FBI Assessment Tests

FBI Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are an equipment store assistant at the FBI, six weeks into the role. A trolley of equipment booked out for tomorrow morning’s training session has not come back, and the session cannot run without it. Two colleagues are arguing at the store counter about which of them agreed to return it, and each of them turns to you and asks you to say what you heard. What you heard does not settle it. The person running the session needs to know by the end of today whether the equipment will be there. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stay out of it and let the two of them settle who was at fault between themselves, since it is not your argument to referee, then get on with the rest of the counter work for the afternoon.
   2. Take the argument to the person who runs the store straight away, before either colleague leaves for the day, and ask them to decide which of the two colleagues is telling it right about who agreed to bring the trolley back.
   3. Tell each of them separately what the other has been saying about the trolley, repeating the exact words each used at the counter once the other has gone.
   4. Say plainly that what you heard does not settle it, and get the two of them to work out with you where the trolley is now, so the session leader has an answer today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Say plainly that what you heard does not settle it, and get the two of them to work out with you where the trolley is now, so the session leader has an answer today.

   Least effective: C. Tell each of them separately what the other has been saying about the trolley, repeating the exact words each used at the counter once the other has gone.

   A: Avoids the difficult conversation: nobody is then looking for the trolley, and the session tomorrow morning still has no equipment whoever turns out to have been right.

   B: Escalates prematurely: it asks somebody with less to go on than you have to judge an account nobody can corroborate, and it still leaves the trolley unaccounted for tonight.

   C: Personalises the disagreement: it carries private remarks between two people who have to work together, and turns a missing trolley into a grievance that outlasts tomorrow's session.

   The most effective response is saying plainly that what you heard does not settle it and getting the two of them to work out where the trolley is now: the session leader needs equipment rather than a verdict, and the one fact that can still be established today is where the trolley went. It is stronger than staying out of it and letting them settle who was at fault, because nobody is then looking and tomorrow’s session opens with nothing. It is also stronger than taking the argument to the person who runs the store to decide who is right, since that asks somebody further from the events to judge an account you already know cannot be corroborated. The least effective response is telling each of them separately what the other has been saying about the trolley: it turns a question about a trolley into a question about two people, with you carrying the remarks between them, and the equipment is no closer to being found. The principle: when two people ask you to take a side you cannot honestly take, say so and move both of them onto the outcome that is still fixable.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a shift team member at the FBI. At the end of each shift every person is supposed to write and sign their own entry in the handover record, so that the team coming on knows who to ask about what. To get everybody away on time, one of your team has taken to writing and signing all four entries in advance. Everybody knows, nobody has raised it, and the team coming on has twice asked you about an entry you did not write. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Raise it with the colleague first, say that you will be writing and signing your own entry from now on, and tell them why the team coming on needs to know who to ask.
   2. Write and sign your own entry each shift without saying anything to the colleague, and let the team coming on work out for themselves whose entries are whose.
   3. Report the practice to your supervisor without speaking to the colleague first, since the rule is plain and it is not your place to police the habits of your own team.
   4. Bring it up in front of the whole team at the start of the next shift, naming the colleague and reading out the entries, and say they have been signing for work they did not do.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Raise it with the colleague first, say that you will be writing and signing your own entry from now on, and tell them why the team coming on needs to know who to ask.

   Least effective: D. Bring it up in front of the whole team at the start of the next shift, naming the colleague and reading out the entries, and say they have been signing for work they did not do.

   B: Fixes it only for yourself: three of the four entries stay in one hand, so the people coming on are still asking the wrong person about most of the shift.

   C: Escalates before speaking to the person: nobody has ever raised it, so the colleague has had no chance to stop, and a report lands as an accusation rather than a correction.

   D: Blames a colleague in front of the team: it makes a private correction into a public accusation, aimed at the person everybody relies on to get them away on time.

