Numerical Reasoning
14 mins
36 questions
Measures how well candidates read charts and tables and work accurately with figures. For roles that involve data, budgets or numerical decisions.
Ability tests built to resist AI assistance.
Signals™ is numerical, verbal and critical thinking tests that candidates recognise, redesigned so that AI assistance is disadvantageous to use: the information first, then one timed question at a time, with no going back.
- 8–14 mins per test
AI-resistant by design
Powering hiring decisions at Lenovo, EDF and more
WHY SIGNALS
We designed the Signals Series™ for employers who want AI resistance without changing what they measure. The questions are the numerical, verbal and critical thinking tasks hiring teams and candidates recognise; what changed is how they are delivered.
Numerical and Verbal Reasoning suit any role. Critical Thinking was built for legal recruitment. Use one test or any combination.
WHAT CANDIDATES EXPERIENCE
- Quick to complete - 8 to 14 minutes per test: an efficient use of candidates' time, with room to add a personality assessment.
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Any device - Phone, tablet or desktop, wherever suits the candidate. -
Serious tasks - The reasoning questions candidates expect from a professional assessment. -
Reasoning, not knowledge - Everyday workplace content. No specialist knowledge needed.
How every Signals™ test works
The same three steps in every test.
Review the information
A chart, table or short passage appears on its own, with time to read it before any question is shown.
Answer one question at a time
The chart or passage stays on screen. Each question has its own time limit and there is no going back.
Move to the next set
The next set is chosen from the question bank to match the candidate's ability so far.
The Signals Series™
Verbal Reasoning
- 8 mins
- 24 questions
Measures how well candidates understand written information and judge what it does and does not establish. For roles that depend on reading accurately and reasoning from documents.
Critical Thinking
- 10 mins
- 48 questions
Measures how well candidates draw conclusions, reason deductively and weigh arguments. Built for legal recruitment: training contracts, vacation schemes and paralegal roles.
Guides and research
What candidates see, how the tests are designed, and the research behind our approach to AI resistance.
Which tests should we use?
Numerical and Verbal for most roles; Critical Thinking for legal. Any test works on its own.
Early careers at volume
Numerical and Verbal to sift large graduate, apprentice and intern pools.
Early careers hiring Finance
Numerical, with Verbal alongside, for analyst and advisory intakes.
Finance hiring 
Legal
Critical Thinking, built for training contract, vacation scheme and paralegal campaigns.
Legal hiring 
Professional services
Numerical and Verbal for consulting, accountancy and advisory roles. Add Critical Thinking where the work turns on arguments and evidence.
Talk to us
Where Signals™ sits in our range
Three ways to assess ability, each at a different level of AI resistance.
Insights™
Our established adaptive tests. Item-banked and tightly timed overall; questions are static and visible.
Best when you want the widest choice of tests and comparison groups.
Signals™
The conventional test format, redesigned to resist AI assistance: the information first, then one question at a time, each on a short timer.
Best when you want AI resistance in a conventional test format.
MindmetriQ™
Our most AI-resistant format: six game-based tasks measuring numerical, verbal and logical reasoning. Content moves, so there is no static question to capture.
Best when maximum resistance matters: high-volume, unsupervised early careers.
What you get back
A percentile for each test against your chosen comparison group. View and compare results in the platform, download PDF reports, or export to CSV or Excel.
Built and maintained by our business psychologists, with every question calibrated and monitored for fairness. Technical documentation on request.
Talk to our psychologistsSignals Series™ FAQs
No. Use any one test or any combination. Numerical and Verbal are the usual pairing; Critical Thinking was built for legal recruitment.
Yes. Questions are selected to match the candidate's ability as the test progresses, so two candidates see different questions. Scores stay comparable because every question is calibrated on the same scale.
One timed question at a time, no going back, and adaptive selection make an AI tool slow and unreliable to use mid-test. No text-based test is completely immune, and we keep testing Signals™ as AI tools change. See our AI-resilience whitepaper.
MindmetriQ™ measures general cognitive ability through game-based tasks and has our highest level of AI resistance. Signals™ measures specific reasoning abilities in a conventional test format. Many clients use both.
Yes. Signals™ is designed for the candidate's own device, including a phone.
Talk to our team before your campaign and we will configure the assessments for candidates who need adjustments or assistive technology.
