Process at a glance
| Stage | What it is | Preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Application | Form, CV, motivation | Tailor to a named business area |
| Online assessments | Numerical, logical, SJT | Timed full-length simulations |
| Recorded interview | Asynchronous video | Four rehearsed competency stories |
| Final stage | Interviews plus exercise | Case structuring and fit narrative |
How to answer a situational judgement test
SJT items describe a workplace dilemma and ask you to rank or rate responses. The scoring key is built from what experienced employees do, and it consistently rewards a specific pattern.
| Response type | Typical score |
|---|---|
| Take ownership and act within your remit | Highest |
| Escalate promptly with a proposed solution | High |
| Escalate without attempting anything yourself | Middle |
| Wait for instructions | Low |
| Act outside your authority without telling anyone | Lowest |
Video and final stage
- Prepare a business-area-specific motivation answer; "Citi is global" is not one.
- Have two client-facing or service stories ready, since these map cleanly to the framework.
- For the final exercise, present a recommendation with two supporting reasons and one risk.
Treat the online stage as an exam, not a form
Candidates routinely complete online assessments in the wrong conditions: on a phone, late at night, with notifications on, halfway through something else. These tests are timed and percentile-scored against a strong cohort, so those conditions cost real marks. Block an hour, sit somewhere quiet, and treat it with the seriousness you would give a written exam, because functionally that is what it is.
Before you start, do a short warm-up of five practice questions. Cognitive tests punish a cold start; the first two questions of any timed section are where most avoidable errors happen while your brain adjusts to the format.
The recorded interview is a communication test
Recorded interviews measure clarity far more than content. Two candidates can give the same substance and score differently because one spoke in short, complete sentences and the other qualified every clause. Practise reducing your answers. If you can say it in twenty words, do not use sixty, because the extra forty give a reviewer nothing to mark and plenty to get bored by.
Structure also carries you through nerves. When you know the shape of your answer, a wobble in the first sentence does not derail the rest of it. That is the real purpose of frameworks: not to sound formulaic, but to give you a rail to hold when adrenaline arrives.
The final stage: judgement over knowledge
By the final stage everyone remaining can do the arithmetic. What separates offers from rejections is judgement: how you weigh incomplete information, how you handle disagreement, whether you can hold a position and still change your mind when given a better argument. Prepare for this by practising explaining decisions you have already made in your life and why, out loud, with the reasoning exposed.
Key takeaways
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| SJTs have a key | Ownership plus escalation is the winning pattern |
| Name the business area | Generic motivation is the most common rejection reason |
| Simulate the tests | Full length, timed, single sitting |
| One risk per recommendation | Signals commercial judgement |
Frequently asked questions
How do you pass a situational judgement test?
Choose responses that combine personal action within your remit with timely escalation, and avoid both passivity and unilateral action outside your authority.
