On this page, you will find all the information required on the Situational Judgment Tests (SJT) used by EPSO in the EU Competition. We also provide you direction on how to prepare this test.
What are Situational Judgment Tests used by EPSO?
Situational Judgment Tests (or 'SJT', 'SJTs' as abbreviated) are used to measure your behavior and attitudes in work-related scenarios. They measure your decision-making skills that cannot be easily measure in other aptitude tests (numerical, abstract or verbal). SJTs present to candidates a range of different work-related situations that they might experience in a job. For each situation, a number of possible actions are suggested. The objective of SJT is to identify the 'most effective' and 'least effective' actions on that particular situation.Download the SJT examples of EPSO
Why EPSO is using Situational Judgment Tests (SJT) in the recruitment procedure?
From 2010, EPSO has significantly change the recruitment procedure for Assistant and Administrator profiles. They have moved from a knowledge-based selection to a more competency-based one. Situational Judgment Tests give an indication of your practical abilities on the job, with a profil on your competencies. By using SJT in addition to numerical, verbal and abstract reasonings, EPSO will have a more detailed profile on candidates and their future performance. Used with numerical, abstract and verbal reasoning, it is completing the candidates' profile.
Are Situatonal Judgment Tests (SJT) important in the EPSO competition?
YES! And even more important in 2012 than before. Situational Judgment Tests (SJT) are being used as an eliminatory test of the selection process (computer-based tests or CBT for Administrator and Assistant). It means that candidates must succeed them to go to the second step!
What are the key factors to succeed SJT?
A strong preparation is key to succeed SJT. Situational Judgment Tests are generally considered as the most difficult tests in the computer-based tests. They are not linked to 'hard skills' (knowledge) but 'soft skills' (competencies, behaviors, personality and logical thinking). Your preparation should focus on two points.
- Understanding and methods to solve Situational Judgment Tests
- Practice tests as many as you can
The preparation will help you to understand the work-related situations, identifythe competencies linked to it and find the most/least effective actions based on EPSO expectations. There is a part of subjectivity in Situational Judgment Tests, as each candidate understand a situation based on his interpretation. To decrease the subjectivity, you must prepare yourself to SJT.
How to prepare SJT?
As mentioned above, practicing is key to increase your chances of success. To prepare Situational Judgment Tests, I recommend you the website AbilitUs. This website offers an interactive plaform where you can find many practice tests and study materials that will support your preparation.
Why we recommend AbilitUs:
- Work-related situations - The situation are aligned on EPSO requirements (job functions, working relationship...).
- Composition of SJT - One question with 4 possible answers where you have to identify the most/least effective.
- Difficulty level - Can be use for Assistant (AST3) and Administrator (AD5, AD7) profiles.
- Scoring system - Same system with EPSO.
- Core competencies - Model used by AbilitUs is very closed. The model is based on 8 cores competencies. They have included 'Leadership' for all profiles.
- Interactive platform - You can practice under realistic conditions (time pressure, flag questions) similar to EPSO computer-based test.
What is the scoring system of SJT in EPSO
There are several scoring systems for SJT. EPSO is using a scoring system in which the Most/Least effective answers have 1 point, and the intermediate answers have 0.5 point. The advantage of this scoring system is to consider the degree of effectiveness of each possible answer. The scoring range is between 0 and 2 points (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2).
But you have to pay attention. The average scores with this scoring system provide high percentage (75%-85%). To succeed SJT, you need to reach at least 90%-95%!
Need coaching to prepare EPSO competition?
Wish to learn more about the methodology of SJT, methods to solve SJT? I provide individual coaching to help in your preparation. Contact me : email@example.com
I'm working with the website AbilitUs for the coaching. They are offering good study materials and professional practice tests. The methodology is adapted to prepare the EPSO competition. I invite your to try their free demo to get an idea.