Situational judgement tests: the 2026 guide for UK graduate applicants

A situational judgement test (SJT) shows you realistic work scenarios and asks you to judge how effective different responses would be, so the employer can see how you are likely to behave at work rather than what you know. It is one of the most common screening stages on UK graduate schemes, and in most cases a computer marks it. This guide covers the formats, who uses them, how scoring works, and how to prepare without trying to game it, as of October 2026.

What does a situational judgement test measure?

An SJT puts you in a situation you could plausibly meet in your first year: a colleague missing deadlines, a client complaint, two managers asking for conflicting things. You then judge a set of possible actions.

It measures judgement, not ability. Unlike a numerical test or the Watson Glaser, there is no right answer you can work out from first principles. The "right" answer is the one that best fits how the employer wants its people to behave. That is why the same scenario can have a different best answer at a bank, a retailer and a government department.

It is built from a framework. Employers design SJT scenarios around the behaviours, strengths or values they assess at every later stage. The Fast Stream says its work-based scenarios test "interpersonal skills" and its case study test assesses "decision-making and your ability to adapt to changing circumstances" (Civil Service Careers, checked 7 October 2026). If you know the framework, you know what is being scored.

What formats do SJTs use?

Most SJTs use one of four response formats. Some mix them in a single test.

Format	What you do	An employer that publishes it
Rate each option	Rate every action on a fixed scale, for example counterproductive, ineffective, partially effective, effective	Civil Service Fast Stream, work-based scenarios (12 scenarios)
Most and least effective	Pick the best and the worst action from a list	Civil Service Fast Stream, case study assessment (24 situations)
Rank	Put the options in order of preference	Transport for London; Deloitte (rank how you would most and least likely act)
Single best answer	Choose one option, often untimed	Mondelez (graduate SJT, untimed multiple choice)

Sources: Fast Stream online tests, TfL how to apply, Deloitte early careers assessment, Mondelez UK early careers, all checked on 7 October 2026.

Rating formats reward nuance. On a four-point scale, an option that is "partially effective" is not the same as "ineffective". Candidates lose marks by rating everything as either the best or the worst.

Which UK employers use situational judgement tests?

SJTs are common in the public sector, banking, FMCG and professional services. These are employers whose own careers pages describe an SJT or scenario-based stage, checked on 7 October 2026:

Employer	Programme	What the employer's page says
Civil Service Fast Stream	Fast Stream 2027	Two untimed online tests, work-based scenarios and a case study, completed within 7 days
HMRC	Tax Specialist Programme	A "Civil Service Judgement Test" after verbal and numerical tests
Deloitte UK	Graduate Programme	A behavioural assessment where you rank actions on realistic workplace scenarios
Deutsche Bank	Graduate and intern programmes	A situational judgement test, a behavioural questionnaire and an ability test before the video interview
Transport for London	Graduate Scheme	Hypothetical scenarios where you rank your preferred response
Mondelez	Graduate programme	A second-stage, untimed situational judgement test

We could not confirm the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme's test format because its site blocked our checks, so it is not listed.

Our own dataset gives a sense of scale. Of the 689 UK early-careers programmes whose recruitment stages we have researched from employers' own pages, 54 list a situational judgement stage, across 35 employers (GoRizzume data, 7 October 2026). Many more use "behavioural" or "strengths" questionnaires that work the same way under a different name.

How are SJTs scored?

Against a key, usually automatically. The Institute of Student Employers reported in November 2025 that 53% of employers fully automate their situational judgement tests, behind only numerical reasoning at 57% (ISE, 12 November 2025). Your responses are compared with a scoring key that the employer or test publisher sets in advance.

Close answers usually earn something. Publishers rarely publish their keys, but rating and ranking formats are typically scored on how close you are to the keyed answer, not all-or-nothing. Rating a keyed "effective" action as "partially effective" generally costs less than rating it "counterproductive".

Time limits vary. The Fast Stream tests are untimed. Deloitte says its assessment has no overall time limit but some questions are timed and speed contributes to the score. Read the instructions on the first screen every time.

Consistency matters. Many SJTs sit next to a personality or working-style questionnaire. If your SJT answers say "I always escalate early" and your questionnaire says "I prefer to solve things alone", that pattern is visible.

