How to pass SHL tests

hey here are shl tests http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEFOlz_38w0

this video is not working any more ;-) hope some one can help on this ;-(

Today I tried the SHL practice tests. They are REALLY stupid. The "logic" of their "reasoning" tests is NOT logic.
As for the numerical "reasoning" test, SHL's strategy is to give you questions involving A LOT of numbers to solve in a very short time. The numerical questions are NOT hard but are practically IMPOSSIBLE to solve within the alloted time.

Even I can make questions like that.
For example: John buys everyday 4% tomatoes, 6% cucumbers, 50% apples, 20% radishes, 15% lemons and 5% oranges. If the quantity of tomatoes bought yesterday is 7% more than the quantity of radishes bought the day before yesterday, which is 3% less than the quantity of cucumbers bought today, which is 5 kilograms, what is the quantity of apples bought by John yesterday?

How much time do you think you have for such a question? Well, (take a deep breath), AT MOST one minute!

Is this SHL's idea of "intelligence" or "hard work"????
Is this the result of SHL "30 years of experience" (as they brag on their website) ?????

As far as I am concerned, this is PURE STUPIDITY. Nevertheless, I'll do what I can to become better at such tests, as many companies (banks, accountancy firms) use SHL-like tests.

Has anyone had problems with this kind of tests?
Has anyone completed these kind of tests correctly and on time?

I'd really like to have some feedback from you guys on such tests.

Whishing you a very good year,
Astro

Apart from efinancial careers and the SHL website what OTHER websites/practice tests are there online??!?!

IBM do something very similar they call IPATO.

I think is possible to finish, if you are a calculatorman!

But the SHL is not a kind of test that is possible to finish in short time, We must skip some and do others. They want to know your reactions "in the front", they mix simples with hard ones. They want evaluate our way to think and how We can go over the humps. I know the first impression that we got after do the test. I am really fast thinker, and after all I was just tired, and had been more 8 to be finished.

We don't need judge ourselves after the test. We can study and understand something really important, We were bad educated! We need to start think in another way, there are many situations that we can't figure out with simple mathematic rules. There are many situations that we have to figure out estimating or understanding the behavior of the things.

Here in Brazil they changed the way to get in to a university, and I can tell "what you are thinking"! They gave to us a kind off SHL test!

I did a test at IBM and was the same. We must change our way o think. That is the deal. It's just practice.

We don't need calculate how far is the step over a puddle of water.

Best Regards.
Thiago

Hi,

I was hopeless at these questions and found them really difficult. However practice really does makes perfect. I founds lots of questions on assessmentday.co.uk (I think). Yes, it's £5 but they have verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning questions. You can do them as often as you like, they give you the answers in a pdf and they will rank you in terms of a percentile relative to others who have taken the test (which is a good indicator). Having the answers is particularly good for the verbal test because they justify why an answer is "true", "false" and "cannot say". Sometimes the difference between the latter two is not always clear.

Don't worry about running out of time. Work fast but do not make mistakes. I didn't complete the numeracy test for PwC strategy consulting but still made the assessment centre. KPMG's test was RIDICULOUSLY hard and I finished about 75% of it, but likewise I made it through.

Get used to shortcuts for typical questions (e.g. using 4 instead of 4,000,000; knowing that to calculate what % 45 is of 56 all you do is 45/56; using the Xy function for compound growth). Practice using a calculator at speed and functions on the calculator which will make workings outs more efficient.

Lastly, companies use these tests as assessment tools because they measure basic numerical and logical competency. If you struggle (after practice) with these and don't make it through, then it could be a clear indicator that you may not be suitible for the job you are applying for.

GOOD LUCK!

Thank you Cam_Tor and thiagoborn for encouragement and tips, I guess you are right: practice makes perfect.

Thank you Cam_Tor and thiagoborn for encouragement and tips, I guess you are right: practice makes perfect.

Thank you Cam_Tor and thiagoborn for encouragement and tips, I guess you are right: practice makes perfect.

hey, just a quick question. If you do the SHL tests for the verbal are you meant to answer all the questions in 15mins or just the ones you can do, and skip the one's you cant??

much help will be great!

what are the percent of question we are suppose to answer in psycho tests in order to make through it. I mean sort of cut offs

@stealth: I would try and answer all questions rather than miss them out, but be extra careful if there is a strong hint that you could be negatively marked (i.e. wrong answers = -1), often you can't go back to previous questions. The general rule of thumb is work shiftly and accurately but if you really can't answer then make an educated guess.

@varun5: Depends on the company and the job (and sometimes the competition)

It is quite possible to finish the numerical reasoning test within the given time frame. I finish with 1 to 3 minutes to spare and I never need to guess on any of the problems. And I have passed all of them and been invited to telephone interviews/assessment centers. For some of the questions, you are not actually expected to calculate it, you are suppose to do rough estimation of the percentages, conversion, averages, etc. It is actually very easy if you just use a little common sense (ie. this number is bigger than that number, this one is only bigger by a little, must be this). On average, I use the calculator for about 5 questions, everything else is with brain and/or pen and paper.

