Applying to PJT Partners for summer 2028? PJT asks every applicant to complete a Suited assessment with the application. Try Suited's tests below in the real format, then read what each part measures, how long it takes, who sees your results and how to prepare.
Key facts
- Required: PJT calls a Suited assessment, linked in the job description, a required component of the application. The 2028 Houston posting links it under the application instructions.1,2
- When: Apply on PJT's Workday site, then create your Suited account from the posting's link with the same email. There is no Submit button: a "Profile Complete" badge shows you are done.2,3
- Parts: A Suited profile has three parts: the Behavioral Assessment, the Cognitive Skills Assessment and your academic and background details. PJT asks you to answer every question through to the end.5,2
- Time: About 30 minutes once you have registered and verified your account, and free for candidates. The behavioral part takes about 20 minutes with no clock; the cognitive part is timed at 15 minutes.4,7,6
- Cognitive part: Attention to detail, critical thinking and logical reasoning, each on its own clock after an untimed instructions page. There are more questions than anyone finishes, and wrong answers may count against you.6,8
- Retakes: You can retake the assessment every 9 months, which means once per recruiting cycle. One finished profile serves every Suited firm you apply to: you authorize each one to see it.4,5
- Who sees it: Only the firms you authorize see your results, and none can see where else you applied. Suited does not show candidates their results; what you are told is up to the firm.4,5
- How PJT uses it: PJT says Suited adds data to the rest of its process and is not weighted more than other evaluation factors. Suited does not make hiring decisions.1,4
Each firm reads your results against its own model of the bankers who thrive there, so there is no universal pass mark, and the same profile can fit some firms better than others.4,5
Try the tests
Suited's three cognitive tests and its behavioral part, a few questions each at the real test's pace, on the same screens as the app. Each one opens in its own window, with a report at the end.
Attention to detail
Two timed parts: are two strings exactly the same, then which of four sets match a first one character for character.
19 questions · 1:35
Logical reasoning
One or two facts and four conclusions. Mark each True, False or Uncertain from the facts alone.
12 conclusions · 2:00
Critical thinking
Number sequences with one term missing. Find the rule and type the number.
5 series · 1:30
Behavioral assessment
Statements, pairs and points on how you work. No right answers and no clock.
8 questions · no clock
What the PJT Partners online assessment looks like
The link
Apply for your posting on PJT's Workday site. The posting itself carries the Suited link: create your account there with the same email you used for PJT, so the two match up. You can also set up a Suited profile ahead of time and authorize PJT when you apply.2,3,4
Your profile
Add your academic and background details and your resume, then take the two assessments. PJT asks you to answer every question through to the end. There is no Submit button; the profile shows "Profile Complete" when everything is in.2,5,4
The behavioral part
Rating items on a five-point scale and pairs where you pick the statement more like you. It takes about 20 minutes, has no clock and need not be done in one sitting. Answer as you are at work, not with friends, and at a steady pace.7
The cognitive part
Three sections, attention to detail, critical thinking and logical reasoning, 15 minutes in all. Each opens on an untimed page with a sample, and the clock starts only when you move on. You cannot go back to a finished section or return to the test later, so start it on a laptop, rested, with scratch paper beside you.6,8
After you finish
Your results go to PJT, and to any other firm you authorize. PJT's recruiters and professionals review applications and choose who to interview, and Suited is one input among several, not weighted more than the rest.1,4
The parts of PJT's Suited assessment
- Behavioral About 20 min
- Rating items and pairs on traits, values and stress response; no clock and no right profile.
- Cognitive 15 min
- Attention to detail, critical thinking and logical reasoning, each on its own clock.
- Profile details Untimed
- Academic and background details, and your resume.
- Retake Every 9 months
- Once per recruiting cycle, so one sitting counts for the whole season.
Suited's banking resource center gives the parts and clocks; its current students page gives the length and the retake rule. PJT's posting asks for the whole survey, through to the end.5,6,7,4,2
Before you start Suited
- Submit your PJT application first, then use the Suited link in your posting.