How to prepare honestly

Find the employer's framework. For the Civil Service, that is Success Profiles: nine behaviours, namely Seeing the big picture, Changing and improving, Making effective decisions, Leadership, Communicating and influencing, Working together, Developing self and others, Managing a quality service, and Delivering at pace. Private employers publish values or "what we look for" pages. Write each one down with what it would look like in a junior role.
Practise the format, not the answers. Do the official example questions where they exist (the Fast Stream page has one). The aim is to stop the format surprising you.
Read every option before judging any. The best action often only looks best next to the alternatives.
Answer as the person they want to hire, who is also you. The employer is looking for behaviour it can see later at the assessment centre. Faking a profile you cannot sustain usually unravels at interview. A Fast Streamer quoted on the Civil Service site gives the same advice: respond to the scenarios as you would in real life.

Worked examples (our own practice questions)

These are original GoRizzume practice questions, not taken from any employer or test publisher.

Example 1: rate each option. You are two months into a policy team. A senior colleague asks you to send a briefing to a minister's office by 4pm. At 2pm you notice a figure in it that does not match the source data. Rate each action.

A. Send it on time and mention the figure afterwards. Ineffective: the error reaches a minister.
B. Tell the colleague now, explain the mismatch and suggest a correction. Effective: fixes it, keeps them informed, still aims for 4pm.
C. Correct the figure yourself and send it without saying anything. Partially effective: right fix, but the owner does not know their briefing changed.
D. Hold the briefing until you have rechecked every figure. Counterproductive: misses the deadline without telling anyone.

Example 2: most and least effective. A teammate on a client project has missed two internal deadlines and the client review is on Friday.

A. Raise it with your manager straight away.
B. Ask the teammate privately whether something is getting in the way and offer to take one task.
C. Do their work yourself without mentioning it.
D. Mention it in the next team meeting.

Most effective: B, because it solves the problem at the lowest level first and protects Friday. Least effective: D, because it embarrasses the teammate publicly and fixes nothing before the review. A is reasonable if B fails.

Example 3: rank. A customer emails you angrily about a delivery that another team handles. Rank, best first: acknowledge the email the same day and say who you are passing it to; forward it to the other team with no reply; reply that it is not your department. Order: acknowledge and pass on, forward only, reply it is not your department.

Common mistakes

What costs marks

Picking the most heroic option: doing everything yourself
Rating every action as either best or worst
Escalating everything to a manager at the first sign of trouble
Answering from what your current part-time job would accept

What scores well

Fixing the problem at the right level, then informing people
Using the whole scale when you rate options
Checking each option against the employer's framework
Keeping the deadline and the relationship in view together

Fast Stream 2027: timing

Civil Service Careers states that Fast Stream applications opened at midday on 8 October 2026. We could not find a closing date on the official pages on 7 October, so check the Fast Stream site for the closing date rather than relying on third-party trackers. Once you apply, the online tests can take a few days to appear, and you then have 7 days to complete them.

International students should note the Fast Stream is not a visa sponsor: you need your own right to work for the whole programme. Our Fast Stream sponsorship page sets out what the Civil Service publishes.

After the SJT, many schemes move on to a recorded video interview and then an assessment centre. See our assessment centre preparation guide, and practise answers out loud with video interview practice.

Frequently asked questions

What is a situational judgement test? A situational judgement test is an online assessment that presents realistic work scenarios and asks you to judge how effective different responses would be. It measures how well your judgement fits the employer's values or competency framework, not your knowledge or reasoning ability.

Can you fail a situational judgement test? Yes. Most employers set a cut-off and only candidates above it move on, and the ISE found 53% of employers fully automate SJT marking. There is no published pass mark for most tests, so aim to answer consistently with the employer's framework rather than to hit a number.

How do I practise for the Civil Service situational judgement test? Read the nine Success Profiles behaviours on gov.uk, then use the example question on the Fast Stream online tests page to learn the rating scale (counterproductive, ineffective, partially effective, effective). Practise rating every option, not just finding the best one.

Are situational judgement tests timed? It depends on the employer. The Civil Service Fast Stream tests are untimed and you have 7 days to complete them, while Deloitte says some questions in its assessment are timed and speed contributes to your score. Read the instructions before you start.

Should I answer how I would act or how I think they want me to act? Answer how you would act at your best, using the employer's framework as your guide. Many SJTs sit next to a working-style questionnaire, and inconsistent answers are easy to spot. The same behaviours are tested again at interview and the assessment centre.