Shell Online Assessment, Interview Questions and Process

Shell's online assessment depends on how you apply. Graduates and assessed interns take a Virtual Job Tryout and an On-Demand Interview, which Shell says take about 40 minutes together. Experienced professionals and Operations & Maintenance applicants get an online assessment for some vacancies only.

Everything below comes from Shell's careers pages, linked as we go. Where Shell doesn't say something, we say so rather than guess.

The Shell hiring process at a glance

Shell runs three application routes. The stages and timings are Shell's own, and it says they're averages that can stretch when applications are high.

What is the Shell hiring process?

You apply online for a specific vacancy, complete any online assessment, interview with a recruiter or Shell employees, then go through a final assessment before an offer. Shell doesn't accept speculative applications or CVs by email, so you can only apply to a role listed in its job search.

Applying

• Register a profile and apply online. You get an email confirmation once you submit.
• Keep your CV to two pages at most, Shell's application tips say, and back up general claims with evidence of what you did. You can import a LinkedIn profile to fill the form faster.
• Use the same full name as on your official documents.
• Shell stores candidate details for three years unless you ask in writing for them to be deleted, so it can match you to future roles.
• Shell never asks for money. Its recruitment scams notice says neither Shell nor anyone recruiting for it asks applicants for payment at any point.

For graduate roles, Shell looks for people who have graduated or are in their final year. Some countries need a Master's degree or equivalent for Technical roles; Commercial and Global Functions roles look for a Bachelor's degree or equivalent.

What is the Shell online assessment?

It's the first screening step, and its form depends on your route.

Graduates: the Virtual Job Tryout

Within 24 hours of applying, Shell emails an invitation to the Virtual Job Tryout. You have seven days to complete it, and Shell says the application is withdrawn automatically if you don't.

Shell describes it as a set of job simulations: you tackle challenges, show your problem-solving, share your story and show how you approach work. It doesn't publish the question types, the number of tasks or how they're scored.

Because it asks how you approach realistic situations, parts of it may work like a situational judgement test. Our guide to situational judgement tests explains that format in general; it doesn't describe Shell's test.

Prep sites describe separate numerical, verbal and working-style tests for Shell graduates. Shell's current global graduate page describes only the Virtual Job Tryout and On-Demand Interview, so treat those other descriptions as unconfirmed unless your invitation says otherwise.

Experienced professionals and Operations & Maintenance

For some vacancies, experienced professionals are invited to an online assessment within three days of applying. Shell doesn't say what it contains.

For Operations & Maintenance roles, selected candidates get an online assessment (OLA) link by email. Some who pass are then invited to a skill-based assessment, which they self-schedule. Shell says:

• If you passed its test process in the past five years, you don't need to re-test; it keeps your scores on file.
• If you were unsuccessful, you can't take the assessment again within four months of your last attempt.

Can you use AI?

Not during the assessment. Shell's guidance on AI in applications allows AI for preparing your CV and practising answers, but says using it during online assessments, or to answer interview questions, isn't permitted.

What is the Shell On-Demand Interview?

It's a recorded video interview that graduates take after the Virtual Job Tryout. Shell says you get time to prepare each question before recording, you can save your progress, and you must finish within seven days of the invitation.

Shell's guide to the On-Demand Video Interview describes five questions from recent Shell graduate hires, 30 seconds to prepare each answer and 3 minutes to record. Follow the timings in your own invitation if they differ.

Shell's recruiters say they look at the context and quality of your answers, not how comfortable you are on camera. Their tips:

• Research Shell and the programme. Recruiters want to know why you want to work for Shell and what you'd bring.
• Use STAR (situation, task, action, result), and include what you learned.
• Say "I", not "we". Make clear what you contributed, even in a team example.
• Practise with a timer by recording yourself.

Our guide to one-way video interviews covers the format in more detail.

What happens at the Shell phone interview?

For experienced professionals, a successful application in most cases leads to a phone interview with your recruiter within two weeks. Shell's experienced professionals page says the recruiter discusses the role, your experience and your expectations, and you can ask about the role and working at Shell. Some positions add an initial interview with the hiring manager.

What is the Shell Final Assessment?

It's the last stage before an offer, and its form depends on your route:

• Graduates and assessed interns take a virtual case study session with two Shell employees. Shell sends the information you need in advance. Graduate Programme applicants then have a virtual interview with the same two employees.
• Experienced professionals are invited within about three weeks of a successful interview. The Final Assessment may be an interview on the core technical or behavioural competencies for the role, a presentation, or a scenario-based exercise. Shell aims to tell you the outcome within a few days.
• Operations & Maintenance candidates who most closely meet the requirements are invited to register for an interview slot. Shell asks for examples in the STARR form: situation, task, action, relationships and results.

What happens after you get a Shell offer?

Graduates who pass Stage Two may be offered a place on the Shell Graduate Programme or the Shell Assessed Internship Programme, depending on the roles available. Graduate intake dates fall in February, May, August or November, and Shell says the months on offer vary by country. The Graduate Programme lasts at least three years.

Reapplying

Shell applies a 10-month rule to graduate applications:

What interview questions does Shell ask?

Mostly competency questions. One of Shell's graduate recruiters puts it plainly: "We mostly ask competency questions as opposed to technical questions." Shell evaluates answers with the STAR method.

Shell's recruiters also use CAR to assess graduates, online or face to face:

• Capacity: analysing a situation and proposing solutions.
• Achievement: delivering results, with resilience, and learning from them.
• Relationships: working effectively with others in a diverse team.

