— GUIDE —
IMC ONLINE ASSESSMENT GUIDE
IMC starts many graduate and internship applications with an online assessment. Expect the details to vary. Number patterns, arithmetic, and analytical reasoning are the useful common ground.
UPDATED 2026-08-12 · 8 MIN READ · BY THE VARIANCE TEAM
Checked against IMC's recruiting pages in August 2026. IMC is unusually direct about one point: its assessments vary by role. The invitation includes practice questions. Use them. Sequence counts and time limits quoted elsewhere may belong to a different job or region.
What is the IMC online assessment?
The assessment decides who moves on to behavioral and technical interviews. IMC says it looks for analytical reasoning, logical thinking, real-world problem solving, and persistence when a problem is unfamiliar.
What should you prepare for?
| Preparation area | Useful skills |
|---|---|
| Number sequences | Differences, ratios, recurrences, alternating rules, and digit patterns |
| Numerical fluency | Fast arithmetic, percentages, fractions, estimation, and comparison |
| Logical reasoning | Inferring rules, testing constraints, and adapting when a first hypothesis fails |
| Role-specific work | Trading judgment, probability, coding, or technical assignments depending on the stream |
How do you solve IMC-style number sequences?
Use a fixed scan rather than guessing: check differences, ratios, second differences, odd and even subsequences, two-term recurrences, then familiar number families. For 5, 8, 14, 23, 35, ?, the differences are 3, 6, 9, 12, so the next difference is 15 and the answer is 50.
Our number-sequence guide explains the full decision order with worked examples.
Representative practice questions
- Next term: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ? Answer: 42; add consecutive even numbers.
- Next term: 4, 7, 14, 17, 34, ? Answer: 37; alternate +3 and ×2.
- Compute 15% of 380. Answer: 57.
- Which is larger: 19/31 or 21/35? Answer: 19/31; compare 665 with 651 by cross multiplication.
- A fair die pays its face value in dollars. What is the expected payout? Answer: $3.50.
These are original representative questions, not IMC questions.
How I would spend the final week
- Day 1: take a mixed diagnostic and label every error by pattern.
- Days 2–3: drill sequence families until the checking order is automatic.
- Day 4: train arithmetic, comparisons, fractions, and percentages.
- Day 5: practice probability and logical reasoning for your specific role.
- Day 6: simulate the assessment using the rules in your invitation.
- Day 7: review errors and complete IMC's supplied practice questions.
IMC online assessment FAQ
Does every IMC applicant take the same assessment?
No. IMC explicitly states that assessments vary from role to role.
Does IMC provide practice questions?
IMC says assessment invitations include links and practice questions. Use those to calibrate your final preparation.
Do trading applicants need finance experience?
IMC says it does not require specific industry experience from interns and graduates, though it values analytical ability and interest in financial markets.
Official source and accuracy note
Read IMC's official recruitment process and follow your invitation. Variance is not affiliated with or endorsed by IMC. IMC prohibits unauthorized assistance and sharing confidential assessment content.