Thomas GIA Test - Complete Guide and Accurate Practice [2024]

The Thomas International General Intelligence Assessment (GIA) is a speed test that measures your ability to quickly learn, comprehend and retain information.

The test has 5 sections, each taking 2-3 minutes:

• Perceptual Speed
• Reasoning
• Number Speed and Accuracy
• Spatial Visualisation
• Word Meaning

Each section has a single, very distinctive type of question. Below you can find a sample question of each section, showing real-test time constraints.

The Thomas GIA is the most well-known of Thomas International, a pre-employment test provider. Other pre-employment assessment providers are cut-e, Cubiks, Pymetrics, AON, and many more.

The perceptual speed section of the Thomas GIA test examines your ability to quickly process visual data.

You will be presented with 4 pairs of upper- and lower-case letters and have to decide how many pairs contain the same letter.

The reasoning test section assesses your short-term memory and your ability to make quick and accurate logical conclusions.

In each question, you will be given a statement describing a relationship between individuals or objects. Then, the statement is replaced with a question, and you need to choose the correct answer choice based on the statement.

This test assesses your ability to perform simple numerical tasks quickly and accurately.

In each question, you will be presented with three numbers. Identify the lowest and highest numbers, and then calculate their differences from the third (median).

Your task is to choose the number furthest for which this difference is maximal.

This GIA test section examines your ability to mentally rotate objects.

In each question, you are given two pairs of rotated shapes (letters). You need to decide how many of the boxes contain the same shape (mirror images are not considered the same shape).

This GIA test section requires you to identify words that have a similar meaning or are related in some way.

In each question, you will be given three words. Two of the terms have something in common, and the third is the odd one out.

Here is the Thomas GIA scoring method in a nutshell:

While the GIA Test has a final score, it is calculated based on your score in the 5 test sections.

The Thomas International GIA test is scored based on both your correct and incorrect answers. Correct answers gain you points, and incorrect answers reduce points.
Each correct answer gains 1 point, and each wrong answer reduces points, depending on the section:

• Reasoning – 1 point reduced for an incorrect answer
• Perceptual Speed – 0.25 points reduced
• Number Speed and Accuracy – 0.5 points reduced
• Spatial Visualisation – 0.5 points reduced
• Word Meaning – 0.5 points reduced

Here’s an example from a Thomas International score report showing just that:

That is why you shouldn’t simply storm through the questions to answer as many as you possibly can, and also shouldn’t be too careful, on the other hand.
Finding the balance between speed and accuracy is crucial for a high score on the Thomas GIA test.

All your scores will be presented as a percentile score (of what percent of past test-takers your score is higher). For instance, if you have scored in the 75th percentile, you have scored higher than 75% of test-takers.

The Thomas International GIA Test score percentiles are defined:

• Low – 4-15 percentile
• Below Average – 16-34 percentile
• Average – 35-65 percentile
• Above Average – 66-85 percentile
• High – 86+ percentile

Everyone has his or her weak spots - some have difficulty with basic math, others with spatial reasoning. But to succeed on the Thomas GIA test, you must excel on all 5 test sections.

To help you focus your practice on where you need the most, we have added a preliminary diagnostic test to the practice plan.

How does it work?

Check out this excerpt from the score report you’ll get when finishing your first Thomas GIA diagnostic test:

See that the Number Speed and Accuracy section has more red Xs? That means that your skill in this particular section needs some improvement.

This way, you will be able to focus your practice on the areas you need most and make it as effective as it can be.

The Thomas International GIA Test is a very unique and challenging test due to three main reasons:

• Unique Question Style – the Thomas GIA test contains questions you will see in no other test.
• Elaborate Instructions – the GIA test has VERY specific instructions. If you fail to fully comprehend the task, you will likely fail the entire test section.
• Unequal Performance in Sections – the GIA test sections are very different from one another, and you need to excel in them all for a high score.

To pass the Thomas International test and get the job you want, you need to practice the exact, actual test experience.

A wide variety of employers are using the Thomas International GIA Test, here are the most popular:

• Canonical – this UK-based software company uses the Thomas GIA Test for multiple positions across various departments, especially for programming and management positions.
• Siemens – Siemens uses the GIA Test to screen candidates mainly for mid-management and engineering positions.
• Version 1 – an Irish company dealing with software development, asset management, and consulting, uses the Thomas International GIA Test predominantly for business analysts, but also more technical positions may be requested to go through it.
• Metro Bank – this bank, operating in the UK, uses the Thomas GIA for nearly every position.
• CBRE – CBRE uses the Thomas International test mainly for screening candidates applying to its graduate scheme.