Arctic Shores Reddit: What Candidates Report and What Holds Up

Reddit threads rank well for Arctic Shores searches. They are unfiltered, which makes them useful and unreliable at once. We read about 25 public threads from 2023 to 2026, in subreddits including r/Airbus, r/UKJobs, r/degreeapprenticeships and r/TheCivilService, and checked each recurring claim against what Arctic Shores publishes. Posts are paraphrased, with no usernames.

In short: candidates' descriptions of the experience mostly match Arctic Shores' own, but the confident claims about scoring, perfect scores and neurodivergent candidates go further than anything Arctic Shores publishes, and some conflict with what it does say.

The "what was that?" reaction

Confusion is a recurring reaction. The title of one r/UKJobs thread about Arctic Shores assessments asks, with an added expletive, what that was. Posters call tasks such as Tickets fast and confusing.

What Arctic Shores confirms. Some of this is by design. Arctic Shores says there are no direct questions with definitive answers, no written or spoken responses, and no test of knowledge or past experience. It describes the tasks as measuring "enablers", such as how you focus, learn and work out problems, and says it "can't spill all our secrets" about what each task measures.

Which tasks people got

• Airbus graduate programme, September 2025. Several candidates reported three tasks: Tickets, Expressions (some called it Emotions) and Security. One said the invitation estimated 15 to 20 minutes. Others reported a Day and Night task, which is Predict.
• r/UKJobs, February 2025. One poster said they had nine tests: the usual eight games plus Patterns.

Posters also said Amazon apprenticeships, PwC, UK Civil Service roles and FDM Group used it; the employers have not confirmed this.

What Arctic Shores confirms. Its candidate guidance says "up to nine tasks", and its help centre says the employer chooses them. Both line-ups fit that. What it leaves open: Arctic Shores publishes no task list, so the task names, on Reddit and here, come from candidate reports and prep sites. The Arctic Shores assessment guide collects the 15 tasks candidates and prep sites have described.

Tasks candidates find hard

Tickets

Candidates report a number inside a shape at the top or bottom of the screen. One position means judging whether the number is odd or even; the other means judging the shape. Several called it the hardest task: fast and confusing, with the rule reminders reportedly disappearing later. See the Tickets task guide.

Predict (Day and Night)

Candidates report pairs of abstract icons and about three seconds to predict Day or Night, with the outcome shown after each answer. One poster felt they were still guessing at 50/50 after doing it twice for other roles, and an r/recruitinghell thread asks for help with the Day and Night task. See the Predict task guide.

Expressions

Posters describe the faces as subtle, and some say they look AI-generated. One poster advised taking your time because the task is not about speed, and some suggest Paul Ekman's micro-expression training. Neither the claim about speed nor the value of the training is verified. There is more in an r/Airbus thread on the facial expressions task and in the Expressions task guide.

What Arctic Shores confirms. Nothing specific about these three. It says there is no right or wrong way to approach the tasks, and that multiple tasks measure multiple traits, so how hard one task felt may say little about your overall result.

The Security myths

Candidates report a shaded sector sweeping round a ring of digits. You stop it on the target digit to build each code, and a miss sends you back to the start. It is reported as untimed, and candidates often stop after 5 to 15 minutes.

Two claims contradict each other. One commenter said the lock cannot really be finished, that only persistence is measured, and that 10 to 15 minutes is "optimal". Another said they finished in about 30 minutes. Neither claim is verified.

What Arctic Shores says. In an April 2024 podcast episode on the Arctic Shores website, occupational psychologist Jill Summers described the task as stopping a dial on a number to unlock a series of codes and open the safe. She said the dial speed adapts to the candidate, and that the task measures processing speed and perseverance. So persistence is part of the story, not all of it, and no official source gives an ideal time or explains the scoring. The Security task guide covers the reported mechanics.

The practice debate

• The perfect-score AMA. In an r/Airbus AMA claiming a perfect score, the poster said they studied for 4 to 5 hours and urged others to ignore the official advice to be yourself. Other commenters said they scored the same without preparing, and some accused the poster of cheating.
• Repetition. Another commenter said they did badly at first and improved as they got used to the format. That is their impression; we could not verify it.
• Regret. A candidate on r/Airbus in September 2026 said they had not practised, thinking you couldn't, and felt they would have done better if they had.

What Arctic Shores says. Its help centre says "no practice is needed", but that getting familiar with the format is "totally fine". It points you to the practice task inside the assessment, which does not count towards your score.

Arctic Shores also warns that outside guides may be misleading and that using them leads to poor or invalid measures, making you less likely to progress. That warning covers sites like this one. And because its candidate guidance says there is "no better or worse", and its help centre says either end of a scale means more distinctive behaviour, a perfect score is hard to interpret.

Our position. Arctic Shores' "totally fine" comes with a pointer to its own practice task, not to sites like ours. If you still want to see the reported formats, controls and pace before the day, that is what our Arctic Shores task simulations are for. They are independent recreations built from candidate reports, not the real tasks, and practice results are not Arctic Shores scores. We do not claim practice improves your results. See whether you can practise for Arctic Shores.

Results anxiety and 4/4 scores

Posters share scores such as 4/4 and 3/4 and ask whether they are good enough. One was told they quickly notice patterns, yet felt they had done worst on the Patterns task.

