Situational Judgement Test (SJT): Formats, Scoring and How to Practise
A situational judgement test (SJT) puts you in a workplace scenario and asks what you would do. Employers use SJTs to see how you handle teamwork, deadlines, customers, mistakes and pressure before they meet you. PrepClubs SJT practice uses the two formats employers use most: pick the most and least effective response, and rate a response on a 4-point scale. Each practice test has 15 scenarios and 45 questions in 30 minutes, with a full explanation for every response, starting with a free diagnostic.
By PrepClubs Editorial Team, updated October 23, 2026
What a situational judgement test is
An SJT shows you a short scenario from a job, such as a missed deadline, a colleague who is struggling or an unhappy customer, and a set of possible actions. You judge how effective each action would be. There is no knowledge to revise: the test measures how you weigh up a situation.
Graduate schemes, the public sector, banks, retailers, airlines and medical and healthcare programmes use SJTs, often alongside a numerical or verbal reasoning test. Many employers write their own scenarios to match the role, so the setting changes but the judgement being tested is much the same.
Answers are scored against a key set by experienced managers or subject experts. The key rewards a consistent set of behaviours: owning the problem, keeping the right people informed, protecting the customer, acting with integrity and getting the work done.
The SJT question formats
Employers mix and match these formats. PrepClubs practice uses the first three, three questions per scenario.
Most effective
Four possible actions. Pick the one that would work best. Usually one action deals with the real problem and involves the right people at the right time.
Least effective
The same four actions. Pick the one that would make things worst. This is often an action that hides the problem, misleads someone or ignores a rule.
Rate one response
One action, rated on a 4-point scale: counterproductive, ineffective, fairly effective or effective. The UK Civil Service Judgement Test is a well-known example of this format.
Rank all responses
Some tests ask you to order every action from best to worst. The judgement is the same as most and least effective, applied to the middle options too.
Rate on a longer scale
Some publishers use a 5 or 6-point scale, or ask how likely you would be to take each action. The reasoning behind a good answer does not change.
Try three SJT questions
Original questions written for this page, not taken from any scored form. Click to reveal the answer and walkthrough.
- A.Send the report as it is at 4pm, because the colleague prepared it and knows the figures.
- B.Tell your manager about the mismatch now, show both sources and ask whether to correct the figures or delay the report.
- C.Correct the figures to match the tracker yourself and send the report on time.
- D.Hold the report until the colleague is out of the meeting, then send it once they have checked it.
- A.Send the report as it is at 4pm, because the colleague prepared it and knows the figures.
- B.Tell your manager about the mismatch now, show both sources and ask whether to correct the figures or delay the report.
- C.Message the colleague in their meeting to ask which figures are right, and tell your manager if there is no reply by 3.30pm.
- D.Hold the report until the colleague is out of the meeting, then send it once they have checked it.
- A.Counterproductive
- B.Ineffective
- C.Fairly effective
- D.Effective
Common SJTs and PrepClubs practice side by side
Each employer test has its own scenarios. The behaviours they reward overlap a lot, which is why general SJT practice helps.
| Typical employer SJT | PrepClubs SJT practice | |
|---|---|---|
| Scenarios | Written for the role or sector | Varied workplaces, intern to first-line manager |
| Formats | Most and least, rating or ranking | Most effective, least effective and 4-point rating |
| Timing | Often untimed or loosely timed | 45 questions in 30 minutes, to build a steady pace |
| Feedback | Usually a pass or a band | An explanation for every response and the principle behind the key |
| Language | English or the local language | English, plus a separate Japanese set written for Japanese workplaces |
PrepClubs is independent practice, not affiliated with any test publisher or employer. Scenarios are original.
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How SJTs are scored
Your answers are compared with an expert key. In rating formats you usually earn full marks for matching the key and partial marks for being one point away, so a near miss still counts. In most and least formats, picking the keyed answer scores and the others do not.
Most employers compare your score with a norm group of other applicants rather than using a fixed pass mark. Graduate schemes often take the top third or so forward, so aim high rather than for an average score.
Because the key rewards consistent behaviours, you can improve with practice. Learn why each keyed answer wins: who owns the decision, what the deadline or risk is, and who needs to know.
A one-week plan for your SJT
Day 1: Take the free diagnostic
Sit the free 45-question SJT under time. Read every explanation, including the ones you got right, and note which competencies cost you points.
Day 2: Learn the employer's values
Read the employer's values or competency framework. SJT keys usually reward exactly those behaviours, so you know what the expert key will look for.
Days 3 to 5: One practice test a day
Take a full practice test each day. After each one, write down the principle behind every miss, such as "raise it with the person who owns the deadline".
Day 6: Review your misses
Look for patterns. Do you escalate too early, wait too long or try to fix things alone? Most candidates have one habit that costs most of their points.
Day 7: Final practice test
Take one more full test at a calm pace. On the day, read the scenario facts carefully: the deadline, who is available and what the rules say decide the answer.
Common SJT mistakes
Answering with what you would like to do
The key reflects what an effective employee does, not what feels comfortable. Read the question as "what would a good manager want here".
Fixing everything yourself
Acting alone without telling the person who owns the task often scores lower than raising it with them. Initiative wins when it keeps the right people informed.
Escalating straight away
Going to a manager about something you could sort out with a colleague usually scores lower. Try the direct, proportionate step first.
Choosing the longest or most cautious answer
The best response is the one that fits the facts, not the one that sounds most balanced. Check each option against the deadline, the risk and who is involved.
Related reading
SJT FAQs
A score tells you how you did. The coach tells you what to practice next.
After every test you get a short plan built from your own answers and seconds: which sections cost you points, which ones eat your clock, and the drill that fixes each.
Math: 11 of 12 right, at 31 s a question
Drill math against a 20 s clock. That frees about 2 minutes per test for the sections you miss more.
People who got the same questions right took 20 s.
Illustrative data
- Every section mapped on accuracy against speed, with one fix for each
- The questions that ate your time, and the clock checkpoints to hit next time
- Where rushing costs you, and the point to guess and move on
- A read that sharpens with every test you take
Your pacing report is free with your first test.
Practise your SJT before the real one
A free 45-question situational judgement test, then 5 more full tests with an explanation for every response.