Not all assessment tests are the same. SHL's Verify Interactive looks completely different from Talent Q's adaptive Elements tests, and cut-e's ultra-fast scales tests are unlike anything from Hogan. Knowing which publisher your employer uses (and preparing specifically for that format) can be the difference between passing and failing.
Why Publisher Knowledge Matters
Generic test practice helps build foundational skills, but publisher-specific preparation is what separates top performers. Each publisher has unique question formats, timing structures, difficulty calibration, and scoring methodologies. Practicing with the wrong format can actually hurt your performance by building the wrong habits.
Candidates who practice with publisher-specific tests score an average of 23% higher than those who use generic practice materials, according to our internal data from 50,000+ users.
1. SHL: The Market Leader
SHL is the world's largest assessment publisher, used by 75% of Fortune 500 companies. Their flagship products include the Verify Interactive series (numerical, verbal, inductive, deductive reasoning), the OPQ32 personality questionnaire, and the MQ motivation questionnaire.
- Verify Numerical: 18 questions, 25 minutes. Data-heavy tables and graphs. Allows calculator.
- Verify Verbal: 30 questions, 19 minutes. True/False/Cannot Say format. Very time-pressured.
- Verify Inductive: 24 questions, 24 minutes. Shape and pattern sequences.
- OPQ32: 104 questions, 45 minutes. Forced-choice personality questionnaire.
2. Korn Ferry: Leadership-Focused
Korn Ferry assessments are heavily used for senior and leadership roles. Their cognitive assessments are adaptive and highly time-pressured. The Korn Ferry Assessment of Leadership Potential (KFALP) combines cognitive ability, personality, and learning agility measures.
3. Talent Q: Adaptive Intelligence
Talent Q (now part of Korn Ferry) pioneered adaptive testing in the UK. Their Elements tests adjust difficulty in real-time based on your answers: get one right and the next is harder, get one wrong and it gets easier. This means you can't rely on 'easy' questions to build up time.
Because Talent Q tests are adaptive, accuracy matters more than speed. A wrong answer on an easy question costs more than a wrong answer on a hard one.
4. Cubiks (PSI): European Standard
Cubiks, now part of PSI Services, is widely used across Europe. Their Logiks tests (numerical, verbal, abstract) are straightforward and less time-pressured than SHL or Talent Q. The PAPI personality questionnaire is ipsative (forced-choice) rather than normative.
5. cut-e (Aon): Speed is Everything
cut-e assessments are infamous for their extreme time pressure. Their scales numerical test gives you just 6 minutes for 24 questions. That's 15 seconds per question. Speed and accuracy must both be high. Used heavily by Lufthansa, Deutsche Bank, and other German companies.
MakingMoves.ai offers practice tests for all 8 major publishers. Our AI identifies which publisher your target employer uses and creates a tailored practice plan.
Explore Publisher TestsHow to Identify Your Publisher
- 1Check the application email: Publishers often include their branding in the test invitation email.
- 2Look at the test URL: SHL tests are often hosted on shl.com or talentcentral.com. Talent Q on talentq.co.uk. cut-e on cut-e.com.
- 3Check our Companies page: We list which publishers specific companies use.
- 4Ask on forums: Glassdoor, Reddit's r/jobs, and The Student Room often have candidate reports mentioning which publisher was used.
- 5When in doubt, practice multiple formats: If you can't identify the publisher, focus on SHL (most common), Talent Q, and Cubiks.
Ingmar van Maurik is the founder of MakingMoves.ai and Assessment-Training.com. With 10+ years in psychometric assessment design, he has helped over 1 million professionals prepare for job assessments.