- Register on Suited with the same email as your PJT application.
- Set aside 45 quiet minutes: about 30 for the assessment, plus registration.
- A laptop or desktop, not a phone, for the timed cognitive part.
- A notepad for the number series.
- Ask Suited about accommodations before you start the cognitive part, not after.
- Check for the "Profile Complete" badge before you close the page.
The sections, one by one
Suited names three cognitive skills for analysts and shows a sample of each; these have right answers. The behavioral items measure traits, values and how you handle stress, and have no right profile.8,10,7
- Attention to detail: Two strings side by side: exactly the same, or different in any way?
- Critical thinking: A number series with one term blank: find the rule and type the number.
- Logical reasoning: One or two facts, then conclusions to mark True, False or Uncertain.
- Traits and values: Rating items and pairs on how you work, from taking charge to working with others.
- Stress response: Your preferred way of handling tight deadlines and changing priorities: active coping, positive reframing or social support.
Here is each part as it appears in Intervyo, on Suited's screens: a plain blue-gray page, an untimed instructions page with a sample before each timed section, and the clock starting only when you select Next. Suited's banking guide shows a sample of each cognitive section, and the behavioral part follows. Each block says what the part checks and how to answer it well.6,8,9
1.Attention to detailTwo timed parts
Suited's sample is rows of paired strings split by a colon, such as jPXgt : jPXgt, and you mark each pair Same or Different. In the 2024 banking sitting a second part followed: a first set of characters with copies under it, where you tick every exact copy, or No Match. Each part opens on an untimed page with a sample.8,6,9
What it measures: Being careful and thorough with detail: spotting a one-character change at speed, the kind of slip that ends up in a model or a pitch book.
How to answer it well
- 1Compare in chunks of two or three characters rather than the whole string at once.
- 2Watch for lookalikes, such as G and 6, O and 0, l and 1, and a capital that has turned lowercase.
- 3Settle each row once and move on. Going back over a row costs time you need for the next.
- 4Leave a row you cannot settle rather than guess. Suited says wrong answers may count against you.
Best guessSuited gives only the 15-minute total for the cognitive part. In the 2024 banking sitting the two attention to detail parts ran 1 and 3 minutes.
2.Logical reasoningTimed section
One or two facts at the top, then conclusions under them, which you mark True if the facts guarantee it, False if they rule it out and Uncertain if they settle neither. Suited's own sample pairs "There are no swimmers that aren't tall" with "There are no divers that aren't swimmers".8,6,9
What it measures: Applying logic to the information in front of you and reaching only the conclusions it supports.
How to answer it well
- 1Rewrite double negatives as plain rules: "no swimmers that aren't tall" means every swimmer is tall.
- 2Judge each conclusion against the facts only. Suited says everything you need is in the question.
- 3A conclusion is Uncertain unless the facts force it one way. Could be true is not True.
- 4Read the direction of each rule: all swimmers are tall does not make every tall person a swimmer.
Best guessIn the 2024 banking sitting this section ran 5 minutes, with four conclusions to a set.
3.Critical thinkingTimed section
A number series built by a fixed rule, with one term shown as ____, and a box where you type the missing number. Suited's sample is the doubling series 2, 4, 8, ____, 32, 64, 128, 256. The arithmetic is light, and Suited suggests a notepad.8,6,9
What it measures: Analyzing information and finding the pattern in it, then applying it without slips.
How to answer it well
- 1Check the gaps between terms first, then the ratios, then whether two series alternate.
- 2Test your rule on the terms after the blank as well as before it.
- 3Type only the number. Skip a series you cannot crack rather than guess at it.
Best guessIn the 2024 banking sitting this section ran 5 minutes.
