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SHL Excel test practice

SHL's catalog of skills tests includes Microsoft Excel, and employers often add it to an online assessment next to numerical or verbal reasoning. This practice test gives you 20 spreadsheet tasks in 25 minutes, typed as real formulas in a live grid, so you can find out how quick and accurate you are before the real assessment.

20 questions · 25 minutes · passing score 70%

Question 1 of 20

In E2, calculate how far the actual total for the six months is above the budget total (a negative result means under budget).

E2
ABCDEF
1Month Budget Actual Actual minus budget
2Jan 50000 48200
3Feb 50000 53100
4Mar 55000 54600
5Apr 55000 58900
6May 60000 57400
7Jun 60000 61800
8

No tips during the test. I'm back with help when the clock stops.

The free preview is the first 10 questions in 13 minutes. It isn't saved.

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What the SHL Excel test checks

SHL's Excel tests are about using a spreadsheet at work, not about knowing menu names by heart. The employer picks the test and its level, so the exact questions and the time limit vary from one assessment to the next.

If the job involves numbers, expect the Excel part to look like the data you would handle in it: budgets against actuals, shares of a total, averages that should leave something out, conditional sums with two or three conditions and lookups that return a value or a name. This practice test is built from that kind of task.

How this practice test works

You have 25 minutes for 20 questions, a slightly faster pace than our other tests, because SHL assessments are often taken in one sitting with several tests in a row. Each question has its own small sheet, written for this test only. Click the answer cell, type your formula and press Enter, as in Excel.

You can skip a question and come back to it. Nothing is marked until you hand in, and every answer must be a formula that still works when the data changes. The result shows your score, the questions you missed and where to practice each one.

How to prepare

Start with the free preview of the first 10 questions. If you run out of time rather than knowledge, practice the same kind of task until the formula comes without thinking: SUMIFS, AVERAGEIF and INDEX with MATCH are the ones that slow most people down. If the assessment also has a numerical reasoning part, practice percentages and ratios by hand too.

Not affiliated with SHL

PracticeExcel is not affiliated with SHL, and this is not SHL's test. We wrote every question ourselves to practice the same skills, so a good score here means you know the formulas, not that you have seen the real questions.

What the test covers

Each question practices one of these skills. Follow a link to practice it before you start.

  1. 1Over or under budget for the half year
  2. 2Share of the sales target
  3. 3Count the orders over 1,000
  4. 4Sales for the rep named in a cell
  5. 5Average salary in one department
  6. 6Second-lowest bid
  7. 7Average without the zero days
  8. 8Paid hours from minutes worked
  9. 9Shipping price by weight band
  10. 10Three-level performance rating
  11. 11Sales for one region in one quarter
  12. 12Average deal size for a region and product
  13. 13Show "Not found" for a missing code
  14. 14Find an ID to the left of a name
  15. 15Count the months above average
  16. 16Sales with three conditions
  17. 17One category's share of costs
  18. 18Weighted average purchase price
  19. 19Order line total from a price list
  20. 20Name of the top seller

Questions

What does the SHL Excel test cover?

Practical spreadsheet work at the level the employer chooses, such as totals and shares, conditional sums and averages, IF and lookups. This practice test covers those with 20 questions.

How long is the SHL Excel test?

That depends on the test and level the employer picks. Our practice test gives you 25 minutes for 20 questions, a brisk pace that gets you used to working against the clock.

Is the free preview timed?

Yes. The preview is the first 10 questions in 13 minutes, the same pace as the full test.

What score should I aim for?

The passing score here is 70%, 14 of 20. Aim for 80% or more before the real assessment.

Do I get a certificate?

Yes. Pass the full test with a verified email and you get a certificate with a public link for your résumé or LinkedIn.

Read the guide

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