EPSO introduced in 2010 a new test for European Institution competitions: the situational judgement test (SJT). This test presents the candidate with a work situation followed by 4 possible actions. The candidate must choose the most effective and the least effective actions.
The first year, the score for the situational judgement test was not taken into account in the overall score but today this test represents a third of the score for the assistants (AST) competitions and half of the score for the administrators (AD) competitions. Therefore, we can wonder whether this test really enables EPSO to select the best candidates. Please note this test was not part of the 2017 AD5 competition.
A study performed in January 2011 by SHL, the company which created the situational judgement questions used in the EPSO competitions, reveals several important factors on SJT:
– They are fair (no variation linked to age, sex or ethnic origin),
– They allow a real prediction of the candidate’s performance,
– It is difficult to « cheat »
The questions in EPSO’s situational judgement tests are designed to assess you on 5 competencies: analysis and problem solving, delivering quality and results, prioritising and organising, resilience, and working with others. To be successful at the SJT, it is very important to understand what these competencies mean in the European institutions, and what the key values of these institutions are.
It is also necessary to master some verbal reasoning techniques to understand the nature of the problem and prioritise the various actions.
ORSEU Competitions can prepare you for this with books, online tests and e-learning courses.