   The most effective response is to raise it with the colleague first, say that you will be writing and signing your own entry from now on, and tell them why the team coming on needs to know who to ask: the shortcut has a real benefit so it deserves a conversation rather than an ambush, and the team coming on has already been sent to the wrong person twice. It is better than writing and signing your own entry each shift without saying anything, because the other three entries stay in one hand and the people coming on still cannot tell whose is whose. It is better than reporting the practice to your supervisor without speaking to the colleague first, because nobody has ever raised it and the colleague has had no chance to stop. The least effective response is to bring it up in front of the whole team at the start of the next shift and say the colleague has been signing for work they did not do: it makes a private correction into a public accusation, aimed at somebody the whole team relies on. The principle: a shortcut that breaks a stated rule is raised with the person taking it, in private, before it is raised anywhere else.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a recruitment office assistant at the FBI. Last week the form applicants use to book a selection date was changed, and since then every booking has to be typed in twice. Your team is now two days behind on confirmations, and applicants are ringing to ask whether their date is being held. The person who made the change works in another team and has asked for any problems to be sent to them in writing. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Keep typing the bookings in twice and work late until the backlog clears, since the change is not going to be reversed and the applicants waiting on confirmations are the immediate problem.
   2. Write down how long the double typing takes and how far behind the confirmations are, send that to the person who made the change, and agree with your team who clears the backlog.
   3. Ask your supervisor to take the booking work off you until the form is fixed, so the confirmations stop building up while somebody else deals with the change.
   4. Tell the rest of the office at the morning catch up that the delay is down to the person who changed the form, and criticise the change in front of two of their colleagues.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Write down how long the double typing takes and how far behind the confirmations are, send that to the person who made the change, and agree with your team who clears the backlog.

   Least effective: D. Tell the rest of the office at the morning catch up that the delay is down to the person who changed the form, and criticise the change in front of two of their colleagues.

   A: Absorbs the cost quietly: the double typing carries on for everybody after your late nights end, and the person who could fix the form never learns what it is costing.

   C: Passes responsibility to others: the work does not shrink by moving desks, and the applicants ringing about their dates wait exactly as long as before.

   D: Personalises a process problem: the person who could fix the form has asked for it in writing and instead hears it second hand as a complaint about them, so the backlog and the relationship both get worse.

   The most effective response is writing down how long the double typing takes and how far behind the confirmations are and sending it to the person who made the change. They have asked for problems in writing, they are the only person who can undo the double entry, and the applicants ringing today still need somebody named to clear the backlog. It beats keeping on typing everything twice and working late until the backlog clears, because the cost falls on the whole team indefinitely and nobody who could fix it hears about it. It beats asking your supervisor to take the booking work off you, because moving the work sideways leaves the same number of confirmations outstanding. The least effective response is telling the office at the morning catch up that the delay is down to the person who changed the form: it turns a process fault into a complaint about a colleague, made to people who cannot fix it, while the one person who can was waiting for a written note. It is worse than the late nights and worse than the handover to your supervisor because both of those at least keep the confirmations moving. The principle: when a change everybody depends on is causing the delay, put the cost in front of the person who can change it back.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a contact handling assistant at the FBI. You have spent a fortnight clearing a backlog of written enquiries. This morning you find that eleven of them have been reassigned overnight to a colleague, with no message to you, and six are ones you had already drafted replies for. The desk rule is that only the person an enquiry is assigned to may answer it, and the stated service standard is a reply within ten working days. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Answer the six you had already drafted that afternoon and close them off, although the desk rule is that only the person an enquiry is assigned to may answer it.
   2. Say nothing and start on the next set of enquiries, telling yourself the fortnight of work still got done and that arguing about who answers what would only look petty.
   3. Ask the person who moved the enquiries, today, why they were reassigned and what should happen to the six replies you have drafted, then agree with them how the ten day standard is met.
   4. Raise it straight away with the person your supervisor reports to, as a fortnight of your work taken without a word, before speaking to anybody who moved the enquiries.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask the person who moved the enquiries, today, why they were reassigned and what should happen to the six replies you have drafted, then agree with them how the ten day standard is met.

   Least effective: A. Answer the six you had already drafted that afternoon and close them off, although the desk rule is that only the person an enquiry is assigned to may answer it.

   A: Breaches a stated rule to take the work back: two people are now answering the same eleven enquiries with no record of who said what, and the ten day standard is put at risk to settle a point about ownership.

   B: Swallows it in silence: the six drafted replies exist and nobody knows it, so the colleague starts them again and the ten day clock runs while the work is done twice.

   D: Escalates before asking: nobody has yet given a reason for the move, so the complaint is made about a decision whose purpose you have not heard, and the six drafts still go nowhere.

