SHL example tests show the main question types employers send through SHL: numerical, verbal, inductive and deductive reasoning, calculation, checking and mechanical comprehension, plus personality and situational judgement questionnaires. Each one below has a short example written in the SHL style, with the answer and the method. They are not SHL’s own questions, but the formats match what candidates usually see.
The best way to get used to these formats under time pressure is a free SHL-style test with worked solutions. If you are still working out what you have been invited to, start with what an SHL test is.
Which SHL tests you are likely to get
Employers choose from SHL’s range and usually send two or three tests, often alongside a personality questionnaire.
- Graduate and professional roles commonly use numerical, verbal and inductive reasoning. Some employers send a single general ability test instead, which mixes numerical, deductive and inductive questions in one sitting.
- Entry-level and operational roles more often use calculation and checking tests, which measure speed and accuracy with simple figures and details.
- Engineering and technical roles may add mechanical comprehension.
Some versions are interactive. Instead of picking an option, you drag items into a table, adjust a bar on a chart or change part of a shape. The thinking is the same. Only the way you give your answer changes, so it is worth reading the instructions on each screen carefully.
Numerical reasoning example
Numerical questions give you a table or chart and ask you to pick out the right figures and do one or two calculations. A calculator is usually allowed.
| Office | Staff | Training spend |
|---|---|---|
| North | 40 | £18,000 |
| South | 25 | £12,500 |
| East | 32 | £13,440 |
Which office spent the most on training per member of staff?
- North: £18,000 ÷ 40 = £450 per person.
- South: £12,500 ÷ 25 = £500 per person.
- East: £13,440 ÷ 32 = £420 per person.
Answer: South. North has the biggest total, which is the trap. The question asks for spend per person, so you have to divide by staff numbers before you compare.
Verbal reasoning example
Verbal questions give you a short passage and a statement. You decide whether the statement is true, false or cannot be known, using only the passage.
“In March the company moved its customer helpline from a phone-only service to phone and live chat. Average waiting times fell over the following quarter, and the number of calls dropped by around a fifth. The operations team plans to review whether chat should run at weekends.”
- The helpline offered live chat before March. False. The passage says it was phone only until March.
- Call numbers fell after live chat was introduced. True. The passage says calls dropped by around a fifth.
- Live chat caused waiting times to fall. Cannot say. The passage reports that both happened, but it does not say one caused the other.
Cannot say is the answer people miss most often. If the passage does not settle the statement either way, do not fill the gap with what seems likely.
Inductive reasoning example
Inductive questions show a sequence of shapes and ask you to find the rule. In interactive versions you may build the next shape yourself rather than choosing it.
A square appears in four frames. A dot sits in one corner and the square is either white or shaded:
- Frame 1: dot top left, white.
- Frame 2: dot top right, shaded.
- Frame 3: dot bottom right, white.
- Frame 4: dot bottom left, shaded.
What does frame 5 look like?
Track one feature at a time. The dot moves one corner clockwise each frame, so it returns to the top left. The shading alternates white, shaded, white, shaded, so frame 5 is white. Answer: dot top left, white square.
Deductive reasoning example
Deductive questions give you rules and ask what must follow. SHL-style versions often frame them as workplace tasks, such as building a timetable.
Three colleagues, Ana, Ben and Cara, each need one training slot at 9am, 10am or 11am. Ben cannot attend before 10am. Cara’s slot must come straight after Ana’s. Who takes the 9am slot?
- Ben cannot take 9am, so 9am belongs to Ana or Cara.
- Cara must follow Ana, so Cara cannot be first. That leaves Ana at 9am.
- Cara then takes 10am, and Ben takes 11am, which meets his rule.
Answer: Ana. Work from the strictest rule first and the rest usually falls into place.
Calculation example
Calculation tests use simple arithmetic but no calculator, and they reward speed.
? × 6 = 342. Options: 47, 56, 57, 59, 63.
Divide instead: 342 ÷ 6 = 57. A quick check is that 57 × 6 = 300 + 42 = 342. Answer: 57.
What is 15% of 640? Find 10% first, which is 64. Half of that is 5%, which is 32. Add them: 64 + 32 = 96. Answer: 96.
Checking example
Checking tests ask you to compare details quickly and spot differences.
Reference: KX-40719-B. Which of these match it exactly?
- KX-40719-B
- KX-47019-B
- KX-40719-8
- KX-40791-B
Answer: only option 1. Option 2 swaps the 0 and 7, option 3 has an 8 instead of a B, and option 4 swaps the 1 and 9. Check in small chunks, such as letters, then the first three digits, then the rest, rather than reading the whole string at once.
Mechanical comprehension example
Mechanical questions test everyday physical principles such as gears, levers and pulleys.
Gear A has 20 teeth and meshes with gear B, which has 60 teeth. Gear A turns clockwise through 3 full turns. Which way does gear B turn, and how many times?
Meshing gears turn in opposite directions, so B turns anticlockwise. Gear A moves 3 × 20 = 60 teeth past the contact point, and B needs 60 teeth for one turn. Answer: anticlockwise, 1 full turn.
Personality questionnaire example
SHL’s personality questionnaire often shows a block of statements and asks which is most like you and which is least like you at work. For example:
- A. I enjoy persuading people to change their minds.
- B. I like to plan my work well in advance.
- C. I stay calm when deadlines move.
There is no right answer. Your choices build a profile of how you prefer to work, which the employer compares with what the role needs. Answer honestly and consistently, from how you usually behave at work rather than how you think you should.
Situational judgement example
Situational judgement questions describe a work scenario and ask you to rate or choose responses.
A customer emails to complain that their order is late. You can see the delay was caused by another team. Which response is most effective?
- A. Reply explaining that another team caused the delay.
- B. Apologise, give the customer a new delivery date and let the other team know about the complaint.
- C. Forward the email to the other team and leave it with them.
Most effective: B. It solves the customer’s problem and deals with the cause. A shifts blame without helping the customer, and C leaves the customer waiting with no reply.
How to use these examples
Read the method for each type, then practise the same formats against the clock. Most candidates find the questions manageable on their own, and it is the time limit that costs marks. Note which types slow you down and spend more practice time there. When you have sat the real thing, our guide to SHL test results explains what the employer sees.
When you are ready, try a timed SHL-style practice test and check your answers against the worked solutions.
