E-Tray Exercise: What It Is and How to Pass (UK Graduates 2026/27)

An e-tray exercise is a timed job simulation that looks like an email inbox. It appears at some graduate assessment centres and, increasingly, earlier, as part of an online application. This guide explains what the exercise is, how it is marked, how to sort an inbox under pressure and how to practise. If you are still mapping the whole assessment day, start with our graduate assessment centre guide.

What is an e-tray exercise?

Bright Network describes an e-tray as an in-tray exercise that is online: the screen looks like an email inbox, and messages “flow into the inbox over a set time” so employers can see how you respond under time pressure (Bright Network). TARGETjobs adds that the inbox can also hold meeting requests, attachments and instant messages, and that you are usually given a scenario first, such as covering for a manager who is away (TARGETjobs).

The exercise is timed. TARGETjobs puts the usual range at 30 to 80 minutes and notes that extra time for a disability can usually be arranged if you raise it in advance or flag it on the application form. You may be asked to pick the best response from a list, rank responses from most to least effective, prioritise a to-do list and explain why, or write an email.

“Stay calm, read through all the info swiftly and then start to prioritise.”
TARGETjobs advice article, written by Abigail Lewis (updated Aug 2025). This is an editorial tip, not a candidate account; we could not find a named graduate describing their own e-tray, so we have not invented one.

In-tray vs e-tray vs written task

Try it: sort six emails in two minutes

The six emails below are our own invented examples, not a real employer test. Choose a response for each. Real exercises score against that employer’s own criteria, so treat the feedback as a reasoning guide rather than a mark scheme.

The four decisions for every email

TARGETjobs gives the cleanest framework: for each task you can take immediate action, delegate it, delay or defer it, or drop it. Urgent is not the same as important. If something is urgent but insignificant, deal with it quickly or decide whether it needs doing at all. Some tasks also cannot be finished until another is done, which can change your order. Use what you know about the employer: if one of its values is respecting colleagues and clients, ignoring a colleague’s email is unlikely to be the best choice.

Pacing and timing

Bright Network’s advice is that you do not need to reach “inbox zero” to pass, and it is usually fine to skip an email that does not need a quick reply. It also suggests counting how many emails you have answered to keep pace, and reading all the documents first if you are given reading time. Use the calculator to set a rough budget.

Writing the email replies

If a reply is required, match the tone to the reader: formal for a client or senior leader. Plan the points and their order, keep it concise, use bullets where they help, then reread before sending. A good short reply states the decision, the reason and the next step. Example for the board-pack email: “Hi Priya, I have the figures and will send the pack by 2pm today. I will copy in Sam so he is aware while he is away.”

How to practise

Look for free samples before the real test. The Civil Service Fast Stream publishes its own e-tray guidance, and our Fast Stream assessment centre guide shows where it sits in that process. E-trays often sit alongside situational judgement tests and other psychometric tests, and some ask for figures, so brush up with our numerical reasoning guide. TARGETjobs also points to AssessmentDay for free and paid practice exercises. Check your employer’s schedule on the graduate scheme deadlines calendar and browse schemes on the Graduate Scheme hub.

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