Verify G+, Interactive G+, the standalone numerical, verbal, inductive and deductive tests, and the OPQ32 questionnaire. What each one asks, how long you get, how the percentile is read, and seven worked questions with the reasoning explained.
An SHL test is an online assessment employers use to screen candidates before interview. SHL is one of the world's largest test publishers, and its assessments cover numerical, verbal, inductive and deductive reasoning, alongside behavioural and personality questionnaires. Most SHL tests are multiple choice and strictly timed, and some are adaptive, meaning the questions get harder or easier depending on your answers.
Which SHL test you sit depends on the employer and the role: an entry-level position will not be given the same assessment as a graduate or managerial one.
Four things to know before you sit one. Timings and difficulty vary with the level of the role.
Your invitation email will name the assessment rather than describe it. This is what each name means, how many questions it carries and how long you get.
| Assessment | What it measures | Questions | Time limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verify G+ (General Ability) | Numerical, inductive and deductive, mixed together | 30 | 36 min |
| Verify Interactive G+ | The same abilities, with drag-and-drop questions | 24 | 36 min |
| Verify Numerical Reasoning | Tables and charts, one or two steps of arithmetic | 18 | 25 min |
| Verify Verbal Reasoning | True, false or cannot say from a short passage | 30 | 19 min |
| Verify Inductive Reasoning | Shape and sequence rules, no words or numbers | 18 | 24 min |
| OPQ32r | Work personality, 32 traits, no right answers | 104 blocks | Untimed |
Counts and timings vary by role level and by the version an employer licences. Check the instructions on the screen before you start. Facts checked 11 September 2026.
These figures refer to the versions named above, including older Verify assessments. Interactive replacements have different limits; use the exact name and instructions in your invitation.
Check the assessment name in your invitation: selecting an answer, building one on screen and describing yourself call for different approaches.
Illustrations by Practice Aptitude Tests · not SHL screenshots
What is the percentage increase?
In Verify G+, work out the answer, then select it from the options. Numerical, inductive and deductive questions share one timed test.
Explore the G+ guideSplit the total between two teams
Verify Interactive G+ uses activity-based questions. You may adjust a chart or arrange information on screen to give your answer.
Explore the Interactive guideWhich is most like you?
OPQ32r asks you to choose between statements about your working style. It is untimed, with no right or wrong answers.
Explore the OPQ guideIf you know which company invited you, start there: the employer guide tells you which SHL assessment sits at which stage of that firm's process.
Not listed? Browse all employer guides.
Practising the right publisher's style matters more than practising more. Here is one SHL-style question to try, free and with the working shown.
Anatomy of an SHL question
Four parts, and the fourth is the one that costs marks.
The instruction. Tells you the rule is consistent. Read it once, properly. It is the same on every question in the set, so you never need to read it again.
The stimulus. The data itself. Find the step between the first two terms, then test it against the third before you go looking at the options.
The options. Four, one correct. Work the answer out before you look. Reading the options first is how you get talked into the wrong one.
The distractors. Two of the four are the answers you get from the most common mistakes: here, doubling without adding one, or adding the previous gap. Both look right at a glance.
These results come from our own practice test in a format covered on this page. They are not official SHL results, a benchmark for our entire SHL practice pack, or an employer pass mark.
Results from our numerical reasoning test.
Source: Practice Aptitude Tests
Based on 1280 completed practice sittings, all time. Checked 13 September 2026.
The 75th percentile marks the boundary of the top quarter of recorded scores; tied scores can share that boundary. These are our practice results, not employer pass marks.
We use all-time completed, scored attempts at this practice test. Repeat attempts count separately, so the sample is sittings rather than unique people.
The average is the mean score across those sittings. The 75th percentile comes from their recorded score distribution. The “checked” date is when we retrieved the figures, not the period when the tests were taken.
Sharing these figures? Please credit Practice Aptitude Tests and link to this page.
One question tells you the style. A pack gives you the pace: 35 to 90 seconds a question, marked, with the working shown.
The SHL general ability assessment combine numerical, inductive and deductive test questions. These style of questions assess your ability to problem-solve using numerical data as well as make logical reasoning decisions.
The exam comes in two different versions:
The two main differences is that the SHL Verify Interactive exam is interactive (with drag and drop features on questions) and the questions become harder when you answer correctly and easier when you answer incorrectly (known as adaptive questioning).
SHL numerical reasoning tests require a candidate to solve realistic numerical problems, aligned to the company’s role specifications. To pass a numerical reasoning test, you must be able to understand and work with graphical, statistical, and financial data.
Example numerical question:
What was the average absolute percentage change in the value of the USD vs the CHF from 2020 to 2022 and 2024 to 2025?
Solution: Calculate the % change in the value of the USD between the two periods:
(1.60 - 1.32) ÷ 1.32 = - 21.21%
(1.54 - 1.61) ÷ 1.61 = + 4.35%
Average % change = (21.21 + 4.35) ÷ 2 = 12.78%, so the answer is A).
