Illustrative example
80 Before→100 After
What is the percentage increase?
Elements Numerical
Interpret tables and charts. Each question has its own time allowance.
View guidanceTalent Q Test
The Elements verbal, numerical and logical tests with their question counts and their separate timing allowances, Aspects Ability and Styles, the Dimensions and Drives questionnaires and the situational judgement test. How the adaptive questions work, why the data includes distractors, and how the benchmark is read.
- 12 questions
- 16 minutes
- Worked solutions
Free · No sign-up · Scored the moment you finish
Elements Numerical Reasoning Test
Elements is Korn Ferry’s graduate and professional ability range, sat under the Talent Q name as often as the Korn Ferry one: Talent Q went to Hay Group in 2014 and came to Korn Ferry with it in 2015. Elements Numerical is reported as 12 questions grouped in threes on one data exhibit, and this test follows that structure, its business data item style and its difficulty, over the 16 minutes the real test’s per question limits add up to. Korn Ferry score a question you run out of time on exactly as though you had answered it wrongly, which is why the real clock bites harder than the one here.
You have 16 minutes to answer 12 questions. The questions come in four sets of three, each set built on one exhibit of business data. A calculator and rough paper are expected. Some of the data in each exhibit is not needed by any question, and choosing the right figures is part of the test. The real test clocks each question separately, giving you 90 seconds for the first question on a data set and 75 seconds for each one after it, and moving on by itself when that time is up. This practice test gives you the same total time as a single clock, so you can spend it across the questions however you like. The difficulty does not build gently: the real test is adaptive and is designed to keep you near your limit throughout.
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Question 1 of 12
Assets (financial year end)
A B C D E Liquid assets 198,050 145,050 178,500 158,425 195,999 Loans made 85,425 98,050 51,050 99,050 62,500 Derivatives 65,345 98,485 92,465 89,100 88,740 Fixed assets 75,050 92,050 71,500 108,425 90,999 Total 423,870 433,635 393,515 455,000 438,238 Liabilities (financial year end)
A B C D E Reserve liabilities 78,425 89,050 95,425 88,999 71,430 Borrowings 98,050 95,500 85,050 98,425 98,500 Share liabilities 65,425 60,425 70,430 76,335 90,999 Other liabilities 181,500 155,999 179,425 151,425 192,500 Total 423,400 400,974 430,330 415,184 453,429 The tables show the assets and the liabilities of five competitor firms at the financial year end, in pounds. Firm E’s fixed assets are what percentage of firm E’s total assets?
- 20.1%
- 20.8%
- 23.8%
- 41.0%
Show the answer
Answer: B. 20.8%
Read firm E’s fixed assets from the assets table: 90,999. Read firm E’s total assets from the same column: 438,238. Divide and convert to a percentage: 90,999 ÷ 438,238 = 0.20765, so 20.8%. The most tempting wrong method is to divide by the total at the foot of the liabilities column, 453,429, which gives 20.1%. That base settles a different question: it measures fixed assets against what the firm owes, not against what it owns. The loans made, borrowings and other liabilities rows are not needed here.
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Question 2 of 12
Assets (financial year end)
A B C D E Liquid assets 198,050 145,050 178,500 158,425 195,999 Loans made 85,425 98,050 51,050 99,050 62,500 Derivatives 65,345 98,485 92,465 89,100 88,740 Fixed assets 75,050 92,050 71,500 108,425 90,999 Total 423,870 433,635 393,515 455,000 438,238 Liabilities (financial year end)
A B C D E Reserve liabilities 78,425 89,050 95,425 88,999 71,430 Borrowings 98,050 95,500 85,050 98,425 98,500 Share liabilities 65,425 60,425 70,430 76,335 90,999 Other liabilities 181,500 155,999 179,425 151,425 192,500 Total 423,400 400,974 430,330 415,184 453,429 The tables show the assets and the liabilities of five competitor firms at the financial year end, in pounds. Firm A’s liquid assets are what percentage of the combined liquid assets of all five firms?
