Invited to complete a Sova assessment?

Ensure you have a good internet connection and the web browser you’ll be using is compatible with the Sova platform.

Find a quiet place without interruptions or distractions, which will enable you to perform at your best.

Allow plenty of time to complete the assessment, taking in to account the time required to read the instructions and complete practice questions.

Yes, our assessments are compatible on a mobile, tablet or laptop, so you can use whichever device you feel most comfortable with.

In addition to the device you will be using to complete the assessments, you will also need a pen, paper and calculator for the ability questions.

To allow you to become familiar with the layout and type of question that you may be asked to answer, there are some practice questions available on the Candidate Hub. You can can access the practice questions here.

You will also have the opportunity to complete a practice question at the beginning of each part of your assessment. Your answers to the practice questions do not count towards your score on the assessment.

Sova is committed to creating an equitable, fair and bias-fee process for every applicant. We want to help businesses make better people decisions that are accurate, objective and transparent. If you believe you need adjustments to be made to the assessment process, we recommend that you contact the organisation you are applying to.

We will work with the organisation to make adjustments based on your individual needs. This might include additional time, a scribe, a screen reader or other changes to ensure you can perform at your best. It’s important to speak to the hiring organisation in the first instance, as your requirements may need to be considered in other parts of the selection process too.

The following browsers are compatible:

The latest versions of Chrome on Windows 10 and macOS 10.14+
Microsoft Edge on Windows 10
Safari on macOS 10.14 (Experimental)
Chrome browser on Android (Android 8+)*
Safari on iPhone (iOS 11+)
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*Due to Google’s restrictions on Huawei’s use of Android, video interview recording is not supported on Huawei devices.

The Sova platform is accessible by a wide variety of browsers and devices – however the use of certain browsers, devices and internet speed may affect you experience, and therefore for an optimum user experience we recommend using the following:

Optimal browsers: Current or previous version of Microsoft Edge, Google chrome, Mozilla or Firefox, Safari.
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Optimal Operating Systems: Windows 10, macOS 10.12+, iPhone 7+, Any mobile device using Android device 8+ with Chrome.
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Unsupported Browsers and Operating systems: We do not support browsers operating systems for which support has been discontinued by the manufacturer (Such as Windows 7).
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Minimum Internet speed: Broadband of 1Mb per second, or faster internet connection for video-based assessments. or 3G mobile.

If you are using your company’s internet network, there is a chance that this firewall may be causing issues. If this happens, we recommend accessing a different Internet network. Alternatively, if you’re able to attempt the link on a home network, this will resolve the firewall issue.

Please disable any pop-up blocking software, that may prevent the test from downloading, before attempting the tests. University or company networks may have restrictions in place, so please check with your local systems administrator first.

This may be related to the internet browser being used to complete the assessment. We recommend using Google Chrome for the best quality assessment experience.

Please make sure you have read the instructions on how to answer the questions carefully – some ability questions may require two or more answers, whilst personality questions ask you to only select one answer in each column.

Once you have selected all the answers necessary, you will be able to click ‘Next’ to move on to the next question. If this fails, please change your browser to Google Chrome.

To log back in and continue the assessment where you left off, simply follow the link in your invitation email.

We recommend that you contact the organisation that asked you to complete the assessment to find out more about the next steps and timescales.

ReciteMe offers features that help users with low vision, colour vision deficiency, dyslexia and other disabilities and/or neurodiverse conditions. It allows you to increase/decrease the font size, change the page’s colour, have ruler and block out most of page to avoid distractions.
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Please have a look at the ReciteMe User Guide here.

Sorry to hear you are having issues with the video recording. Time is not recorded on the video recording sections, so this will not affect your results.

In the first instance, please ensure you are using a supported browser:

Google Chrome
Mozilla

Please note that other browsers are not compatible and will not allow you to complete the video recording.

If you are still having issues, please follow the steps below before contacting Sova’s Helpdesk. They are common steps which will rectify the issue within a few moments:

If using an iPhone, iPad or Mac, please follow the instructions below:

Go to Settings
Scroll down to the list of apps and select the Chrome app
Enable camera and microphone permissions
Restart your device

If using an android device, please follow the instructions below:

Go to settings  
Select apps
Select the browser application you are using e.g. Google Chrome
Select Permissions
Enable both camera and microphone permissions if this has not yet been done
Restart your device

*Please note that it’s not possible to complete the video recording on a Huawei device.*

If you are using a laptop or desktop computer, please ensure no other applications are using the camera or microphone. You should also try restarting your device.

