Content

The objectives of the document are to explain in detail the Situational Judgment
Tests in order to have a full understanding and be prepared correctly before
taking them in a recruitment procedure.
Description of Situational Judgment Tests
Why do recruiters use Situational Judgment Tests?
Composition of Situational Judgment Tests
The scoring systems for SJTs
How to perform well in SJTs?
Example of questions in SJTs

Situational Judgment Tests. Part 1 What they look like by ABILITUS

Online Training Company
www.abilitus.com
Copyright 2012. This document can be shared freely without any modification.
Date of publication: 20 March 2012

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Description of Situational Judgment Tests

What are Situational Judgment Tests?
Situational Judgment Tests (also abbreviated SJT or SJTs) are a type of aptitude/psychometric test that measures
behaviors and attitude of a person in work-related situations. This type of test presents candidates challenging
situations that they might experience in the job for which they are applying, to measure decision-making skills.
For each situation, several possible actions are presented and candidates have to identify the most and the least
effective answers to solve the problem described.
Example of a question from a Situational Judgment Test.
QUESTION :
You are working on a file with a colleague, who is currently on sick leave. The file is for another
Unit. You learn that the sick leave of your colleague is extended by four more weeks. The
treatment of the file is blocked. How do you react?
Most
Effective

Least
Effective

Inform your Team Leader of the progress made on

the file and the reasons for blocking.
Inform your Team Leader of the file progress, and
ask for someone else to work with you on the file.
Wait the return of your colleague. Your part of the
work is anyway done.
Extend your working hours during one week to
finalize the file and sent it.

For recruiters, Situations Judgment Tests (SJTs) are useful for assessing soft-skills, non-academic behaviors and
practical intelligence to select the right candidate for a job.
These tests are used by recruiters from private and public organizations in the recruitment procedure. Many
organizations from various sectors are using them: banking, consultancy, audit, energy, FMCG, media or public
institutions as the European Commission (through the European Personal Selection Office called EPSO).

History behind Situational Judgment Tests

Situational Judgment Tests are not a new type of test. They have been used since the 1950s. At the beginning,
SJTs were used for military purposes during the World War II. Quickly, recruiters have been using them as they
are presenting many benefits.
In the 1990s, the popularity of SJTs have been growing a lot among recruiters, as they are considered as efficient
tools for recruiters to assess candidates competencies and skills. Other aptitude tests are able to measure
correctly soft skills, but are more focused on hard skills (numerical, verbal or abstract reasoning).
The development of SJTs is correlated to the evolution and trends in the Human Resources Management. Over
the last 15 years, the role and important of Human Resources has significantly increased. It has to be managed
in an efficient way to mobilize the people (employees, agent), in order to get the best performance. Since the
1990s, the HR management is based on skills-based approach, rather than knowledge-based or experiencebased approaches.

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As part of HR management, the recruitment procedures have evolved with the HR management, in order to
support this skills-based management. Recruiters have an important task to recruit candidates (job seekers)
with the right competencies for their business. They need to identify the strong performers, sometimes among a
large number of candidates applying for jobs. Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs) are considered as one of the
best tools to achieve this task during the recruitment procedure, as they can predict correctly the future
performance of a candidate.
Till 10 years ago, SJTs were mainly used in the United States. But now this test type is spreading around the
world the popularity continues to increase. More and more organizations in Europe are using them. They are
not only used by multinationals, but also by small/medium companies.

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Why do recruiters use Situational Judgment Tests?