- 15.1%
- 20.0%
- 20.4%
- 22.6%
Show the answer
Answer: D. 22.6%
Add the liquid assets row across all five firms: 198,050 + 145,050 + 178,500 + 158,425 + 195,999 = 876,024. Firm A’s share of that is 198,050 ÷ 876,024 = 0.22608, so 22.6%. The most tempting wrong method is to widen the base by adding the fixed assets row into it, giving 198,050 ÷ 1,314,048 = 15.1%. The base has to be the same quantity as the numerator, and the numerator here is liquid assets alone. The loans made row and the borrowings row are not needed.
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Question 3 of 12
Assets (financial year end)
A B C D E Liquid assets 198,050 145,050 178,500 158,425 195,999 Loans made 85,425 98,050 51,050 99,050 62,500 Derivatives 65,345 98,485 92,465 89,100 88,740 Fixed assets 75,050 92,050 71,500 108,425 90,999 Total 423,870 433,635 393,515 455,000 438,238 Liabilities (financial year end)
A B C D E Reserve liabilities 78,425 89,050 95,425 88,999 71,430 Borrowings 98,050 95,500 85,050 98,425 98,500 Share liabilities 65,425 60,425 70,430 76,335 90,999 Other liabilities 181,500 155,999 179,425 151,425 192,500 Total 423,400 400,974 430,330 415,184 453,429 The tables show the assets and the liabilities of five competitor firms at the financial year end, in pounds. Taking the five firms together, what is the mean value of liquid assets and fixed assets held per firm?
- £262,810
- £266,000
- £328,512
- £349,637
Show the answer
Answer: A. £262,810
Total the liquid assets row: 198,050 + 145,050 + 178,500 + 158,425 + 195,999 = 876,024. Total the fixed assets row: 75,050 + 92,050 + 71,500 + 108,425 + 90,999 = 438,024. Combined holding = 876,024 + 438,024 = 1,314,048. Mean per firm = 1,314,048 ÷ 5 = £262,809.60, so £262,810 to the nearest pound. The most tempting wrong method is to round each of the ten figures to the nearest 10,000 before adding, which gives £266,000. Rounding taken before the division carries its error into every term and the sum drifts by more than £3,000. Round at the end, not at the start. The derivatives, loans made and liabilities rows are not needed.
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Question 4 of 12
Units Sold KV Stores Esdel Testroe Raiday Waingoods Frozen goods 72,450 79,138 98,950 97,325 89,175 Tinned goods 170,350 98,900 85,275 62,350 50,900 Packet goods 49,168 44,475 32,598 44,295 46,158 Non-foods 91,900 108,275 74,900 90,849 71,350 Total 383,868 330,788 291,723 294,819 257,583 Units Stored KV Stores Esdel Testroe Raiday Waingoods Frozen goods 22,263 22,250 19,609 17,858 23,856 Tinned goods 47,750 49,213 49,025 49,250 42,525 Packet goods 15,106 19,084 16,356 22,750 17,609 Non-foods 39,000 37,856 45,375 48,125 44,856 Total 124,119 128,403 130,365 137,983 128,846 The tables show units sold and units stored across five grocery chains. How many units in total did Waingoods sell across frozen goods and tinned goods?
- 66,381 units
- 89,175 units
- 140,075 units
- 186,233 units
Show the answer
Answer: C. 140,075 units
Work in the units sold table and in the Waingoods column only. Frozen goods sold = 89,175. Tinned goods sold = 50,900. Total = 89,175 + 50,900 = 140,075 units. The most tempting wrong method is to take the same two rows from the units stored table, 23,856 + 42,525 = 66,381. Stock held is not stock sold, and the two tables sit one above the other with identical row labels. Nothing in the units stored table is needed here.
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Question 5 of 12
Units Sold KV Stores Esdel Testroe Raiday Waingoods Frozen goods 72,450 79,138 98,950 97,325 89,175 Tinned goods 170,350 98,900 85,275 62,350 50,900 Packet goods 49,168 44,475 32,598 44,295 46,158 Non-foods 91,900 108,275 74,900 90,849 71,350 Total 383,868 330,788 291,723 294,819 257,583 Units Stored KV Stores Esdel Testroe Raiday Waingoods Frozen goods 22,263 22,250 19,609 17,858 23,856 Tinned goods 47,750 49,213 49,025 49,250 42,525 Packet goods 15,106 19,084 16,356 22,750 17,609 Non-foods 39,000 37,856 45,375 48,125 44,856 Total 124,119 128,403 130,365 137,983 128,846 The tables show units sold and units stored across five grocery chains. Across all four categories combined, Testroe’s units stored are what percentage of its units sold?
