Plum Assessment Answers: What Exists, What Does Not, and What Works
Luca from Candidate Falcon
Editorial Team
"Plum assessment answers" is one of the most searched phrases about the Plum Discovery Survey. People search for it before Citi, Bloomberg, Deloitte Canada or Whirlpool applications, and they find PDFs, Scribd uploads, Chegg questions and Reddit threads.
This guide explains, section by section, which parts of the Plum assessment have right answers at all, what those answer documents really contain, and what actually helps.
The short answer
- Two of the five sections have no right answers. Plum's FAQ says sections 1 and 3 are a personality test.
- The puzzles have right answers, but no fixed key helps. Plum says they range from easy to very hard and your score is compared with other test takers.
- The scenarios have better and worse answers, but Plum does not publish its key.
- Your result depends on the role. Plum compares your profile with the Match Criteria the employer set for that job, so the same answers can fit one role and not another.
Section by section: where "answers" exist
| Section | What you do (Plum's FAQ) | Is there a right answer? |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Statements | Choose the statement most and least like you | No: personality |
| 2. Problem solving | Select the missing puzzle piece in a sequence | Yes, one per puzzle |
| 3. Adjectives | Choose the words most and least like you | No: personality |
| 4. Problem solving | A second puzzle series | Yes, one per puzzle |
| 5. Workplace situations | Decide which responses are most and least effective | Better and worse, but no public key |
Why a Plum answer key cannot work
The personality sections are matched, not marked
Plum's FAQ is unusually direct: doing "well" or "poorly" is "more a matter of how much of a fit a person is" for the role. Each role has its own Match Criteria, built on the Talents most critical to success. A statement that helps for a sales role can count against you for an analyst role. An answer list cannot know which profile your employer set.
The format also works against copying answers:
- Forced choice. You must pick one statement most like you and one least like you, even when none fits. Candidates report sets of four statements, and some sets made only of negative statements, so you have to pick a weakness.
- Repeats. Plum's help center says similar statements come back against different ones. Answering for effect tends to produce contradictions.
- Built against gaming. In 2021, Plum's CEO said, "We built it so you can't fake or game it."
The puzzles are compared with other people
The puzzles do have a single right option, but:
- Plum says they include very hard items on purpose, to spread scores out. Missing some is expected.
- Your score is relative. Plum compares your puzzle answers with its database of other test takers.
- The puzzle set is not published. Candidates describe different items, so a screenshot online may not be the puzzle you get.
The scenario key is private
Plum asks you to choose the most and least effective response to workplace situations. Some responses are clearly better than others, but the scoring key is not published, and employers use Plum in very different jobs.
What the "answers" online really contain
Search "Plum assessment answers" or "Plum assessment puzzle answers" and you will find:
- PDFs and uploads on Scribd and Studocu, often titled "Citi's Plum Assessment". They mostly reproduce statement sets, which have no right answers in the first place.
- Paid "exact questions and answers" packs. One seller charges $79 for a Scotiabank or Bloomberg pack. Nothing in Plum's description of the survey suggests a fixed question list that would make that useful.
- A 2018 Chegg question about one puzzle.
- Reddit threads that disagree. In December 2024, a candidate on r/maths posted a puzzle from what commenters called "the classic Citi bank plum tests": four boxes of dots and five options. They spent 30 minutes on it. Dozens of comments proposed different rules, from "+4 each step" to symmetry arguments, and nobody could confirm the right one.
The pattern is the same everywhere: the personality material has nothing to answer, and the puzzle material is a handful of items that may not be what you get.
What actually works
For the puzzles (sections 2 and 4)
- Take your time. Plum says the survey is not timed and does not record how long you take.
- Check one feature at a time: how many shaded squares or dots, where they are, which way they move, whether a shape turns.
- Look for two rules at once in harder puzzles, such as one part moving while another fills up.
- Eliminate options that break a rule you are sure of.
- Use the review. Plum lets you review all your answers when you reach the end.
For the scenarios (section 5)
Picture a capable first-year employee. The most effective responses usually deal with the problem directly, respect the other person and keep the work moving. The least effective usually avoid the issue, blame someone, break a rule or escalate before trying anything.
For the statements and adjectives (sections 1 and 3)
Answer honestly and consistently. Plum says the survey measures what you prioritise, like choosing how to spend a limited day. When a set lists only weaknesses, pick the one that is genuinely least like you as "least" and accept the "most": the sets are designed so that everyone has to choose.
Remember the profile follows you
You usually take the survey once. Plum links the same profile to later applications, and a retake is only possible a year after your last attempt. A profile built on guessed answers would follow you to every employer that uses Plum in that year.
Practise the format instead
Candidate Falcon has independent Plum-style practice for every section: problem-solving puzzles with five options and every rule explained, social intelligence scenarios with the reasoning behind each response, the statement and adjective sections including negative sets and an estimated profile on the 10 Plum Talents, and a full Discovery Survey run. Every item is our own, not Plum's, and practice results are not Plum scores. Playing them needs a plan that includes Plum; see pricing. For the whole survey, read our Plum assessment guide; for specific employers, see Citi, Bloomberg and Whirlpool.
FAQs
Are there real Plum assessment answers?
Only for the puzzles, and no fixed key helps: they vary, range from easy to very hard and are scored against other test takers. The statement and adjective sections have no right answers, and the scenario key is not public.
Can you cheat the Plum assessment?
Plum says it built the survey so it cannot be faked or gamed: forced choice, repeated statements against different ones, and matching against a role profile you cannot see. Answering for effect tends to produce contradictions rather than a better match.
Is the Plum assessment timed?
No. Plum's FAQ says it is not timed and does not record how long you take. It usually takes about 25 minutes, and you can pause and come back.
Why do the Plum statements include negative traits?
Candidates report that some sets contain only weaknesses. It is the same forced choice: Plum measures what you prioritise, and that includes what drains you.
Can I retake the Plum assessment if I answered badly?
Plum allows a retake one year after your last attempt. Applications you already submitted keep the old profile.
Sources
- Plum help center: Discovery Survey FAQs, Can I re-do the assessment?, What are the 10 Plum Talents? and when the answers don't describe you (read October 2026).
- HR Executive, How Whirlpool turned the tide to find the right people (2021): Plum's CEO on faking.
- Reddit (individual reports, read October 2026): a Citi-style puzzle with five options, December 2024, sets of four and negative statements, 2020 and negative-trait questions, 2022.
Candidate Falcon is independent and not affiliated with Plum, Phenom or any employer named here.
