SHL Test 2026: Verify G+ and OPQ Explained

An SHL test is an online assessment from SHL, one of the largest test publishers, delivered in the browser through SHL TalentCentral. In graduate and professional hiring you will usually meet one or two of three products: the General Ability test (Verify G+, 30 mixed multiple-choice items in 36 minutes), its interactive sibling (up to 24 drag-and-tap tasks in 36 minutes) and the OPQ personality questionnaire (104 blocks of three statements, untimed, roughly 15–25 minutes). This guide shows what each looks like on screen, the question types, the traps, and original practice questions with worked solutions.

Key facts

What the SHL General Ability test looks like

The multiple-choice version (Verify G+ style)

The test runs as one block of 30 items with no section breaks. The item types are interleaved, so you switch between maths, logic and shapes from one screen to the next:

• Deductive logic: a short set of facts, then "Which statement must be true?" or "…cannot be true?" (in German: "Welche Aussage muss wahr sein?" / "kann nicht wahr sein?").
• Verbal argument: a three- or four-sentence argument, then "Which assumption underlies the argument?" or "Which statement, if true, strengthens the argument?". SHL counts these under deductive reasoning ("identify strengths and weaknesses of arguments").
• Numerical: word problems (percentages, growth, work rates, mark-ups) and tables or charts.
• Rule and process items: a numbered list of steps with a loop ("Step 2: if the result is below X, go back to Step 1"), then "Which starting value gives the largest result?".
• Inductive figures: 3×3 matrices, sequences of framed shapes, circles cut into sectors, and star or diamond tilings where each shape and shading must appear a set number of times.

On screen there is one green countdown pill at the top centre (it showed 35:59 on item 1, so the limit is 36:00) and a green bar that drains across the top. The footer counts answered items ("0 of 30" … "30 of 30"). Text items put the stimulus on the left and the question with its five radio buttons on the right; figure items put the figure on top and five picture options below. There is a single forward arrow and no back button, so an item is final the moment you move on.

Two layout points matter: table items can be tall enough that you must scroll, and once you scroll the item header leaves the screen. And two items can share one data set (the same tables come back a few screens later with a different question).

36 minutes for 30 items gives you 72 seconds per item on average. Logic and process items can be done in 30–60 seconds; double-table items easily take two minutes. Bank time on the fast ones.

The interactive version (Verify Interactive G+ style)

The interactive test opens with a "Testtipps" (test tips) screen. In the German version observed, the tips said, in short: working days ("Werktage") are Monday to Friday; in 30-day calendar questions you can select up to 5 days; a pie slice cannot be set below 5 %; a bar total cannot go below the lowest value on the y-axis; answer every question to avoid losing points; there is no review at the end; and the timer does not stop if you take a call.

Then a single 36-minute countdown starts (green tab at the top centre, shrinking green bar). Items follow a strict three-step rotation: inductive → deductive → numerical, repeated. Nothing is multiple choice:

• Inductive: three or four small figures (a pentagram, a hexagram, or a square cut into 8 outer and 8 inner triangles) and one large blank copy. You colour the blank copy by tapping regions; each tap cycles white → green → purple (dotted). There is a reset button (↻) and "Weiter" (next).
• Deductive: (a) drag tasks of 30 minutes to 1.5 hours onto a 9:00–18:00 day bar with grey busy blocks, in 30-minute steps; (b) drag rank badges 1–6 onto six people using clue cards; (c) select days on a 30-day calendar.
• Numerical: drag the handles of a pie chart, set stacked bars with ↑/↓ buttons (the total and the split are shown), or drag points on a line chart. Almost every item is one or two linear equations.

With up to 24 items in 36 minutes you have about 90 seconds per item. Quirks seen: some data sat in hover tooltips on chart bars, a tooltip stayed stuck on screen into the next item, and on one screen the "Weiter" button sat just below the fold.

The OPQ (Occupational Personality Questionnaire)

In the round observed, the OPQ started a few minutes after the ability test in the same session. Each of the 104 blocks takes two screens:

1. "Which statement is most like you?" (German: "Welche Aussage trifft am ehesten auf Sie zu?") with three statement cards. Clicking a card moves on automatically.
2. "Which of the two remaining statements is most like you?" with the two leftover cards.

The card you never click is your "least like me". There is no timer; a progress bar rises by about 1 % per block, and the back button lets you revise. All 32 scales come back many times in reworded statements. The full mechanics, scoring and preparation are in the personality test guide.

SHL question types with original practice questions

All questions below are original and written in the SHL format. Try each one under time pressure (about 70 seconds) before reading the solution.

1. Deductive: "Which statement must be true?"

A five-storey office has one team per floor (floors 1–5): Audit, Design, Legal, Payroll and Sales.

• Design is on the floor directly above Legal.
• Legal is not on floor 1.
• Payroll is on a higher floor than Sales, but a lower floor than Audit.

Which statement must be true? (A) Sales is on floor 1. (B) Audit is on floor 5. (C) Payroll is directly below Audit. (D) Legal is on floor 3. (E) Design is on a higher floor than Payroll.

