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Encore Companies PI Test Practice

Most employers never tell you how long their test is. The Predictive Index case study on Encore Companies does: 50 questions, 12 minutes, for front desk associates and manager applicants.

50 in 12 min
Stated Test Length
About 14 seconds each
Front desk
Named Roles
And manager applicants
Cognitive-led
Documented Emphasis
An extra data point

Who Encore Companies Is

Worth clearing up first, because the name sounds national and is not. Encore Companies is a franchise management business operating Massage Envy and European Wax Center locations across Greater Phoenix and Las Vegas. If you are applying to a wellness or waxing studio in Arizona or Nevada, the employer on your paperwork may well be Encore rather than the brand on the door.

What the Case Study Says

The Predictive Index published its Encore case study in January 2020, and it contains something most employer evidence never does: the actual shape of the test, attributed to the employer’s own implementation.

In PI’s words: “Encore Companies integrated the PI Hire solution and its Cognitive Assessment™ as a resource for gathering an additional data point for front desk associates and manager applicants. The Cognitive Assessment comprises 50 questions, and candidates are tasked with completing as many as possible in 12 minutes.”

Matt Robinson, COO, is quoted on the outcome: “By using PI as part of our comprehensive recruiting system, we have more qualified hires and we’ve been able to make our onboarding process more efficient. Trainees are able to learn our point-of-sale system and achieve mastery of our sales process in less time.”

Note the phrase “an additional data point”
Encore’s own framing is that the cognitive score supplements the rest of the application rather than replacing it. That is worth holding on to if you sit it and feel it went badly: in a documented process like this one it is one input among several, alongside the interview and your experience.

The PI Cognitive Assessment

The case study gives the headline numbers; PI’s own product documentation fills in the rest, and the two agree with each other. It is 50 questions in 12 minutes, roughly 14 seconds each, drawing on verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning mixed together rather than separated into sections.

Three published facts shape the right strategy:

  • Finishing is not the goal.Both Encore’s case study and PI’s documentation describe answering as many as you can, not all of them.
  • The score is the number correct. PI publishes no penalty for a wrong answer, so a guess is never worse than a blank when the clock runs out.
  • Your paper is not your neighbor’s. A linear-on-the-fly design draws items from a larger pool at matched difficulty. It is an anti-cheating measure, not adaptive difficulty.

PI states that 18-minute and 24-minute variants exist as reasonable accommodations under the ADA.

The Behavioral Half

The case study names PI Hire and the Cognitive Assessment specifically. PI Hire bundles the Behavioral Assessment too, and the related Massage Envy case study documents candidates taking it during interviews, so it is sensible to be ready for both. The Behavioral Assessment is untimed, takes about six minutes, and asks you to work through one shared list of adjectives twice: once for how others expect you to behave at work, once for who you really are. It reports four drives, Dominance, Extraversion, Patience and Formality, with no pass mark.

Practice

Cognitive, the half with a clock

Behavioral

The full range is on the Predictive Index practice hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which roles sit the cognitive test?

The case study names front desk associates and manager applicants. It does not mention therapists, estheticians or wax specialists, so we will not claim it covers them.

What score do I need?

Nothing published says. Employers set their own targets per role and essentially never publish them, and Encore describes the score as an additional data point rather than a cutoff. Treat any specific number you see on a prep site as invented.

Is 50 questions in 12 minutes really possible?

Most people do not finish, and the test is built on that assumption. The productive goal is to raise how many you answer correctly in the time, which is mostly a matter of not getting stuck on any single item.

Are your tests the real Encore assessment?

No. These are independent practice exercises matching the published format. They contain no real test items and are not supplied, reviewed or endorsed by Encore Companies, Massage Envy, European Wax Center or the Predictive Index.

CogniPrep is an independent practice platform. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Encore Companies or the Predictive Index. Encore Companies, Massage Envy and European Wax Center are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here for identification and descriptive purposes only. The association described here rests on a case study published by the Predictive Index in January 2020. Hiring processes change and vary by role and location, so confirm what your own process involves with whoever invited you.

Practice at 14 Seconds a Question

Start free with abstract reasoning, then run verbal and numerical drills until the pace stops feeling rushed, because pace is what this test measures

Start Practising Free