An SHL test is an online assessment made by SHL, a company that designs tests for employers to use in recruitment. Most are ability tests, such as numerical, verbal, inductive or deductive reasoning, which are timed and multiple choice. SHL also publishes personality and motivation questionnaires and situational judgement tests. Employers usually send them early in an application to help decide who moves on to interview.
SHL-style tests follow predictable formats, so practice makes a real difference. You can try a free SHL-style test with worked solutions to see what the questions feel like. Our tests are written in the style of SHL’s and are not SHL’s own.
What SHL means
SHL is the name of the company that publishes the tests. It comes from the firm’s original name, Saville and Holdsworth Ltd, which was founded in the UK in the 1970s. Today it is a large international assessment business, and its tests are used by employers in many countries.
So when an invitation says you will sit “an SHL assessment”, it tells you who made the test, not what it measures. The email or portal should also tell you which tests you are taking, for example “numerical reasoning” or “personality questionnaire”.
What an SHL assessment test measures
SHL tests fall into a few families. An employer picks the ones that suit the role.
| Type | What it measures | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Numerical reasoning | Using data to reach conclusions | Read tables and charts and do short calculations |
| Verbal reasoning | Judging written arguments | Decide if statements are true, false or cannot be known from a passage |
| Inductive reasoning | Spotting rules in unfamiliar patterns | Find the next shape in a sequence |
| Deductive reasoning | Following rules to a conclusion | Solve logic and scheduling problems |
| Calculation and checking | Speed and accuracy with figures and details | Do quick sums without a calculator, or compare codes |
| Mechanical comprehension | Everyday physical principles | Answer questions on gears, levers and pulleys |
| Personality questionnaire | How you prefer to work | Choose which statements are most and least like you |
| Motivation questionnaire | What energises you at work | Rate how much different working conditions motivate you |
| Situational judgement | How you handle work situations | Rate or choose responses to realistic scenarios |
Some employers send a single general ability test that mixes numerical, deductive and inductive questions. The ability range has long been known as Verify, so you may see that name in your invitation. To see a worked example of each type, read our SHL example tests.
What the ability tests are like
Ability tests are timed, and the time limit is what makes them hard. The maths in the numerical test rarely goes beyond percentages, ratios and averages, and the verbal passages are short. The challenge is working accurately at speed.
A few features are worth knowing before you start:
- Calculators. A calculator is usually allowed in numerical reasoning tests, but not in calculation tests. Your instructions will say which.
- Marking. Ability tests are usually not negatively marked, so it is better to give your best answer than to leave a question blank.
- Interactive versions. Some tests ask you to drag answers into place, adjust a chart or build a shape instead of picking from a list. The reasoning is the same.
- Verification. Some employers ask you to sit a short, supervised test later to confirm your online result.
What the personality and motivation questionnaires are like
SHL’s personality questionnaire, the OPQ, describes your preferred working style. In its common format you see blocks of statements and choose the one most like you and the one least like you. This forced choice makes it hard to simply pick the answers an employer might want, and it means every block takes a moment’s thought.
The results describe your preferences across areas such as how you relate to people, how you approach tasks and how you handle pressure. The motivation questionnaire, the MQ, looks instead at which working conditions energise you and which put you off.
Neither has right or wrong answers, and neither can be passed or failed. The employer compares your profile with what the role involves. The best approach is to answer honestly and consistently, thinking about how you usually behave at work.
How SHL tests are scored
Ability scores are compared with a norm group, a large sample of people who have taken the same test and who match the role, such as graduates or managers. Your result is usually given to the employer as a percentile. There is no single SHL pass mark: each employer chooses its own cut-off. Our guide to SHL test results explains percentiles, bands and what a good score looks like.
How to prepare for an SHL test
Check your invitation for the exact tests you will take, then prepare for those formats.
- Practise under timed conditions from the start. Untimed practice builds understanding, but only timed practice builds pace.
- Find your weakest format and give it more time. Most people lean towards one type. A short timed attempt at each will show where the gap is.
- For numerical, practise reading the table before calculating. Most errors come from taking the wrong figure, or dividing by the wrong total, rather than from the arithmetic.
- For verbal, find the sentence that proves your answer. If you cannot point to one, the answer is probably “cannot say”.
- For deductive, accept the rules as given. The question is whether a conclusion follows from the rules, not whether the rules are realistic.
- For the questionnaires, reflect rather than rehearse. Think of real examples of how you work under pressure, in teams and with detail, then answer from those.
On the day, use a reliable device and connection, find a quiet room and read each screen’s instructions before you start the clock.
Start practising
SHL tests are designed to be consistent, and that works in your favour. Once the formats are familiar, you can spend your time on the questions rather than the instructions. Take a timed SHL-style practice test to see where you are starting from.
