What is a situational judgement test?

Mar 19, 2023

Written By Nandini Jadeja

Situational Judgement Tests (SJT) are used across several industries to assess how an applicant will react and behave in a series of hypothetical work scenarios. Many law firms will use SJTs as part of their recruitment process. But, what does the test involve and what can you do to prepare for it?

What does a Situational Judgement Test involve?

These tests will differ from firm to firm, but generally involves choosing a response from multiple options, or ranking the options from how you are most likely to respond to how you are least likely to respond.

No two SJTs are the same, as law firms often develop their own in line with the behaviour traits they are looking for. They are conducted on various virtual platforms, and may involve a combination of written instructions (in the format of an email for example) that you need to rank responses to.

There are also video type questions where you are asked to rank how you would respond after listening to a particular conversation, for example.

The tests may also be timed, untimed, or the time taken to complete it may be monitored (without there being a time limit).

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How do law firms use Situational Judgement Tests?

Law firms use SJTs to assess which candidates are most likely to do well in everyday situations that their trainees face at the firm. They also assess the suitability of the applicant to trainee life by identifying how a candidate is most likely to respond.

Firms may be looking for certain qualities that they want their trainees to possess (teamwork, communication, leadership) and thus SJTs can help them to identify this.

Do I receive feedback after a Situational Judgement Test?

It depends largely on the firm, but in most instances you will get some form of a feedback report following completion of the test. In some cases, this will tell you some qualities that the test identified you as being strong in, and areas that you may want to improve on.

Other tests will tell you how you performed against certain criteria. For example, you could receive a ranking of 'high’, ‘moderate’ or ‘low’ in different areas like leadership skills or critical thinking for example. The feedback will vary hugely between firms. Thus, at this stage, it is difficult to tell whether you will progress to the next stage in the application process, as different candidates will exhibit different qualities.

The test results will also be looked at alongside the rest of your application, so even if your SJT results are the same as someone else’s, that does not guarantee that you will both receive the same outcome.

How do I do well at a Situational Judgement Test?

Importantly, an SJT is focussed almost entirely on what the firm expects of a trainee. You therefore need to think carefully about how the firm might want one of their trainees to think.

For example, if a task asks you to take on a considerable degree of responsibility, think about whether that is something that the firm might expect in a trainee. Of course, most firms will want their trainees to take on responsibility, but this might be especially true in a firm with a smaller trainee intake for example, or a firm that has specified that this is a quality they look for in a trainee. The job description you received will give you a rough idea of what they’re looking for.

Another thing to research for is the values of the firms, as there may be questions that want you to exhibit behaviour that is in line with the firm’s qualities. Preparation for SJTs therefore involves knowing what the firm stands for, and what it wants from its trainees.

However, It's also important to answer as honestly as you can, rather than changing answers because you think a particular response sounds the most impressive. If you answer dishonestly, you could end up at a job which isn’t a good fit for you culture-wise.

Even though firms use their own SJTs, it is worth looking for practice tests to familiarise yourself with the format of SJTs. These can be found online, and many firms even offer their own practice tests or questions. These are usually the most reliable practice questions.

Remember to spend some time looking over the answers to the questions you got wrong, this will avoid you making the same mistakes on the real thing. It might be worth noting down the lessons you learnt from the test, and the skills the firm is looking for, and reading through them before you start the real SJT.

So, a Situational Judgement Test is a test that measures your responses to a variety of scenarios that might face a trainee at the firm. Doing a bit of research on what the firm looks for in its trainees will help you during the test.

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