Korn Ferry Tests

What is a Korn Ferry Assessment?

The Korn Ferry assessment is a comprehensive assessment for measuring leadership potential. It tests a candidate on their personality, the way they approach a problem and their leadership skills, as well as their cognitive ability and competencies for a role.

Often presented as a ‘blended assessment’, the adaptive nature of Korn Ferry’s online tests means that each test challenges the candidate most suitably.

In practice, this means that in the Korn Ferry assessment you may answer questions on several different strengths, from the ability to personality. As you progress, the difficulty of the questions presented might change.

If you answer the question quickly and correctly, the next question will be more complex. If you take too long, or get the question wrong, the next question will be simpler.

The different types of Korn Ferry tests & how they work

There are several different assessments within the Korn Ferry battery, and with the blended assessments, a candidate might be taking several assessments at once.

In some cases, Korn Ferry assessments are administered as stand-alone tests, so it is best to know what to expect for each type.

Korn Ferry cognitive ability tests

Cognitive ability tests from Korn Ferry measure reasoning skills, including mechanical comprehension and spatial awareness. The tests are timed, with speed and accuracy being of utmost importance.

See this article for more information about cognitive ability tests.

Korn Ferry numerical reasoning tests

Numerical reasoning tests from Korn Ferry assess the ability of the candidate to interpret data, figures, and statistics to answer questions. There is no need for any previous knowledge for these tests, other than basic mathematical understanding.

You can find out more about the structure, type of questions and required answers on our numerical reasoning test page.

Korn Ferry verbal reasoning tests

Verbal reasoning tests require the candidate to read, understand and interpret written information and use that to answer questions. The information given may be related to the role, or it may be more abstract.

To answer verbal reasoning questions well, it is important to avoid using prior knowledge when answering. For more information and practice, check out our verbal reasoning page.

Korn Ferry logical reasoning tests

In the Korn Ferry assessments, logical reasoning tests are known as Raven’s Matrix. They are similar to other logical reasoning assessments in that a candidate needs to be able to understand and manipulate abstract or logical patterns.

To answer these questions correctly, you need to select the correct shape to complete the pattern. Practice makes perfect, so use our logical reasoning test resources to find out more about how they work.

Korn Ferry e-tray exercises

An e-tray or in-tray exercise is an assessment of your ability to manage and prioritise tasks, using an email inbox. A series of work-related emails are in a test inbox, and you need to decide what needs urgent actions and response.

For practice and more information, you can try out e-tray tests on our site.

Korn Ferry personality inventory tests

The Korn Ferry Personality Questionnaire assesses behaviour, relationships, and sources of energy/motivation in candidates.

The questionnaire is presented as a block of four statements, which the candidate must answer as a position on a scale from ‘completely untrue’ to ‘very true’. Once a block is completed, it cannot be changed, and there is no time limit.

For more information, check out our personality tests page.

Korn Ferry competency-based assessments

The competency-based assessment measures a candidate’s behavioural preferences. A series of statements, similar in structure to personality inventory tests, are presented with the candidate required to rate each statement on a scale from ‘completely untrue’ to ‘very true’.

These assessments are short, usually require about 8 minutes to complete, and are taken online.

Korn Ferry Leadership Assessment

Presented as a situational judgement test, the Leadership Assessment from Korn Ferry is seen as a robust, valid test because the scenarios are related to the culture of the organisation and role requirements.

A series of work-related scenarios are presented with a number of different actions. The candidate needs to decide on the most effective response, which is then measured against the required competencies.

See here for more information and tips for situational judgement tests.