Tnks aburambo 4 d tips.pls hint d house on d nature of d assessment centre wen u scale thru.,gud luck

The thing is, the practise tests are always easier than the real tests. And even the real tests online are easier then the ones in the office. You can prepare for those online, but I don't know how to prepare for the written ones which are definitely tougher. These tests are stupid anyway, I doubt they really tell something about applicant's brain power ;-)

I guess this comments settles it by robbouk84... Mainly though, practice practice practice! There is evidence that you can improve to a certain level and chances are you aren't there yet, as you become more familiar with the test structure you will find your own technique for analysing the data quickly.

can you obtain the answer for the SHL inductive reasoning anywhere online??

hi
http://jobtestprep.co.uk/SHLPracticetests.aspx
they're ok

Just a quick warning regarding SHL's practice tests; do not even attempt to sign up for them unless you are running IE 6, 7 or 8. That means you would need to be running an operating system no more recent than Windows XP, as later versions of Windows aren't compatible with IE8. The site will allow you to waste a good deal of time and reveal a ridiculous amount of information about yourself before it tells you - at the very last step - that you cannot access the tests. Their "help" documentation even claims that they are fully compatible with Windows 7, Firefox etc, but they're not. SHL's none too helpful solution is that you need to go find a computer with IE8 on it. Hey, I checked everyone that I knew and even my Grandmother has already upgraded to Windows 7! SHL really doesn't seem like a serious organization...

I agree. I applied for HR role and they sent me this test. I don't understand where the logic lay for this test and what is the benchmark. The practise test was ok. I can complete with good score and in a time they provided but the real test was like 100 time more difficult. i am really upset by the point that there are a lot of companies relay on this type of test to eliminate people. I bet that they actually want engineer or financial or accounting personal to be HR so their human resources can work like a robot or machine and super profit concious. The same thing as UCAS point. I come from the country that doesn't have A/O level. We have GCSE then enter the university. I have 9 years work experience and master degree but I was eliminated because A/O level UCAS point.

I've just taken 3 SHL tests this week (verbal, numerical and logical) for a potential employer and haven't seen a more poorly organised system!

As noted by a previous poster, the software doesn't recognise Firefox , Chrome or any version of Internet explorer other than 6,7 or 8. The software noted versions prior to Firefox 4 are compatible but V3 is not. Took me 3 days to find an old laptop I could use only to get through the registration process 'again' and still i was kicked out at the last possible minute before the test because my version of Flash was also wrong!! I now also have 5 logins as it wouldn't let me access previously logged accounts.

As for the practise tests, I could only access the verbal reasoning - couldn't access the others as I was apparently not registered or the information wasn't available to me. A click on the help tab took me to a screen stating that the file I was after could not be found!

As for the tests themselves, the only one I finished in time was the verbal reasoning, because I rushed it. Time-wise, the logical test could've possibly been completed in time, though I struggled on a number of the questions with the 'squares/diamonds and circles' layouts (there are lots of them and they are a lot harder than the practice examples!). I have no doubt that there is a logic to them but it must be hidden about 4 layers down. You're required to work out the differing sequences to up to 4 changing shapes and colours across 6 - 8 tiles in order to identify the following tile in the sequence. (Average time allowed - just under a minute per question!).

In the numerical reasoning test I was about 7 questions short of completing! You simply can not take time with them. With hindsight I'd also say you don't have adequate time to routinely use a calculator. As Aburambo noted, maybe you're supposed to eliminate and estimate from the remainder.

This has to be the hardest series of tests I've taken and is a bit depressing - not the frame of mind to be in before having to go into an interview! :(

Another major bugbear is the fact that you get no feedback on the answers given so you have no idea how well you've done. This information should be made immediately available on completion.

Firefox 2 can be installed on Windows 7 and it runs the shl tests without problems.

I use Windows 7 Home Premium. I installed Firefox 2 on it, and SHL system works in it, despite the fact they state that IE6, 7 or 8 are required. I also read that if you have Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate edition you can install Virtual PC with Windows XP mode and run old programs.

Yo,

Does anyone have a list of companies that use SHL ?

Peace

I did the full length practise test for both numeracy & verbal reasoning. The report only told me what % was correct. I was wondering if anyone actually has the answers and reasoning behind the answers. I have no idea which ones I did correctly and which ones were wrong and why.

The only way to improve is to know what the correct answer was and why?

Hi Everyone,

If you need help with your online numerical or verbal tests I can help.

I have been doing them for couple of years now. Usually I have a 100% success rate.

If you are interested please email me at jabedahmed2@gmail.com for more details. I am sure we can work out something reasonable.

Cheers

had just got KPMG test, will wait for their reply, it was hard, and time wasn't enough, but I hope that it will be okay

It is hard to practice these tests all the time, when I am suppose to be studying a masters degree also. Wish I had known about this application process during my summer months when time was free.
Just had a phone call following success at an assessment day with one financial company, but they want me back to do the logical/numerical test again in their office as I did not do so well. Its good that they liked me in other areas: group work, discussions, presentation.
My attempts at SHL tests are always hit or miss. I think using a calculator with every numerical question is time wasting, when some questions need quick estimates as some answers vary greatly e.g. (a) 3 (b) 300 (c) 33,000 (d) 3,000,000. But mostly they are hard and awful.
Now I have a few days to become an expert, and in the meantime complete three assignments for my masters degree. No time for all, and no room to eliminate any of the work that lies ahead of me.
Thats my two minute break over.... back to hell.

Some practice websites and some useful links to help speed up your skills for the test:-

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/students/mathsaid/assets/documents/NumericalReasoning.pdf

http://www.shldirect.com/practice_tests.html

http://www.strath.ac.uk/careers/apply/psychometricassessments/

..

Hi Everyone,

If you are struggling with SHL or Kenexa tests, I may be able to help!

Drop an email for further information to jabedahmed2@gmail.com.

Regards,

Jay

Is negative marking used in these tests for the real thing? I often guess ones that I haven't completed when I have little time left and wondered if that was the wrong thing to do?

If you want to guarantee 100% email me:
psychometricguru@gmail.com
Over 20 students have emailed me since october, to say they have landed an internship/grad job thanks to my advice :)