The rules you will usually meet
Every provider and employer writes its own rules for an online assessment, and they change, so the invitation is the authority for your session. Across proctored assessments, these are the ones you will commonly see.
- Identity check. A photo ID held up to the camera, sometimes with a photo of your face taken at the start.
- Camera and microphone on for the whole session, with your face clearly visible.
- Room check. Some formats ask you to turn the camera around the room or show your desk.
- One screen. Extra monitors disconnected, and sometimes a locked-down browser or screen sharing.
- No phone within reach, no headphones unless allowed, and no other people present.
- Allowed materials only. Scratch paper, a calculator or nothing at all, depending on the rules.
- Breaks. Often none, or only at set points, and leaving the frame may count against you.
If the rules for your session do not cover something you need, such as scratch paper, ask the recruiter or support contact in writing before the day. A written answer protects you if the question comes up later.
Why looking away gets flagged
A proctored assessment watches for signs that you are getting help: your face leaving the frame, your eyes holding somewhere off screen, another voice, another face. Whether that is a person watching live, software recording for later review, or both depends on the provider. You will usually not be told how a particular flag is handled, so the practical goal is to avoid creating flags for innocent reasons.
Most innocent flags come from the same few habits. Candidates look down at paper below the camera's view, stare at the ceiling while thinking, glance at a second monitor that is switched off, or read the problem aloud under their breath. Each one looks, to a camera, like consulting something you should not.
Setting up so it does not happen
The aim is a room where the honest way of working is also the way that looks honest on camera.
| What causes flags | Setup that prevents it |
|---|
| Face drifts out of frame | Camera at eye level, centred, with your head and shoulders in view |
| Face hard to see | Light in front of you, not a bright window behind |
| Eyes on another screen | Disconnect or turn away extra monitors if the rules require one screen |
| Phone buzzes and you look | Phone switched off and out of reach, as the rules say |
| Someone walks in | A note on the door and a word with the people you live with |
| Glancing at scratch paper | Only if paper is allowed; keep it on the desk in front of the screen |
| Session crashes mid-test | Charger plugged in, other apps and notifications closed, wired internet if possible |
If your online assessment invitation offers a system check, run it a day or two before, on the same machine, network and room you will use. That is when you find out the camera is blocked by a work laptop's policy, not ten minutes before the start.
If you need adjustments for a disability or health condition, such as extra time or breaks, ask through the route the employer gives before you sit the assessment. Asking afterwards is much harder to act on.
When something goes wrong mid-session
Connections drop and doorbells ring. What matters is what you do next. If someone enters, stop, look at the camera, ask them to leave, and carry on. If the session drops, follow the reconnect steps the platform shows. Do not start searching for help on other devices while the session is live unless the rules say you may.
As soon as you can, write down the time, what happened and any error message. Then contact the support channel in your invitation, and send the recruiter a short factual note the same day. Something like: "My connection dropped at 14:20, about twenty minutes in, and the session would not reopen. I have contacted support. Is there anything else you need from me?" Plain facts, sent promptly, are what make a retake or a review possible.
Where avoiding flags stops being the goal
The weak version of this answer is a list of ways to stay unflagged while doing something the rules forbid. That is not preparation, it is misconduct, and it can end your candidacy with that employer. Nothing on this page is about hiding activity from a proctor, and nothing should be.
The strong answer treats a proctored assessment as a set of rules you read, ask about and follow, with a room arranged so that honest work produces a clean recording. If you are ever asked about a flag, say plainly what happened. "I was looking at my scratch paper, which the instructions allowed" is a complete answer when it is true.
Know the rules for your session, set up the room so honest work looks honest on camera, and report any problem in writing the same day.
© 2026 Preptima. Originally published at preptima.com (opens in a new tab).