- 44.7%
- 46.8%
- 47.0%
- 60.1%
Show the answer
Answer: A. 44.7%
Testroe’s units stored total 130,365 and its units sold total 291,723. Stored as a share of sold = 130,365 ÷ 291,723 = 0.44688, so 44.7%. The most tempting wrong method is to work out the stored to sold ratio for each of the four categories and average the four, which gives 47.0%. That treats packet goods, where 32,598 units were sold, as counting for as much as tinned goods, where 85,275 were. A combined ratio has to be built from the totals, not from the mean of the category ratios.
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Question 6 of 12
Units Sold KV Stores Esdel Testroe Raiday Waingoods Frozen goods 72,450 79,138 98,950 97,325 89,175 Tinned goods 170,350 98,900 85,275 62,350 50,900 Packet goods 49,168 44,475 32,598 44,295 46,158 Non-foods 91,900 108,275 74,900 90,849 71,350 Total 383,868 330,788 291,723 294,819 257,583 Units Stored KV Stores Esdel Testroe Raiday Waingoods Frozen goods 22,263 22,250 19,609 17,858 23,856 Tinned goods 47,750 49,213 49,025 49,250 42,525 Packet goods 15,106 19,084 16,356 22,750 17,609 Non-foods 39,000 37,856 45,375 48,125 44,856 Total 124,119 128,403 130,365 137,983 128,846 The tables show units sold and units stored across five grocery chains. Taking the five chains together, what is the mean number of units sold per chain across frozen goods and tinned goods combined?
- 87,408 units
- 90,481 units
- 130,794 units
- 180,963 units
Show the answer
Answer: D. 180,963 units
Total the frozen goods row of the units sold table: 72,450 + 79,138 + 98,950 + 97,325 + 89,175 = 437,038. Total the tinned goods row: 170,350 + 98,900 + 85,275 + 62,350 + 50,900 = 467,775. Combined = 437,038 + 467,775 = 904,813. Mean per chain = 904,813 ÷ 5 = 180,962.6, so 180,963 units. The most tempting wrong method is to divide by 10 because ten figures were added, giving 90,481. The question asks for a figure per chain and there are five chains, so the divisor is 5 whatever the number of cells read. The units stored table is not needed.
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Question 7 of 12
Yesterday’s price Today’s price Highest price (last month) Lowest price (last month) Highest price (this year) Lowest price (this year) Duber 1.34 1.31 1.36 0.96 1.41 0.95 Sebs 1.64 1.56 1.68 1.42 1.81 1.37 GEV 1.58 1.64 1.85 1.42 1.99 1.31 Faldum 2.37 2.51 3.13 2.63 3.26 2.31 AKUM 2.37 2.32 2.46 2.32 2.59 2.26 The table shows share prices in pounds for five listed companies. What is the combined cost of buying one share in each of the five companies at today’s prices?
- £7.02
- £8.98
- £9.30
- £9.34
Show the answer
Answer: D. £9.34
Take the today’s price column only, and read all five rows: Duber 1.31, Sebs 1.56, GEV 1.64, Faldum 2.51, AKUM 2.32. Total = 1.31 + 1.56 + 1.64 + 2.51 + 2.32 = £9.34. The most tempting wrong method is to total the neighbouring column instead, giving £9.30. Yesterday’s and today’s prices sit side by side and differ by only a few pence in most rows, so the wrong column produces a total close enough to look right. The four monthly and yearly high and low columns are not needed.
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Question 8 of 12
Yesterday’s price Today’s price Highest price (last month) Lowest price (last month) Highest price (this year) Lowest price (this year) Duber 1.34 1.31 1.36 0.96 1.41 0.95 Sebs 1.64 1.56 1.68 1.42 1.81 1.37 GEV 1.58 1.64 1.85 1.42 1.99 1.31 Faldum 2.37 2.51 3.13 2.63 3.26 2.31 AKUM 2.37 2.32 2.46 2.32 2.59 2.26 The table shows share prices in pounds for five listed companies. By what percentage is Sebs’s price today below its highest price this year?
