How the Sova SJT works
Each question describes a situation you could meet in the job, then lists three or four ways of handling it. Sova asks you to choose the best and the worst response. You do not rank or rate the others.
The scenarios are written for each employer, and Sova can attach an image or video to a question, so some scenarios are shown rather than only described.
The SJT is compulsory in Sova’s Early Careers assessment, which scores candidates against seven skills: Teamwork, Influencing, Analytical Thinking, Innovating, Adaptability, Drive and Learning Focus. If you are applying for a graduate or apprentice scheme through Sova, you are likely to sit one.
How to pick the best and worst response
For each scenario:
- Work out what the real problem is and who it affects before you read the options.
- Pick the worst first. Hiding a mistake, ignoring the problem or going over someone’s head without trying anything are the usual worst answers.
- For the best, look for the response that deals with the problem directly, involves the right person early and keeps people informed.
- Where two options look alike, find the detail that separates them, such as who is told or how soon.
- Answer as the person the employer wants in the role, using the values on its careers pages as a guide.
Worked example
You have been in a new team for a month. While updating a client spreadsheet, you find a formula error that made last month’s figures wrong. Your manager sent those figures to the client last week.
A. Fix the formula quietly and say nothing, since the next report will be right. B. Tell your manager today, show the error and bring corrected figures. C. Email the client directly with the corrected figures. D. Wait until you are sure the error matters before raising it.
Most effective: B. It fixes the problem, gives your manager what they need and leaves the client contact with the person who owns it. Least effective: A. It hides an error the client is already relying on. C is well meant but bypasses your manager, and D delays a problem that is already live.
Tips for the real Sova SJT
- Read every option before you commit. The best and worst are often clear only by comparison.
- Do not default to the boldest option. Acting alone without telling anyone can be as poor as doing nothing.
- Expect video or images in some scenarios, and watch them fully before answering.
- Read the employer’s values first. The scenarios are written for the role and the organisation.
- Use the practice question at the start of the section to see how the two choices are made on screen.
Practise the Sova SJT on CogniPrep
Ours gives you 12 written scenarios drawn from a bank of 28, each with four responses. You mark one Most effective and a different one Least effective; Next unlocks when both are chosen, and there is no Back. Each scenario is worth two marks, one for each pick, and time is not scored. You get a score out of 100, a percentile against CogniPrep players and a breakdown across Sova’s seven Early Careers skills. The count of 12 and our scenarios are ours, because Sova writes its scenarios for each employer.