IB Screening - Practice for SHL Numeracy Tests?

Does anyone know where to get good practice at the numerical reasoning tests like the ones on www.shl.com ? Many banks use these to screen potential candidates...

I have run a search on the WSO forums, but there was no info about any books or online sites where you can get a lot of practice for these SHL tests...

33 Comments
 
timergooffNo, if you apply to American offices of European banks, you still have to take those.
Ok

And also, I wasn't just talking about European Banks. American Banks in London also have numerical and verbal tests as part of the screening stage.

 
pedaltodafloany idea on the level? how do u no if u passed?

They usually never tell you if you passed or failed. Your test scores are just taken into account as part of the screening process i.e. before a first round, you'd submit your CV, cover letter, answer some competency questions and take the tests . You then either get the interview offer or not, without knowing your test results.

 

I agree, being well rested is much more important than practising a lot.. I just made the mistake to take the paper test with 3 hours of sleep. The tests are easy if you have done one before.

 

There are some really good resources listed here, apart from the official sites of the companies like SHL, Assessment Day is pretty useful and not too expensive.

I also stumbled across http://www.practiceshltests.com the other day, they have a free sample of verbal questions and seem to be profiling different companies and how they use tests which could be useful for some people so thought I'd throw it out there.

Of course, being good at tests is one thing, getting a job when we all finish studying is something else entirely!

 

Welcome to online tests world. For me, personally, they are useless, quite hard sometimes and prove nothing. You may have a brilliant resume but if you are not good enough in some bullshit logical reasoning you won't even pass to the second stage.

If it comes to prepare - just do free online samples. A lot of them. The more you do, the better you are, but as I said, some of them are so stupid you may fail anyway.

Good luck, I am applying to London IBD as well.

 

I don't prepare for them as such, I just do them where possible in order of my lowest preference bank to highest. If you have a native English speaker and can do basics maths while having to sift through a lot of data these shouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure if I would contact HR. Whenever I have heard HR speak about the tests, they have described them as a screen to remove a certain amount of candidates, making the number of applications much more manageable. Not sure what view they would take of you failing one.

Was it for Lazard you failed the test? I think (but I'm not 100%) their standards are higher on the SHL tests than most other firms.

 
"IncapableChimp"Not sure what view they would take of you failing one.

Fail = Not passing to the next round from what I know.

 

Buy tests from Graduatemonekey, Assessmenday, JobTestPrep --> Expansive method, Time Consuming; probability to pass: High

 

Ad quia ut et totam reiciendis facere mollitia. In et consequatur voluptatem. Velit adipisci voluptate vel enim tempora voluptatem harum. Neque beatae est veniam iusto voluptatem. Nihil velit provident est quisquam totam a in quaerat.

 

Fugiat quis dolore sapiente aspernatur dolore. Totam rerum adipisci magnam adipisci harum et doloribus. Temporibus dolorem recusandae ut eveniet occaecati. Quia quas voluptatibus quibusdam perspiciatis error enim. Aut odit molestias dignissimos rerum tempore.

Libero id sunt reprehenderit tenetur. Deserunt aut consequuntur quaerat. Iste rerum corrupti aut. Temporibus doloribus voluptate officiis et optio sit aspernatur.

Voluptatum a sint voluptas molestiae. Vel non molestiae in iusto ut quos. Expedita quibusdam et occaecati doloremque recusandae cum. Enim odit placeat totam ut velit est dignissimos blanditiis. Et omnis perspiciatis dolorum molestiae eum molestias omnis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”