Why recruiters are using SJTs?
For the recruitment procedure, recruiters need strong tools in order to identify potential strong performers
having the right competencies/skills among all the candidates. Aptitude/psychometric tests are offering benefits
to reach this target:
Cost effective In most case, SJT will be done computer-based and are standardize.
Powerful tests Validity of this type of test has been demonstrated through many researches. They
can predict the future performance of candidates
Convenient Easy to use with quick results to get candidates profiles, and identify the
strengths/weaknesses
Recruiters are using SJTs in complementary with other aptitude tests: verbal reasoning, numerical reason,
abstract reasoning or personality test. Each aptitude test is measure a specific dimension. The use of several
tests is providing a full profile of a candidate on various dimensions.
Another reason why recruiters are using SJT is the number of candidates applying for the job. If the number of
candidates is large, recruiters have even more interests to use aptitude tests and SJTs to have a fast procedure.
Private sector : audit/consulting companies are using many aptitude tests to recruit graduates for junior
profiles
Public sector: EPSO is using aptitude tests and SJTs during the first phase of the recruitment procedure
(computer based test).

What do Situational Judgment Tests measure?

As mentioned above, Situational Judgment Tests measures behaviors of a person in work-related situations, to
assess soft-skills, non-academic behaviors and practical intelligence.
SJTs are based on model in order to assess key skills/competencies. These skills are considered as essential. An
employee should possess them to be successful in the job role. The competencies are defined not only for the
recruitment procedure, but in the entire competency-based management system of the organization.
With SJTs, recruiters can measure the following dimensions:
1. Decision making: in all jobs, employees are forced to take decisions. Sometimes, it can be difficult
decisions, often under time pressure and/or stress. Employers need to know that the people they
hire are competent enough to take good decisions in all situations.
2. Problem solving: ability to accurately assess a problem and effectively arrive to an excellent
solution: solve problems, find solutions or identify creative ideas. Employers are looking for
analytical skills, critical thinking.
3. Interpersonal skills: ability to get on with other people and work with them efficiently is considered
as a key competency. Most jobs require employees to work in a team and/or have interactions with
other peoples (client, colleague, directors,).
4. Organization skills: ability to organize the work depending constraints (time, results, objectives,
money, resources).
How do SJTs measure these dimensions? For each question of a situational judgment test, the candidate will
have to apply a reasoning to understand the situation, to evaluate the relevance of the possible answers and to

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identify the correct answers (most/least effective). The candidate will make a judgment based on: information
coming from the questions, competencies linked to the job and behavior of the candidate.

What is the validity of Situational Judgment Tests?

Like all other aptitude and psychometric tests, several studies have demonstrated the validity and benefits of
SJTs in a recruitment procedure.
SJTs have a predictive validity: ability to predict the future performance and productivity of candidates
for a job.
Use with other aptitude tests, cognitive tests (intelligence tests) and personality tests, SJTs increase the
validity of a recruitment procedure. It will reinforce the view on candidates profile by offering a view on
the competencies/skills dimension.
Candidates perceived SJTs as a robust assessment type and equitable. Candidates also perceived a
higher complexity level compared to other aptitude tests as they are not directly linked to hard skills
(knowledge), but soft skills and behaviors.
Capacity to test a large number of candidates in an efficient and valid way when using it in a computer
based system.
Even if SJTs are focus on measuring soft-stills, there is a part of subjectivity in them as each candidate interprets
the situation based on his understanding, his perception and his experience. Each judgment can be different. A
strong preparation on SJTs will help candidate to decrease the part of subjectivity while taking these tests, and
make judgment respecting recruiters expectations.

Development process of Situational Judgment Tests

To be valid, aptitude tests need to respect rules during the development. For SJTs, the development process is
following three stages. ABILITUS has developed the tests according to this procedure.
1. Identification of the core competencies/skills that the organization wants to follow. In most case,
employers are using standard competency based management system with the same core
competencies: communication, working with other, problem solving, learning and development,
resilience, priority and organization, quality and results, leadership.
2. The development starts with a job analysis and identification of work situations, collected from
experienced people (employee, manager, assistant, director, customers). Each situation has at
least to be linked to one core competencies. When all the components of the scenario are
identified, the question is build respecting rules: length of the question, text format, job position,
words used
3. The third step is to identify the possible answers (actions or behaviors) to the situation, for which
the effectiveness varies. Experienced people are validating the effectiveness of each answer. The
answers are also written in a way that there is no obvious answers and minimize the luck factor.
4. Each question is being tested and validated by experts and excellent employees (strong performers,

high potential) before including them in a test. This validation step will confirm the effectiveness of
each answer. If there are doubts on a question and/or the possible answers, the question is
reviewed, adapted and tested again. A question is used in a test only after this validation step.
5. When building a test, each core competencies has to be equally represented, to provide a complete

and valid view. A SJT should at least have 20 questions to be valid.

