Situational judgement tests in New Zealand recruitment

Candidates are routinely told that situational judgement tests cannot be prepared for. That is half true, and the half that is false costs people places.

What is a situational judgement test?

A short scenario, a colleague, a member of the public, a safety concern, a shift under pressure, followed by response options. You choose the best, sometimes the worst, sometimes you rank them all. There is no calculation and nothing to look up.

Which New Zealand employers use them?

How are situational judgement tests scored?

Against a scoring key built from what experienced people in the role consider effective. Options are usually not simply right or wrong, they carry different weights, which is why several can look defensible while one is clearly stronger.

This is also why the test is not looking for the answer you think an assessor wants. It is comparing your judgement to the judgement of people who do the job.

Can you prepare for a situational judgement test?

Not by memorising answers: scenarios differ, and memorised responses transfer badly. But you can build a consistent framework for weighing what these roles actually value:

1. Safety first: of the public, colleagues and yourself. It outranks everything.
2. Integrity. Do not conceal, do not shade the truth, do not go along with a shortcut.
3. Appropriate escalation: involve the right person at the right time. Neither handle alone what should be escalated, nor escalate what you should handle.
4. Communication: address the person directly before going around them, where it is safe to do so.

Applying that order consistently is most of what strong performance on these tests looks like.

A worked situational judgement example

A colleague on your shift has skipped a required check twice this week. They are experienced, well-liked, and under pressure at home. What do you do?

The strongest responses address the missed check *and* the relationship: raise it with the colleague directly and make sure the check is completed. The check is a safety matter, so it cannot be left; the colleague is a person, so going straight over their head when a direct conversation is available is disproportionate.

Weaker responses: saying nothing because they are experienced (safety deferred to seniority), reporting them immediately without speaking to them (escalation skipping communication), or covering the check yourself without mentioning it (fixes today, guarantees a repeat).

What is the most common mistake?

Choosing the answer that avoids conflict. Almost every scenario contains an option that keeps everyone comfortable and resolves nothing, and it is nearly always scored poorly, because the roles that use these tests exist precisely for the situations where someone has to act.

Judgement questions appear across police recruitment, firefighter selection, corrections, customs and licensed security work.