Cognitive & aptitude

Problem Solving Test

The Problem Solving test shows you how a candidate handles the small structured problems that fill a real workday: fitting meetings around constraints, choosing options from data, applying prioritization rules, and reasoning through short puzzles. Every question has exactly one correct answer, so scores are objective and easy to compare.

10 mins24 questionsIntermediateMultiple choice

Summary of the Problem Solving Test

The Problem Solving test shows you how a candidate handles the small structured problems that fill a real workday: fitting meetings around constraints, choosing options from data, applying prioritization rules, and reasoning through short puzzles. Every question has exactly one correct answer, so scores are objective and easy to compare.

Scheduling & planningData-driven decisionsPrioritizing by rulesText & number puzzles
What it measures

4 dimensions, scored separately

Scheduling & planning

How reliably a candidate fits tasks, meetings, and deadlines around time constraints and dependencies.

Data-driven decisions

How well a candidate picks the best option when small amounts of numeric data point to a clear answer.

Prioritizing by rules

How accurately a candidate applies a stated rule set to rank or select tickets, orders, and requests.

Text & number puzzles

How well a candidate combines short written facts and figures to reach the single conclusion they support.

The complete guide

Everything about the Problem Solving Test

01What is the Problem Solving Test?

Problem solving is the most requested skill in job descriptions, yet resumes say almost nothing about it. This test measures it directly with 24 workplace scenarios rather than abstract puzzles. Candidates schedule around calendar constraints, pick vendors and plans from small data sets, triage tickets against stated rules, and untangle short logic problems with names, times, and numbers. Each item was built so that exactly one option satisfies every stated constraint, which keeps scoring objective, fair across backgrounds, and directly relevant to daily coordination work.

02How does the Problem Solving Test work?

Candidates answer 24 multiple-choice questions in about 10 minutes, six for each of the four dimensions, with two easy, two medium, and two hard items per dimension. Every question presents a short scenario and four options, exactly one of which satisfies all the stated constraints. Each correct answer earns one point.

03Why is the Problem Solving Test important to employers?

Most operational mistakes are not knowledge failures, they are reasoning failures: a meeting booked over a conflict, the pricier vendor chosen, the wrong ticket escalated. Candidates who score well here make fewer of those errors and need less supervision. Use the dimension breakdown to see whether a candidate's strength is planning, data judgment, rule-following, or pure logic.

Reading the report

How to interpret Problem Solving Test results

Every candidate report scores each dimension separately. Here is what high and lower scores typically look like at work, and how to use them in your hiring decision.

Scheduling & planning

High scorers: Fits tasks, meetings, and deadlines together accurately, spotting conflicts and dependencies before they bite. Trust them with calendars, rosters, and project sequencing.

Lower scorers: May double-book, miss dependencies, or underestimate how tasks fit into available time. Provide scheduling tools, checklists, and a second pair of eyes on plans at first.

Data-driven decisions

High scorers: Reads small data sets correctly and picks the option the numbers actually support, including rates and expected costs rather than headline figures. Comfortable owning vendor and budget calls.

Lower scorers: May be swayed by the biggest or cheapest headline number instead of the per-unit or risk-adjusted answer. Ask them to show their arithmetic on decisions that involve money.

Prioritizing by rules

High scorers: Applies stated rule sets precisely, handling exceptions, thresholds, and tie-breakers in the right order. Well suited to triage queues, SLA management, and policy-driven work.

Lower scorers: May follow instinct over the written rule, especially when a sympathetic or loud request competes with the correct one. Keep rules visible and review their queue decisions early on.

Text & number puzzles

High scorers: Extracts the facts from short written problems and combines them into the one conclusion they support. Strong signal for careful reading and general reasoning under time pressure.

Lower scorers: May skim wording, miss a stated fact, or settle for an answer that fits most but not all of the clues. Encourage rereading requirements and confirming understanding before acting.

What job roles can you hire with the Problem Solving Test?

  • Operations coordinators: juggling schedules, vendors, and competing constraints is the core of the job
  • Support leads: triaging tickets by rules and escalating the right cases depends on exactly these skills
  • Project coordinators: sequencing dependent tasks around deadlines and working days mirrors the scheduling items
  • Logistics planners: choosing carriers and routes on cost and risk data matches the data-decision items
  • Executive assistants: calendar puzzles across timezones and stakeholder constraints are daily work

Build a multi-measure assessment: tests to pair with the Problem Solving Test

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Last updated July 31, 2026