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Composition of Situational Judgment Tests

Two types of Situational Judgment Tests
There are two types of SJTs used by recruiters. The difference between them is on the content part and the skills
measured.
1. SJTs measuring standard core competencies - These SJTs are measuring standard competencies for
profiles, and not for particular job roles: employee, manager, assistant, administrator
2. SJTs tailored for specific jobs requirements - These SJTs are designed for precise job roles to assess
key skills: sales, technical operator, financial auditors, call center operative
The most use type is the first one. However both SJTs type can be used in the same recruitment procedure as
they are complementary.
ABILITUS is offering only the first type of SJTs (measuring core competencies) as they are the most used by
organizations in private and public sectors.

Composition of Situational Judgment Tests

All SJTs are composed of the same components:
1. The question SJTs consist of a series of work based scenarios that an employee could face in a
working environment. Scenarios may range from technical issues, ethical dilemmas, difficulties with
others people (colleagues or third-party), take action or common everyday problems.
2. Possible answers The answers suggested are most of the time not clearly good or wrong. In
practice, all answers can lead to the resolution of the problem. But the efficiency behind each
answer is not on the same level. The number of possible questions can varied (from 4 to 6 answers).
3. Number of questions in a test The number of questions can varied in SJTs. It is correlated to the
number of core competencies. In average, you have 20-25 questions.

QUESTION :
The question label

You are working on a file with a colleague, who is currently on sick leave. The file is for another
Unit. You learn that the sick leave of your colleague is extended by four more weeks. The
treatment of the file is blocked. How do you react?
Most
Effective

Least
Effective

Inform your Team Leader of the progress made on

the file and the reasons for blocking.

The possible answers

Inform your Team Leader of the file progress, and

ask for someone else to work with you on the file.
Wait the return of your colleague. Your part of the
work is anyway done.
Extend your working hours during one week to
finalize the file and sent it.

The practice tests available on ABILITUS are composed with 28 questions, with 4 possible answers and a timeframe of 90 seconds per question. Our SJTs are developed to evaluate 8 core competencies in which each one is
measured at least in 3 questions.

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Which core competencies are measured?

Each organization can have its own core competencies. However in most case, they are aligned on the standard
core competencies defined by Human Resources Management standards. The SJTs available on ABILITUS are
following a model with 8 core competencies.

Forms of Situational Judgment Tests and the way to answer

SJTs can be presented in different ways: be paper-based, be computer-based, use text only, use media content
(video or image). The most use is computer-based, as it is the most cost effective solution for recruiters for a
large number of candidates.
There is also a variety of ways in which the candidate is asked to respond to the SJT:
Most and least effective actions : the situation is suggested with four possible answers and the
candidate need to indicate which is the most and which is the least effective actions depending his
judgment.
Rate responses: the situation is presented with the possible responses for which the candidate need to
rate each response for effectiveness, depending his judgment
Ranked responses: the situation is presented with the possible responses for which the candidate need
to give a rank order from the most effective (1) to the least effective (4).
The SJTs available on ABILITUS is using the form Most/Least effective actions, which is the most used by
recruiters in private and public sectors.

QUESTION :

LEAST
Effective

Slightly
Effective

Effective

MOST
Effective

LEAST
Effective

MOST
Effective

You are working on a file with a colleague, who is currently on sick leave. The file is for another Unit. You learn that the sick leave of
your colleague is extended by four more weeks. The treatment of the file is blocked. How do you react?

