Comparison

Aon cut-e vs SHL: Short Modular Tests or One Long Adaptive Battle?

European employers fall into two cognitive-testing camps: Aon cut-e and SHL. Both measure cognitive ability across numerical, verbal, and abstract reasoning. Beyond that, they share almost nothing. Aon cut-e uses short, modular scales tests, some as brief as 4 minutes each, to isolate specific skills. SHL Verify G+ is a single 36-minute adaptive battery covering multiple skills in one session. Candidates applying across European graduate programs routinely face both, sometimes in the same interview process. Knowing which one you are facing changes your entire prep approach.

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Side-by-side: Aon cut-e vs SHL

Same cognitive target. Opposite philosophies on how to measure it.

	Aon cut-e	SHL
Full Name	Aon cut-e scales	SHL General Ability Test (Verify G+)
Vendor	Aon Assessment	SHL
Format	Multiple short modular tests (scales)	Single long adaptive battery
Total Session Length	~20 minutes (varies by module mix)	36 minutes
Individual Module Length	4 to 12 minutes per scales module	12 minutes per SHL module (numerical, inductive, deductive)
Adaptive	Yes (varies by scales module)	Yes (item-level adaptive)
Sections	scales numerical, scales verbal, scales lst (inductive), scales eql (others)	Numerical, Inductive, Deductive
Calculator	Usually allowed (on-screen)	Provided (on-screen)
Per-Question Timer	Yes on most scales modules	No (section-level)
Scoring	Percentile per scales module	Percentile per module plus composite
Headline Employers	Lufthansa, Allianz, HSBC, Heineken	Deloitte, PwC, JPMorgan, Barclays, Citi, Unilever
Industry Lean	Insurance, airlines, European banking, FMCG	Consulting, UK banking, FMCG, global 500
Test-Taker Experience	Multiple short bursts	One sustained session

Format: short scales versus one long battery

Aon cut-e scales is a suite of short cognitive modules rather than a single test. The most commonly deployed scales modules are scales numerical (numerical reasoning, usually 6 to 12 minutes), scales verbal (verbal reasoning, usually 6 to 10 minutes), scales lst (inductive/logical reasoning, 6 to 12 minutes), and scales eql (equation logic, 4 to 6 minutes). Employers pick which modules to run. A typical graduate application might run scales numerical plus scales verbal plus scales lst for a total of 20 to 30 minutes across multiple short sessions.

SHL Verify G+ is a single 36-minute adaptive session covering numerical reasoning (12 items), inductive reasoning (10 items), and deductive reasoning (8 items) in one continuous test. You cannot pause between modules. You cannot go back. The adaptive engine adjusts difficulty based on running performance within each module.

The candidate experience differs sharply. Aon cut-e is taken in short bursts, often with breaks between modules. You can take scales numerical today, scales verbal tomorrow, scales lst the day after. SHL Verify G+ is one sustained 36-minute commitment. Stamina and focus management under sustained pressure matters more on SHL than on Aon.

Timing: per-question versus per-module

Most Aon cut-e scales modules use per-question timers. scales numerical typically allows 60 to 75 seconds per question. scales lst (inductive) typically allows 75 to 90 seconds. scales eql (equation logic) is brutally short: roughly 60 seconds per question but the questions are small. Once time expires on a question, it advances to the next without allowing review. You commit or you lose it.

SHL Verify G+ uses module-level timing. You have 12 minutes for numerical, roughly 12 for inductive, and roughly 12 for deductive. You can allocate time within each module as you see fit. Some candidates time-box each module equally. Others spend more on numerical because it is usually weighted heaviest by employers.

The pacing discipline required is different. Aon cut-e rewards candidates who commit to an answer quickly and move on. SHL rewards candidates who budget across questions within a module. Switching between these pacing styles mid-interview-cycle is disorienting, so if you face both tests in the same interview process, prep them in separate days not interleaved.

Module content comparison

Similar domains, different content styles.

Numerical reasoning

Aon scales numerical: tables and charts with business-context data, 60 to 75 seconds per question. SHL numerical: 12 items covering similar content, no per-question timer, 12-minute total budget. Aon leans harder on chart-reading speed. SHL allows more calculation time per item.

Verbal reasoning

Aon scales verbal: passage-based with true/false/cannot-tell format, 60 to 75 seconds per question. SHL Verify G+ does not include verbal reasoning. Employers needing verbal alongside SHL Verify G+ use a separate SHL product (Verify Verbal or Interactive Verbal Reasoning).

Inductive/abstract reasoning

Aon scales lst: abstract reasoning with pattern series, shape relationships, and rule discovery, 75 to 90 seconds per question. SHL inductive: 10 items of pattern series and shape relationships with 12-minute module budget. Content overlaps heavily. Aon is slightly more pattern-series heavy, SHL is slightly more shape-rule heavy.

