Skip to main content
All Civil Service tests
UK Civil Service · All grades, two bands

Civil Service Work Strengths Test Practice: Statements, Scenarios and Most/Least Choices

Civil Service Work Strengths Test practice by grade: rate statements, rate actions in 10 scenarios, pick most and least likely in 5, with each answer explained.

Practice: 30 statements, then 10 scenarios to rate and 5 most/least scenarios, untimedAlso called “Civil Service strengths test”Also called “Work Strengths Test practice”

How the practice module works

  1. 01Choose the grade band closest to the job: it sets which strengths the practice covers, as in the real test.
  2. 02Part 1: say how much you agree with each statement about how you usually work. It is not scored here; it gives you an estimated strengths profile.
  3. 03Part 2: rate every action in each scenario as Counterproductive, Ineffective, Fairly Effective or Effective. Two actions can share a rating.
  4. 04Part 3: choose the action you would be most likely and least likely to take. There is no timer. The key is Candidate Falcon’s own view of good practice, not GOV.UK’s.

Controls

  • Choose your grade band
  • Part 1: one answer per statement
  • Part 2: a rating for every action; ratings can repeat
  • Part 3: one most likely and one least likely action

Included in 1 Game Platform Prep (when you choose the UK Civil Service tests), All Games Platforms Prep and Full Access. See plans

Part 1
Statements rated from very strongly agree to very strongly disagree
Part 2
10 scenarios, four actions each rated Counterproductive to Effective
Part 3
5 scenarios, the most and least likely action of four
Strengths
Five strength pairs that depend on the grade of the job
Time
Untimed; allow at least an hour
Result
A percentile against other applicants; a pass is banked for six months

What the Civil Service Work Strengths Test looks at

GOV.UK says the Work Strengths Test looks at what you do regularly, what you do well and what motivates you.

The strengths depend on the grade. From Administrative to Executive Officer: Analytical/Problem Solver, Relationship Builder/Team Player, Adaptable/Explainer, Organiser/Decisive and Service Focussed/Focussed.

From Higher Executive Officer to SCS 1: Analytical/Problem Solver, Relationship Builder/Team Leader, Adaptable/Resilient, Explainer/Influencer and Organiser/Strategic.

How the Civil Service Work Strengths Test practice works

  1. Choose a grade band: Administrative to Executive Officer, or Higher Executive Officer to Grade 7. It sets which strengths the practice covers.
  2. Applying at Grade 6 or SCS 1? Use the Higher Executive Officer to Grade 7 band: GOV.UK lists the same strengths from Higher Executive Officer to SCS 1.
  3. Part 1: answer 30 statements about how you usually work, ten per screen. They are not scored here; you get an estimated profile on the strengths for your grade.
  4. Part 2: for each of 10 scenarios, rate all four actions as Counterproductive, Ineffective, Fairly Effective or Effective. You can give the same rating to more than one action.
  5. Part 3: for each of 5 scenarios, choose the action you would be most likely to take and the one you would be least likely to take.
  6. In Part 3, Candidate Falcon’s key ranks the actions by what an effective civil servant would do, not by what most applicants would pick.
  7. At the end, see your agreement with Candidate Falcon’s key for each strength, and open any scenario to see why each action earns its rating.
  8. Each run draws its scenarios from a larger bank for your grade band (15 for Part 2 and 10 for Part 3), so a second run is not a repeat of the first.

Civil Service Work Strengths Test tips

  • Answer Part 1 as you really work, not as you think you should. Some statements in this practice are worded the other way round, and answers that contradict each other make a profile hard to read.
  • Use the whole scale in Part 1: a profile where everything is "very strongly agree" says little about your real strengths.
  • In Part 2, judge each action on its own. Two good actions can both be Effective.
  • In Part 3, the least likely action is usually one that ignores the people involved or hides a problem.
  • Think about the level of the job: more is expected of a Grade 7 than of an Administrative Officer before passing a problem up.

Common Civil Service Work Strengths Test mistakes

  • Agreeing strongly with every Part 1 statement to look good.
  • Treating Part 2 as a ranking and giving each rating to one action only.
  • Choosing in Part 3 what sounds impressive rather than what would work.
  • Rushing: the test is untimed, so read every action to the end.

A short Civil Service Work Strengths Test practice routine

  1. Run the free official Work Strengths practice once to see the real interface.
  2. Practise at the grade band of the job you are applying for.
  3. Read the review of every action where your rating was two or more steps from ours.
  4. Think of a real example for each strength on your list: the same strengths often come up at interview.

Civil Service Work Strengths Test FAQ

What is in the Civil Service Work Strengths Test?

GOV.UK describes three parts: statements about your typical behaviour rated from very strongly agree to very strongly disagree, 10 scenarios where you rate four actions from Counterproductive to Effective, and 5 scenarios where you choose the action you would be most and least likely to take. It is untimed.

Which strengths does it measure?

It depends on the grade. GOV.UK lists Analytical/Problem Solver, Relationship Builder/Team Player, Adaptable/Explainer, Organiser/Decisive and Service Focussed/Focussed from Administrative to Executive Officer, and Analytical/Problem Solver, Relationship Builder/Team Leader, Adaptable/Resilient, Explainer/Influencer and Organiser/Strategic from Higher Executive Officer to SCS 1.

Is Part 1 scored in this practice?

No. Part 1 gives you an estimated profile on the strengths for your grade, so you can see how your answers come across. The real test combines all three parts and compares you with other applicants, which practice cannot do.

Is this the real test or its answer key?

No. The statements, scenarios and ratings are Candidate Falcon’s own, written for practice. GOV.UK does not publish its key. The seven-point agreement scale in Part 1 follows the official practice test.

Can I reuse my result?

GOV.UK says a pass is banked for six months and reused for jobs in the same grade grouping: AA and AO; EO; HEO and SEO; Grade 7, Grade 6 and SCS 1. You may be asked to take the test again under supervision if you are invited to interview.

Independent practice by Candidate Falcon, based on the three-part format in GOV.UK’s guidance; the statements, scenarios and 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.