Consulting Online Assessments Beyond Solve: The Formats You May Meet, and How to Prepare
Solve gets the attention, but candidates report a wider set of online screens: game-based tests, reasoning tests, situational judgement, one-way video and chat-style cases. What each measures and how to prepare for it.
When candidates say "the online assessment" they usually mean McKinsey Solve. That is understandable. It is the most discussed screen in consulting recruiting, and we have a full guide to it. But it is one of several. Across firms and recruiting seasons, candidates describe games, timed reasoning tests, scenario questions, recorded video answers and chat-style cases, and sometimes more than one in a single application.
This post maps those formats: what each typically measures and how to prepare. It is also direct about what it cannot promise. Firms change vendors and formats between cycles, offices differ, and candidate reports always lag the current process. Read this as a description of formats you may meet, not a forecast of what you will get.
Candidates often name the platforms behind these tests, such as SHL for reasoning tests or HireVue for recorded video. Bain's careers page names Sova or TestGorilla for its assessment, and the invitation email tells you which. But firms switch vendors between cycles and offices differ, so a name you read in a forum may be out of date by the time you apply. Rely on the email and linked instructions the firm sends you. Look for the format, the time limit, the device and browser requirements, any rules on calculators or notes, and whether you can pause. If something is unclear, ask the recruiter before you start, not after.
Why firms use them
Firms receive many more applications than they can interview. An online assessment gives them a standardized first look that does not depend on a school name or on one recruiter's read of a resume. Firms rarely publish how scores are used, so be skeptical of anyone who claims to know the cutoff. McKinsey, for one, says results are weighed with the rest of your application. Still, plan as if a weak result could cost you the application, and treat a strong one as getting you to the next stage, not past it.
Work out which one you are actually facing
Before you invest prep time, find out what applies to you. Start with the invitation or application portal, which usually names the format and the time limit. Then check the firm's careers page for candidate guidance for your office. If it is still unclear, ask your career services office or an alumnus who applied to that office recently, and send the recruiter a short, specific question. Do not pick a format from a forum thread and prepare for it blind. Match what you learn to the table below.
The formats at a glance
| Format | What it typically measures | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Game-based assessment | How you make decisions under constraints and work through an unfamiliar task; some games also look at behavioral tendencies | Read the firm's candidate FAQ and use any official sample it offers (McKinsey says Solve needs no preparation). Read constraints before you act. Rest matters more than any trick. |
| Numerical reasoning | Reading tables and charts, percentages, ratios and growth under a tight clock | Timed sets. Drill percentage change and unit conversion. Estimate first to catch slips. |
| Verbal reasoning | Understanding a passage and judging statements against it | Answer only from the passage, never from what you already know. Build reading speed with comprehension. |
| Situational judgement | Which responses to realistic workplace scenarios you choose, and how consistent they are | Read the firm's stated values. Answer as you would really act. Do not over-think each item. |
| One-way video interview | Structure, clarity and presence when speaking to a camera with no feedback | Record and review yourself. Answer first, then support. Test your setup. |
| Chat-style online case | Structuring, quantitative reasoning and synthesis in a written, step-by-step format | Practice short written structures and timeboxed calculations. Use the firm's sample if one is provided. |
Format by format
Game-based assessments
Solve is the example most candidates know, and the Solve guide covers it in detail. Other game-based screens exist, including ones that look at behavioral tendencies over many short rounds rather than a single scored puzzle. The firms do not publish how any of them are scored, which makes over-optimizing pointless. The useful preparation is mundane: understand the format from the firm's own candidate guidance and any official sample, protect your sleep, play in a quiet room, and do not second-guess every move.
Numerical reasoning
These are timed sets of questions built on tables and charts. Candidates rarely fail them because the math is hard. They fail them on slips: reading millions as thousands, confusing a percentage with a percentage-point change, or pulling the wrong row. Practice under a clock, write down units at every step, and estimate the answer before you compute it so a wrong digit looks wrong. The worked drills and mental math shortcuts are the right raw material. Check the invitation for whether a calculator or scratch paper is allowed, because rules vary.
Verbal reasoning
You read a passage and decide whether statements follow from it. Many such tests offer a "cannot say" style option for statements the passage does not settle. The discipline that matters is answering only from the text in front of you. Your own knowledge of the topic is a trap, because the question is about the passage, not the world.
