Private Equity Psychometric Tests

The first round of private equity interviews will often consists of numerical and personality tests. Those tests are becoming more and more common nowadays, especially at larger firms that seek to weed out candidates before starting the actual face to face interview process. Depending on the difficulty level, anything from 50 to 70% of the applications fail, but this is largely due to the lack of preparation and over confidence.Therefore, preparation is key.

The good news is that companies will always let you know that there will be a test, and it will almost always be an SHL test. What is SHL? SHL is just one of those test providers.

The Tests Explained

The tests usually consists of the following:

> A Verbal Reasoning Test: Verbal tests are designed to measure your ability to understand written information and to evaluate arguments about this information.

> A Verbal Comprehension Test: verbal comprehension tests are designed to measure your ability to interpret and understand written information.

> A Numerical Reasoning Test: numerical tests are designed to assess your understanding of tables of statistical and numerical data as well as your ability to make logical deductions.

> Inductive Reasoning Test: inductive reasoning tests measure the ability to work flexibly with unfamiliar information and find solutions. People who perform well on these tests tend to have a greater capacity for conceptual and analytical thought.

> A Personality Questionnaire (sometimes)

How to find out more and get some practice?

The only way to practice is do mock tests online. You can find some free samples or purchase more practice if needed here