Arctic Shores Assessment Explained: Tasks, Results, Tips

The Arctic Shores invitation is one of the more confusing emails in a graduate application. It says "assessment", but when you start there are no questions: just moving shapes, buttons to press and tasks that seem to have nothing to do with the job. Candidates finish it unsure whether they did well, badly or something in between.

That uncertainty is partly by design. This guide explains who Arctic Shores is, what a task-based assessment is, what Arctic Shores says it measures, how your results are used, which employers have said they use it, and how to prepare in a way that actually helps. We include worked illustrations of the kinds of behaviour these assessments pick up, but no "answers": there are none, and chasing them makes your result worse rather than better.

Who Is Arctic Shores?

Arctic Shores is a UK-based assessment company. It says its assessment has been used by more than 350 organisations and completed by more than two million candidates. Its help centre describes the aim as helping employers see potential as well as skills and experience, rather than relying on CVs.

The company started with what it called game-based assessment. It now uses the term task-based assessment. In an article on its own site, Arctic Shores explains that it dropped game-like features such as points, badges and guided stories while keeping the interactive format. Some employers' careers pages still describe it as a game, so you may see both terms.

What Is a Task-Based Assessment?

Arctic Shores defines a task-based assessment as one with no language element in the activity or in your response. The only text is in the instructions. Everything else is interactive and visual: dynamic puzzles that change frequently, where you act on screen rather than pick an option.

Its science page says the approach is designed to measure actual behaviour rather than what you report about yourself, and that it asks "zero questions". For aptitude tasks, Arctic Shores says you build your answer step by step rather than choosing from multiple-choice options, and that its newer scoring gives credit for your workings out instead of marking each answer only right or wrong.

Three consequences follow for you as a candidate:

  1. There is no right answer to look up. The data is how you behave across many interactions.
  2. Language matters less. Because responses are non-verbal, reading speed plays a much smaller role than in a written test. Instructions still need careful reading.
  3. It is hard to fake. You would need to know which trait each task measures and what profile the employer wants, and then control your behaviour consistently across every task. Arctic Shores deliberately does not say exactly what each task measures.

What Arctic Shores Measures

Arctic Shores says it measures personality and what it calls Workplace Intelligence, an expanded view of aptitude that includes learning agility and aspects of emotional intelligence. Its candidate help centre says the assessment measures the underlying "enablers" that make acquiring workplace skills possible: how you focus, consider emotions, work out problems, learn and handle tasks.

In its article on generative AI, Arctic Shores gives examples of behaviours it captures: how you respond to pressure, how you handle hazards or changes of direction, ownership and meeting deadlines, risk appetite, learning ability, resilience and how you perceive emotions. It says each task generates thousands of data points about your interactions.

The scoring uses machine learning, and Arctic Shores says it works to British Psychological Society standards for reliability and validity. It also claims no adverse impact by ethnicity or gender; that is the vendor's own claim.

Which traits matter is decided per role. Arctic Shores' help centre is explicit that each employer values different qualities and there is no single way to "pass".

Which Employers Use Arctic Shores?

Arctic Shores does not list clients on its candidate pages, but some employers describe it on their own careers sites:

  • Norton Rose Fulbright (UK graduate recruitment) describes the Arctic Shores assessment as based on neuroscience research, with tasks instead of questions. It says there is no time limit for the whole assessment, that candidates should set aside around 35 to 60 minutes, and that there is no right or wrong way to approach the tasks.
  • Kantar describes it on its entry-level careers pages as a behavioural assessment in a gamified format, set in a futuristic office with up to nine levels and measuring 33 personality and cognitive traits. Kantar also says it is suitable for people with dyslexia or colour blindness. That description may reflect an earlier version of the assessment.

If your invitation or login page mentions Arctic Shores, the rest of this guide applies regardless of employer.

What Happens With Your Results

According to Arctic Shores' help centre, both you and the employer receive feedback. You get a candidate report with insights about your results. The employer sees how you performed in the different areas being assessed.

Your results are compared with a norm group: a large, demographically similar set of people who have completed the assessment before. That puts your behaviour in context, for example whether you took more or fewer risks than most people in the comparison group. The employer then uses that comparison, alongside what it needs for the role, to decide who progresses.

This is why "how did I do?" is hard to answer after the assessment. A cautious profile may be a strong fit for a compliance role and a weaker fit for a fast-moving sales role.

Worked Illustrations: The Kinds of Behaviour Tasks Pick Up

Arctic Shores does not publish its tasks, so the examples below are not Arctic Shores tasks. They are simplified illustrations, based on well-known paradigms from behavioural science, of the kind of behaviour an interactive task can measure. Use them to understand the logic, not to plan a strategy.

Illustration 1: risk appetite

Imagine a task where each click earns a little more reward but also raises the chance of losing everything collected in that round. Some people bank early; others push on. Neither is wrong. The pattern across many rounds shows how much risk you are comfortable with, and how you adjust after a loss.