4.BehavioralUntimed, about 20 minutes
Statements you rate on a five-point scale, from very much like you to not like you at all, and pairs where you say which of two statements is more like you, and by how much. There is no clock, and you need not finish in one sitting. Suited reads all your answers together against a model of the bankers who do well at each firm.7,10,9
What it measures: Traits and values that show how you work, and your preferred style under stress: active coping, positive reframing or social support. It measures how you like to handle pressure, not whether you can.
How to answer it well
- 1Answer as an employee at work, not as you are with friends.
- 2On a pair you are only saying which statement is more like you, not that it describes you well.
- 3Don't overthink single items or race. Keep a steady pace; no one answer decides anything.
Best guessThe 2024 banking sitting had 96 questions and also asked you to share 10 points among three statements on handling stress.
Practice items and how to approach them
Attention to detail (practice)"Intervyo practice item, attention to detail: the first set is NVQ-28/HOU-0417. Tick every exact copy, or No Match. (1) NVQ-28/HOU-0417 (2) NVQ-28/H0U-0417 (3) NVQ-28/HOU-0471 (4) NVQ-28/HOU-0417"8,9
- 1This is our own practice item in a format Suited uses; it is not a Suited question.
- 2Split the first set into chunks: NVQ, 28, HOU, 0417.
- 3Check each copy chunk by chunk, watching for a letter swapped for a lookalike digit.
- 4More than one copy can match, so check all four before you move on.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
(1) and (4). Copy (2) has a zero in place of the O in HOU, and copy (3) swaps the last two digits to 0471.
Logical reasoning (practice)"Intervyo practice item, logical reasoning: no analysts on the coverage team are associates. All analysts on the coverage team work in the Houston office. The coverage team has three analysts. Mark each True, False or Uncertain. (a) Some people in the Houston office are not associates. (b) No associates work in the Houston office. (c) Some analysts on the coverage team are associates."8
- 1This is our own practice item in Suited's True, False or Uncertain format; it is not a Suited question.
- 2Rewrite the facts as rules: coverage analysts are never associates; every coverage analyst is in Houston.
- 3Don't assume a group has members. A "some" conclusion needs a fact that says someone exists, as the third fact does here.
- 4Mark True only when the facts force it, and False only when they rule it out.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
(a) True: the three coverage analysts work in Houston and none of them is an associate. Without the third fact, (a) would be Uncertain. (b) Uncertain: the facts say nothing about associates outside the coverage team. (c) False: the first fact rules it out.
Critical thinking (practice)"Intervyo practice item, critical thinking: what number fills the gap? 2, 3, 6, 11, 18, ____, 38"8
- 1This is our own practice item in Suited's number-series format; it is not a Suited question.
- 2Check the gaps first: +1, +3, +5, +7. Each gap grows by 2.
- 3Use the term after the blank to check your answer.
- 4If gaps don't settle it, try ratios, then two alternating series.
Example answer, written by Intervyo (not a real candidate)
27. The gaps run +1, +3, +5, +7, +9, +11, so 18 + 9 = 27, and 27 + 11 = 38 checks it.
Behavioral (practice)"Intervyo practice item, behavioral pair: which is more like you at work, and by how much? [1] "I would rather rebuild a model myself than send it back with notes." [2] "I like to check my approach with a colleague before I commit to it.""7,10
- 1This is our own practice item in Suited's forced-choice style; it is not a Suited question.
- 2Picture yourself on a team at work, as Suited asks, not in your free time.
- 3Choose the statement that is more often true of you, even if both are partly true.
- 4Then pick much more or more like you, honestly, and move on at a steady pace.
Tip: Every firm has its own picture of success, and Suited looks at how traits combine. Answering as the ideal banker tends to blur your results rather than lift them.