Answer: (A)

1. Legal/Design can only be on floors 2/3, 3/4 or 4/5.
2. The three remaining floors take Sales, Payroll and Audit in rising order.
3. The three possible layouts are S1-L2-D3-P4-A5, S1-P2-L3-D4-A5 and S1-P2-A3-L4-D5.
4. Sales is on floor 1 in all three. Every other option is true in some layouts but not all: it could be true, which is not enough.

2. Deductive: "Which statement cannot be true?"

A training budget is split between four teams. North receives exactly €4,000 more than East. South receives twice as much as East. West receives less than North. No team receives less than €2,000.

Which statement cannot be true? (A) South receives more than North. (B) West receives the most. (C) East receives the least. (D) North and South receive the same amount. (E) West receives less than East.

Answer: (B). West is below North by definition, so West can never be the largest. Test the others with numbers: East = €5,000 makes (A) true; East = €4,000 makes (D) true; East = €2,000 and West = €3,000 makes (C) true; East = €3,000 and West = €2,500 makes (E) true.

3. Verbal argument: the hidden assumption

"Every product the firm launched last year was first tested in a focus group. The firm ran four focus groups last year, and each tested three products. So the firm launched exactly twelve products last year."

Which assumption underlies the argument? (1) Focus groups are the most reliable way to test a product. (2) No product was tested in more than one focus group, and every tested product was launched. (3) The firm will run more focus groups this year. (4) Products tested in focus groups sell better than untested ones. (5) Each focus group had the same number of participants.

Answer: (2). The conclusion is a head count. "Exactly twelve" only follows if the twelve tested products are twelve different products and all of them reached the market. Options 1, 3, 4 and 5 may be true, but the conclusion does not depend on them.

4. Verbal argument: strengthen

"Since the café introduced a loyalty card in March, its weekday revenue has risen by 12 %. The loyalty card is therefore responsible for the increase."

Which statement, if true, strengthens the argument? (1) Weekday revenue at the other cafés on the same street fell over the same period. (2) The café also extended its opening hours in March. (3) Loyalty cards are popular with students. (4) The café's weekend revenue rose by 20 %. (5) The café raised its prices in April.

Answer: (1). It removes the rival explanation "the whole street got busier". Options 2 and 5 offer other causes and weaken the argument; option 4 suggests a general upswing; option 3 is irrelevant.

5. Numerical: undo the percentages in the right order

A retailer buys a lamp, adds a 40 % margin, and then adds 19 % VAT on top. A customer pays €83.30. What did the retailer pay for the lamp? €40.48 / €50.00 / €52.39 / €59.50 / €70.00

Answer: €50.00. Undo the steps in reverse order, by dividing: 83.30 ÷ 1.19 = 70.00 (price before VAT), then 70.00 ÷ 1.40 = 50.00. Each distractor is a typical slip: €70.00 forgets the margin, €59.50 forgets the VAT, €52.39 adds the percentages (÷ 1.59), and €40.48 subtracts percentages instead of dividing.

6. Numerical: shares of a changed total

A €80,000 monthly marketing budget is split: Search 30 %, Social 25 %, Events 20 %, Print 15 %, Radio 10 %. If the Events spend is cut by half and every other amount stays the same, what percentage of the new total goes to Social? 25.0 % / 26.3 % / 27.8 % / 29.4 % / 31.3 %

Answer: 27.8 %. Events falls from €16,000 to €8,000, so the new total is €72,000. Social is still €20,000: 20,000 ÷ 72,000 = 27.8 %. The trap is 25.0 %, which ignores that the total shrank.

7. Rule and process

Step 1: Add 4. Step 2: If the result is below 20, go back to Step 1; otherwise continue with Step 3. Step 3: Multiply by 3. Step 4: Subtract 10. Which starting value gives the smallest result? 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Answer: 4. Just run all five: 1 → 21 → 53; 2 → 22 → 56; 3 → 23 → 59; 4 → 20 → 50; 5 → 21 → 53. Starting at 4 lands exactly on 20, the lowest value that leaves the loop. Brute force is quicker than looking for a shortcut.

8. Inductive: what comes next?

A dot moves around the eight edge cells of a 3×3 grid; the centre cell is white (○) or grey (▒).

Frame 1   Frame 2   Frame 3   Frame 4   Frame 5   Frame 6
● · ·     · ● ·     · · ·     · · ·     · · ●       ?
· ○ ·     · ▒ ·     · ○ ●     · ▒ ·     · ○ ·
· · ·     · · ·     · · ·     ● · ·     · · ·

(A) dot middle-left, grey centre (B) dot middle-left, white centre (C) dot bottom-middle, grey centre (D) dot top-left, grey centre (E) dot middle-right, grey centre

Answer: (A). The dot moves clockwise by 1, 2, 3, then 4 cells, so next it moves 5: from top-right that is middle-right, bottom-right, bottom-middle, bottom-left, middle-left. The centre alternates white/grey, so frame 6 is grey.

