What Is the Maki Assessment? A Candidate's Guide

You applied for a job and got an invite to complete a "Maki" or "Maki People" assessment before you talk to a human. If you have never seen one, the wording can be vague about what is actually coming.

This guide breaks down what a Maki invite means, the two very different things it can involve, how your answers get scored, and how to prepare. Everything here is drawn from Maki's own candidate documentation.

Quick Answer: A Maki assessment is a pre-hire step you complete before a human interview. Depending on the employer, it can mean a set of timed skills and personality tests from Maki's library, an AI screening conversation called Mochi (by phone or web), or both. Results are analyzed automatically and passed to the recruiter, who makes the final call.

The word "assessment" hides two separate experiences, and your invite could be either one — or both.

• The test library. A set of standardized tests you complete online, covering job skills, cognitive ability, language, soft skills, or personality.
• Mochi, the AI screening agent. A conversational screen where an AI agent interviews you, either as a phone call or a web video session.

Read your invite carefully. A link to complete online tests points to the library. An SMS from an AI agent, or an email inviting you to a screening call, points to Mochi.

Maki offers a library of more than 200 tests. Per its documentation, the categories span:

• Job-specific skills across 15-plus families (sales, marketing, finance, and more)
• Transversal and cognitive skills
• Linguistic and language aptitude
• Soft skills and situational judgment
• Personality traits

Maki says its tests are built with over 100 experts and names organizations such as Google, MIT, McKinsey, UCL, and Alan as contributors.

Timed vs untimed. Most skills and cognitive tests are timed, with a visible countdown on screen, so pace matters. Personality tests and the video test are untimed. There is also a Chat Proficiency test — multiple-choice customer-service scenarios.

Duration. Maki shows the expected duration before each activity. Individual skills tests tend to be short — a third-party prep source describes roughly 5-15 minutes each — but your total time depends entirely on how many activities the employer has configured.

Pausing and retakes. Once a timer starts, you cannot pause mid-activity, though you can take a break between activities before the deadline. Per Maki's policy, each activity can be taken only once, and retakes are granted only for verified technical issues. If you completed the same activity within the past six months, Maki reuses your earlier result.

Setup. Maki strongly recommends a desktop or laptop with the latest version of Google Chrome — some activities, like typing tests, require a desktop. Fullscreen may be enforced, and exiting it twice can end the test.

Mochi is Maki's AI screening agent. It runs in one of two formats, and it always introduces itself so you know you are talking to AI, not a person.

Phone screen. You receive an invitation by SMS to the number on your application. You reply, and the agent calls you. Maki says these calls often run around 10-15 minutes and cover eligibility and admin questions, your professional background, a few scenario or skills-based questions, and time for your own questions at the end. Mochi can answer some questions during the call — pay, for example — and if it does not know, it tells you to contact the recruiter.

Web screen. You get an email with a link and complete it within roughly 24-48 hours. The session runs about 15-25 minutes on any device with a camera and microphone. Expect a few structured questions on experience, motivation, and skills, plus situational questions. Maki recommends spending one to two minutes per answer.

Languages. Mochi supports English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian, and Maki says it is designed to handle a range of accents.

No practice run. Maki confirms there is no practice attempt before a Mochi interview, so treat the real session as your only shot.

Per Maki's documentation, scoring runs in two modes: AI-scored activities and deterministic (fixed-rule) scoring.

• Language assessments are scored against the CEFR framework, on task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical range, grammatical range, and — for spoken tasks — pronunciation.
• Soft-skill and structured-interview answers use Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS). Each soft skill is broken into sub-dimensions with their own grids, then combined into an overall score. Maki gives Teamwork as an example — Collaboration, Supportiveness, and Communication, each rated 1 to 5.
• Mochi web-screen answers are analyzed for clarity, relevance, and role alignment.

Two points worth knowing. Maki states there are no predetermined passing scores — scores are "indicators" that never automatically qualify or disqualify you, and the recruiter makes the final decision and can override a low score. Maki also says Mochi can auto-reject only in narrow objective cases, such as lacking a legally required work permit, with all other decisions going to human review.

• Read the invite to work out whether you are facing the test library, Mochi, or both.
• Get your setup right for the library — desktop or laptop, latest Chrome, stable connection, and expect fullscreen to be enforced.
• Plan for timers. You cannot pause once a timed activity starts, so clear distractions before you begin each one.
• Treat it as one attempt. Each activity is single-use unless there is a verified technical fault.
• For Mochi, prepare like a phone screen — know your background, have a couple of role-relevant examples ready, and aim for one to two minutes per answer.
• Keep your questions ready for the end of a Mochi call, and have any accommodation needs handled in advance. Maki lists an accommodations contact and offers text-based screening for deaf and hard-of-hearing candidates.
• For results, contact the employer. Maki says it does not make hiring decisions and cannot share your score or status.

What is the Maki assessment?

It is a pre-hire step you complete before a human interview. It can involve Maki's online skills and personality tests, an AI screening conversation called Mochi, or both, with results analyzed automatically and sent to the recruiter.

How long does the Maki assessment take?

It depends on what the employer sets up. Individual skills tests are often short — a third-party guide cites roughly 5-15 minutes each — while a Mochi phone screen runs about 10-15 minutes and a Mochi web screen about 15-25 minutes.

Can I retake a Maki test?

Not normally. Maki says each activity can be taken only once for fairness, with retakes granted only for verified technical issues, and a result from the same activity within the past six months is reused.

Is Mochi a real person?

No. Mochi is Maki's AI screening agent, and Maki says it always introduces itself so you know you are speaking with AI rather than a person.

Does the Maki score decide if I get the job?

No. Maki states there are no predetermined passing scores and that scores are indicators only — the recruiter makes the final decision and can override a low score, with narrow objective exceptions like a missing required work permit.

If you want the bigger picture on how AI screening tools like Maki compare across the market, see our independent guide to the best AI recruiting software, which covers Tenzo AI, our top pick in the category.