Interviews and video
Personality questionnaire practice
Learn the format. There is no ideal answer set.
Sample statements
Rate each statement from 1 ("Strongly disagree") to 9 ("Strongly agree").
Three of the six statements in a block
- I usually take the lead when a group needs convincing
- I like to recognise the effort other people put in
- I like to believe that most problems have a way through
The nine points: 1 Strongly disagree, 2 Disagree, 3 Mostly disagree, 4 Slightly disagree, 5 Neither agree nor disagree, 6 Slightly agree, 7 Mostly agree, 8 Agree, 9 Strongly agree.
Familiarisation only: it is not a real profile and there is no ideal answer.
Blocks of four statements: pick the one most like you and the one least like you. Familiarisation only: it is not a real profile and there is no ideal answer.
Practise this format
Choose a format
- Work-style questionnaire: most and least like meBlocks of four statements: pick the one most like you and the one least like you. Familiarisation only: it is not a real profile and there is no ideal answer.
- Work-style questionnaire: rate, then rankRate six statements from 1 to 9, then rank any you rated the same. Familiarisation only: it is not a real profile and there is no ideal answer.
Need extra time or a different format? Every timed practice has 1.25x and 1.5x options. See reasonable adjustments.
About this test
Many applications include a questionnaire about how you work. Some give blocks of statements and ask you to choose the most and least like you. Others ask you to rate each statement and then rank them. There are no right answers and they are not tests of ability.
Our familiarisation explains each format, why being consistent matters, and shows you a reflection of your own answers. We never coach you towards an 'ideal' profile, because employers set their own targets and answers that are not true to you tend to be inconsistent. If you need more time or a different format, see our page on reasonable adjustments.
What we know about this format
Each point carries a badge showing where it comes from. Where only candidates have reported something, the badge says so.
What do the confidence badges mean?
- Vendor-published Stated in the test publisher's own document or practice site.
- Academic From peer-reviewed research.
- Official employer Stated on the employer's own page.
- Near-official Near-official: an employer-run practice portal, or a vendor or employer-quoted press release naming the employer.
- Candidate-reported Reported by candidates. Treat as likely but unconfirmed.
- Third-party From prep sites, press or forums. Not confirmed by the employer or publisher.
- Official employer
The Bank of England's older guidance describes a personality questionnaire that 'explores how you prefer to manage your relationships with others, your approach to tasks and your sources of energy and motivation', and asks you to be as honest as possible.
- Candidate-reported
Cappfinity-style strengths questions ask you to rate the likelihood of each response, with no repeated ratings.
Source · Prep-site description; strength defined as good at and enjoys.
- Vendor-published
A strength is defined as something you are good at and enjoy.
- Academic
Correcting for each person's overall leniency and spread improves validity of rating-based judgement tests.
Work-style questionnaire: most and least like me
- Vendor-published
OPQ-style work-style questionnaires use a forced-choice format, are untimed and take about 15 to 25 minutes (104 questions in the current OPQ32r).
- Vendor-published
SHL describes the current version as blocks of three statements. Older versions used four statements with most and least. Kvanta uses four, because it gives more trade-offs per block.
Source · The four-statement older layout is reported by prep sites and a thesis, not confirmed from a primary source.
- Academic
Forced-choice formats give relative scores, where raising one trait lowers another. Newer scoring methods address this. Kvanta shows only relative scores and says so.
Source · Brown and Maydeu-Olivares, 2013.
- Academic
Forced-choice scales are less open to score inflation from faking than single-statement rating scales (overall d = 0.06).
Source · Cao and Drasgow, 2019. Reduces it, does not remove it.
- Vendor-published
Questionnaires of this type include checks on the consistency of responses.
Source · Saville Assessment candidate page, read from a web archive copy. Kvanta repeats 4 blocks to show you what a consistency check looks like.
- Official employer
PwC UK's behavioural profile test asks about natural preferences in a work setting, is hosted on the SHL platform and is not timed.
Source · Read from a web archive copy; the page does not name the OPQ. Check the live page.
Work-style questionnaire: rate, then rank
- Vendor-published
Saville describes Wave as a "rate and rank" format, giving both a normative (rating) score and an ipsative (ranking) score.
Source · Read from a web archive copy; the live page has moved.
- Vendor-published
Blocks have six statements rated on a nine-point scale. When two or more statements get the same rating, the candidate is asked which is most like them.
Source · Saville Assessment candidate page, web archive copy. Kvanta copies this design.
- Vendor-published
The full Wave Professional Styles questionnaire takes about 35 minutes. Kvanta's shorter version has 12 blocks and takes about 15 to 20.
- Vendor-published
Providers watch for patterns such as agreeing with nearly everything, and compare rating and ranking scores to spot distortion.
Source · Kvanta shows your own agreement figure for the same reason.
- Academic
Rating (single-statement) scales are open to response biases such as agreeing with everything; forced-choice ranking removes uniform biases like that.
Source · Brown and Maydeu-Olivares, 2011.
Questions people ask
What is a personality questionnaire?
It is a set of statements about how you typically work. You choose or rate what is most like you, and the result is a profile of preferences, not a score of ability.
Is there a right answer?
No. Employers compare your profile with what they have set for the role, which is private. Answering to match a guess can backfire because repeated questions check consistency.
What is forced choice?
You are given a block of statements and asked to pick which is most and which is least like you. It makes it harder to say that everything is true.
What does rate-then-rank mean?
You first rate each statement, then rank a set of them. Our familiarisation lets you try both.
Should I answer how I think the employer wants?
We would not coach that. Answer honestly about how you actually work. Employers use the results as one input, and a role that fits is better for you too.
How long does it take?
It varies. The Bank of England's older guidance put the whole blended assessment at up to an hour, with the questionnaire untimed.
What do you do with my answers?
Without an account they stay on your device. If you sign in, results on that device are saved to your account automatically, and you can delete any result, or all your Prep data, from the Prep page. We do not infer emotion, confidence or fit.
Where this appears in firm processes
- PwC UK Official employer
- Barclays Official employer
- Standard Chartered Official employer
- Deutsche Bank Official employer
- Lazard Official employer
- Macquarie Group Official employer
- Schroders Official employer
See all firm pages. Check your own invitation, because processes change each cycle.
Independent practice. Not affiliated with or endorsed by SHL, Saville Assessment and Cappfinity.
Practice builds familiarity. Personality questionnaires have no ideal answer set. We explain the format and show you a reflection of your own answers, and we never coach you towards a profile.
Use Kvanta to practise and learn. In a live assessment, do not use AI tools, notes or another person unless the employer says you may. Read our approach to integrity.