SHL Practice Test

What the real test usually looks like

SHL publishes many tests, so the format depends on which one your employer chose. The invitation usually names it. SHL's own fact sheets describe these common versions:

• Verify Numerical Reasoning: up to 18 multiple choice questions in 25 minutes. Each question gives you a graph or chart, asks for a calculation and a short answer (SHL fact sheet).
• Verify Interactive Numerical Reasoning: up to 10 questions in 18 minutes, adaptive, built for any device including phones. Instead of picking from a list, you may build charts or fill in spreadsheet cells (SHL fact sheet).
• Verify Verbal Reasoning: up to 30 questions in 19 minutes. You read a short workplace passage and decide whether each statement is true, false or cannot say (SHL fact sheet).
• Verify Verbal Ability: up to 18 adaptive multiple choice questions in 15 minutes, asking you to recall details from a text and make inferences (SHL fact sheet).

SHL also lists deductive and inductive reasoning tests, and says its numerical reasoning covers word problems and calculations as well as charts and graphs.

Calculator. SHL says you may use a calculator on numerical and calculation tests unless you have been told otherwise (SHL support). Some tests show a calculator on screen; SHL's support pages say that when they do, external calculators are not allowed, but pen and paper are.

A possible second test. The Verify Numerical and Verbal Reasoning fact sheets list the number of sittings as "one plus verification test", so some employers may ask you to take a follow-up verification test later in the process. Practicing properly for the first test is the best preparation for both.

Results go to the employer, not to you. SHL's support pages say its support team cannot share results or feedback; ask the company or recruiter (SHL support).

Question types with worked examples

These original examples cover the main SHL question types. Each shows the method and the trap that catches people.

Percentage change. "Costs rose from $40,000 to $46,000. What is the percentage increase?" The change is $6,000 on a starting $40,000: 6,000 / 40,000 = 15%. The trap is dividing by the later figure, which gives about 13%. Always divide by the earlier figure.

Share of a total. "Region A sold 450 of 1,800 units. What share is that?" 450 / 1,800 = 25%. The trap is using the wrong total: check whether the question means the whole year, one quarter or one region.

Two-step change in share. "Staff costs are 30% of a $2.4 million budget. If staff costs rise by $60,000 and the budget stays the same, what share are they now?" Staff costs were $720,000, now $780,000, and 780,000 / 2,400,000 = 32.5%. The trap is working out the 8.3% rise in staff costs and adding it to 30%.

Currency conversion. "If 1 euro buys 1.08 dollars, what does a 250-euro order cost in dollars?" Multiply: 250 x 1.08 = $270. The trap is dividing, which gives about $231. Ask yourself whether the answer should be bigger or smaller than the starting number.

Units in a table. If a column header says "$ thousands", an entry of 1.2 means $1,200. Many wrong options are the right digits in the wrong unit, so check the header before you calculate.

True, false or cannot say. Passage: "The library opens at 9 a.m. on weekdays and at 10 a.m. on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays." "The library is open on Sunday afternoons" is false: the passage says the opposite. "The library opens later on Saturday than on Wednesday" is true. "The library is busier on Saturdays" is cannot say: the passage does not mention it, however likely it sounds.

Calculation. "? x 12 = 186." Estimate first: 12 x 15 = 180, so the answer is a little over 15. 186 / 12 = 15.5. On calculation tests, a quick estimate rules out most wrong options before you touch the calculator.

How to prepare

1. Find out which test it is. Your invitation or the employer's careers page often names it. The timing and question style differ a lot between versions.
2. Know your pace for that version. Verify Numerical Reasoning allows 25 minutes for up to 18 questions, about 80 seconds each. Verify Verbal Reasoning allows 19 minutes for up to 30, about 38 seconds each. If one question passes double its share, choose your best answer and move on.
3. Use a calculator you know. If your test allows one, practice with the same calculator you will use on the day. If your test shows one on screen, practice with an on-screen calculator.
4. Read the question before the table. Then look only for the numbers you need. Tables carry more data than any one question uses.
5. Learn the three verbal answers cold. True, false and cannot say trip people up because they bring in outside knowledge. Practice until "cannot say" feels natural. Our verbal reasoning test goes deeper.
6. Drill percentage change and ratios. They are the core of most numerical questions. Our percentage questions guide and ratio questions guide cover the methods, and our numerical reasoning test adds more table practice.
7. Write down intermediate results. SHL says pen and paper are useful for any assessment, and a two-step calculation is easy to lose halfway through.
8. Take full timed mocks. A 25-minute numerical test is tiring in a way that 10 questions are not.

How scoring usually works

SHL usually reports your result against a comparison group rather than as a raw count. SHL's sample Verify candidate report compares each test score with a large group who took the test before, then shows a percentile and a grade from A to E (SHL sample report).

• Raw score: the number you got right. On its own it says little, because versions differ in length and difficulty.
• Percentile: where your score sits in the comparison group. The 60th percentile means you scored higher than about 60% of that group.
• Comparison group (norm group): the people you are compared with, such as the general population group in SHL's sample report. The same raw score can give different percentiles against different groups.
• Adaptive versions such as Verify Interactive and Verify Verbal Ability adjust the questions to your answers, so the score reflects the difficulty of what you answered, not just how many.

The same sample report notes that test results remain valid for about 12 to 18 months. Employers set their own cut-off for each role and rarely share it. Our SHL scores guide explains the reports in more detail.

Our practice score is the number of our own questions you got right. It is not an SHL score or percentile.

Common mistakes on SHL-style tests

• Using outside knowledge in verbal reasoning. If the passage does not say it, the answer is cannot say, even when the statement is obviously true in real life.
• Confusing false with cannot say. False needs the passage to contradict the statement. A statement the passage simply does not cover is cannot say.
• Dividing by the wrong figure. Percentage change is always the change divided by the earlier value.
• Ignoring units and headers. Thousands, millions, percentages and currencies are where most numerical traps live.
• Calculating everything precisely. When options are far apart, a rounded estimate is enough and saves a minute.
• Stepping away mid-test. SHL's support pages say the timer keeps running if you leave, so do not start until you can finish in one sitting.

Test day checklist

• Check which tests and how many. Your invitation may list more than one; plan the time for each.
• Calculator ready, unless told otherwise. If the test shows an on-screen calculator, SHL says external ones are not allowed.
• Pen and paper for intermediate results.
• A quiet room and a stable connection. SHL says the timer keeps running if you step away, so start only when you have the full time free.
• Stay on the test tab. SHL's support pages advise against switching tabs or windows during an assessment.
• Questions about results or retakes go to the employer. SHL says it cannot share results, and that reattempts are arranged through your recruiter.

A one-week study plan

About 30 to 45 minutes a day. If your test is in two days, do days 1, 4 and 6.

• Day 1: Take the free sample above and note whether numerical or verbal cost you more.
• Day 2: Percentage change, shares of a total and currency conversion, with the percentage questions guide.
• Day 3: True, false and cannot say: 20 statements, timed at about 38 seconds each.
• Day 4: A full SHL-style numerical mock at the real pace. Review every miss and every slow question.
• Day 5: Ratios and multi-step table questions with the ratio questions guide; then a short verbal set.
• Day 6: A full SHL-style verbal mock, then a second numerical mock if your test includes both.
• Day 7: Light review, check your invitation and set up your room and calculator.