Hi!
I'm a recent Masters level graduate. I had applied to different firms in the Middle East. McKinsey got back, and now before the interviews, I have to take the SHL test. I now only have two days before giving the exam and I'm wondering what the best preperation for the numeric and the verbal portions will be? Has anyone taken the SHL test for McKinsey? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
P:S McKinsey gave links to two sample tests which I've already completed.
Hi Saif,
Depending on how you scored in the practice tests you can decide what are the next steps. If you scored well, I wouldn't worry too much about it. While it is an important part of the screening process, if you did well in a couple of exams you should also do it "on the big day". My focus there would be timing and not just accuracy. You have less than 1 minute to answer each question, and it is important to be on top of your game and manage time properly.
If you feel you did not score well and want more practice exams, there are several resources online that you can use. These include jobtestprep, graduatesfirst, wikijob etc. All these give you access to a limited set of practice questions and then you can purchase more booklets if desired. Another option, albeit time consuming, is to apply to banking jobs which usually use SHLs as a first screen. Once you complete the application you should get the exams immediately.
Best of luck,
Stephanie.
Thank you so much Stephanie! This is really helpful! Do you have any idea how many questions will be given in the actual test? The sample tests have around 18 questions to be solved in 25 minutes, whereas the official test is 45 minutes long.
You're welcome Saif. As far as I'm concerned, the numerical section is as you mention and the verbal part is 30 questions in 20 minutes. That adds up to the 45 minutes. You should clarify with your HR contact, however. It could also be the case that the extra time is a buffer to welcome you, display instructions etc. Good luck!
Thanks Stephanie, its 45 minutes for Numerical and Verbal each! I'll clarify it with HR :) Hopefully it won't be that long!