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Situational Judgement TestsSee How a Candidate Would Act

A Situational Judgement (SJT) test presents candidates with realistic workplace situations and asks what they would do. Where a personality test describes a person and a cognitive test measures how well they reason, an SJT shows you the decisions they make when the situation is in front of them. RightPeople offers two: one for emotional intelligence in practice, one for managerial judgement.

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Sample itemIllustrative only

A colleague has missed a deadline that affects your work for the second time this month. They seem stressed and have not mentioned it. What would you most likely do?

AEscalate to your manager so the pattern is on record.
BSpeak with the colleague privately, ask what is getting in the way and agree how to keep each other informed.Most effective response
CAbsorb the delay and adjust your own plan without raising it.
DRaise it in the next team meeting so everyone is aware.

Responses are scored against the judgement of experienced practitioners and reported against Australian and New Zealand working-population norms.

25+years of Australian research behind every assessment
Directregistered psychologist support on every engagement
TwoSituational Judgement tests: emotional intelligence and managerial judgement
Rapidturnaround on reports, typically the same day
What it measures

What Is a Situational Judgement Test
and How Is It Different?

Most psychometric tests ask a candidate about themselves or set them an abstract problem. A Situational Judgement (SJT) test does neither. It describes a specific situation drawn from real working life, offers several plausible courses of action, and asks the candidate to judge which is most and least effective. The scoring key is set by experienced practitioners and organisational psychologists, so the test measures the quality of a candidate's judgement rather than their self-image.

That makes the SJT a natural partner to the other assessments in a package. A cognitive ability test tells you whether a candidate can reason through a problem. A personality assessment tells you how they tend to behave. An SJT tells you what they would choose to do when the two meet in a real situation, with real people and real trade-offs. Because candidates are judging scenarios rather than rating themselves, the format is also harder to answer strategically, and it feels relevant to the job, which candidates notice.

Cognitive ability tests

Abstract, numerical and verbal problems with a single correct answer. Measure how well and how quickly a candidate reasons.

Can they?

Personality assessments

Candidates describe their typical behaviour on standardised scales. Measure stable traits, compared with a working population.

What are they like?

Situational Judgement (SJT)

Realistic scenarios with several plausible responses. Measures the effectiveness of the choices a candidate makes in context.

What would they do?
Two tests

Situational Judgement Tests
for Emotional Intelligence and for Managers

RightPeople publishes two Situational Judgement tests, each built around the decisions that matter most in a particular kind of role. Both present workplace scenarios written for Australian and New Zealand organisations, are completed online in a single sitting, and are reported by registered organisational psychologists alongside the rest of the candidate's results.

Emotional Intelligence SJT

Customer-facing, team-based, service and support roles at every level

Emotional intelligence questionnaires ask candidates how well they handle emotion. This test asks them to show it. Each scenario involves people: a frustrated customer, a colleague under pressure, a disagreement that is about to escalate. Candidates choose how they would respond, and the scoring reflects how effectively each response reads the situation, manages emotion and keeps the working relationship intact.

What it measures

Reading others' emotionsManaging own reactionsDe-escalationEmpathy in practiceConstructive feedbackWorking relationships

Best suited to

  • Customer service, sales and client-facing roles
  • Healthcare, education and community services
  • Team-based roles where collaboration drives results
  • Pairing with the emotional intelligence questionnaire to compare self-report with judgement

Managerial Judgement SJT

Supervisors, team leaders, managers and candidates for first leadership roles

Management is a series of judgement calls made with incomplete information. This test places candidates in the situations managers actually face: an underperformer who is also popular, competing priorities from above, a decision that needs to be made before all the facts are in. Responses are scored against the judgement of experienced managers, so the report shows how a candidate would lead before you give them a team.

