Situational Judgment Tests (SJT) in Hiring: How They Work, Examples and Tips
Umid Rahimov7 min read
Key takeaways
- A situational judgment test (SJT) presents realistic work scenarios and asks the candidate which response is most (or least) effective.
- SJTs measure practical judgment: how someone handles customers, colleagues, pressure and rules.
- They work best for customer-facing, team-lead and graduate roles, combined with a skills test.
- Good SJTs are built from real situations in your company, with answers agreed by experienced employees.
What is a situational judgment test?
An SJT describes a short, realistic situation from the job and offers several possible responses. The candidate picks the best (and sometimes the worst) option, or rates each option's effectiveness. There's usually no "textbook" answer. The test measures the judgment experienced high performers would show.
Example SJT question
A customer calls, angry that a card payment failed twice. The system shows no error on your side. What do you do first?
A. Explain that the problem is not on the bank's side.
B. Apologise for the inconvenience, check the transaction details with the customer and explain the next step. ✅ most effective
C. Transfer the call to the technical team immediately.
D. Ask the customer to try again later.
The best answer combines empathy, ownership and a clear next step.
Which roles benefit most
| Role | What the SJT checks |
|---|---|
| Customer service / call centre | De-escalation, empathy, following policy |
| Bank front office | Rules vs customer needs, compliance judgment |
| Team leads and managers | Delegation, conflict, feedback |
| Graduate programmes | Professional judgment without work history |
| Sales | Handling objections, ethics under target pressure |
How SJTs are scored
- Single best answer: 1 point for the most effective option.
- Most / least effective: points for picking both correctly.
- Rating scale: each option rated 1–5, and the score is the distance from the expert key.
Scores are compared with an expert key: how experienced, high-performing employees answered.
How to build a good SJT
- Collect 15–20 real incidents from managers ("a moment that separated good from poor performers").
- Write each as a short scenario with 4 realistic options. Avoid one obviously silly option.
- Ask 5–10 high performers to answer. Keep only scenarios where they mostly agree.
- Keep the language simple and test in the candidate's working language.
- Pilot on current employees and check that higher SJT scores go with better performance ratings.
SJT + skills test = strong first round
| Role | Combination |
|---|---|
| Customer support | Customer Support SJT – De-escalation + language test + 1 video question |
| Bank teller | Banking Operations & Customer Service + Basic Math + SJT |
| Team lead | Leadership & Team Management + Situational Judgment & Behavioral |
TheyTest's library includes Situational Judgment & Behavioral, Customer Support SJT – De-escalation and Adaptive Workplace Judgment. You can also write your own scenarios as a custom test.
FAQ
Can candidates prepare for an SJT?
They can get used to the format, but good SJTs reflect real company situations, so genuine judgment still shows.
Is an SJT a personality test?
No. Personality tests measure traits. An SJT measures choices in specific work situations.
How long should an SJT be?
10–15 minutes and 10–15 scenarios is enough for screening.
