O2 Verbal Reasoning Test

O2 looks for employees with a high verbal ability. Applicants have to pass a verbal test before being offered a position.

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Ben Hopgood Updated:

About O2 Verbal Reasoning Test

Verbal reasoning tests are a fair and objective way for O2 to assess a wide range of applicants, each having different experiences and different qualifications. By analysing the results of a standardised verbal reasoning test, O2 are able to quickly see which candidates are suitable for the role and which are not. This sort of information about candidates’ skills is difficult to glean from interviews and qualifications alone, so they use professional psychometric tests.

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Often, O2 will ask applicants to take a verbal test online, which you can take from home. When the verbal test is used early on in the application process like this you will have to achieve a minimum score before you progress to the next round (typically a score in the top 50% of applicants is required however this does vary role to role). Further along in the selection process you might be asked to attend an assessment centre or interview where you will be asked to sit a verbal test again. This is so O2 can verify the person scoring highly in the test is indeed the person applying for the job.

O2 Application Process Stages

Here is the typical process for your application to O2. Depending on the role you've applied for, you might not experience all of these stages, or perhaps just have to go through some stages, and not others.

Stage 1

Online Application

You will need to complete an online application form.

Stage 2

Online Aptitude Tests

Shortly after submitting your application, you will be emailed links to take the O2 aptitude tests. You will take the test online under timed conditions. These could be a personality questionnaire, a numerical reasoning test and a style of logical reasoning test called 'rules and interrelations.'

Stage 3

Telephone Interview

You will be invited to a video interview, where you will be asked both technical and behavioural questions. Your performance in the interview will be measured against these values:

  • Customer orientation
  • Discipline
  • Quality
  • Risk taking
  • Great place to work
  • Results oriented

Stage 4

Assessment Centre day

Once you've managed to win over O2 with your video interview responses, your scores in the verbal and rules and interrelations tests, the final stage will require you to attend an assessment centre, where you may be asked to take part in a second interview, a group exercise, a role play and a few other tasks, such as a written exercise, a meeting, or a presentation.

During the group exercise, the assessors will be evaluating how well you form relationships with other, new people, and how you contribute to the team.

You will be informed of your result from the assessment centre quite shortly afterwards. If you wish to receive some feedback on your performance, you may contact a member of the recruitment team, who will explain to you areas in which you can improve.

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O2 Verbal Reasoning Test Questions

Like most verbal tests, the one used by O2 looks at your ability to interpret written information and answer questions which require verbal analysis of the content provided. The verbal test will be assessing your speed and accuracy. The answers are multiple choice and you should try to work quickly within the time limit, but also accurately. Negative marking is unlikely to be used but do not guess answers, as this will show up in your accuracy score. Sometimes you will find that you can make a best guess estimate by deducing that some of the answer options are incorrect. This approach to verbal tests will come with practice, and you will become familiar with the type of verbal tests used by companies such as O2.

Verbal reasoning tests and who uses them

Companies are using verbal reasoning test more and more in their application process that candidates must go through. verbal reasoning tests are favoured when the role being recruited for requires assessment and generation of written content on a regular basis. A person's score in a verbal reasoning test is a good indicator of their ability to work well with written information. This is very important in a variety of roles, especially those in which communication with colleagues and clients is routine.

O2 use verbal reasoning tests as part of their recruitment process to help them select the best candidates for a particular role.

So as a graduate or senior candidate applying for a job at O2 you might feel like the verbal reasoning test is an unnecessary hoop to jump through. But you should bear in mind that O2 are asking you to complete the verbal test as much for your own benefit as theirs; if you are not suitable for the role, a psychometric test will usually identify this. Research has shown that psychometric tests, such as those used by O2, are a better predictor of job performance than traditional selection metrics such as level of degree achieved.

What you should know before taking your verbal reasoning test

The passage of text given to you in a verbal reasoning test will contain the necessary information to answer the questions accompanying it. The passages are usually brief, often a paragraph, or two at most, made up of a few short sentences. Take the time to read the passage well. Skim-reading can lead to missing out details. The passage will be short enough that you can read it comfortably in the time limit given. You don't need to be a super-fast reader to pass a verbal reasoning test. One of the most important things to remember is that the test will not assume that you have specialist knowledge. All questions can be answered from the information given in the passage.

Different types of verbal tests

Most questions in most verbal reasoning tests follow a standard format displaying written information, the question and answer options on screen. These can be arranged differently, but each test will stick to the same layout throughout. The written information will be a blurb of text, but might not be adapted to suit a particular style. The language may be technical and succinct, or colloquial and informal, or may appear to be more like a section of prose. The question text may contain extra information which adds to what's already given, which might also be necessary to answer the question correctly. Lastly, the answer options are almost always a multiple choice of True / False / Cannot say. Multiple choice answers can vary, however. You may have 5 options to pick from, which include the standard 3, but with a Probably False and Probably True added. The more answer options to pick from, the slimmer the chances are that you can obtain the correct answer by guessing.

Some publishers will have less subtle variations in their test from what's described here. Cappfinity for example, will ask you to rank the answer options by a particular criteria, or categorise different passages of text according to the style. Sometimes, in Saville Assessment tests, you may be asked to select which phrase from the options is true, or false, or referred to in the passage.

Answered questions

Are these tests suitable for O2?

Yes. O2 use publisher's reasoning tests to assess applicants in the recruitment process. The practice tests we provide have been designed to mimic publisher's style to create an environment similar to the real assessment. This provides you with confidence that the questions you practice with us now are an accurate reflection of the real assessment.

How difficult are your tests?

The same difficulty as real tests. Generally real employer selection tests don't differ that much in terms of difficulty which is why they compare your score against norm groups. Our practice tests are pitched roughly at graduate level, but this means they are actually suitable for preparing for all levels of job: entry; apprentice; graduate; senior; director.

Are they compatible with my Mac / Tablet / Phone?

Yes, and PC, and Linux and smartphone and Android and...everything. Our practice tests will run on all systems and they are responsive so they will work well on tablets and smartphones too!

How many times can I take the tests?

Unlimited. You can take our practice tests as many times as you like; there is no limit. But to be honest, after taking the same test a few times you start to remember the answers, so that’s why we have lots of tests.