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UK Civil Service · EO to SEO managers

Civil Service Management Judgement Test Practice: 15 Most and Least Likely Scenarios

Practise the Civil Service Management Judgement Test: 15 manager scenarios where you pick the most and least likely action, with every choice explained.

Practice: 15 scenarios, three for each of the five aspects, untimedAlso called “CSMJT”Also called “Civil Service management SJT”

How the practice module works

  1. 01Each scenario puts you in charge of a team, from Executive Officer to Senior Executive Officer level, with four possible actions.
  2. 02Choose the action you would be least likely to take in the left column and the one you would be most likely to take in the right column. One action cannot be both.
  3. 03There is no timer. At the end you see how your picks compare with Candidate Falcon’s ranking and why each action ranks where it does.
  4. 04The ranking is our own view of good management practice, not GOV.UK’s key.

Controls

  • Choose one action on the left and one on the right
  • Arrow keys move within each column
  • Next once both are chosen

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Who takes it
Applicants for roles from Executive Officer to Senior Executive Officer that need it
Format
15 scenarios, four actions each, some on video
Your answer
The action you would be most likely and least likely to take
Aspects measured
Collaborative, Decisive, Empathetic, Confident, Agile
Time
Untimed; two to four minutes per scenario
Result
A percentile against other applicants; not banked for later jobs

What the Civil Service Management Judgement Test looks at

GOV.UK says the Management Judgement Test looks at judgement and decision-making in the day-to-day management of other people.

It names five aspects of behaviour it measures: Collaborative, Decisive, Empathetic, Confident and Agile.

Unlike the Judgement Test, you do not rate every action: you choose only the most likely and the least likely.

How the Civil Service Management Judgement Test practice works

  1. Read each scenario, in which you manage a team at Executive Officer to Senior Executive Officer level.
  2. Choose the action you would be least likely to take on the left and the one you would be most likely to take on the right.
  3. Fifteen scenarios, three for each aspect, drawn at random from 30.
  4. At the end, see your agreement with Candidate Falcon’s ranking by aspect, and open any scenario to see why each action ranks where it does.

Civil Service Management Judgement Test tips

  • Read all four actions before choosing: the best one often deals with the person and the task at the same time.
  • Good managers act early, talk to people directly and keep their own manager informed.
  • Watch for actions that avoid a difficult conversation, hide a problem or go behind someone’s back: they are usually the least likely choice.
  • Formal steps such as misconduct reports are rarely the first move; a conversation usually comes first.

Common Civil Service Management Judgement Test mistakes

  • Choosing the action that sounds toughest rather than the one that would work.
  • Picking “ask my manager” for everything: at EO to SEO level, many decisions are yours.
  • Forgetting the least likely pick matters as much as the most likely.

A short Civil Service Management Judgement Test practice routine

  1. Run the free official practice once to see the real interface.
  2. Do a full run of 15 scenarios here and review every pick that differs from ours.
  3. Repeat until each aspect feels familiar; each run draws a new mix from 30 scenarios.

Civil Service Management Judgement Test FAQ

Who takes the Civil Service Management Judgement Test?

GOV.UK says it is for people applying for roles between Executive Officer and Senior Executive Officer level, and only when the job requires that level of management capability.

How does the Management Judgement Test work?

There are 15 scenarios, some on video and some in text, each with four actions. You choose the one action you would be most likely to take and the one you would be least likely to take. It is untimed.

Is the Management Judgement Test result banked?

No. GOV.UK removed banking for this test in October 2020, so you take it again for each application that needs it.

Is this the official answer key?

No. The scenarios and the ranking are Candidate Falcon’s own. GOV.UK does not publish its key, and the real test reports a percentile against other applicants.

Independent practice by Candidate Falcon, based on the format in GOV.UK’s guidance; the scenarios and the key are Candidate Falcon’s own. Not affiliated with the UK Civil Service, Civil Service Jobs or the Government People Group, and not their scoring. Practice results are not Civil Service scores. For scores, pass marks, banked results and GOV.UK's free official practice tests, read the free guide to the Civil Service online tests.