Free Professional in Human Resources Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Professional in Human Resources practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1An HR analyst reviews a local labor market with 90,000 employed people and 10,000 unemployed people. What is its unemployment rate under the BLS definition?

   1. A. 9.0%
   2. B. 10.0%
   3. C. 11.1%
   4. D. 90.0%

   Answer: B

   Explanation: BLS states, "The unemployment rate is calculated as: (Unemployed ÷ Labor Force) x 100." The labor force is 100,000, so 10,000 ÷ 100,000 × 100 = 10.0%. Dividing by employment alone incorrectly produces 11.1%.

   Reference: Concepts and Definitions (CPS) — Unemployment rate

2. 2A covered employer rejects an otherwise qualified applicant because it assumes people of the applicant's national origin are unreliable. What is the central legal defect?

   1. A. Intentional discrimination based on national origin
   2. B. Disparate impact from a facially neutral selection rule
   3. C. Retaliation for participation in a discrimination proceeding
   4. D. Harassment creating a hostile work environment

   Answer: A

   Explanation: EEOC states, "An employer may not base hiring decisions on stereotypes and assumptions". Expressly rejecting this applicant because of a national-origin stereotype is intentional discrimination. The facts describe neither a neutral rule, protected-charge retaliation, nor a hostile-environment pattern.

   Reference: Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices — Application & Hiring

3. 3Which description accurately characterizes an individual development plan?

   1. A. A one-time substitute for the employee's performance rating
   2. B. A development partnership with learning goals and ongoing feedback
   3. C. A guarantee that every listed development activity earns a promotion
   4. D. A supervisor's confidential assessment that the employee does not help prepare

   Answer: B

   Explanation: OPM states, "IDPs should be viewed as a partnership between an employee and their supervisor, and involves preparation and continuous feedback." An IDP guides development, rather than serving as an appraisal, promotion guarantee, or undisclosed supervisory assessment.

   Reference: Career Development — Individual Development Plans, opening paragraph

4. 4HR uses BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data to explain the employer's compensation investment. What does the measure include?

   1. A. Employee take-home pay after payroll deductions only
   2. B. Wages and salaries plus employer benefit costs per hour worked
   3. C. Base salary plus employee-paid insurance premiums only
   4. D. Annual cash incentives excluding wages and employer benefits

   Answer: B

   Explanation: BLS reports "the average employer cost for wages and salaries as well as benefits per hour worked." This is broader than take-home pay, employee contributions, or cash incentives alone.

   Reference: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation: Technical Note — Technical Note, opening paragraph

5. 5HR finds that new-hire support ends after first-day paperwork. Which distinction explains why this may fall short of a full onboarding program?

   1. A. Orientation is longer-term than onboarding and covers the entire career.
   2. B. Onboarding is a broader integration process extending beyond short-term orientation.
   3. C. Onboarding and orientation have identical goals and duration.
   4. D. Orientation replaces the need for later workplace integration.

   Answer: B

   Explanation: OPM states, "Onboarding is a broader, longer-term process that helps new employees to transition smoothly and become engaged members of an agency." First-day administrative preparation is only a narrower part of that transition.

   Reference: What is the difference between orientation and onboarding? — Orientation and onboarding, substantive answer

6. 6An employee tells an ADA-covered employer that a medical condition makes the current work schedule difficult and asks for a schedule adjustment. The employee does not cite the ADA. How should HR treat the communication?

   1. A. As a preliminary inquiry until an official accommodation form is completed
   2. B. As an accommodation request only after the employee expressly cites the ADA
   3. C. As an accommodation request communicated in ordinary language
   4. D. As an accommodation request only after complete medical records are supplied

   Answer: C

   Explanation: EEOC states that an individual "need not mention the ADA" when requesting a work change related to a medical condition. The ordinary-language request identifies the needed schedule change and medical connection. A form, statutory name or complete medical record is not required to recognize the request; appropriate supporting information can be addressed afterward.

   Reference: Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship under the ADA — Requesting Reasonable Accommodation, question 1

7. 7An HR database follows the Dynamics 365 distinction between jobs and positions. How should three individual Accountant openings using the same general job requirements be represented?

   1. A. Three Accountant jobs linked to one shared position
   2. B. Three Accountant jobs each linked to one individual position
   3. C. One Accountant job linked to three individual positions
   4. D. One Accountant job linked to one shared position

   Answer: C

   Explanation: Microsoft states, "A position is an individual instance of a job." Positions associated with one job share its requirements. Three individual openings with the same general requirements therefore use three position instances of the shared Accountant job.

   Reference: Organize your workforce by using departments, jobs, and positions — Jobs and positions

8. 8Which labor-market indicator shows the percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population that is working or actively looking for work?

   1. A. Employment-population ratio
   2. B. Official unemployment rate
   3. C. Labor force participation rate
   4. D. Long-term unemployment share

   Answer: C

   Explanation: BLS explains, "the participation rate is the percentage of the population that is either working or actively looking for work." It includes employed and unemployed people in the numerator; the employment-population ratio includes only employed people.

   Reference: Concepts and Definitions (CPS) — Labor force participation rate, or participation rate

9. 9A facially neutral hiring rule disproportionately excludes applicants of one race and is not job-related or necessary to business operations. Which concern does this raise under Title VII?

   1. A. Disparate treatment requiring different rules for different races
   2. B. Disparate impact from an unjustified neutral hiring practice
   3. C. Retaliation requiring opposition to employment discrimination
   4. D. A bona fide occupational qualification permitting racial exclusion

   Answer: B

   Explanation: EEOC prohibits neutral practices with "a disproportionately negative effect on applicants or employees of a particular race" when they "are not job-related and necessary to the operation of the business." The stem supplies those impact and justification conditions. It does not describe differential treatment or retaliation; racial exclusion is not justified by calling it an occupational qualification.

   Reference: Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices — Opening discussion, neutral employment policies and practices

10. 10A junior employee receives continuing career advice and developmental support from an experienced senior colleague. Which development method is illustrated?

    1. A. Job rotation
    2. B. Assessment center
    3. C. Mentoring
    4. D. Work sampling

    Answer: C

    Explanation: OPM defines mentoring as a process in which a senior member "provides developmental support and career advice to a less experienced and more junior protégé." The sustained advisory relationship distinguishes it from reassignment and assessment methods.

    Reference: Career Development — Leadership development activities, Mentoring