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Test-day checklist: the 20 minutes before you click Start

The clock is 12 or 15 minutes and it does not pause. A notification, a dead battery or a dropped connection costs more points than any hard question. Set up first.

Updated October 13, 2026 · by TimedPrep

The day before

• Know which test it is. The guessing rule and the going-back rule differ. If the invitation does not name it, use this two-minute check.
• Check the deadline, then pick your own time. Wonderlic links generally stay active for up to 14 days; on Criteria's platform the employer sets the expiry, and Criteria's support cannot extend it. Do not leave it to the last evening: if something breaks, you want a working day left to reach the recruiter.
• Choose the hour when your head is clearest. For most people that is mid-morning, not 11 pm after work.
• Take one full timed practice test if you have not yet, so the clock is familiar.
• Need an accommodation? Ask the employer before you open the link. Wonderlic says accommodations are arranged through the hiring employer; The Predictive Index has 18-minute and 24-minute versions that the employer can send.

Device, connection, browser

• Use a laptop or desktop. Criteria says the CCAT can be taken on any device, including a mobile phone, but figure questions with five small options are harder to read on a small screen. The Predictive Index's Administrator's Guide says its test should be completed on a computer or tablet and not on a smartphone.
• Plug in the charger.
• Use a current browser. Criteria's candidate FAQ recommends Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari, with cookies and JavaScript enabled, and names an outdated browser and an unstable connection as the usual causes of loading errors.
• Use your most stable connection. Home Wi-Fi close to the router, or a cable. Not a cafe, not a train, not a phone hotspot if you can avoid it. Ask others at home not to start large downloads for twenty minutes.
• Close everything else. Other tabs, chat apps, email, video calls. Turn on Do Not Disturb on the computer and silence the phone. The Predictive Index notes that its test blurs the screen if you navigate away; do not switch windows during any of these tests.
• Use a mouse if you have one. Clicking small answer buttons on a trackpad is slower.

On the desk

• Paper and two pencils or pens, if permitted for your test (see the table below). Draw a few lines in advance to save seconds: a number line for ordering questions, space for arithmetic.
• Your checkpoint numbers written at the top of the paper: minute 4 and 8 for a 12-minute test, minute 5 and 10 for the CCAT. See the pacing plan.
• No calculator. All three publishers prohibit it. Put it and your phone out of reach so there is no question later.
• Water. Glasses if you wear them.
• The invitation email open in another window before you begin, with the recruiter's contact and, for Criteria, your Event ID. If the session drops you will need them.

Scratch paper: what each publisher says

If the instructions on your screen or in your invitation say something different, they win. If the test is supervised, on site or by webcam, ask the proctor before you start. When in doubt, a one-line question to the recruiter settles it.

Ten minutes before: warm up

Do not go in cold, and do not tire yourself with a full practice test in the last hour. Ten to fifteen easy questions is enough: a few sums in your head, a couple of number series, a few opposites. The aim is to get your first three answers on the test at full speed instead of spending them waking up.

Then use the bathroom, tell the people around you that you need 20 quiet minutes (40 if your test has a personality section), and close the door.

The instructions screen

Read it properly. Criteria's own first tip for the CCAT is to take the time you need to read the instructions. The PI test shows three sample questions before you press Begin; use them to get used to the layout. Look for three things: the time limit, whether you can return to a question, and anything about guessing. Those lines are the rules of your test, and they override anything you read on a prep site, including this one.

Rule card for your test

The reasons behind each line, with the publishers' wording, are in guess or skip.

If the page freezes or the connection drops

1. Do not panic-click. Wait ten seconds. Note the time and the question number, and take a photo of the screen with your phone if there is an error message.
2. Try to get back in. On Criteria's platform, open a new tab, go to the testing center and enter your Event ID; Criteria says you can continue from where you left off, and if you saw "Error submitting test", re-entering the Event ID shows whether your submission went through. For other platforms, reopen the original link once.
3. Contact the recruiter the same day, in writing, with the facts: date and time, what you saw, which question you were on, what you tried. Ask how they would like to proceed. Keep it short and neutral.
4. Contact the platform only for technical help. Criteria has a support chat in the testing center and lists [email protected]; Wonderlic lists [email protected]. Neither can grant a retake or extend a deadline; only the employer can.

A technical failure is a reason for a second attempt that a publisher itself names. The Predictive Index's guide for employers names an internet disconnection as a case where a retest is warranted even at companies that normally allow only one. Report it promptly and factually, and ask for the test to be reset.

When it is over

If your assessment has untimed personality or motivation sections after the timed part, take a breath before you start them. They are not a race, and a bad feeling about the timed part should not leak into your answers. See the personality section.

Then write down what you remember about the format, and read what happens next.

Related guides

• 50 questions in 12 minutes: a pacing plan that works
• What happens after you submit the test
• Guess or skip? What each publisher actually says
• The personality part of your hiring test: what it is and how to answer it
• Which test did they send me? How to tell from the invitation