TELUS Digital AI doesn't usually interview you. It tests you. For most rating roles, getting in means passing a written qualification exam, often with a language test alongside it. The exam is open book, which sounds easy and catches a lot of people out. Here's how it works and how to pass.
What the TELUS Digital AI assessment actually is
TELUS Digital's AI Community FAQ says the process varies by project. For longer-term roles, it lists these steps:
- Pre-screening questions about your background.
- A contributor services agreement to review and accept.
- Document upload, such as education certificates, if the role needs them.
- Qualification exam(s) to check you fit the project's subject.
- Extra assessments on some projects, such as a language proficiency test.
- Identity verification, a one-time check before you start work.
Its rater listings describe the core of it more simply. A recent search-rating listing says you take a language assessment and an open-book qualification exam, and complete ID verification. TELUS sends you guidelines and learning materials before the exam. You get a set window to finish it, and you choose when within that window.
A few things that matter:
- No AI interviewer, no live human. It's a self-paced written exam.
- Open book means the guidelines. The exam tests whether you can apply a long set of rating rules to real examples. The rules are the book.
- Retakes vary. The FAQ says most qualification exams allow a set number of retakes, and the number is in your exam instructions. If you don't pass within those attempts, your application for that role ends.
- Eligibility is strict. Rater roles are posted per language and country. One recent listing asked for five consecutive years living in that country and familiarity with its news, media and culture.
- Equipment: a computer or smartphone and a stable connection. Some projects add a microphone, webcam or specific apps, and the listing will say so.
- One per household: some programmes accept only one person per household. Sharing answers is banned, during the exam and after.
How to prepare
Setup checklist
- Apply only through telusinternational.ai or jobs.telusdigital.com. TELUS says recruiters use @telusinternational.com, @telusdigital.com or @telusinternational.ai addresses, and it never asks you for payment.
- Check the exam window as soon as it opens and put the deadline in your calendar.
- Download or bookmark the guidelines. Keep them open in a second tab during the exam.
- Plan two or three sittings to study before you start the exam itself.
- Use a computer, not a phone, for the exam. Long guidelines are hard to search on a small screen.
How to study the guidelines
Most people skim the guidelines and plan to look things up during the exam. That's the trap. There's too much to search under time pressure.
- Read them twice. Once for the big picture, once with notes.
- Learn the rating scale cold. Know what separates each level, with an example of each.
- Note every exception. Guidelines are full of "unless" and "except when". Exam questions are built around them.
- Study the worked examples. They show how the rules are meant to be applied. Copy their reasoning style.
- Make a one-page cheat sheet of the rules you keep forgetting, with section headings so you can jump to the full text.
How to answer
- Read each question twice. Then read the item you're rating. Then decide.
- Rate by the guidelines, not your taste. If the rules say a result is useful, it's useful, even if you'd never click it.
- Use your local knowledge. Rating roles are local on purpose. Think about what someone in your country searching that phrase would actually want.
- Check the guideline when unsure. That's what open book is for. Just don't check everything.
- For the language test, write carefully and proofread. Spelling and grammar count.
Common reasons people fail
- Treating open book as no prep. The most common one by far.
- Missing the deadline. The window closes whether you've finished or not.
- Using personal opinion instead of the rules.
- Ignoring exceptions in the guidelines.
- Applying for the wrong locale. If you don't meet the residency or language rule, you won't get through.
- Getting help from someone else. It's against the rules, and TELUS says shared answers are banned.
What happens after
TELUS says you'll hear by email or on your contributor dashboard if you're selected, and you can track every application on the dashboard. After onboarding, you get access to live projects.
For its expert AI projects, the FAQ says passing means you're approved, and the team contacts you once a suitable project opens. If there's no match yet, your profile stays active for later ones.
Once you're working:
- Expect quality checks on your work for as long as you're on the project.
- Stay active. The FAQ says long inactivity can cost you access, and lists a weekly minimum of 10 hours and a maximum of 40.
- Keep your profile and availability current.
If you've passed and you're still waiting, read passed the interview but no projects.
The catch
The exam is passable with real study, but it's work you do unpaid before you know if there's work for you. TELUS's FAQ says task volume depends on your skills, your location and client demand, and that tasks can run short at times. Pay is set by project and often by country. Know what a role pays before you spend a week on its guidelines.
More on the company is on our TELUS Digital AI page.
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