Inductive reasoning questions require you to identify similarities and underlying patterns between shapes and figures. For example, you may be presented with a series of shapes and you will have to choose which image will come next, based on reasonable probability.
Example inductive question:
Complete the sequence:
Solution: The outer circle is turning in an anti-clockwise direction and the inner circle is rotating 90 degrees in a clockwise direction. So B) is correct.
Deductive reasoning questions require you to complete scenarios based on incomplete information. These tests assess both your ability to choose the right answer and how quickly you do it.
Example deductive question:
Question: Who can you infer is most likely to have taken the lemon cake?
Solution: Given what we have learned, it is reasonable to assume that Mark is the culprit. The facts about Maggie and Susan might help in forming a deductive argument, however, in this context they are inconsequential. Mark’s pattern of behaviour suggests he is guilty. So C) is correct.
SHL verbal reasoning tests assess your ability to comprehend passages of text using logical deduction skills. They typically provide a candidate with written information to digest and draw conclusions from. You will have to choose an option between ‘true’, ‘false’, or ‘cannot say’, based on the text.
Example verbal question:
Statement: ‘Don’t just buy art for the sake of it’ is the message given by most antique experts.
Solution: True – this is the “overriding advice” of “most” experts. So A) is correct.
You will most likely encounter mechanical reasoning tests when applying for specialised skilled jobs that require an understanding of mechanical concepts. These SHL style questions evaluate an individual’s mechanical and electronic knowledge through a series of multiple-choice answers. Be prepared to brush up on revision topics such as levers, pulleys, tools, gears, electric circuits, and more.
Example mechanical question:
What force needs to be applied to the lever to lift the weight?
Solution: The formula to calculate the force required to lift a weight using a lever is:
w x d1 = f x d2
w = weight d1 = distance from fulcrum to weight f = force needed to lift the weight d2 = distance from the fulcrum to the point where force is applied
If we plug what we can see from the diagram into the formula we are left with the following equation:
12 x 24 = ? x 15 288 = ? x 15 288 / 15 = 19.2
So C) is correct.
Similar to verbal reasoning tests, reading comprehension tests take notice of the time it takes a candidate to read and understand a text. The test will present you with a written paragraph related to the job role you’re applying for and will ask you multiple-choice questions to determine your level of comprehension skills.
Example reading comprehension question:
Statement: To try and get your customer to like you more, you are advised to:
Solution: Whilst answers A) to C) all seem fairly sensible, only answer D) is provided as an instruction in the final paragraph…’It can be useful to find some common ground with your customers. Having this level of interaction can help to humanize the relationship and will endear you to the customer.’
Being endeared to the customer means they will like you more and finding some common ground is the same as finding something you have in common with them.
Calculation tests feature mathematical questions assessing your ability to sum, subtract, divide and multiply numbers quickly and correctly. The main difficulty is doing it promptly, so learning a few tricks to solve mathematical problems faster is key to acing these tests.
Example calculation question:
Which Agent had the highest First Call Resolution?
Solution: This question simply requires you to look across the four Agents’ First Call Resolution figures and to select the highest, which is D).
What candidates ask us most often
The invitation email names it. Look for Verify G+ (General Ability), Verify Interactive G+, or a single-ability test such as Verify Numerical or Verify Verbal, and use the table above to see the question count and time limit for that name. If the email only says “online assessment”, ask the recruiter which SHL assessment it is; most will tell you.
Both mix numerical, inductive and deductive questions in one 36-minute sitting. The Interactive version has 24 questions instead of 30 and asks you to build the answer on screen, dragging bars onto a chart or arranging items into order, rather than picking from four options. The reasoning is the same; the Interactive format rewards candidates who have seen the question shapes before.
Yes. SHL Verify numerical questions are taken online with a calculator and rough paper, and every question is read off a table or chart. The time limit is the constraint, not the arithmetic: 18 questions in 25 minutes leaves roughly 80 seconds each, so practise reading the data quickly rather than calculating faster.
No on both counts. The OPQ32 is an untimed personality questionnaire of 104 forced-choice blocks, where you pick the statement most and least like you. It is profiled against the role rather than scored, so there is no pass mark. Answer consistently; the questionnaire repeats themes to check that you have.
Find out which SHL assessment you are sitting, then practise that format under its real time limit. The free SHL-style question on this page shows the working; the full SHL practice pack has timed numerical, verbal, deductive, calculation and checking tests built to the Verify question counts and timings, marked with the working shown.
Rated 4.7 out of 5 across 332 reviews. A selection:
The test consisted of multiple choice questions and interactive exercises designed to test my numerical, verbal, and analytical skills, as well as my ability to think critically and solve problems.
I really liked that the graphs are not only images but are interactive so that we can check information in detail to facilitate analysis. Thank you!
I like this test because I can try many questions for free, so I can prepare for my real SHL test to get a job in the bank. Thank you.
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