SOVA Assessment: Format, Question Types & How to Prepare

SOVA Assessment: Format, Question Types & How to Prepare

You applied for a graduate scheme, an internship or a role at a large employer, and the invitation email says your next step is an online assessment "powered by Sova." Unlike an SHL or Aon invitation, it probably did not list three separate tests with neat time limits. It talked about one assessment. That is the first thing that confuses people about SOVA, and it is also the key to preparing for it.

This guide explains who Sova is, why its blended format feels different from a classic test battery, what each part looks like (with example questions we wrote ourselves), how the employer uses your results, and how to prepare without wasting time on the wrong things.

Who Is Sova?

Sova Assessment is a London-based talent assessment company founded in 2015. Its founder and CEO, Alan Bourne, is a chartered occupational psychologist, which shows in the product: Sova sells itself less as a test publisher with a catalogue of fixed tests and more as a platform on which an employer builds an assessment around the job.

Its question library covers cognitive ability, situational judgement, personality, motivation and skills, and the same platform also handles video interviews and virtual assessment centres. Employers that candidates and test-prep sites have linked to Sova include Deloitte, Pfizer, the John Lewis Partnership, American Express, Santander, Emirates and Primark. Experian is another name that comes up often; candidates who have reviewed its process describe a Sova assessment as an early screening step. Employers switch providers regularly, though, so the email in your inbox is a better guide than any list.

Why the Blended Format Feels Different

A classic test battery is a set of separate tests. You do a numerical test, finish it, see a results screen or a "next test" button, and then start a verbal test with its own instructions and its own clock. You always know where you are.

Sova's approach is the "blended assessment." The employer starts from what matters in the role and picks relevant questions from Sova's library: a block of reasoning items, some workplace scenarios, a set of personality statements, sometimes a motivation section or a recorded video question. The candidate gets all of this as one continuous experience in one interface.

In practice, three things follow from that:

• You switch modes more often. Going from a numerical table to "how much is this statement like me?" and back to a pattern puzzle demands a different kind of attention each time.
• No two SOVA assessments are identical. One employer might include only logical reasoning and personality questions; another might include all three reasoning types, an SJT and a video interview. "What is on the SOVA test?" has no single answer.
• The parts are weighed together. Because it is one assessment, the employer can look at your reasoning scores, your SJT judgement and your personality profile side by side. A weak spot in one area does not automatically sink you, but it is not hidden either.

The Candidate Journey

1. The invitation. You receive an email with a link and a deadline. Read it carefully: it often hints at what is included and whether you need a quiet room, a calculator, rough paper or a webcam.

2. Instructions and practice items. Before the scored questions start, the platform explains each section. Do not click through it: the practice items show you the exact layout, which is the cheapest preparation you will ever get.

3. The assessment itself. You work through the sections in the order the employer has set. Reports on timing differ: some candidates describe timed reasoning sections, others say there was no visible overall limit but speed still seemed to matter. Treat the instructions on your screen as the only authority, and work at a steady pace either way.

4. Optional extras. Some employers add a recorded video interview at the end or as a separate step on the same platform.

5. The decision. Usually you hear only whether you progress to the next round. If you are in the anxious waiting phase, our article on what happens after an aptitude test explains what goes on behind the scenes.

Each Component, With a Worked Example

The examples below are our own, written to show the format. They are not real Sova items.

Numerical Reasoning

You get a table or chart in a business setting and multiple-choice options. The maths is GCSE level: percentages, ratios, averages, currency conversion. The difficulty is picking the right numbers out of a busy table quickly.

Our example: A table shows a retailer's online orders: 12,400 in Q1 and 14,260 in Q2. The average order value fell from £48 to £45. By roughly what percentage did online revenue change from Q1 to Q2?

Q1 revenue is 12,400 × 48 = £595,200. Q2 revenue is 14,260 × 45 = £641,700. The change is 46,500 / 595,200 ≈ 7.8%, so an increase of about 8%. The trap: orders rose 15%, and candidates who only look at that column pick the wrong answer. Always check whether the question asks about volume, value or both.

Verbal Reasoning

You read a short passage and judge statements about it, typically as true, false or cannot say, based only on what the passage states.

Our example: "The company introduced hybrid working for all head-office staff in March. Since then, office occupancy on Fridays has averaged below 20%. Management is reviewing whether to reduce the size of the head office when the lease is renewed."

Statement: "The company will move to a smaller head office." The answer is cannot say. Management is reviewing it; nothing has been decided. This is where most verbal errors happen: your common sense says it is likely, but the passage does not say it. Our guide to true, false, cannot say questions goes through the rules in detail.

Logical Reasoning

This is abstract pattern recognition: a sequence of shapes or figures with one missing, and you pick the option that completes it. No language and no maths, only rules.

Our example: Five squares in a row. In each, a black dot moves one corner clockwise, and a small triangle alternates between pointing up and pointing down. In the first square the dot is top left and the triangle points up. What does the sixth square look like?

The dot sequence runs top left, top right, bottom right, bottom left, top left, so the sixth position is top right. The triangle goes up, down, up, down, up, so the sixth is down. The answer is the option with the dot top right and the triangle pointing down.