A commenter who identified themselves as an Airbus graduate programme recruiter (r/Airbus, September 2026) said that:

• Airbus processes results the next morning and emails candidates who have not passed;
• the scores candidates see, such as 4-4-3, are not in the same format as what Airbus receives;
• criteria depend on the role, and passing is not simply about having more points;
• the Under Review and Assessment portal statuses are functionally the same stage.

Treat this as one employer's practice, as reported by a self-identified recruiter; we could not verify it.

What Arctic Shores confirms. Its help centre describes a four-point scale for each dimension; its candidate guidance describes a 1 to 10 spectrum. The guidance says there is no better or worse, and the help centre says either end means your behaviour is more distinctive than that of most similar candidates.

Results are compared with the behaviours that matter for the specific role, and there is "no single way to 'pass'". What it leaves open: the exact format of what the employer receives (it says only that the employer sees how you performed in the areas assessed) and where any threshold sits. The guide to your Arctic Shores feedback report explains the scales.

Neurodivergent candidates' concerns

Several neurodivergent and autistic posters worry that the tasks, especially Expressions, put them at a disadvantage. An r/TheCivilService thread from January 2025 asking whether the format discriminates had 42 comments when we read it, and similar worries appear in an r/degreeapprenticeships thread on neurodivergent candidates. One poster called these tests neurodivergent filters.

A hearsay post. In December 2025, a poster in r/degreeapprenticeships said they knew the founder and relayed a conversation: the face task is included because research links it to teamwork, internal data on about 200 candidates showed similar performance for neurodivergent and neurotypical candidates, and disclosure unlocks support in the assessment. This is second-hand and unverified; we found nothing published on the teamwork rationale or the data on about 200 candidates. The point about disclosure does fit the official adjustment routes below.

What Arctic Shores says. It acknowledges that assessments can be challenging, particularly for neurodivergent or disabled candidates, and offers reasonable adjustments through two routes explained in the invitation:

1. Contact the employer through the support email before you start. The employer reviews, applies and confirms the adjustment.
2. Self-declare by ticking the adjustments you need from a list. They are applied automatically.

If you are unsure, or nothing fits, contact the employer. Adjustments cannot be applied once you have started, and the help centre does not publish the list. In the UK, employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled job applicants; Acas guidance explains this in general terms. More in our guide to Arctic Shores adjustments and neurodiversity.

Reddit claims: what holds up and what doesn't

• Holds up: the line-up depends on the employer. Arctic Shores says the employer chooses the tasks, up to nine.
• Holds up: neither end of a scale is simply "better". Arctic Shores' candidate guidance says there is "no better or worse", and its help centre says either end of the four-point scale means your behaviour is more distinctive than most similar candidates'.
• Partly holds up: Security measures persistence. Officially, it measures processing speed and perseverance.
• Unverified: Security cannot be finished. Another commenter said they finished it; that is unverified too.
• Unverified: a perfect score after a few hours of study. Disputed in the same thread.
• Unverified: practice or repetition improves results. These are individual impressions. Arctic Shores says no practice is needed and warns that outside guides can lead to poor or invalid measures.
• Does not hold up as a rule: more points means a pass. Arctic Shores says there is no single way to pass.
• One employer's practice: results processed the next morning at Airbus. From a self-identified recruiter, not confirmed.
• Hearsay: neurodiversity data on about 200 candidates. Nothing published.
• Opinion: which task is hardest. Several posters called Tickets the hardest; Predict and Expressions also draw complaints.

How to use Reddit advice before your assessment

1. Start from the official facts. Use the practice task in the assessment, a quiet space and a stable connection, turn off notifications, read each task's instructions and approach each task naturally, as Arctic Shores advises. Arctic Shores also has a public demo page with a practice task it says takes about five minutes.
2. Decide on adjustments before you start. Once you begin, it is too late. If unsure, ask the employer through the support email first.
3. Treat forum claims as anecdotes. One poster's line-up or score reflects one employer and one role.
4. Learn the format if it helps, knowing Arctic Shores advises against outside guides. The Arctic Shores preparation guide and task guides are free to read. Our simulations are independent recreations, not the real tasks; playing them needs the HireVue Games Prep plan or Full Access (see pricing).

FAQs

Is Reddit reliable for Arctic Shores advice?

It is useful for what the experience feels like and which tasks some employers used, not for how scoring works. Most threads describe one person and one employer.

Is the Arctic Shores Security task impossible to finish?

That is one commenter's unverified claim; another, also unverified, said they finished in about 30 minutes. Arctic Shores has described unlocking codes to open a safe, with a dial that adapts to you.

Does a 4/4 score mean I passed?

Not necessarily. Arctic Shores' help centre says either end of its four-point scale means your behaviour is more distinctive than most similar candidates', its candidate guidance says there is "no better or worse", and it says there is no single way to pass. A self-identified Airbus recruiter also said criteria depend on the role.

How do I ask for an adjustment on Arctic Shores?

Use one of the two routes in your invitation, contacting the employer or self-declaring from the list, before you start. Adjustments cannot be added afterwards.

Sources

• Arctic Shores candidate guidance: up to nine tasks, 1 to 10 spectrum, no better or worse.
• Arctic Shores help centre: assessment, tasks, format, overview, practice, report, results and adjustments (requests).
• Arctic Shores podcast insight with an occupational psychologist: the Security task.
• Arctic Shores demo task and Acas guidance on reasonable adjustments.
• Reddit: the threads linked above and an r/degreeapprenticeships thread on uneven results. These are individual reports, not official policy.

Candidate Falcon is independent and not affiliated with Arctic Shores.