- 9.4%
- 13.8%
- 14.3%
- 16.0%
Show the answer
Answer: B. 13.8%
Sebs’s highest price this year is 1.81 and its price today is 1.56. The fall is 1.81 − 1.56 = 0.25. As a percentage of the price it fell from: 0.25 ÷ 1.81 = 0.13812, so 13.8%. The most tempting wrong method is to divide the fall by today’s price, giving 16.0%. A percentage fall is always measured against the starting value, so the denominator is the year’s high. The last month columns and the year’s low are not needed.
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Question 9 of 12
Yesterday’s price Today’s price Highest price (last month) Lowest price (last month) Highest price (this year) Lowest price (this year) Duber 1.34 1.31 1.36 0.96 1.41 0.95 Sebs 1.64 1.56 1.68 1.42 1.81 1.37 GEV 1.58 1.64 1.85 1.42 1.99 1.31 Faldum 2.37 2.51 3.13 2.63 3.26 2.31 AKUM 2.37 2.32 2.46 2.32 2.59 2.26 The table shows share prices in pounds for five listed companies. If GEV’s price were to fall from today’s price by the same percentage as Duber’s price fell between yesterday and today, what would GEV’s price become?
- £1.54
- £1.59
- £1.60
- £1.68
Show the answer
Answer: C. £1.60
First work out Duber’s percentage fall. Duber went from 1.34 yesterday to 1.31 today, a fall of 0.03. 0.03 ÷ 1.34 = 0.022388, so a fall of 2.2388%. Now apply that same percentage to GEV’s price today, which is 1.64: 1.64 × (1 − 0.022388) = 1.64 × 0.977612 = 1.60328, so £1.60. The most tempting wrong method is to read Duber’s fall of 3p as a fall of 3%, which gives 1.64 × 0.97 = £1.59. A fall in pence and a fall as a percentage are different quantities, and the options are a penny apart. Carry the unrounded rate through and round only the final price. GEV’s own price yesterday is not needed, and neither are the high and low columns.
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Question 10 of 12
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Sales (Bikes & Accessories) £103.8m £106.1m £104.5m £106.2m £101.3m Bikes Sold 13,360 13,165 14,900 13,630 16,100 Price per Bike £6,430 £7,160 £5,820 £6,040 £5,999 Production Cost per Bike £3,740 £4,106 £3,608 £4,125 £4,010 Other Costs per Bike £1,213 £1,746 £1,018 £489 £825 The table shows five years of figures for a bicycle manufacturer. In 2022, the price of a bike was how many times the combined production cost and other costs per bike?
- 1.24 times
- 1.25 times
- 1.31 times
- 1.50 times
Show the answer
Answer: A. 1.24 times
Read the 2022 column. Production cost per bike = £4,010 and other costs per bike = £825. Combined cost per bike = 4,010 + 825 = £4,835. Price per bike = £5,999. 5,999 ÷ 4,835 = 1.2407, so 1.24 times. The most tempting wrong method is to divide by the production cost alone, giving 1.50 times. The question names both cost lines, and the other costs row is the one a reader skips because it is the smaller of the two. The sales line and the bikes sold row are not needed.
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Question 11 of 12
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Sales (Bikes & Accessories) £103.8m £106.1m £104.5m £106.2m £101.3m Bikes Sold 13,360 13,165 14,900 13,630 16,100 Price per Bike £6,430 £7,160 £5,820 £6,040 £5,999 Production Cost per Bike £3,740 £4,106 £3,608 £4,125 £4,010 Other Costs per Bike £1,213 £1,746 £1,018 £489 £825 The table shows five years of figures for a bicycle manufacturer. Revenue from bikes alone is the number of bikes sold multiplied by the price per bike. By what percentage did revenue from bikes alone change between 2018 and 2022?
- 6.7%
- 11.1%
- 12.4%
- 13.8%
Show the answer
Answer: C. 12.4%
2018 revenue from bikes = 13,360 × £6,430 = £85,904,800. 2022 revenue from bikes = 16,100 × £5,999 = £96,583,900. Change = 96,583,900 − 85,904,800 = £10,679,100, a rise. As a percentage of the 2018 figure: 10,679,100 ÷ 85,904,800 = 0.12431, so a rise of 12.4%. The most tempting wrong method is to add the two underlying percentage changes, the 20.5% rise in bikes sold and the 6.7% fall in price, for 13.8%. Percentage changes on two factors of a product compound rather than add: 1.205 × 0.933 = 1.124, which is the 12.4% above. The sales line covers accessories as well as bikes, so it does not give revenue from bikes.