9. Interactive inductive: colour the next figure

A hexagon is cut into six triangles, numbered 1–6 clockwise from the top. Frame 1: triangle 1 green, triangle 4 purple. Frame 2: triangle 2 green, triangle 3 purple. Frame 3: triangle 3 green, triangle 2 purple. Colour frame 4.

Answer: triangle 4 green, triangle 1 purple. Green moves one step clockwise, purple one step anticlockwise (4 → 3 → 2 → 1). On the interactive screen that means one tap on triangle 4 (white → green) and two taps on triangle 1 (white → green → purple). Check the final colours before you press next.

10. Interactive deductive: schedule the day

Your day runs 9:00–17:00 in 30-minute steps. Busy: 9:00–9:30, 10:30–12:30, 14:30–15:30. Place: Client call (1 h, must end by 12:00), Budget review (2 h), Team sync (30 min, after the budget review), Write-up (1 h, as late as possible).

Answer: Client call 9:30–10:30, Budget review 12:30–14:30, Team sync 15:30–16:00, Write-up 16:00–17:00. Start with the most constrained task: the free gaps are 1 h, 2 h and 1.5 h, so the 2-hour review only fits 12:30–14:30, and the only morning gap is 9:30–10:30. "As late as possible" pins the write-up to the end of the day, which leaves 15:30 for the sync.

11. Interactive deductive: rank the badges

Six runners: Ada, Ben, Cem, Dina, Eli, Fay. Fay finished first. Ben finished directly after Dina. Exactly one runner finished between Cem and Ben. Dina finished before Cem. Cem finished before Eli. Ada did not finish last. Drag badges 1–6.

Answer: Fay 1, Dina 2, Ben 3, Ada 4, Cem 5, Eli 6. Dina/Ben is a pair on 2/3, 3/4 or 4/5. With 3/4, Cem must be 6 (position 2 would be before Dina), which leaves no place for Eli after Cem. With 4/5, Cem would be on 3, before Dina. So Dina 2, Ben 3, Cem 5; Eli must follow Cem (6) and Ada takes 4.

12. Interactive numerical: set the pie

A team's 600 working hours go to four projects. K takes twice as many hours as L. M takes 60 hours fewer than K. N takes 90 hours. Set the pie chart.

Answer: L 19 %, K 38 %, M 28 %, N 15 %. With L = x: x + 2x + (2x − 60) + 90 = 600, so 5x = 570 and x = 114. Then K = 228, M = 168, N = 90. Divide each by 600.

Traps and how to avoid them

• Reversing steps in the wrong order. Undo the last step first, and divide rather than subtract percentages (practice question 5). In the real test, one wrong option was exactly the result of applying the steps in the other order.
• Gross versus net. "Savings" from a scheme mean benefit minus cost. Both the gross figure and the cost alone appeared among the options.
• A changed total. If one budget line grows or shrinks, every share changes. The "unchanged" percentage is always offered as a distractor.
• Dates and thresholds. In a promotion table, the largest transaction fell before the start date. Check every condition (start date, length, minimum value) for every row.
• Near-ties. Two compound-growth options differed by about 0.1 %. Estimate to rule out the far options, then calculate the close pair exactly.
• Inconsistent number formats. One German item printed one option with a decimal point and the others with a comma. Read values, not formatting.
• One-line differences in figures. Two picture options can differ only in the length of one line. Compare the finalists element by element.
• Data you cannot see. Scroll tall tables to the bottom, and hover over chart bars in the interactive version.
• "As soon as possible" means the earliest schedule, not just any valid one. In a calendar task, a valid plan with a spare day was still wrong.
• Ambiguous clues. If a clue can be read two ways, try both; usually only one reading gives a solution.
• Profit versus revenue, rise versus change. "Share of profit" is not "share of revenue", and "largest percentage change" includes decreases.
• The tap cycle. One tap too many turns green into purple. Look at the final figure before "Weiter".

How to prepare for an SHL test

A one-week plan of about 8–10 hours works for most graduates:

Setup tips: use a laptop or desktop with a large screen and a mouse (tall tables and drag tasks are easier), close other tabs, have paper and a calculator ready unless your invitation says otherwise, and run SHL's browser check beforehand. For the OPQ, plan 25 quiet minutes and read the personality guide.

Sources

• SHL, Verify G+ Test Fact Sheet (30 questions, 10 per ability, 36 minutes, adaptive)
• SHL product catalogue, SHL Verify Interactive G+ (maximum 24 questions, 36 minutes, plus instructions)
• SHL candidate practice tests (standard and mobile-enabled interactive versions; practice is not an exact replica)
• SHL product catalogue, OPQ32r (104 items, approx. 25 minutes)
• Onrec, SHL launches personality questionnaire in 31 languages (three statements per block)
• Gartner press release, sale of CEB Talent Assessment (formerly SHL) to Exponent, 2018
• SHL, OPQ Product Fact Sheet (104 questions, untimed, average 15–25 minutes).pdf)
• UK Companies House, Saville & Holdsworth Limited (company record)
• PitchBook, SHL Group overview (corporate office, Thames Ditton)

Written by

Adrian, Specialist

MSc Psychology, 7 years of test taking.

Last updated: Oct 1, 2026