EY publishes a guide to its numerical test. Here is how to train for it

EY UK publishes a short guide to its numerical reasoning test: work from currency, percentages and ratios, read charts and tables, answer multiple choice. The first half of our reasoning test is 25 questions of that kind.

EY's numerical test is short, with a published guide saying 12 questions, and ours is a longer 45-minute test across numerical and verbal. EY also assesses strengths and behaviours, which cannot be rehearsed with a timed test, and its pages give conflicting advice about calculators.

EY UK's quick reference guide is the most useful free document any big employer gives you about a numerical test. It says the test measures your ability to work with numbers in forms such as currency, percentages and ratios, and your logical analysis of numerical information. It says you answer from charts and tables as multiple choice. It says there are 12 questions in total and that you should only need 20 to 30 minutes.

Short tests change what you practise. With only 12 questions, there is nowhere to hide a bad run, so accuracy on each item matters more than it would across 50. The practice test above is longer, which is useful for building stamina and for finding your weak spots, but keep in mind that EY's version is shorter and more concentrated.

The quick guide says 20 to 30 minutes and recommends a calculator, pen and paper. EY's FAQ says 20 minutes and that none of the questions require you to perform calculations. Do not decide between them in advance. Prepare as though you will have a calculator and need to use it sparingly, and read the instructions screen before you start.

The sensible habit, either way, is to estimate before you calculate. If a question asks for a 12 percent rise on a figure close to 400, you should know the answer is a little under 450 before you touch any buttons. That check catches a slipped decimal in seconds, and it keeps you moving if the calculator is unavailable.

EY's guide says both matter, and it tells you to work quickly without second-guessing. That is a hard balance in a short test. A good way to find yours is to take the numerical half of the practice test above and note where your time went. If most of it went on three or four questions, you have a pacing problem. If it went evenly across all of them, you have a reading-speed problem, and the fix is to practise data tables until the layout is familiar.

Our numerical reasoning questions page works through the common table types, and how to pass reasoning tests lists the percentage and ratio formulas worth memorising.

EY describes its approach as strengths-based. Its pages list adaptability, curiosity, collaboration, learning agility, resilience and relationship building, alongside integrity, personal ownership and motivation. The numerical test is one signal among several.

That is a reason not to panic about a single question. It is also a reason to give the behavioural assessments your full attention rather than saving it all for the maths.

EY wants you to sit the test in one sitting, on a laptop or desktop, and says Windows is the most reliable. It also links a short practice test from the instructions page and says it strongly recommends you complete it before the live one. The practice test shows you the interface, not just the maths, and it costs you ten minutes.

A newer EY page mentions a preparation hub in the assessment portal. If your invitation lets you reach it, use it before anything else on this page.

Prep guides disagree on EY's mix. One lists a numerical test with a verbal test, a situational judgement test, a job simulation and a strengths assessment. Another says candidates typically see four to five test types depending on role and location. A third names a logical or inductive reasoning test but gives little detail. EY's own pages that we read describe the numerical test in detail and the others only in general terms.

If your invitation includes verbal reasoning, the second half of the practice test above is a free rehearsal. For logical or inductive questions, try the CCAT practice test.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and EY has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• One prep guide lists EY's online assessment as a numerical test, a verbal reasoning test, a situational judgement test, a job simulation and a strengths assessment, without a logical test.
• Another prep guide says candidates typically see four to five test types and that the mix depends on role and location.
• Prep sites quote screening rates after the cognitive sections, ranging from half to around 80 percent. EY does not publish such figures, and we could not verify them.