If you are using Windows 10 and receiving a “Hardware Access Denied” message, please follow the instructions below:

Search for “Camera Privacy Settings” on your machine
Check camera access for your device is on
Check “Allow desktop apps to access your camera” is on
Search for “Microphone Privacy Settings” on your machine
Check microphone access for your device is on
Check “Allow desktop apps to access your microphone” is on
Restart your device and reopen the link

A pop-up box should appear requesting permission to access your camera and microphone - please click “allow”.

If a pop-up box doesn’t appear, please check for a notification at the top of your browser screen in case the pop-up box has been automatically blocked.

If this does not work, Please contact Sova’s helpdesk and provide the following information:

A screenshot of the page where the error occurred
Device type used e.g. iPhone, Samsung smartphone, Dell laptop, HP laptop, MacBook
Operating system used e.g. Windows, macOS, Android, iOS Browser used e.g. Google Chrome.
Internet speed (please check using this link)

You can use Google Chrome or Safari. Due to Google’s restrictions on Huawei’s use of Android, video interview recording is not supported on Huawei devices.

The Sova video interview is designed to work on low bandwidth but does require at least 140 Kbps upload speed. Your connection speed is tested before you begin the interview in your account to make sure you can complete the interview. You can also use a test like https://www.speedtest.net

If you have the required bandwidth speed, but are still unable to complete the interview, it may be due to a firewall if you are attempting to complete from inside a workplace or campus environment. If this is the case, we recommend that you complete from outside this environment using an alternative connection.

You can test your webcam here – https://www.onlinemictest.com/webcam-test/

If you are using your company’s internet network, there is a chance that this firewall may be causing issues. If this happens, we recommend accessing a different Internet network. Alternatively, if you’re able to attempt the link on a home network, this will resolve the firewall issue. Sometimes Chrome may have the audio and camera permissions enabled/disabled by default. Please update Chrome and make sure the permissions are set to “Ask”:

Go to Settings > Advanced > Privacy & Security > Site Settings
Scroll down to Camera/Microphone & Flash
Select the option to “Ask first”
Reload the candidate page and try again – you will then be able to continue.

Please allow your camera and microphone access by doing the following:

Go to Settings
Locate Safari
Scroll down to Camera – select – choose Allow
Scroll down to microphone – select – choose Allow

If you have other applications open at the same time, and one of them is using the webcam (such as Skype), you may not be able to proceed. Please shut down all other applications and restart your browser.

Yes, our video interviews are compatible on a mobile, tablet or laptop, so you can use whichever device you feel most comfortable with.

This could be because the room is too dark or the computer may be slow. To solve this, make the room brighter and make sure you have a light in front of your face. Dark colours take more hardware resources (even for video recording) to process, so it requires more of your computer.

Before attempting anything else, try using an alternative browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.

Your assessment day will be completed in a virtual environment and you will be taking part online from your own home (or a similar quiet, private environment). All parts of the assessment day (including the individual and group exercises) will be conducted in this way for you and all the other candidates and assessors involved in the assessment process.

Our virtual assessment centre is compatible with a number of different video conferencing platforms, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Whereby - these web-based applications will require access to your PC/Tablet camera and your microphone in order for you to take part on the assessment day through a video call. You will therefore need to be online for the duration of the assessment event using a stable broadband internet connection.

We recommend you do not use a smartphone for the assessment day, as the screen may be too small to read important materials effectively or perform certain activities, which may affect your performance on the day.

You will need the following hardware on your Desktop PC or Tablet:

Microphone – built-in microphone, a USB microphone or inline microphone on headphones
Speaker or Headphones
In-built camera/webcam
Bandwidth requirements: Minimum bandwidth is 600kbps (up/down) and recommended is 1.5 Mbps (up/down). You can check your Internet bandwidth using Speed test if you are unsure: https://www.speedtest.net

The video conferencing part of the assessment centre might take place on either Whereby, Microsoft Teams or Zoom. This will be clearly marked within the assessment centre and email instructions ahead of beginning.

To ensure a seamless experience, we recommend checking your technology set-up the day before your scheduled session. This will allow you time to test compatibility with our platform.

Please visit the Microsoft Teams troubleshooting page here.

Please visit the Microsoft Teams troubleshooting page here.

Please visit the Zoom website for further tips and support.