What it measures

Prioritising under pressureManaging performanceDelegationDecision-making with incomplete informationHandling conflictInfluencing upwards

Best suited to

  • First-time supervisors and team leaders
  • Middle management appointments
  • Internal promotion and succession decisions
  • Pairing with the management version of the Big Five personality test
Why it works

Why Situational Judgement tests earn their place in a package

Situational Judgement tests have a long research record as predictors of job performance, and they add information that cognitive and personality measures do not capture on their own. They are also one of the assessment formats candidates respond to best, because the questions look like the job.

  • Measures judgement, not self-description. Candidates choose between actions rather than rating themselves, so the result reflects what they would do rather than how they see themselves.
  • Adds to cognitive and personality results. An SJT picks up practical, interpersonal and procedural knowledge that neither of the other two measures directly.
  • Harder to answer strategically. There is no obviously "right" personality to present; the most effective response depends on the situation.
  • Relevant to the candidate. Scenarios are recognisably about the work, which supports a fair and credible selection process.
  • Interview-ready. The report's targeted follow-up questions let you explore specific scenarios where a candidate's judgement diverged from the expert key.
1

Psychologist summary

Where the candidate's judgement is strong, where it is not, and what that means for the role, in a page you can read before the interview.

2

Capability match

Judgement scores mapped against the behaviours the role requires and reported against Australian and New Zealand norms.

3

Targeted follow-up

Interview questions written for this candidate, aimed at the scenarios where the profile raises a question.

Judgement is strongest when you can see the whole candidate.

A Situational Judgement test sits naturally beside cognitive ability and personality. Together they show what a candidate can do, what they are like and what they would choose to do. Our standard packages combine all three with emotional intelligence, work drivers and motivation and a response validity check at every level.

View Standard Packages
  • Cognitive ability and aptitude tests: logical, numerical, abstract and verbal reasoning
  • Big Five occupational personality test
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Work drivers and motivation
  • Build your own package, or run a Situational Judgement test on its own
"Compared to the cost of a bad hire, using RightPeople's tests is insignificant."
AMT Group
FAQ

Situational Judgement test questions

What is a Situational Judgement test?

A Situational Judgement (SJT) test presents a candidate with realistic workplace scenarios and several plausible responses, and asks which they would be most and least likely to take. Responses are scored against a key set by experienced practitioners and organisational psychologists. The result describes the quality of a candidate's judgement in the kinds of situations the role will actually present.

How is a Situational Judgement test different from a personality test?

A personality test asks candidates to describe their typical behaviour, and measures stable traits. A Situational Judgement test asks them to choose between courses of action in a specific situation, and measures the effectiveness of those choices. The two are complementary: personality shows how a person tends to behave, and the SJT shows what they would do when a real situation calls for a decision.

Which Situational Judgement tests does RightPeople offer?

Two. The Emotional Intelligence SJT places candidates in interpersonal situations such as a frustrated customer or a colleague under pressure, and scores how effectively they read and manage emotion. The Managerial Judgement SJT places candidates in the decisions managers face, such as performance issues, competing priorities and incomplete information, and scores their judgement against that of experienced managers.

Can a candidate fake a Situational Judgement test?

It is harder than with a self-report questionnaire. There is no obviously desirable personality to present, because the most effective response changes with the situation, and candidates must weigh several plausible options. Every RightPeople assessment also includes a response validity check, and the report's targeted follow-up questions let your interviewers explore any scenario where a candidate's judgement diverged from the expert key.

Which roles benefit most from a Situational Judgement test?

The Emotional Intelligence SJT suits customer-facing, service, healthcare, education and team-based roles where handling people well drives results. The Managerial Judgement SJT suits supervisors, team leaders and managers, including internal candidates being considered for their first leadership role. A RightPeople psychologist will recommend which test, and which companion assessments, fit the role when you request a quote.

Should a Situational Judgement test be used on its own?

It can be, but it is most useful as part of a package. Cognitive ability shows whether a candidate can reason through a problem, personality shows how they tend to behave, and the Situational Judgement test shows what they would choose to do. RightPeople's standard packages combine all three, or you can build your own combination around either SJT.

See how they would act before you hire

Tell us about the role and a registered psychologist will recommend the right Situational Judgement test and the companion assessments to go with it.

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