Graduate online tests: types, scoring and free practice

Graduate online tests, often called psychometric or aptitude tests, are assessments that employers use to decide who moves on to interview. The most common are numerical, verbal and logical reasoning tests, situational judgement tests, personality questionnaires and game-based assessments. Your score is usually compared with a norm group of other test takers and measured against a pass mark the employer sets. Practising on free sample tests, so the format holds no surprises, is one of the most useful things you can do.

Why do employers use online tests?#

Prospects says employers see them as “objective, convenient and strong indicators of job performance”, which makes them popular with large graduate recruiters. They are “often used during the preliminary screening stage, or as part of an assessment centre”.

In practice, tests usually come soon after you submit an application, and sometimes as part of it. For its standard graduate schemes, Lloyds Banking Group, for example, asks applicants to complete an online assessment of around 60 minutes alongside the application form, before a job insight assessment and an assessment centre.

What types of online test are there?#

The descriptions come from Prospects, the Civil Service and Oxford University’s careers service. A few points are worth knowing about each type:

• Numerical. Prospects lists tables and graphs, quick calculations of ratios and percentages, and financial measures such as growth rates and profit margins. Brushing up on percentage change is time well spent.
• Verbal. Judge each statement only on what the passage says, not on what you already know about the topic.
• Situational judgement. The Civil Service Judgement Test asks you to rate each possible action as counterproductive, ineffective, fairly effective or effective, and its scenarios are built around the behaviours the role needs. Read the employer’s values or behaviours before you start.
• Game-based. Oxford’s careers service notes that the game starts collecting data about your performance as soon as you press play, so be ready before you start.

Applying for data roles? Some employers add a technical test. Lloyds’ Data Science and AI graduate scheme, for example, sets a 120-minute technical assessment that includes writing SQL queries and applying statistical tests to a data set. The free Readiness Check lets you test your SQL and core skills beforehand, and our guide to data analyst interviews and technical tests explains what these stages cover.

How long do online tests take?#

Prospects gives these typical lengths:

• aptitude tests: 15 to 60 minutes
• personality tests: 15 to 40 minutes
• situational judgement tests: 20 to 45 minutes

Timed ability tests are designed to be tight. Oxford’s careers service says they are often designed so that few candidates reach the end, so don’t panic if you can’t finish.

Some tests are untimed. The Civil Service’s verbal and numerical tests have no time limit, but most people take between 15 and 45 minutes for each, and the guidance suggests allowing at least an hour. For the Civil Service Judgement Test, most people take two to four minutes per scenario. Whatever the format, check the deadline in your invitation email and don’t leave the test until the last evening.

How are online tests scored?#

Most ability tests are not marked out of 100 like an exam. Instead:

• You are compared with a norm group. Oxford explains that your performance is evaluated against the results of “a large, representative ‘Norm Group’”. The Civil Service presents scores as a percentile, which shows how you performed relative to that group.
• The employer sets the pass mark. Prospects says you must achieve a certain score to pass. In the Civil Service, the recruiter looks at all applicants’ scores to decide each job’s pass mark, and also considers the impact on protected groups and how many people can be invited to the next stage.
• Some tests use negative marking. Oxford notes that some tests only count correct answers, while others take marks away for wrong ones.
• Personality questionnaires are different. Oxford says there are no right or wrong answers, and that they are usually not timed. Prospects notes they have built-in checks on whether your answers are consistent.

Because pass marks vary by employer and even by role, there is no single “good score”. A result that ends one application may be enough for another.

Where can you practise online tests for free?#

You don’t need to pay to practise. Start with these:

• Test publishers. SHL has free practice tests including verbal, numerical, inductive and deductive reasoning, situational judgement and personality. Saville Assessment has free verbal, numerical, diagrammatic and abstract reasoning tests with feedback on each question, which you can take as many times as you like. If your invitation names the test provider, practise with that provider’s format.
• The Civil Service. GOV.UK links to free practice versions of the verbal and numerical tests, with video tutorials, and to a practice Judgement Test. They are useful even if you aren’t applying to the Civil Service.
• Your university careers service. Many careers services pay for subscriptions to practice test platforms that students can use for free. Oxford’s careers service, for example, lists the ones its students can use. Look on your own careers service website, and check whether you still have access after you graduate.

A simple plan for this week: take one practice test of each main type without a timer, review every mistake, then retake a different test under time pressure. Spend extra time on whichever type you found hardest.

How do you ask for reasonable adjustments?#

If you have a disability or a condition that could put you at a disadvantage in an online test, you can ask the employer for adjustments. GOV.UK explains that in England, Scotland and Wales the Equality Act 2010 covers areas including application forms, interview arrangements and aptitude or proficiency tests. It also says an employer can ask about your health or disability to help decide whether to make reasonable adjustments in a selection process.

• Ask early. Oxford’s careers service stresses that you must tell the employer before you take the test, early enough for it to make adjustments. Employers cannot make allowances afterwards.
• Know what’s possible. Oxford gives examples such as more time, a lower pass mark, or a reader, writer or signer.
• Contact the employer’s recruitment team. The Civil Service tells candidates to contact the recruitment team or the contact named in the job advert, and says: “We have a legal duty to provide reasonable adjustments, so please don’t be afraid to ask for help if you think you need it.” Lloyds lists an email address and phone line for accessibility requests, and invites candidates with neurodiverse conditions, such as dyslexia and ADHD, to let it know if they need extra support.

For your rights, read the GOV.UK guidance. Your university careers service or disability service can also help you work out what to ask for.

Can you use AI or get help during an online test?#

Assume not, unless the employer clearly says otherwise. The Civil Service’s guidance on AI says: “It is vital that you do not use AI during any live assessments at any stage of the selection process.” It specifically rules out using AI to complete situational judgement and numerical tests, and warns that applications may be rejected where AI is used inappropriately. Its test guidance adds: “Your test answers should be your own; you must not ask for input from anyone.”

Lloyds’ guidance lists “using AI to answer questions in an assessment or live at interview” among the things candidates should not do. Oxford’s careers service notes that some employers use online proctoring, which can track screen use and keystrokes.

The practical reason matters too. If someone else helps you pass, you still have to perform at the same level later, often in front of an assessor.

How can you do well in an online assessment?#

• Pick your moment. Take the test when you are rested and calm, not late at night.
• Set up properly. Find a quiet space, switch off notifications and check your internet connection. The Civil Service suggests having rough paper, a pen and a calculator ready.
• Read the instructions and examples. Make sure you know exactly what each question type is asking before the clock starts.
• Keep moving. Oxford advises keeping an eye on the clock and moving on if you get stuck. In numerical tests, a quick estimate can help you rule out wrong options.
• Be honest in personality and judgement questions. Answer as the person you are at work, not the one you think the employer wants.
• Give games your full attention. Oxford suggests allowing 20 to 30 minutes undisturbed for game-based assessments. They work on a phone, but Oxford notes some evidence that candidates using a mobile phone score slightly lower, so use a computer if you can.

If you don’t pass, note which test type caught you out, practise that type, and keep applying. Pass marks differ between employers, so one result is not a verdict on your ability.