Illustration 2: response to pressure

Imagine the same simple task first at a relaxed pace, then with a shrinking time window. What is measured is not just speed, but how your accuracy holds up as pressure rises. Trying to "look calm" by slowing down artificially simply shows a different, equally readable pattern.

Illustration 3: changes of direction

Imagine sorting objects by one rule that suddenly changes without warning. Some people notice and adapt quickly; others keep applying the old rule for a while. This kind of task reflects flexibility, which Arctic Shores lists as "changes of direction".

Illustration 4: learning from feedback

Imagine choosing between options whose payoffs you can only learn by trying them. Over time, a pattern emerges in how quickly you learn which option is better and whether you keep exploring. That relates to learning ability, part of what Arctic Shores calls Workplace Intelligence.

Illustration 5: perceiving emotions

Imagine judging the emotion shown in a series of faces. Accuracy and speed say something about how you perceive emotions, one of the aspects of emotional intelligence Arctic Shores mentions.

Illustration 6: persistence after failure

Imagine a puzzle that gets harder until you fail, followed by another attempt. Whether you keep trying, change approach or slow down after a setback says something about resilience.

The common thread: each pattern is meaningful only in comparison with others, and only in relation to what a particular role needs. That is why there is no "best" way to play.

How to Prepare Properly

Arctic Shores' own advice is short: you do not need to practise, and you should complete each task in the way that feels most natural. Its help centre also recommends:

  • A quiet space with stable internet.
  • The time of day you are most alert. Tiredness changes reaction times and attention, which changes your profile.
  • Reading instructions carefully. The instructions are the only text, and misunderstanding a task's goal produces odd data.
  • Using the practice opportunities inside the assessment. These are for learning the controls.
  • Being yourself, with full concentration.

We would add a few practical points from experience:

Clear a full hour. Even with no overall time limit, being interrupted mid-task is not ideal. Norton Rose Fulbright's guidance of 35 to 60 minutes is a useful planning range.

Use a device you are comfortable with. Tasks involve tapping, clicking or reacting quickly. A sticky trackpad or a cracked phone screen adds noise.

Raise adjustments in advance. If you have a condition that affects reaction time, vision or motor control, tell the employer before you start, not afterwards.

Do not use AI tools. Arctic Shores published its own tests showing that general chatbots could not make sense of its visual tasks. Beyond that, using outside help would only make the result describe someone other than you.

Prepare for the next stage instead. The best use of spare preparation time is usually the interview or the aptitude test that follows. Our find-the-right-test tool helps identify which other tests your employer is likely to use.

Common Mistakes

  • Trying to guess the "ideal" profile. You do not know which trait each task measures or what the employer wants. Guessing tends to produce an inconsistent pattern.
  • Treating it like an arcade game. Points-chasing can push you into behaviour that is not typical for you, such as taking far more risk than you would at work.
  • Overthinking each move. Hesitation is data too. Respond at your natural pace.
  • Skipping the instructions. Misreading the goal of a task is the one error you can fully avoid.
  • Taking it tired or distracted. A late-night attempt before the deadline measures a tired version of you.

How Arctic Shores Compares With Other Assessments

Arctic Shores is unusual in removing questions altogether. Other game-style tests, such as the Capgemini game-based aptitude test or HireVue's games (see our HireVue guide), mix game mechanics with clearer right-and-wrong elements. Traditional publishers such as SHL, cut-e/Aon and Korn Ferry still use question-based reasoning tests, often alongside a personality questionnaire. For the difference between those two families, see aptitude tests vs personality tests. Many UK graduate processes also include a strengths stage from Cappfinity, and international employers may use Mercer | Mettl.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Arctic Shores assessment?

A task-based psychometric assessment. Instead of answering questions, you complete short interactive visual tasks, and the way you interact with them is used to measure personality traits and what Arctic Shores calls Workplace Intelligence.

How long does the Arctic Shores assessment take?

Arctic Shores does not publish a fixed length on its candidate pages. Norton Rose Fulbright, for example, tells graduate applicants there is no overall time limit and to set aside around 35 to 60 minutes.

Can you fail Arctic Shores?

There is no single pass mark. Your results are compared with a norm group and with what the employer is looking for in that role, and employers use them to decide who goes through. A profile that fits one role may not fit another.

Are there Arctic Shores answers or cheats?

No. The tasks have no language-based questions and record how you behave across thousands of interactions, so there is nothing to look up. Arctic Shores also reports that general AI chatbots could not complete its tasks in its own tests.

Do I need to practise for Arctic Shores?

Arctic Shores says you do not need to practise and should respond naturally. Use the practice opportunities inside the assessment to learn the controls, and make sure you are rested and undisturbed.

About the author

Ingmar van Maurik is a specialist in test and interview preparation who helps candidates perform better in recruitment processes.

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