Deductive/logical reasoning

Aon scales eql (equation logic): unique to Aon, 4 to 6 minutes of quick equation-solving and logical deduction. SHL deductive: 8 items of syllogisms, conditional reasoning, and logical equivalence. These are different enough that prep does not transfer directly. If your invite includes scales eql, prep it specifically.

Which is harder depends on your profile

Aon cut-e feels harder during individual modules because the per-question timer forces fast commitment. scales eql especially is feared because the questions require quick equation manipulation with no review option. SHL feels harder in aggregate because the 36-minute sustained session demands endurance that shorter Aon modules do not.

Candidates who excel under time pressure on individual items typically score better on Aon. Candidates who pace themselves well across long sessions typically score better on SHL. The underlying cognitive skills are similar; the delivery format favors different cognitive personalities.

Objectively, Aon modules can feel harder at the question level because the adaptive engine in scales is aggressive. A strong candidate sees harder items quickly. SHL Verify G+ adaptivity is slightly smoother. Aon difficulty ceiling is high for specific modules (scales eql is considered the hardest Aon module in many industry benchmarks). SHL ceiling is high overall but distributed more evenly.

Scoring logic and employer interpretation

Aon cut-e reports per-module percentile against the Aon candidate norm group. Employers pick modules based on role requirements and set module-specific cutoffs. A typical airline or insurance graduate role might require 65th percentile on scales numerical, 65th percentile on scales verbal, and 60th percentile on scales lst. Per-module cutoffs mean uneven candidates are exposed.

SHL Verify G+ reports percentile per module and composite. Big 4 consulting reads the composite at 80th percentile. Investment banking reads numerical individually at 85th to 90th percentile. Most employers publish specific cutoff thresholds in the invitation or offer letter context.

Both tests use percentile rather than raw scores because of adaptive scoring. Raw correct counts are not directly meaningful when the adaptive engine routes easier or harder items based on performance. Percentile against a relevant norm group (graduate, professional, managerial) is the only comparable metric.

Where each test lives

Aon cut-e

Aon cut-e is dominant in continental European hiring. Lufthansa, Allianz, HSBC (some divisions), Heineken, Deutsche Telekom, and several European insurance majors use Aon cut-e as their primary cognitive screen. The airline industry specifically leans heavily Aon cut-e for pilot and technical roles. German-speaking employers favor Aon cut-e because of Aon's European footprint and localization.

LufthansaAllianzHSBCHeineken

SHL

SHL Verify G+ is dominant in UK and global graduate hiring. Big 4 consulting universally uses SHL. UK investment banking graduate schemes (JPMorgan, Barclays, Citi, Goldman UK) use SHL. Global FMCG (Unilever, Nestle, Diageo) uses SHL. Roughly 50 percent of the FTSE 100 uses SHL products. SHL has a broader global footprint than Aon, though Aon leads in specific continental European verticals.

DeloittePwCJPMorganBarclaysCitiUnilever

How prep differs

For Aon cut-e, prep each scales module you will face separately. Confirm with the recruiter which modules are in your battery. If it is scales numerical plus scales verbal plus scales lst, prep each for 3 to 5 days at the actual per-question timing. Drill scales numerical at 60 to 75 seconds per chart-reading question. scales verbal at 60 to 75 seconds per passage-question pair. scales lst at 75 to 90 seconds per pattern item.

For SHL Verify G+, prep 14 days across all three modules. Week 1: numerical (chart reading, business-context percentages, on-screen calculator fluency). Week 2: inductive (pattern series, shape rule discovery) and deductive (syllogisms, conditional reasoning). Final 2 days: full 36-minute adaptive simulations to build stamina.

Shared prep: foundational cognitive skills (mental arithmetic, vocabulary, pattern recognition). These transfer to both tests. Where they diverge is pacing discipline. Aon pacing is per-question commit. SHL pacing is module budget. Do not switch between the two mental postures in the same prep session.

Order of prep if facing both: Aon first. Per-question timer discipline is harder to build than module-level time budgeting, and skills transfer usefully from Aon to SHL. SHL-specific stamina building comes on top in the final week.

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Which one you should actually prep for

Check the invite vendor. Aon cut-e invitations come from cut-e.com or aon.com domains. SHL invitations come from shl.com or TalentCentral.

Geography is a strong secondary tell. German-speaking Europe, Dutch, Swiss, and Scandinavian employers lean Aon cut-e. UK and global Fortune 500 lean SHL. Airlines and European insurance lean Aon. Consulting and UK graduate banking lean SHL.

If your interview process explicitly involves multiple cognitive tests at different stages (rare but happens in European multinational graduate schemes), prep both in sequence. Aon first to build per-question timing discipline. SHL second to layer in 36-minute stamina. Do not interleave.

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