different.

Take your time (but hurry up)

Almost all of the psychometric tests you will face in the consultancy recruitment process are likely to be timed. This can put extra pressure on you when you are taking the test, so this tip might seem contradictory (but it isn’t).

To be successful during a psychometric test you need to take your time to understand the question and read the answers, but you need to hurry up and answer them.

Be yourself

This tip is especially true when it comes to personality assessments and situational judgement tests. While it might seem like a great idea to answer the questions according to what you think the recruiter wants to hear, this will not help you in the long run.

No matter how much you want the role, not being truthful about your answers might hurt your chances for progression – or mean you are stuck in a job that actually you are not suited for. Demonstrate the inherent skills that you have, not what you think the employer wants you to be.

Ask for feedback

You should be able to get feedback about your performance no matter where you are in the recruitment process, but this is somewhat easier when it comes to psychometric tests, since the results are usually presented to the recruiter in the form of a percentage or other type of score.

Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback, especially if you have been unsuccessful or feel like you didn’t perform at your best, so that you know what to improve on next time.

Further information for specific consultancy firms

KPMG is one of the Big Four accountancy firms, and roles are highly sought after.

PwC is one of the largest multinational tax, assurance and advisory services in the world, and its recruitment process is thorough.

Deloitte is another global firm specialising in helping businesses with financial advice and consultancy.

EY is another of the Big Four accountancy firms that offers consultancy to its multinational clients.

Accenture is a Fortune 500 company specialising in consultancy alongside technology innovation and mergers.

Bain & Company is one of the three largest strategic consultancies in the world, with a customer base primarily focused on the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

McKinsey and Co is a US-based management consultancy firm with a global presence.

For digital transformation and consultancy, Capgemini has an international reach and attracts the top consultants to join.

Mercer is known for being a global HR consultancy firm, with a competitive recruitment process to match.

Boston Consulting Group offers management consultancy services in more than 50 countries and employs more than 10,000 people.

LEK Consulting is a London-based strategic consultancy that focuses on M&A as well as corporate strategy.

Birmingham-based Newton Europe focuses on implementation in management consultancy, and is one of the largest consultancies in the UK.

Tata Consultancy Services is part of India’s largest industrial conglomerate, and is recognised as one of the Big Four IT consultancy firms.