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Question 12 of 12
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Sales (Bikes & Accessories) £103.8m £106.1m £104.5m £106.2m £101.3m Bikes Sold 13,360 13,165 14,900 13,630 16,100 Price per Bike £6,430 £7,160 £5,820 £6,040 £5,999 Production Cost per Bike £3,740 £4,106 £3,608 £4,125 £4,010 Other Costs per Bike £1,213 £1,746 £1,018 £489 £825 The table shows five years of figures for a bicycle manufacturer. The sales line covers bikes and accessories together. In 2020, what percentage of sales came from accessories?
- 11.2%
- 17.0%
- 20.5%
- 24.7%
Show the answer
Answer: B. 17.0%
Work out 2020 revenue from bikes: 14,900 × £5,820 = £86,718,000, or £86.718m. Total sales in 2020 were £104.5m, and that line covers accessories as well. Accessories revenue = 104.5 − 86.718 = £17.782m. As a percentage of sales: 17.782 ÷ 104.5 = 0.17016, so 17.0%. The most tempting wrong method is to divide the accessories revenue by the bike revenue instead, giving 20.5%. The question asks for a share of sales, so the base is the whole sales line, not the part of it the accessories figure was derived from. The cost rows are not needed.
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What is a Talent Q test?
A Talent Q test is an adaptive online assessment from the range now owned by Korn Ferry. The Elements tests measure verbal, numerical and logical reasoning, adjusting question difficulty to your answers, with a per question time limit of a time allowance shown on screen rather than one overall clock. Aspects covers high volume screening with different limits for verbal, numerical and checking tests, and the Dimensions questionnaire profiles personality untimed.
Which Talent Q 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.
How a Talent Q test works
Four things to know before you sit one. Timings and difficulty vary with the level of the role.
- FormatMultiple choice with more options than usual
- Elements questions carry more answer options than most publishers use, and the data includes figures you do not need. Finding the relevant numbers is part of the test.
- PaceA clock on each question
- Elements Verbal and Numerical allow 16 minutes overall, and Logical 15 minutes. Each question has its own clock; Aspects Ability has different limits for verbal, numerical and checking tasks.
- DifficultyAdaptive, so it finds your level
- A correct answer brings a harder question, a wrong one an easier question. The test feels hard for everyone by design, which is not a sign you are doing badly.
- ScoringAgainst a benchmark
- Your result is compared with a benchmark group or the other candidates for the role. There is no official pass mark; the questionnaires are profiled, not scored.
Talent Q: assessment names, formats and timings
Match the name in your invitation to the assessment below. Timings marked “approx.” are completion estimates; other published durations are limits for the named version.
| Assessment | What it measures | Questions | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elements Verbal | Conclusions from passages of text; adaptive | 15 | 16 min |
| Elements Numerical | Tables and charts with distractor data; adaptive | 12 | 16 min |
| Elements Logical | Rules in arrangements of shapes and symbols; adaptive | 12 | 15 min |
| Aspects Ability | Verbal, numerical and checking accuracy for volume roles | Varies by test | Verbal 8; numerical 10; checking 6 min |
| Aspects Styles | Workplace behaviour against the role's competencies | Questionnaire | Approx. 8 min; untimed |
| Dimensions | Personality; how you work, relate, communicate and what motivates you | Rated statements | Untimed; approx. 25 min |
| Drives (motivation questionnaire) | What drives you, rated from not important to extremely important | Rated statements | Untimed; approx. 25 min |
| Situational judgement | Your preferred response to workplace scenarios, against the role | Scenarios | Varies |
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.
Talent Q assessments are delivered by Korn Ferry. Elements questions are individually timed; the figures below are the published overall allowances. Questionnaire durations are estimates, not time limits.
Official sources for assessment names and timings
What Talent Q assessment formats look like
A visual guide to the skills and response formats covered on this page. Your invitation tells you which assessments to prepare for.
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Illustrative example
Find the missing shape
Illustrative example
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OriginalAB–4729CopyAB–4792
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- CitiNumerical and logical reasoning in the Talent Q style, by programme and region
- MacquarieReasoning half of the two-part assessment, widely reported to be Talent Q
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