What 'soft-timed' actually means
There is no countdown clock that locks you out of a section. You can sit on a single question for 10 minutes if you want to. But every keystroke and pause is logged, and recruiters open the dashboard before they open your reasoning scores.
The published per-question average for SOVA reasoning sections is roughly 60–90 seconds. Anything above 2 minutes per question on average is unusual and starts to look like over-thinking or external help.
How to pace SOVA
Block 90 uninterrupted minutes. Allocate roughly 15 minutes each to verbal, numerical, and logical reasoning, plus 25–30 minutes for personality. If you stall on a logical question for more than 90 seconds, guess and move on — the time penalty hurts more than one wrong answer.
What gets you flagged
Two patterns trigger reviewer attention: total time more than 30% above the average, and very long single-question times (5+ minutes on one item). Both suggest either external help or genuine struggle. Neither is a positive signal.
Put it into practice
The fastest way to internalize the format is timed practice that mirrors the real test.
Practice under time pressure