Graduate Aptitude Tests Online Preparation & Tips – 2025

What Are Graduate Aptitude Tests?

As you leave college or university and prepare to enter the workforce, you will be in competition with thousands of others for the same positions. Some of these are graduate scheme positions, where you will rotate through different departments to familiarize yourself with the company. Others are traditional entry-level positions where you will be hired to perform a specific job. Before you are selected for a graduate scheme program or hired on for your first position in your chosen profession, there is one last hurdle to cross.

To assist in selecting the right people to fill positions many companies, especially those with graduate scheme programs, utilize psychometric and job-specific tests. These tests identify the graduates that have the traits the company wants in a new hire and are predictors of future professional success.

Psychometric Tests for Graduates

Psychometric tests are designed to measure cognitive abilities and reasoning skills. They are also used to assess personality traits and to predict workplace behaviors. There are numerous versions of these tests. Some are designed to test one type of reasoning skill, like verbal reasoning. Others give a more comprehensive overview and combine questions that evaluate different reasoning abilities. The Wonderlic test, which is famous for being used by the NFL, is one type of psychometric test that is also used by numerous employers. 

Most aptitude tests are now given by computer. Some employers want you to take the test at a testing center. Others will send you a link so you can take the test from your home computer. Home tests are proctored to protect the integrity of test takers’ scores. The test sections are multiple-choice, and with the exception of personality tests are timed.

Every industry and field places high value on different abilities. The tests you are given are based on those abilities that are most important to the company. The tests you are given will vary by job, even within the same employer.

Types of Graduate Aptitude Tests

• Verbal Reasoning Test – This test shows how well you can draw conclusions from written information. There will be a short passage to read, followed by True, False, and Not Enough Information questions. This is one of the most common tests given by employers.
• Numerical Reasoning Test – This is another common test. The test consists of charts and tables that have the numbers you need to work with. You need to answer word problems using the numbers you have been given and determine which function you need to use. This test usually tests basic number skills, like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
• Spatial Reasoning Test – This test uses shapes to determine how well you can visualize 2D objects in 3D, detect changes in the objects, and manipulate them.
• Abstract Reasoning Test – This is a test of logic and pattern recognition. You must determine the sequence of several changing shapes and find the missing piece of the pattern.
• Inductive Reasoning Test – This is another form of logical reasoning test. Instead of using the way shapes relate to each other in a sequence to draw a conclusion, you need to determine how letters of the alphabet relate to each other. Once you determine this you can decipher the pattern and find the next letter in the sequence.
• Deductive Reasoning Test – This is a nonverbal reasoning test.
• Mechanical Reasoning Test – This test is standard in manufacturing, engineering, and industrial jobs. You need to use your knowledge of basic machinery and physics to solve the problems pictured in simple systems depicted in schematics or answer questions about how different forces may affect a machine’s function.
• Situational Judgment Test (SJT Test) – This is an untimed test designed to show how well you can handle problems or conflicts in the workplace. You will have to determine the best course of action to solve problems depicted in various scenarios you may encounter while performing your job.
• Personality Assessment Test – There are many types of personality tests. For some, you will rank how well different sentences describe you. You may need to rank descriptors from least to most like you, or you may need to select a word from a list of descriptive terms.

How to Prepare for Graduate Aptitude Tests?

As a graduate, you can use your test-taking strategies to help ensure your desired outcome on any graduate scheme or pre-hire tests. Verbal reasoning and numerical reasoning are two of the tests given the most frequently. Since you know you will likely have to take these, practice your reading comprehension skills. Since often calculators are not allowed, practice solving mathematics problems mentally. Logical reasoning tests can be practiced using puzzles and apps designed to support cognitive function.

When it comes to personality and situational judgment tests, you should do two things. Learn about the company, and be honest when you answer. The more you know about the company, the better you will understand what they are looking for in an employee. When answering questions about your personality, answer them honestly, but from a workplace perspective. The way you respond to your employer’s expectations does not always match the way you would respond in your off time.