Mercer Assessment Tests

Careers at Mercer

Mercer recruits new graduates each year to its paid graduate programmes with a competitive salary. The schemes reflect the areas in which Mercer supports its clients’ workforces: Health, Wealth and Career.

Entry-level opportunities at Mercer typically fall into one of four routes:

Internship

Gain experience as an analyst in either Employee Health and Benefits, Talent Consulting, Retirement Consulting, Mercer Marketplace, or Government Human Services Consulting.

Actuarial Analyst

Work closely with senior consultants to deliver health and welfare programmes to client companies. This role allows the opportunity to complete the Mercer Actuarial Study Programme.

Consulting Analyst

Consulting analysts compile client reports and communications such as spreadsheets, presentations and proposals. You can specialise in Employee Health & Benefits, Talent, Investment or Mercer Marketplace (business acquisition).

Associate

Evaluate client companies’ business strategies and HR policies using industry research and analysis. This role is suitable for MBA or Masters graduates, and requires three to five years of prior business experience.

Mercer expects employees to be data-driven and comfortable with numerical material, demonstrating personal qualities such as patience, resilience, diplomacy and empathy.

In return, it offers a flexible employee benefit scheme where you can choose from a selection of benefits such as private medical insurance, child care assistance, a cycle scheme, flexible working, pension bonuses and private dental care. Employees at all levels can also expect to receive an annual cash bonus linked to performance.

Mercer creates a caring and supportive workplace culture across the company, with mentorship programmes, team volunteering days, and development groups available to all employees.

The Mercer application process consists of four stages.

Initially you are asked to submit a CV and a link to your LinkedIn profile through the Mercer website.

If you progress to the next stage, you’ll receive a telephone call or video call to chat with a talent acquisition consultant.

The third stage of the recruitment process involves an assessment day, where you will take tests and meet with Mercer colleagues within your chosen speciality.

Finally, you will attend face-to-face interviews with members of senior Mercer management.

Mercer online application

Step one of the Mercer recruitment process is an online application accessed through the company website, where you will be asked to upload your CV.

You’ll be competing against many other high-calibre applicants, so make sure your resume is as tailored to the Mercer position as possible. Also get your LinkedIn profile as up-to-date and professional as you can, since Mercer will scrutinise it.

Once you’ve submitted your application, you’ll get email confirmation that it was received.

If you are judged to be a good potential candidate, you will progress onto the next round of remote interviews.

Mercer phone or video interview

After successfully passing the online application, you’ll be contacted by a Mercer talent acquisition consultant for a short, structured conversation that will take place over the telephone or by video call.

This call gives Mercer the chance to assess your communication skills, as well as checking your academic qualifications and work history.

This is a very important part of the recruitment process and you will be judged against many other applicants. Spend some time thinking about how you would answer some standard interview questions, like:

“Tell me about a time you experienced conflict at work and how you dealt with it.”

“How do you identify your weaknesses and what do you do to address them?”

“Describe a past workplace achievement and explain why you are proud of it.”

You will also be asked what you know about Mercer and why you want to work for the company, so read through the company website thoroughly, follow the company social media profiles and stay informed of news relating to Mercer.

Depending upon the field to which you are applying, you might also be asked questions to assess your knowledge and competency in your chosen area.

Mercer Verbal Reasoning Test

Verbal reasoning tests are designed to assess your skills in understanding and interpreting a passage of text to form conclusions. You must be able to understand the vocabulary used and critically analyse the information to extract the details you need to answer the questions.

You cannot revise for a verbal reasoning test, but you can try practice verbal questions beforehand to familiarise yourself with the format and time allowance of the test.

Mercer assessment centre

The assessment centre stage of the interview process is a full day of activities and tests designed to evaluate your soft skills as well as your aptitude and knowledge. This is a pressured situation, where you are expected to perform at your best while being watched by Mercer assessors and compared against your peers.

Preparation is the key to remaining calm and confident to show your true potential. Remember that you will be watched throughout the whole day, including during breaks, so be mindful of how you present yourself at all times.

You will be asked to complete five activities: a case study, a group exercise, a written task, a presentation, and a verbal reasoning test. More on each of these below.

Mercer case study

You will be presented with data and information related to the field of work to which you are applying. You are then required to read through and analyse this information before answering a set of questions related to it.

For example, if you are applying for a position focusing on the health of a workforce, you may be presented with reports on sickness and absence levels, the reasons for sickness, the company sickness policies and outcomes of interventions. You may then be asked questions that assess your ability to understand and interpret the data, and use it to make predictions or suggestions.

Mercer group exercise

The group exercise often follows on from the case study. You may be asked to join up with other candidates to discuss your answers and solutions from the case study, to decide what you would advise as a group.

This is a key test of your ability to work as a team, communicate effectively, influence your peers and speak up confidently. The assessors want to see you articulate your ideas while also listening to your peers and being respectful of others’ opinions.

Mercer written task

You will be asked to complete a series of written tasks to assess your written communication skills, time management, and ability to understand and action instructions.

You must be able to show exemplary grammar, punctuation and spelling, with one of the tests assessing this directly by asking you to identify and correct any errors within a text. Another test presents an email that you must respond to appropriately, explaining how you formulated your reply.

The written task often leads onto the presentation element of the assessment day. You will receive a bulk of written information to use a source for creating your presentation. The information will be related to your chosen field and could be in the form of reports, analyses, recommendations, policies or guidelines.

Mercer presentation

You will use the work you did in the written task to deliver a short presentation of your findings and recommendations. The presentation will be in front of Mercer HR managers who are assessing your confidence and ability to articulate your ideas.

They will follow up your presentation with intense questioning to test how you perform under pressure. Stay calm and explain your reasoning, but graciously accept any mistakes or misjudgements you might have made.

Final interview

If you are one of the successful candidates who make it through to the final stage, you will face an interview from one or two members of the senior Mercer team.

You will receive feedback and results from your assessment day tasks – your interviewers may want to discuss these with you and hear your evaluation of your performance on the day. This will lead to further questioning as your interviewers try to build up a clear picture of whether you are a good fit for Mercer.

You may be asked competency-based questions around your field of expertise and must again demonstrate a good knowledge of current Mercer news and developments within the industry.

You are advised to take extra copies of your CV with you, and to follow up after your interview by contacting each interviewer to thank them and express your enthusiasm for the role.