Inform your Team Leader of the progress made on

the file and the reasons for blocking.
Inform your Team Leader of the file progress, and
ask for someone else to work with you on the file.
Wait the return of your colleague. Your part of the
work is anyway done.
Extend your working hours during one week to
finalize the file and sent it.
Most and Least
Effective Actions

Rated Responses

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Ranked Responses

The scoring systems for Situational Judgment Tests

There are two scoring systems for SJTs. Unfortunately it is hard to know in advance which system is being used
by recruiters. But in most case, the scoring system will be mentioned in the instructions before starting the test.

Scoring system n1 : Considering only the most/least effective answers

This system only counts the points if the candidate has identified the most and/or the least effective answers.
For the intermediate possible answers, the system does not count any point. The scoring range per question is
between 0 and 2 points.
Scoring range with 3 values

0 point

1 point

2 points

Scoring system n2 : Intermediate answers have also points

In the second system, each possible answer can provide points, even the intermediate responses. But the
number of points varies between intermediate and the most/least effective solutions. The scoring range per
questions is between 0 and 5. The advantage of this scoring system is to consider the degree of effectiveness of
each possible answer.
Scoring range with 5 values

0 point

0.5 point

1 point

1.5 point

2 points

QUESTION :
You are working on a file with a colleague, who is currently on sick leave. The file is for another Unit. You learn that the sick leave of
your colleague is extended by four more weeks. The treatment of the file is blocked. How do you react?
Most
Effective

Least
Effective

Most
Effective

Least
Effective

Inform your Team Leader of the progress made on the file

and the reasons for blocking.
Neutral

0 point

0 point

0.5 point

0.5 point

Inform your Team Leader of the file progress, and ask for
someone else to work with you on the file.
Most Effective

1 point

0 point

1 point

0 point

Wait the return of your colleague. Your part of the work is

anyway done.
Neutral

0 point

0 point

0.5 point

0.5 point

Extend your working hours during one week to finalize the

file and sent it.
Least Effective

0 point

1 point

0 point

1 point

SYSTEM N1
Only Most/Least are
considered

SYSTEM N2
Intermediate answers
have also points

Which scoring system is the most used?

Currently, the second scoring system is more and more used as it is considering the degree of effectiveness and
provide a better picture to recruiters. For the European competition, EPSO is using this second system for their
SJTs of the recruitment procedure
ABILITUS is using the second scoring system for the SJTs practice tests, aligned on EPSO

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How to perform well in Situational Judgment Tests?

Do I need a preparation before taking SJTs?
YES, a preparation will help you to succeed these tests.
Even if no particular knowledge is required to take a SJT, recruiters are using SJTs to assess soft-skills, nonacademic behaviors and practical intelligence to select candidates. Candidates will interpret the situation based
on his understanding, his perception and his experience. Each judgment can be different, and there is a part of
subjectivity in them.
This why a preparation is strongly recommend for SJTs. They are also generally considered as the most difficult
aptitude tests, compared to verbal, numerical or abstract reasoning. Having a strong preparation and practicing
will help you to increase your chances of success.
Some advices if you need to take a SJT:
You should only use the information provided in the question/situation. Do not make assumptions!
You have to identify the most and least effective answers only within the possible answers. You
should evaluate the relevance of each answer to solve the problem stated in the question.
If you know the core competencies of the organization, try to identify which competency is evaluated in
the question. It will help you to identify the right answers.

Is there a method to increase the chance of success for SJTs?

YES. There are several methods that can help to solve SJTs:
Get prepared with practices many SJTs. The more you practice; higher will be your knowledge
on these tests.
Have an excellent understanding of the core competencies: definition, aptitude behind them
Know and understand the values and business principles of the organization.
Analyze the components of the questions and the possible answers.
Identify the comparable intermediary responses.
Logical analysis with the method life position strategy.
Advices on how to deal with the SJTs during the recruitment procedure.

