Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) are typically multiple choice exercises that provide a series of case studies which require participants to review and then select an appropriate response to deal with the issues presented.
Each question provides a range of possible solutions to addressing the issues presented and typically you will be asked to identify the option that either:
■ You would do (measuring how you are likely to act in the same situation).
■ You should do (measuring whether you know the right way to respond).
The aim of these assessments is to see whether you would make accurate and appropriate decisions when facing issues at work. Assessments can be theory/best practise based or organisationally specific.
Theory based assessments are designed for the mass market and are brought in by businesses. As such they are typically focused on a specific behaviour area or work level, for example there are graduate, manager and leadership SJTs available. These tell the business how you are likely to behave and it is then up to the recruiting manager to decide if that fits with what they need in their new employee.
Organisationally specific assessments are designed to match the organisation’s culture and expectation, with the right answer often being defined by how the company’s best performers would act in the situation. The scenarios in this type of SJT are often related to a specific area of work, or very reflective of the day to day challenges faced by the business. This type of assessment gives an indication of whether your work style, knowledge and
experience enables you to respond to issues in the way the business would want
you to.
Example question format:
You are called to a meeting with your colleagues and told by your manager that a large amount of property is going missing from the building. You have noticed some of your colleagues packing company stationery into their bags over the last few weeks. Do you:
A) Tell your manager during the meeting who and what you have seen
B) Take your manager aside after the meeting and tell them your observations
C) Approach your colleagues and ask them to admit and explain their actions to your manager
D) Approach your colleagues and explain while you won’t tell your manager on this occasion, you will inform them of your observations if anything else goes missing
E) Do nothing
Typically there are no example questions provided for these assessments as they are designed to assess the types of on the spot judgments you make when dealing with problems or issues at work.
What has been your experience with SJTs? Let us know in the comment section below.