How to score 90+ on the HireLyf assessment

The HireLyf assessment is short — about 10 minutes — but it is designed to separate candidates who understand fundamentals from those who memorised buzzwords. The good news: it rewards exactly the things you should already be strong at as a fresh graduate. Here is a practical guide to scoring 90 and above.

Know the structure first

The test has 20 questions across four sections, worth 25 points each:

• SQL — 5 questions: WHERE vs HAVING, JOINs, GROUP BY, and aggregate functions.
• Coding — 5 questions: arrays, stacks, queues, searching, sorting, and complexity.
• English — 5 questions: grammar, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and sentence correction.
• Aptitude — 5 questions: speed, percentages, work-and-time, number series, and profit/loss.

Each question is multiple choice with one correct answer. There are no trick questions — only fundamentals applied cleanly.

Coding: master complexity, not edge cases

Most Coding questions test whether you know the time and space complexity of common operations. Be fluent in these without thinking: array index access is O(1), binary search is O(log n), merge sort is O(n log n) in all cases and needs O(n) extra space, and a stack is LIFO while a queue (used in BFS) is FIFO. If you can recite these cold, you will clear the Coding section.

SQL: read the question literally

SQL questions reward precision. Remember that WHERE filters rows before grouping and HAVING filters groups after GROUP BY. Know that a LEFT JOIN returns all rows from the left table even when there is no match on the right, and that COUNT() counts rows. Read each option slowly — the wrong answers are usually close-but-not-quite.

English: read every option before you answer

The English section rewards careful reading more than vocabulary tricks. For grammar and sentence-correction questions, read the full sentence and test each option in place rather than picking the first that sounds right. For comprehension, the answer is always supported by the passage — never by outside knowledge. Eliminate options that overstate or contradict the text and you will clear this section comfortably.

Aptitude: write down one line of working

Aptitude is where rushing costs marks. For a train covering 120 km in 2 hours, the speed is simply 120 ÷ 2 = 60 km/h. For combined work, add the rates: 1/10 + 1/15 = 1/6, so six days. One line of working per question prevents silly errors and is faster than re-reading.

Protect your integrity score

The assessment monitors tab switching and window focus. Switching away repeatedly can flag your attempt. Close other tabs, silence notifications, and treat it like a real exam. A clean attempt with an honest 85 is worth far more than a flagged 95.

The 48-hour rule

Do not cram the night before and take it exhausted. Revise complexity tables and SQL clauses over two short sessions, sleep well, and attempt it when you are fresh. Fundamentals plus a clear head is the whole formula.