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How long to hear back after the online assessment
Suited sits inside the application, so first rounds follow on PJT's usual clock. For summer 2027 in New York, the online test came before the first round, and the whole process ran in under a month.11,12,1
Nov 4, 2026 (summer 2028)
Strategic Advisory, Houston
PJT's first summer 2028 posting went up on Workday, with the Suited assessment in its application instructions.2
Feb 2026 (summer 2027)
Strategic Advisory, New York
A skills test, a personality test, a first round and a four-interview superday, all in under a month.12
Jan 2026 (summer 2027)
PCA, Financial Sponsors, New York
A personality test online, then a 20-minute two on one first round.11
Jan 2, 2026 (summer 2027)
US Summer Analyst
The main US posting opened for Boston, Houston, New York and San Francisco, with a May 25, 2026 deadline.13
PJT says Suited is not weighted more than other evaluation factors, so your resume, networking and first round still carry the decision.1
Best guessFinish Suited the same day you apply, so your application is complete when PJT starts picking first rounds. Outside Houston, expect the summer 2028 postings around early January 2027.
What happens after the online assessment
Online application
A PDF resume with graduation month and year and GPA on PJT's Workday site.2
Suited assessmentYou are here
This page. Required with the application, from the link in the posting: a behavioral part and a 15-minute cognitive part.1,2,6
First round
A short first round, 20 minutes two on one in PCA, with behavioral and technical questions.11
Superday
Four interviews in Strategic Advisory: two behavioral, one markets and one case study.12
Cognitive part vs behavioral part
The two halves of Suited reward different approaches. Focus helps the first; honesty helps the second.
What it reads
Attention to detail, critical thinking and logical reasoning.8
Traits, values and your stress response style.10
Clock
15 minutes in all, each section timed.6
No clock; about 20 minutes, and not in one sitting if you prefer.7
Right answers
FAQ
Does PJT Partners use Suited?
Yes. PJT says completing a Suited assessment, linked in the job description, is a required part of the application, and its 2028 Houston posting carries the link.1,2
How long is the PJT Suited assessment?
About 30 minutes once you have registered. The behavioral part takes about 20 minutes with no clock, and the cognitive part is timed at 15 minutes across three sections.4,6,7
What is in the Suited Cognitive Skills Assessment?
Three timed sections: attention to detail (are two strings the same or different), critical thinking (a number series with a term missing) and logical reasoning (True, False or Uncertain from a set of facts). Each opens with an untimed sample.6,8
Can you prepare for Suited?
Suited says you cannot study for it, but you can set up well: rested, on a laptop, with a notepad, and reading each sample before the clock starts. Practicing the three formats makes the timed part feel familiar. For the behavioral part, answer honestly from how you are at work.6,7
Should I guess on the Suited cognitive questions?
No. Suited says there is no advantage to guessing, as wrong answers may affect your score, and that there are more questions than anyone can answer in the time. Aim to get as many right as you can.6
Can I retake the Suited assessment?
Every 9 months, which means once per recruiting cycle. If another Suited firm invites you, you log in and authorize it to see the profile you already have.4,5
Will I see my Suited results?
Suited does not share results with candidates, as they rest on confidential models of what drives success at each firm. It is up to PJT what it tells you.5
Online assessment at other firms
Sources
Firm pages first, then dated candidate reports. Last checked Nov 9, 2026.
- 1PJT Partners: Students
- 2PJT Partners (Workday): 2028 Summer Analyst - Strategic Advisory (Houston)
- 3PJT Partners (Workday): 2027 Summer Analyst - Strategic Advisory (San Francisco)
- 4Suited: For students
- 5Suited: Resource Guide for Investment Banking Candidates
- 6Suited: How to prepare for and respond to the Cognitive Skills Assessment
- 7Suited: How to prepare for and respond to the behavioral assessment
- 8Suited: What's measured (Cognitive Skills Assessment)
- 9assessmentpass: Huolihan Lokey Online Assessment Walkthrough (May 2024) · prep site
- 10Suited: What's measured (behavioral assessment)
- 11Candidate report on a public forum: PCA Summer Analyst interview, Financial Sponsors, New York (Jan 2026)
- 12Candidate report on a public forum: Strategic Advisory interview, New York (Feb 2026)
- 13Gradbeam: PJT Partners 2027 Summer Analyst: Applications closed · prep site
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