Test and cases at the job interview

 Personality tests are most often used if you are applying for a job within:

• Management and HR across sectors
• Teaching, research, and communication (both in public and private organizations)
• Communication, PR, and marketing
• Sales and customer-oriented professions (especially B2B and complex sales processes)
• Health and welfare (e.g., managers and key personnel in the hospital and care sectors)
• Public administration and management (e.g., in agencies, regions, and municipalities)
• NGOs and international organizations (with a focus on collaboration and value-based leadership)

• Be honest in your answers, it benefits both you and the company
• Try to think of a work situation or a situation from your studies or other professional work when answering the questions
• Be honest in the dialogue with the employer and feel free to prepare several different concrete examples/situations of your personal competencies
• Show that you have self-awareness and are good at reflecting

Logical tests are most often used if you are applying for a job within:

• The consulting industry (management, strategy, digitalization)
• The financial sector (banking, insurance, investment, auditing)
• Engineering and technology companies
• Life science and pharma (e.g., in research and development departments)
• IT and software development (especially system development and data security)
• Law and legal industry (e.g., in larger law firms or during admission processes)
• Public graduate and talent programs (e.g., ministries, municipalities, and agencies)

Numerical tests are a common part of many recruitment processes, especially for positions where analytical thinking and numerical understanding are key competencies. You may be asked to solve tasks that test your ability to analyze data, interpret graphs, and perform calculations

The purpose of the test is not only to measure your mathematical skills but also your ability to make quick and accurate decisions based on numerical material.

Typical tasks can include:

• Calculating percentage changes in sales data
• Interpreting tables with financial key figures
• Comparing trends in charts
• Calculating averages, margins, or growth
• Estimates and approximations based on raw data

Verbal and deductive tests are used to assess your linguistic and communicative abilities, especially in positions where written communication, critical thinking, and understanding of information are important skills.

The focus is on your ability to think logically and systematically. It is not about prior knowledge but about processing information in a systematic way.

You may encounter tasks that test your ability to read and understand complex texts, draw logical conclusions, and distinguish between facts and assumptions.

Typical tasks may include:

• Reading short text excerpts followed by questions about the content
• Assessing whether statements are true, false, or cannot be determined from the text
• Identifying main messages, tone, or forms of argumentation
• Selecting the most precise or appropriate word in a given context
• Language comprehension and correct use of grammatical structures
• Tasks where you must choose the only possible solution based on a set of rules
• Exclusion tasks based on conditional relationships (e.g., “if A applies, then B does not apply”)

Inductive tests – also called abstract reasoning tests – are used to assess your ability to identify patterns, think logically, and solve problems without the use of language or numbers. This type of test is particularly relevant in positions where you need to quickly analyze new information and think systematically.

You may be presented with tasks that require you to identify connections in figures, symbols, or sequences and, based on that, predict the next element in the series or choose the pattern that stands out.

Typical tasks may include:

• Identification of patterns in geometric figures
• Filling in the missing piece in a sequence
• Selecting the image that logically follows a series of others
• Determining which figure breaks a given pattern
• Analyzing changes in shape, rotation, size, or position

Inductive tests measure your ability to think abstractly and systematically – independent of professional background.

Prepare yourself beforehand. Some logical tests combine numerical, verbal/deductive, and inductive tasks.

• You can practice tests that you can find online
• Be ready and alert when taking the test. Some of them can be complicated
• Find a quiet place where you can concentrate
• Consider whether it is more important for you to answer as many tasks as possible or to answer as correctly as possible
• Choose the language to take the test in that you understand the easiest
• Remember that the result only shows a part of you at a given time – you are so much more and possess many other skills that a logical test cannot uncover.