In-tray and e-tray

About this practice suite

This suite prepares candidates for in-tray and e-tray selection in the business, consulting, management, and operations sector with 5 skill areas: in-tray and e-tray exercises, planning and scheduling exercises, situational judgment, written communication and multitasking and monitoring. Every question was written by Novus editors for this suite — none are taken from live or leaked exams — and the full bank holds 52 scored questions across three modes, plus 8 reserve questions used to vary repeat attempts. Answer keys never ship to the browser: your answers are scored server-side, and results stay on your device.

Skills this suite practises

• In-tray and e-tray exercises — Prioritizing messages, deadlines, stakeholders, and competing tasks.
• Planning and scheduling exercises — Resources, dependencies, deadlines, constraints, and contingency planning.
• Situational judgment — Evaluating workplace responses against role-relevant principles.
• Written communication — Grammar, vocabulary, sentence correction, clarity, tone, proofreading, and workplace writing.
• Multitasking and monitoring — Tracking multiple streams, priorities, alerts, and changing conditions.

Sample questions from the guided bank

Two of the 10 guided-practice questions, shown exactly as they appear in a session. Answers and explanations are not printed here — keys stay on the server — so open guided practice to answer them and see how you did.

1. Inbox at 09:05: (1) CEO asks for a 2-line risk note by 10:00 for a board call; (2) colleague FYI newsletter; (3) vendor pitch. Best first action?

   • A. Draft/confirm the CEO risk note; park FYI and pitch
   • B. Read the newsletter fully
   • C. Debate the vendor for an hour
   • D. Ignore the CEO until after lunch

2. Email thread: a junior asks you to approve a customer credit outside your authority. Best?

   • A. Approve anyway to be helpful
   • B. Ignore the email
   • C. Decline politely; route to the authorized approver with the needed facts
   • D. Approve and hide it from Finance

Practice modes and timing

Guided practice is untimed-feeling and instructional; the mini-test is a short timed check; the full simulation mirrors a complete sitting. All three draw on separate question sets, so moving up a mode never repeats what you practised.

Study outline

Read the study outline for this suite’s skills, timings, and recommended lessons on one printable page, or download its standalone HTML file. The printable page can also be saved as a PDF from your browser.