Psychometric Tests for Students: How to Prepare and Pass UK Graduate Assessments

When you’re applying for a psychometric test, a standardized assessment used by employers to measure cognitive abilities, personality traits, and behavioral tendencies. Also known as aptitude tests, it’s often the first real hurdle between you and a graduate job in the UK. Many students think these tests are about being smart — but they’re really about being prepared. If you’ve never sat one before, they can feel like a foreign language: timed multiple-choice questions, abstract patterns, numerical data, and personality questionnaires that ask things like ‘I prefer working alone’ or ‘I stay calm under pressure.’

These tests aren’t random. Most UK graduate employers use a few major providers — SHL, a global testing platform used by big firms like PwC, Barclays, and Deloitte, Kenexa, now part of IBM, known for its realistic simulations and behavioral assessments, and Cut-e, a simpler, more visual test style often used by tech startups and consulting firms. Each has its own format, timing, and traps. SHL might give you 18 numerical questions in 25 minutes. Kenexa might ask you to rank statements about teamwork. Cut-e might show you a grid of shapes and ask you to pick the next one. There’s no guessing your way through these — but there’s plenty you can practice.

What most students don’t realize is that these tests aren’t designed to fail you. They’re designed to sort you. The top 20% get through. The rest don’t. But that top 20%? They didn’t just rely on their degree. They spent a few hours on free practice tests, timed themselves, learned how to skip hard questions, and understood what the questions were really measuring. You don’t need to be a math genius to pass a numerical test — you just need to know how to read a table fast. You don’t need to be a psychologist to ace a personality test — you just need to answer consistently, not how you think they want you to.

This collection of posts gives you exactly what you need: real breakdowns of how SHL and Kenexa tests work, sample questions you can practice with, time-saving strategies that actually work, and tips from students who’ve been through it. No fluff. No theory. Just what you need to walk into that test center — or sit at your kitchen table — and know exactly what to do next.