Situational Judgement Test (SJT)

You read a realistic work scenario and choose which of three or four responses is the most effective and which is the least effective.

Our example: You are two weeks into a new team. A colleague asks you to help with an urgent client report due today, but your manager has asked you to finish an internal analysis by the end of the afternoon. Options:

A. Help your colleague; client work comes first. B. Tell your colleague you cannot help and carry on with your own work. C. Briefly check with your manager which task has priority, then act on that. D. Do both by working faster and accepting a lower quality on the internal analysis.

Most effective: C. You resolve the conflict quickly and transparently with the person who set your priorities. Least effective: D. It quietly lowers quality without telling anyone, which is the kind of judgement employers screen out. A and B each make a priority call that is not yours to make alone as a new joiner.

SJTs reward the behaviour the employer values, so read their values page and graduate brochure before you start. The "right" answer at a bank and at a creative agency can differ.

Personality and Motivation Questions

Here you rate statements about yourself. Test-prep sites describe a five-point scale running from "least like me" to "most like me." Candidates who took Experian's Sova assessment also mention image-based items where you pick the picture that fits you best.

Our example statement: "I prefer to plan my work in detail before I start." There is no correct answer.

Two practical points. First, be consistent: similar ideas come back in different wording, and an erratic pattern looks worse than an honest one. Second, do not build a fantasy profile of the "ideal candidate." Extreme answers on every desirable trait are easy to spot, and you would be setting yourself up for a job that does not suit you.

How Scoring and the Employer's Profile Work

Sova does not publish a single pass mark, and you should be suspicious of anyone who claims to know one. What is generally true of assessments like this:

• Reasoning items are scored for accuracy, and your result is compared with a relevant comparison group rather than judged as a raw score in isolation.
• SJT answers are scored against the responses the employer and the test designers consider most and least effective for that role.
• Personality answers produce a profile, which is compared with what the employer considers a good fit for the job.
• The employer decides how to combine and weight these elements, and where the cut-off sits.

So the honest answer to "what score do I need?" is: high enough relative to the other applicants and the employer's threshold, which you will not be told. Aim to do well on everything instead of trying to game one part.

An Honest Preparation Plan

Step 1: Work out what is in your assessment. Check the invitation, the employer's careers pages and recent candidate reviews. If people mention logical reasoning and personality questions only, spend your time there.

Step 2: Build the reasoning fundamentals. For numerical, refresh percentages, percentage change and ratios until you can do them without thinking. For verbal, practise the strict "only what the text says" discipline. For logical, train yourself to split a pattern into separate elements. If online tests in general are new to you, our overview of online aptitude tests is a good starting point.

Step 3: Practise in a mixed format. Because SOVA blends question types, practising each one in isolation is not enough. Do some sessions where you switch between numerical, verbal, logical and SJT questions so the mental gear change becomes routine. Our SOVA assessment practice tests are built for exactly this.

Step 4: Prepare for the SJT with the employer's values. Write down the three to five values the company emphasises and think through how each would look in everyday behaviour: escalating early, owning a mistake, putting the client first without cutting corners.

Step 5: Reflect, do not rehearse, for the personality section. Think about how you actually work, ideally with examples.

Step 6: Sort out the practicalities. A laptop rather than a phone, a stable connection, a quiet room, a calculator and rough paper if allowed, and a time slot when you are fresh. Several Experian candidates reported images not loading properly; if that happens, take a screenshot and contact the employer's recruitment team straight away rather than guessing your way through.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a SOVA assessment?

An online recruitment assessment built on the platform of Sova, a London-based assessment company. Employers combine reasoning questions, situational judgement scenarios and personality questions into one blended assessment tailored to the role.

How long does the SOVA assessment take?

It depends on what the employer has included. A short screening blend and a full battery with a video interview are very different lengths, and candidate reports on timing vary. Your invitation is the only reliable source.

Can you fail the personality part of a SOVA assessment?

There is no right or wrong answer to a single personality statement, but your overall profile is compared with what the employer is looking for and can count towards the decision. Answer honestly and consistently rather than trying to guess the ideal profile.

What does the Experian SOVA assessment involve?

Candidates who have shared their experience describe logical reasoning questions combined with personality questions, including image-based items. Experian decides the exact mix per role, so treat these reports as a guide rather than a blueprint.

Can I practise for a SOVA assessment?

Yes. The reasoning and SJT formats are conventional, so practising numerical, verbal and logical questions under time pressure and working through SJT scenarios transfers well. The personality section needs self-knowledge, not drilling.

Conclusion

The SOVA assessment looks unfamiliar mainly because of its packaging. Underneath the single, blended experience sit question types that have been around for decades: data interpretation, careful reading, pattern spotting, workplace judgement and self-description. What makes it harder is the switching between them and the fact that the employer sees all of it at once. Find out which parts your employer has included, get the reasoning basics automatic, practise in a mixed format so the gear changes do not cost you, and answer the personality questions as yourself. If you want to rehearse the full blend before the real thing, start with our SOVA practice material.