How the Cubiks SJT works
Each question describes a situation you might meet at work, followed by a list of possible actions. Depending on the test, you rate how effective each action would be, or rank the most and least effective. Some tests ask for both.
Talogy sells ready-made SJTs as The Dilemmas Series, with versions for managers, graduates, administrative staff, customer service and call centres, each measuring 4 or 5 competencies. It also builds custom SJTs for individual employers, so your scenarios may be written around that organisation’s own jobs.
Because the scenarios mirror the role, the test also gives you a preview of what the job involves day to day.
How to answer Cubiks SJT questions
Treat every scenario the same way:
- Work out what the real problem is, and who is affected, before you read the options.
- Look for the response that solves the problem and keeps the right people informed. Fixing things quietly without telling anyone usually rates below that.
- When asked to rate, judge each response on its own. Two responses can be equally good.
- When asked to rank, choose the least effective with as much care as the most effective. Ignoring a problem, or passing it on without a reason, is a common worst option.
- Answer as you would act in the job at your level, not as the most heroic version of yourself.
Worked example
Scenario: you are a graduate trainee and notice that a report your team sent to a client yesterday contains a wrong figure. Your manager is away until tomorrow.
Responses: (A) tell a senior colleague today and agree how to correct it with the client; (B) wait until your manager is back; (C) email the client the corrected figure yourself without telling anyone; (D) say nothing, as the client may not notice.
A is the most effective: it gets the error fixed quickly by someone with the authority to do it. C is well meant but goes around the team. B delays a fix the client needs. D is the least effective, because it leaves a known error with a client.
Tips for the real Cubiks SJT
- Read the employer’s values or competency framework before you start. Custom SJTs are built around them.
- Check whether each question asks you to rate, rank or both before you answer.
- Use the full rating scale. If a response is clearly poor, rate it that way.
- Think about the level of the role. A response that suits a manager can be overstepping for a trainee.
- Read the start screen for a time limit. Talogy tells you there whether the test is timed.
Practise the Cubiks SJT on CogniPrep
Our Cubiks SJT practice gives you 12 scenarios from a bank of 24, each with five responses you rate from 1, very ineffective, to 5, very effective. There is no clock and no Back button. Your score out of 100 measures how close your ratings are to an expert key, how evenly you do across competencies, and how clearly you separate the best response from the worst. It uses rating only; some real Talogy SJTs ask you to rank instead.