Employers' Pre-Employment Assessment Tests and Information

A resume shows where you've worked, and an interview shows how you talk about it. Neither shows how you'd handle the daily demands of the job, and that's the gap employer tests for hiring are designed to fill.

When hundreds of people apply for the same role, a test gives every candidate the same questions, the same time limit, and the same scoring. That makes comparing applicants fairer, and it helps hiring teams decide who to interview first. Tests also check skills tied to the role itself, such as numerical reasoning for finance jobs, mechanical aptitude for utility jobs, or situational judgment for customer-facing roles.

Not every employer test comes from the same place, and knowing which kind you're facing helps you prepare. Pre-employment tests generally fall into 2 categories:

1. Tests built around the employer. Some employers use assessments tailored to their own roles, values, and leadership principles. The Amazon Work Style Assessment is an example: it's built around Amazon's Leadership Principles, so the content is specific to that company.
2. Tests created by an outside assessment company. Other employers hand testing to a third party that builds and runs the test, then shares the results with the employer. The same test can appear in the hiring process of many different employers. Ramsay and SHL are examples, and the P&G Interactive Assessment is provided by Aon. You can read more about these providers on our assessment companies page.

The difference matters for your prep. A company-specific test calls for employer-specific practice, while a provider's test is easier to handle once you're familiar with that provider's question formats.

Because every candidate takes the same test, preparation can make the difference. Knowing the question types, practicing under time limits, and walking in without surprises can help you perform at your best and stand out from other applicants. JobTestPrep has helped thousands of candidates to do exactly that, with online practice tests and study materials for employer assessments. The sections below cover 7 major sectors, with sample questions you can try first.

The tests employers use depend heavily on the industry. Each of the 7 sectors below names the employers that use these tests, links to full practice for each employer, and includes 3 sample questions so you can see what the format looks like. Start with the sector you're applying in, or work through all 7 for a broader career employer practice test. If a specific sector or company interests you, follow its links for extra practice, including free samples on many of the pages.

Large retailers and corporations hire for very different roles, so the assessment you get depends on the job. A store team lead, a maintenance technician, a financial analyst, and a software developer can each face a different test, even at the same company. Amazon's own jobs site notes that assessment types and timing can vary by team.

Three formats show up most often in this sector. Situational judgment tests present realistic workplace scenarios and ask how you'd respond. Work style questionnaires describe how you prefer to work and check whether that fits the employer's culture. For technical and analytical roles, reasoning games and technical tests measure how you solve problems. Many of these tests are built around the employer's own values, so knowing what the company stands for is part of your prep.

Here are the employers in this sector with practice available:

• Amazon. Amazon's online assessments commonly include a work simulation, which is a scenario-based situational judgment test, and a work style assessment built around the company's Leadership Principles. Practice is available for the Hiring and Work Simulation, Work Style, AWS, and Area Manager assessments, plus the Financial Analyst, Maintenance Technician, and software development engineer assessments.
• Walmart. The test depends on the role. Maintenance roles take a technical maintenance assessment. Team lead, supervisor, academy trainer, and department manager roles use the Teaming Employment Assessment, which combines workplace scenarios with questions about your work style. Management roles such as assistant manager, area manager, and coach trainee use the Manager Assessment. Our guides advise keeping your answers consistent across each of these tests.
• P&G. P&G's hiring process commonly includes 2 online assessments. The PEAK Performance Assessment mixes situational judgment scenarios with questions about your work style. The Interactive Assessment is a set of online reasoning games, known as the Switch, Grid, and Digit challenges, that takes about 30 minutes according to P&G, and the games you see can depend on the role you apply for. Aon provides the Interactive Assessment, one of the outside assessment companies we cover.
• Honeywell. Practice tests are available for the assessments used in Honeywell's hiring process.
• Epic Systems. Practice is available for Epic's technical assessments, including the one for Technical Problem Solver roles.

Looking for a different employer? Browse our retail and corporate employer test prep for the full list.

Banks, lenders, and trading firms hire for roles built around numbers, risk, and customers, so their assessments lean on reasoning skills and judgment. Many also check how your values and work style fit the company, since the work is regulated and trust matters.

Four formats show up most often in this sector. Numerical reasoning tests ask you to find answers in tables, charts, and graphs under a time limit. Verbal reasoning tests ask you to draw conclusions from written passages. Situational judgment tests and personality or values questionnaires check how you'd act at work and whether that fits the employer. Some trading firms add speed-based mental arithmetic and probability questions, where timing matters as much as accuracy.

Here are the employers in this sector with practice available:

• Barclays. The Barclays online assessment includes a cognitive ability section covering numerical, verbal, and inductive reasoning, a personality assessment, and a values and mindset assessment. Keeping Barclays' stated values in mind helps with the last one.
• Capital One. Capital One uses online assessments in its second hiring stage. They're split into 4 exams: situational judgment, verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, and a coding assessment.
• RBC. Most graduate roles start with an online assessment similar to a situational strengths test, and some roles add verbal and numerical reasoning tests. Our RBC practice also covers personality assessments and Aon's smartPredict games.
• Optiver. Candidates report speed-focused online assessments for this trading firm, with sections such as mental arithmetic, numerical reasoning, and probability. Practicing under a time limit is a big part of preparing.

Looking for a different employer? Browse our finance and banking employer test prep for the full list.

Learn about the different employer assessment tests practice resources that we have to offer, take practice tests, and prepare yourself for the exam.