Situational judgement
You see a realistic scenario (a teammate misses a deadline, a client asks for something out of scope) and pick or rank responses. There is rarely a trick. Ask what a good colleague would do: communicate early, take ownership, escalate when it is warranted and not before. The firm's own values pages are worth a read so that the vocabulary is familiar. They are not a script.
One-way video interviews
You are shown a question and record an answer, commonly with a short preparation window and a time limit, and often with little or no chance to redo it. The format removes the interviewer's feedback, which is exactly what makes it hard. Practice answering to your phone camera: headline first, one or two supports, a short close. Your story bank is the best preparation, because most prompts are fit questions in another form. Look at the lens, not at yourself.
Chat-style online cases
BCG's careers pages describe a chatbot-guided online case in some offices. In this kind of format you work through a business problem by answering questions in a step-by-step interface, sometimes with exhibits, in writing. The skills are the ones you already practice aloud, but they have to be compact and legible. Draft your structure in a few lines, do arithmetic on paper, and make sure the final answer includes a recommendation, not just a number.
What the formats have in common
Strip away the interfaces and three things are being screened: comfort with data, structured thinking under time, and consistent judgement. That is good news, because ordinary case preparation builds much of it. The usual gaps are timed accuracy on numbers and comfort with an unfamiliar screen, and both improve with practice in the actual format.
To see where an assessment can sit in a typical application, the Bain process post lays out the sequence of stages, with the same caution that offices and years differ.
The practical details that cost people points
- Environment. Charge the laptop, close other programs, silence notifications, use a wired or strong connection and a quiet room. Follow the proctoring and device rules exactly. Using an aid the instructions prohibit is the fastest way to end an application. McKinsey and Bain both state that AI tools are not permitted during their assessments, and McKinsey also rules out websites and pre-prepared notes. Complete every assessment on your own.
- Timing. Many tests are built so not everyone finishes. Do not sink three minutes into one item. Unless the instructions say wrong answers are penalized, an educated guess beats a blank.
- Accessibility and accommodations. If you need extra time, a screen-reader-compatible version or another adjustment, ask the recruiter as early as you can, before the assessment is open and ideally as soon as you are invited. Firms generally have a process, but it takes lead time.
- Honesty on personality-style items. Resist guessing the "ideal" answer. Some tools ask overlapping questions in different wording, which rewards a consistent picture and punishes a performed one. There is also a practical reason: the screen is partly there to show whether the work suits you. If you answer as the person you think they want, you may clear the screen and still be the wrong fit for the job.
- Paid prep. Be wary of any product that guarantees a score. Official samples and your own timed practice are the safest investments.
If it goes badly
You will not always know why a result went the way it did, because firms rarely share scores or reasoning. If you are screened out, resist drawing a firm conclusion about your ability from a single timed test. Ask the recruiter, politely, whether feedback or a future retake is possible, and put your energy into the other firms on your list. Then take the lesson that is available: which format cost you, and what practice would change it next cycle.
A short prep sequence
- Read the invitation twice and note the format, time limit and rules.
- Find any official sample or tutorial the firm provides, and try it once untimed.
- Spend most of your timed practice on your weakest skill, which for most candidates is numbers.
- Run a full timed rehearsal in the same room and on the same device you will use.
- Sleep, eat, and start with a few minutes to settle before you click begin.
Frequently asked questions
Do all consulting firms use online assessments?
No. Use varies by firm, office, role and recruiting year, and some applications go straight from resume review to interviews. Confirm what applies to you from the firm's careers page and your recruiter's emails rather than relying on forum posts.
Can I retake an online assessment?
Policies differ and are often unpublished. Check the invitation and, if it is unclear, ask the recruiter before you start. Do not assume you will get a second attempt.
How much do assessment results matter compared with my resume and interviews?
Firms rarely say. McKinsey, for one, states that results are considered together with the rest of the application, so a sensible assumption is that the assessment is one input among several. Still, plan as if a weak result could cost you the application. That is a reason to prepare seriously, not a reason to neglect the resume or case practice.
How early should I start preparing?
Before the invitation arrives. The window to complete an assessment can be short, and the skills that matter (timed numerical accuracy, structured thinking, comfort speaking to a camera) take weeks, not days, to build.
McKinsey Solve in 2026: Red Rock, Sustainable Future Lab, and What Actually Improves Your Score
The deep dive on the best-known game-based assessment, including where practice helps and where it does not.
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