Practicing for the KPMG assessment test is crucial for candidates aspiring to join KPMG, one of the world’s leading professional services firms, known for its rigorous recruitment process.

The KPMG hiring process can be lengthy, as the company seeks to hire not only the most qualified candidates but also those individuals who are going to enhance the culture of the workplace. Below are the steps you can expect to go through if you are applying for a role at KPMG, as well as some tips on how to best prepare.

Company Hiring Process

There is no set time frame for the hiring process as KPMG. Much of the timetable will be determined by how quickly the company needs someone to fill the position. Hiring can take anywhere from 30 days to five months.

There are four stages to the company hiring process. The first step is the application process, which is quite simple and can be found online. You will be asked to submit your updated resume and cover letter, as well as answer some standard application questions. You can only apply to one KPMG location. However, the system will allow you to select up to four preferences of business groups.

Once your application is complete and reviewed, you will be asked to complete two online assessments. The assessments will be detailed further below. Both assessments should take less than an hour to complete, and you are asked to have done them within 48 hours of receiving the request so that the company can move you through the hiring process as quickly as possible.

Following the assessments, you will be invited to participate in a 10-minute video interview. More details about the video interview are also detailed below. The last step of the KPMG hiring process is to visit one of the company’s locations for a case study and a behavioral interview with other candidates and your relevant business group.

Company Assessment Test

The KPMG online assessments are an important part of the hiring process. The first assessment is game-based, and it evaluates your ability to make decisions when given a specific set of information. There are two parts to the game-based assessment might encounter, depending on the location and job responsibilities for the role.

• Cognify and Emotify game-based assessment:
  • This assessment is divided into two parts. The cognify portion of the exam uses six mini games that must be completed within 30 minutes. The results will measure cognitive abilities that are imperative to nearly any role, including problem solving, numerical reasoning, and verbal knowledge. The results will be sent to the hiring manager as a comprehensive report.
  • The other half of the assessment is the emotify portion, which measures emotional intelligence, perception, and understanding through interactive gameplay. There will be two mini games that must be completed in 20 minutes. These results will tell a hiring manager if you as an employee will have high emotional intelligence, which will lead to better productivity, stability, and communication.                            
• KPMG Ready game-based assessment
  • This is the far more common game-based assessment used by a majority of the firm in its recruitment process. You will be given 10 or 11 interactive games that will give detailed insight into your personality and natural strengths. These assessments do not have right or wrong answers. Instead, it is giving you a range of options for you to make decisions that make the most sense for you. It allows you to demonstrate your decision-making style and give the hiring manager an understanding of the type of employee you will be.
  • While less analytical, this assessment is not less important. It gives the company an idea of your ability to perceive emotions and understand the emotional connection in situations — which is a huge factor that determines how you will interact with your coworkers and if you will add value to the social aspect of the work environment.

The other assessment you will be tasked with completing is a standard cognitive aptitude test. This test will have four sections: numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, inductive reasoning, and situational judgement.

• In the numerical reasoning part of the assessment, you will be given numerical data in the form of charts, graphs, and tables. These data sets will correspond to a set of questions that you will need to answer. You will have to answer 24 questions total, and you will have less than a minute to complete each question. You can also use a calculator.
• For the verbal reasoning section, you will assess your reading comprehension and grammar skills by reading passages of text and answering corresponding questions. You will have 40 questions total that are in the form of multiple choice and true/false.
• Inductive reasoning requires you to identify patterns and rules based on a specific set of information. For this portion of the assessment, you will have to be able to make logical connections in unknown situations in order to make the best decisions. The most common type of question involves asking candidates to find the rule connecting a series of shapes to find the next one.
• The last part of this assessment is a situational judgment test, which provides around 20 work-based scenarios in the form of text and video clips. These scenarios come with questions that will require you to use your best logical reasoning to determine the best course of action for each scenario.

It can be daunting to approach these assessments, but with a bit of practice the answers will come to you easily. The best way to prepare for these exams is to invest in practice assessments that will expose you to the types of questions that you could encounter within the tests that KPMG sends you. The last thing you want on the actual test day is to encounter a type of question that you’ve never seen before. This will lead to stress, anxiety, and lack of confidence about the answers. Instead, make sure that you buy several practice assessments to cover every single one of your bases. That way you can approach these real-time exams with confidence and ease.

Company Interview

The KPMG hiring process also involves two interviews. Once you complete your online assessments, you will be asked to participate in a 10-minute video interview. In the video interview, you will be asked questions to allow the hiring manager to get to know you better and understand your motivations for applying to the company. Be prepared to introduce yourself, explain your work ethic, and answer other behavioral style questions.

The last round of the process is an in-person case study and behavioral interview. You will be invited to a KPMG location to participate in an interactive day of networking. During the day, you will also be asked to work with other candidates on a case study, which will be observed by a partner or director to determine each individuals’ work ethic and leadership style.

Then, you will participate in an interview with your preferred business group. These 30-minute interviews allow the group to find out more about you and your work experience, as well as your passion for working with the company. It is also your chance to ask any questions you may have about working for KPMG.

Preparation for the Recruitment Process

The KPMG recruitment process can seem daunting, but there are plenty of ways to prepare and put your best foot forward. Succeeding in the online assessments is one of the best ways to ensure that you move forward to the rounds where you can connect one on one with your team and prove your personality is a fit for the company.

Focusing on these assessments is a critical part of the process. Not to worry! The best way to prepare is to invest in practice exams that will expose you to all the questions you might encounter when faced with the true assessment. The more practice questions you answer, the more you will learn the trick to succeeding.