SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test Preparation – 2024

What Is the SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test?

Many companies will give their applicants pre-employment assessments during the hiring process to ensure they have the skills to perform the duties required for the role. SHL, an HR services company, offers the SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test for companies seeking mechanics and machinists.

While the test is typically given alongside other recruitment exams, such as verbal and numerical reasoning, doing well on the SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test is critical to receiving the position.

SHL’s Mechanical Comprehension Exam Format

The SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test is a short, computer-based exam. It consists of 15 to 18 multiple-choice questions you must answer in 10 to 15 minutes. The questions on the exam will be practical in nature, often include diagrams, and have four answer choices to pick from.

SHL’s exam is unique from other mechanical reasoning tests because it uses SHL’s Item Response Theory (IRT), giving each candidate a unique testing experience. However, it is important to note that the exam is not progressive, which means the difficulty of the questions will stay consistent throughout the test.

Topics Covered in the SHL Mechanical Exam

Mechanical reasoning exams will often cover a variety of mechanical and physical concepts. Five main topic areas are covered in the SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test. These are:

• Tools and Equipment: The SHL Mechanical Reasoning Test will assess your knowledge of different tools and equipment. Questions will ask you to apply different physical principles to power tools and other equipment you may encounter on the job. You may also be asked the purpose of certain tools or which tools are ideal for specific tasks.
• Mechanical Devices Interaction: One topic on the exam will be how various machine parts interact. These questions will discuss multiple mechanical systems, and you will need to answer questions about their operation and how actions on one element may impact another.
• Force and Torque: Force and torque are fundamental mechanical concepts that must be understood to see how objects may behave in the real world. Examples of topics in this section include the law of the lever and force equilibrium.
• Gears: Gears are an underlying part of many machines. This section of the exam will focus on gear directionality and ratio. For example, you may need to identify how a specific gear in a system will move based on how another gear is turned.
• Fluid Mechanics: Many machinists also need a firm understanding of how liquids move. Questions in this section include flow, hydraulics, and how heat and pressure are related.

Tips for the SHL Mechanical Test

The SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test is a difficult skills exam you must complete to secure a position as a mechanic or machinist. Here are a few tips that will help you receive a high score on the exam:

• Double-check your work before you submit an answer. After you submit a response, you are not allowed to go back and change it. Therefore, it is essential to double-check your work before submitting an answer and moving on to the next question.
• Feel free to doodle. Sometimes it is easier to imagine movement in a diagram when you can draw it out. Because you will be taking this exam at home, be sure to have paper and a pencil with you so you can doodle or draw out anything you need to help you answer the question correctly.
• Take the test in a quiet environment with a good internet connection. This exam is not long, so you’ll want to be sure to focus intently on the test for the 10 to 15 minutes you have. And because the test is web-based, you will want a strong internet connection to ensure no interruptions.
• Look over all the provided information carefully. Take your time to read each question and look over each diagram carefully. A single arrow can change the answer completely, so ensure you fully understand the situation and question before answering.

How to Prepare for the SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test?

The best way to prepare for the SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test is by using online study guides and practice tests.

Study guides are an excellent resource for mechanical reasoning tests because they review several mechanical and physical concepts you must be familiar with. This is a great starting point to know what you will need to study and can serve as an excellent refresher for concepts you may need to remember before the test.

Once you have reviewed the various concepts, you will want to put that knowledge to use by working through several full-length practice exams. These tests are excellent resources because they will provide sample questions similar to what you will receive on the actual exam so you can better understand what you should expect. In addition to sample questions, practice tests provide full-answer solutions to see why you got specific questions incorrect and how to approach similar questions in the future.

Candidates who take the time to work through study guides and practice tests do significantly better on the SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test than those who do not prepare.

Disclaimer: SHL® is a registered trademark of SHL Group Ltd. SHL Group Ltd is not affiliated with Practice4Me or this website. This website solely provides information on how to prepare for job psychometric tests.