Mott MacDonald screens with a strengths-based assessment and a score you must meet. Here is how to approach it
Mott MacDonald's UK graduate pages describe an online strengths-based assessment plus an application form, then either a short motivation interview and a half-day centre or a single strengths-based interview, depending on the career path. It also warns that a missed score ends the application.
50
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45 min
time limit
Free
instant score
By the LifeScore Editorial Team · Updated · How we check facts
How close is this practice test to the Mott MacDonald test?
Mott MacDonald describes an online strengths-based assessment, not a reasoning test, and says third-party assessments may be used with a score you must meet to progress. Our reasoning test is only a loose companion: it builds comfort with timed screens, which helps any online assessment.
The pages we read do not name a numerical or verbal reasoning test, a provider or a score. A strengths-based assessment asks what you enjoy and how you work, so there is nothing to calculate. If your invitation does name a reasoning test, our free test becomes more relevant.
It is a Reasoning-style test: 50 original questions in 45 minutes. Check the test name in your invitation email before you decide how to prepare.
Mott MacDonald: the assessment at a glance
| Application | An application form, with no CV or cover letter on several 2027 paths |
| Online assessment | Strengths-based, delivered by a third party in some cases |
| Score | If you do not meet or exceed the required assessment score, you cannot progress |
| Consent | You must consent to automated decision-making before starting the assessment |
| Practice | Mock assessments are offered |
| Later stages | On some paths a short motivation-based online interview and a half-day in-person centre; on others a single strengths-based interview |
| AI | The company asks you not to use AI to complete assessments or answer interview questions |
| Limits | One application per candidate, and some roles close early |
The Mott MacDonald stages, and who says so
Every stage is marked by its source. Stated means the employer says it on its own pages. Candidates report means we found it only in candidate accounts and prep guides.
- 01
Online strengths-based assessment
Stated by Mott MacDonald
An assessment of strengths, possibly provided by a third party, with a required scoreYou consent to automated decision-making before starting. Failing to meet the score ends your progress. - 02
Application form
Stated by Mott MacDonald
The form, which on several 2027 paths replaces a CV and cover letter - 03
Motivation interview (some paths)
Stated by Mott MacDonald
A short online interview that is motivation-based - 04
Half-day assessment centre (some paths)
Stated by Mott MacDonald
A half-day in person session. A project management listing placed centres in the first week of December across four locations - 05
Strengths-based interview (other paths)
Stated by Mott MacDonald
A single-stage interview in place of the interview and centre sequence
A test of what you enjoy, not only what you can do
Mott MacDonald says its online assessment is strengths-based. Strengths-based methods look for the activities that energise you and in which you perform well, because the premise is that people do better work when they are drawn to it. The questions are about preference and behaviour, with no calculations.
You cannot cram for that, but you can prepare by reflecting. Think about your best moments on a project, in a placement or at university: what were you doing, who was with you, and what made time pass quickly? The pattern in your answers is your honest profile.
A threshold decides who goes on
The company says third-party online assessments may be used and that if you do not meet or exceed the required assessment score, you will be unable to progress. It also asks you to consent to automated decision-making before the assessment begins. The effect is a threshold set in advance, applied by software.
It does not publish the score or how it relates to the strengths questions. That is why guessing what a good profile looks like is a trap: the safest choice is honest answers that you can later talk about with ease in an interview.
Use the mock assessments
Mott MacDonald offers mock assessments to practise with. Take them seriously as a rehearsal of the interface, the pacing and the kind of question, not as a way to learn right answers. Do one in the same place and on the same device that you plan to use for the real one.
If your invitation also lists a reasoning test, add one run of the free reasoning test above. Otherwise, put the time into your examples for the interview.
Why the later stages depend on your career path
The 2027 UK listings describe two shapes. One has the online assessment and an application form, then a short motivation-based online interview, then a half-day in-person assessment centre. The other has a strengths-based interview as a single stage. The path you pick decides which.
The company notes that candidates can make only one application and that some roles close early. Read the listing for your path and write the stages down, with dates, before you apply.