ABILITUS can help you to increase your chances of success. We offer you:
An online and interactive platform to practice Situational Judgment Tests. A testing
mode to practice under realistic conditions. A revision mode to review the questions
and understand the answers
Access to study materials (e-books) explaining all the methods to solve SJTs. This ebook is available for the people who buy at least one test package!
Interested? Come directly to ABILITUS website and buy a package: www.abilitus.com

10

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Examples of questions in SJTs

Below you can find example of Situational Judgment Tests, which will allow you to become familiar. For each
situation, you need to identify the most and the least effective answers.

Question 1
You have joined a new team. During the first months, your Team Leader was taking some time to give
you the guidelines and coach you. Now you feel that you need for more autonomy and independence
to do your work.
Most
Effective

Least
Effective

Decrease your availability and work more

independently.
Closely monitor the quality of your work, to
show to your Team Leader that you can handle
it alone.
Ask for a meeting with your Team Leader to
discuss your working relationship.
Ask for advice to a more experienced colleague
after an assessment of your performance.

Question 2
You are Team Leader. Your team is under pressure with a heavy workload. A training session is planned
for the entire team to improve the speed of treatment. One of your Team Members tells you that he
does not wish to follow the training, citing his heavy workload.
Most
Effective

Least
Effective

Indicate to your Team Member that the

training is mandatory and that he must attend
it.
Go through his workload and indicate which
files are less priority so he can attend the
training.
Transfer some of the files to another Team
Member so he can attend the training.
You empower him on the importance of the
training in his job and let him take the final
decision on his participation to the training.

11

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Question 3
You are working on a file with a colleague, who is currently on sick leave. The file is for another Unit. You
learn that the sick leave of your colleague is extended by four more weeks. The treatment of the file is
blocked. How do you react?
Most
Effective

Least
Effective

Inform your Team Leader of the progress made

on the file and the reasons for blocking.
Wait the return of your colleague. Your part of
the work is anyway done.
Extend your working hours during one week to
finalize the file and sent it.
Inform your Team Leader of the file progress,
and ask for someone else to work with you on
the file.

12

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For each question, you can see the answers, with an explanation of the right answers.

Question 1
You have joined a new team. During the first months, your Team Leader was taking some time to give
you the guidelines and coach you. Now you feel that you need for more autonomy and independence
to do your work.
Most
Effective

Least
Effective
Strategy where dont react. It can
generate frustration, unsatisfaction if
it does not change

Decrease your availability and work more

independently.
Closely monitor the quality of your work, to
show to your Team Leader that you can handle
it alone.

Direct and clear communication to

redefine the working relationship
with your superior

Ask for a meeting with your Team Leader to

discuss your working relationship.
Ask for advice to a more experienced colleague
after an assessment of your performance.

Question 2
You are Team Leader. Your team is under pressure with a heavy workload. A training session is planned
for the entire team to improve the speed of treatment. One of your Team Members tells you that he
does not wish to follow the training, citing his heavy workload.
Most
Effective

Least
Effective

Indicate to your Team Member that the

training is mandatory and that he must attend
it.
Go through his workload and indicate which
files are less priority so he can attend the
training.

You listen your employee, search a

solution so he can follow the training
which is important for the team

Transfer some of the files to another Team

Member so he can attend the training.
You empower him on the importance of the
training in his job and let him take the final
decision on his participation to the training.

13

No willingness to assert your

position, find a solution for an
important initiative in the team

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Question 3
You are working on a file with a colleague, who is currently on sick leave. The file is for another Unit. You
learn that the sick leave of your colleague is extended by four more weeks. The treatment of the file is
blocked. How do you react?
Most
Effective

Least
Effective

Inform your Team Leader of the progress made

on the file and the reasons for blocking.
Wait the return of your colleague. Your part of
the work is anyway done.
Extend your working hours during one week to
finalize the file and sent it.

It is not a file with a high priority. You

might be in trouble and dont inform
your Team Leader of the situation

Inform your Team Leader of the file progress,

and ask for someone else to work with you on
the file.

Communication of the status, ask for

support to your superior to identify
the solutions (or priority)

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