Questions 1 to 3 below are examples Shell's recruiter gives. The rest are questions to prepare for, built on CAR and Shell's core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people.

1. Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult stakeholder.

One of Shell's own examples. Pick a real disagreement with a client, manager or project partner. Explain what each side needed, what you did to keep things moving and the result. This is a Relationships question, so show you kept the working relationship intact.

2. What is your greatest achievement, and how did you achieve it?

Another Shell example, and the Achievement part of CAR. Spend most of your answer on the "how": the obstacles, what you did yourself and what you'd do differently. Big or small doesn't matter as much as your personal contribution.

3. How have you gone about building relationships?

Shell's third example. Describe a specific relationship you built from nothing, such as a new team, a society or a supplier, and the steps you took. Show you kept it going after the first contact.

4. Why Shell, and why this role?

Shell's recruiters want to know why you want to work for Shell, how your skills would help, and how Shell would help your career. Name the business area you applied to and connect it to your experience. For graduates, Shell's video interview tips say to research the programme as well as the company.

5. Tell me about a time you analysed a problem and proposed a solution.

This tests Capacity. Set out the problem, the information you gathered, the options you weighed and why you chose yours. Shell looks for solutions that serve the wider goal, so link yours to what the team or organisation needed.

6. Tell me about a time you learned from feedback.

Shell names adaptability to learning and growing from feedback as a trait of successful graduates. Give the feedback, what you changed and the evidence it worked.

7. Tell me about a time you moved outside your comfort zone to learn something new.

A Shell graduate recruiter says strong applicants have examples of moving outside their comfort zone to learn new skills or behaviours. Choose an example with a clear before and after.

8. Describe a time you worked in a diverse team.

Relationships again, and Shell's value of respect for people. Show how you drew on different views and how you handled a difference of opinion.

9. Tell me about a time you spoke up about something that wasn't right.

Shell says it encourages staff to speak up, under its value of honesty. Choose a real, proportionate example: a safety concern, an error you spotted or a rule being skipped. Explain how you raised it and what happened.

10. Tell me about a time something didn't go to plan.

Shell's recruiters say they want the result whether it was good or bad, and a reflection afterwards is even better. Be honest about the outcome and spend time on what you learned.

11. Tell me about a time you resolved a conflict.

Shell's interview tips name handling conflict as a typical competency question. Use STAR, describe both sides fairly and finish with how the relationship worked afterwards.

12. For Operations & Maintenance: tell me about a time you worked with others to get a job done safely.

Shell asks O&M candidates to answer in the STARR form, which adds Relationships: who else was involved and how you motivated them. Shell describes these roles as responsible for safe, efficient day-to-day operations, so a safety example fits.

13. Do you have any questions for us?

Ask about the team, the first projects in the role or, for graduates, how rotations and development plans work. Shell says graduates co-create a development plan with their line manager.

How to prepare for the Shell online assessment and interviews

1. Clear time in the week after you apply. For graduate roles the invitation arrives within 24 hours and you have seven days.
2. Do the Virtual Job Tryout somewhere quiet, in one sitting if you can, with a reliable connection.
3. Prepare six to eight STAR stories that cover Capacity, Achievement and Relationships. Our list of behavioural interview questions gives you more to practise on.
4. Record yourself answering with 30 seconds to think, to get used to the On-Demand Interview.
5. Read the case study pack carefully before Stage Two; Shell provides what you need in advance.
6. For experienced roles, ask your recruiter whether the Final Assessment is an interview, a presentation or an exercise.
7. Do a mock interview with someone who will push you for detail on your own contribution.
8. Keep AI to preparation. Shell doesn't permit it during assessments or interviews.

Practising realistic work tasks

Shell's Virtual Job Tryout puts you into simulations of the job. Cohesyve, which publishes this guide, runs practice job simulations for your role, with a scored report on where you lost marks. It isn't affiliated with Shell and doesn't use Shell's assessments or questions.

FAQs

How long is the Shell online assessment?

For graduates, Shell says the Virtual Job Tryout and On-Demand Interview take about 40 minutes together, and you have seven days from the invitation to finish. Shell doesn't publish a length for the experienced-hire or Operations & Maintenance assessments.

What does the Shell Virtual Job Tryout test?

Shell says it uses job simulations to see how you tackle challenges, solve problems and approach work, and lets you share your story. It doesn't publish question types or scoring.

Can I retake the Shell online assessment?

For graduate and assessed internship applications, you can reapply after 10 months. For Operations & Maintenance roles, you can't retake within four months of your last attempt, and a pass is kept on file for five years.

Does Shell ask technical questions in interviews?

Mostly not. Shell's graduate recruiter says it mostly asks competency questions. Experienced-hire Final Assessments can cover the core technical competencies for the role.

Do I need energy industry experience to join Shell?

It depends on the role. Shell says many technical roles need experience in a similar job, while most commercial roles rely on general business knowledge.

Does Shell charge a fee to apply or for a job?

No. Shell says it never asks applicants for money at any stage, and nor does anyone recruiting on its behalf.

Sources

Shell's own pages, checked 27 October 2026:

• shell.com: Application process for Experienced Professionals
• shell.com: Details on the graduate programme and how to apply
• shell.com: FAQs: Students and Graduates
• shell.com: Application process for Operations & Maintenance
• shell.com: 4 tips to excel in a Shell face-to-face interview
• shell.com: 7 tips to prepare for an online video interview
• shell.com: 4 ways to stand out as a candidate
• shell.com: Introduction to AI use in applications
• shell.com: Careers FAQs and Tips to apply successfully
• shell.com: Recruitment scams
• shell.com: Our values