AI, eligibility and the early-career rule
Mott MacDonald asks candidates not to use AI tools to complete assessments or to answer interview questions. Use of AI for research and practice is a separate matter, but the live stages should be your own words.
One listing asked for less than twelve months of relevant experience, excluding placements, and a bachelor's degree obtained no earlier than 2025. Check the entry rules on your listing, because they change by path.
Practise the skills Mott MacDonald asks for
50 original questions, 45 minutes, scored the moment you finish. Free, no sign-up. Not the Mott MacDonald test.
Start the free Reasoning testA simple prep plan for Mott MacDonald
- 01
Take the free Reasoning test first
It takes 45 minutes and shows where you stand before you spend a single hour on revision. See what the Reasoning test covers. - 02
Read the stages that apply to you
The comparison guides below line Mott MacDonald up against other employers for each stage type, so you can see what is stated and what is only reported. - 03
Add timed mocks if you want a full course
The Reasoning Pass Pack adds timed mocks, topic drills, a score predictor and a study plan. It is £29 (US$39) for this exam or £49 (US$59) for all five, one payment and no subscription. Your free score comes first, so you can decide with a number in hand.
Tips for the Mott MacDonald assessment
- 01
Reflect on your best moments before the assessment
A strengths-based assessment responds to patterns in what energises you. - 02
Answer honestly, not strategically
There is a score you must meet, but nobody publishes the profile behind it. - 03
Take a mock assessment
Mott MacDonald offers them to practise with. - 04
Check your path's later stages
Some paths include a motivation interview and a half-day centre; others a single interview. - 05
Keep AI out of live stages
The company asks you not to use it on assessments or interviews. - 06
Apply once, and apply early
Candidates can make only one application, and some roles close early. - 07
Check the entry rules
Experience and graduation date limits appear on the listing.
Frequently asked questions
What online assessment does Mott MacDonald use for graduates?
Is there a reasoning test?
What happens if I do not meet the score?
Do I consent to anything before the assessment?
Can I practise?
What follows the online assessment?
Can I use AI?
Is this the Mott MacDonald assessment?
Sources
Checked October 2026, through search summaries of Mott MacDonald's own pages. We did not read them in full. The pages named no test provider, question count, time limit or required score, so we could not verify those, and the stages differ by career path.
Guides that cover Mott MacDonald
- Video interviewsRecorded Video Interviews at Employers: Formats and Rules
- Assessment centresGraduate Assessment Centres Compared: Stated Formats
- Engineering, defence and infrastructureEngineering and Defence Graduate Assessments Compared
- AI and automationAI in Graduate Assessments: What Employers Say You May and May Not Do
Other employer assessments
- Network Rail assessmentShort activities tied to your scheme, remotely invigilated, with Aon named as the testing partner.
- BAE Systems assessmentGraduate verbal and numerical tests marked automatically against a pass mark.
- Rolls-Royce assessmentTen days to finish 30 to 35 minutes of tests, once per 12-month cycle.
- Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) assessmentNo CV, programme-specific psychometrics, then a 30-minute presentation and a 45-minute interview.
- Arup assessmentThree short assessments on personality, numerical and logical reasoning, then an online centre.
- Civil Service assessmentUntimed, adaptive verbal and numerical tests, with practice versions on GOV.UK.
- Assessment guidesCompare employers by test type, sector and topic
- All employer assessmentsEvery employer page, with what each says and what candidates report
LifeScore is not affiliated with Mott MacDonald. Their names and trademarks belong to their owners and appear here only to describe a hiring process. This page rests on what Mott MacDonald publishes and what candidates report, and Mott MacDonald has not reviewed or endorsed it. Our practice test uses original questions in a similar style and is not the Mott MacDonald test. LifeScore is not affiliated with SHL or any test publisher. SHL is a trademark of its owner. Our practice tests are original questions written in a similar style (tables of business data, and passages with True, False or Cannot say statements) and are not the real tests. Reviewed October 2026 by the LifeScore Editorial Team.