   The most effective response is asking the person who moved the enquiries why they were reassigned and what should happen to the six replies you have drafted. Eleven enquiries are running against a ten day standard, six of them already have replies that only you know about, and one conversation today settles both the reason and the plan. It beats saying nothing and starting on the next set, because the drafts are then wasted and the colleague repeats a fortnight of work under the same clock. It beats going straight to the person your supervisor reports to, because you would be complaining about a decision before hearing why it was made. The least effective response is answering the six yourself in spite of the desk rule that only the assigned person may reply: it breaks the rule the stem states, and it risks two replies going out on the same enquiry, which is a worse outcome for the public than either the silence or the early escalation. It is worse than saying nothing, which only wastes your own effort, and worse than the early escalation, which at least leaves the enquiries in one pair of hands. The principle: when work you own is taken, find out why before you react, and never take it back by breaking the rule that says who answers.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a service desk assistant at the FBI. A member of the public arrives for an appointment that a different team booked, and it turns out the appointment was cancelled last week without anybody telling them. They are angry with you, they have taken a day off work to come in, and they say this is the second time it has happened to them. You can see the cancellation on your screen but not the reason for it, and the team that made the booking can be reached this morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Apologise, explain that the appointment was booked by a different team and that you cannot see why it was cancelled, and give the person the number for the team who can tell them, along with the booking reference from your screen.
   2. Apologise for the wasted day, ring the team who made the booking while the person waits with you, and come back with either a new appointment or a time today when they will hear from somebody.
   3. Blame the team who made the booking, telling the person that this happens every time their bookings come through this desk and that they ought to be complaining about them rather than about you.
   4. Offer the person the next available appointment on the spot, checking the date is one they can take without another day off, and suggest they raise the cancellation with the team who booked it if they want to know why nobody told them.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Apologise for the wasted day, ring the team who made the booking while the person waits with you, and come back with either a new appointment or a time today when they will hear from somebody.

   Least effective: C. Blame the team who made the booking, telling the person that this happens every time their bookings come through this desk and that they ought to be complaining about them rather than about you.

   A: Sends the person on with the problem: they have already lost a day and been let down twice, and a phone number puts the next piece of effort back onto them.

   C: Personalises the complaint: the person wants an appointment and an explanation, and turning a wasted day into an argument about which team is at fault leaves them holding neither.

   D: Fixes the diary and leaves the grievance: a second cancellation with no warning is the thing they came in angry about, and nobody has taken responsibility for finding out why.

   The most effective response is apologising for the wasted day, ringing the team who made the booking while the person waits with you, and coming back with either a new appointment or a time today when they will hear from somebody. The team is reachable this morning, so the person can leave with something instead of another errand. That is better than explaining that a different team booked it and giving them the number, because somebody who has lost a day and been let down twice should not have to make the next call themselves. It is better than offering the next appointment and suggesting they chase the cancellation, because that answers the diary and not the reason they are angry. The least effective response is blaming the team who made the booking and telling the person that they ought to be complaining about them: handing over the number at least points somewhere useful, and offering an appointment at least gives them a date, whereas an argument about whose fault it is puts your own position ahead of the person standing in front of you and gets them no closer to either. The principle: anger about something another team did is still your problem to resolve while the person is in front of you.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a complaints administration assistant at the FBI. The written rule is that every complaint is acknowledged within five working days, and the date the acknowledgement is sent goes on the log. Going through last month you find the team has been entering the date the letter was drafted instead, so eleven complainants waited longer than the log shows. Two of them have written again asking why they have heard nothing. Nobody on the team has raised it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the person who supervises the complaints work today what you have found, with the eleven dates, so the two who have written again can be answered properly.
   2. Start entering the sent date on your own acknowledgements from now on and leave the rest of the team to their own practice, since nobody has asked you to change anything.
   3. Raise it at the team meeting in three weeks, so that everybody hears the same thing at once and the practice can be changed with the whole team present.
   4. Agree with the others to keep it between the team until the backlog is cleared, leaving the eleven drafting dates on the log and answering both letters from it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell the person who supervises the complaints work today what you have found, with the eleven dates, so the two who have written again can be answered properly.

   Least effective: D. Agree with the others to keep it between the team until the backlog is cleared, leaving the eleven drafting dates on the log and answering both letters from it.

   B: Fixes only your own part of a shared problem: future entries improve, and the eleven people who already waited longer than the rule allows stay exactly where they are.

   C: Delays a correction two people are already chasing: the two who have written again are waiting now, and three weeks is longer than the acknowledgement rule allows in the first place.

   D: Joins an agreement to say nothing: eleven separate late acknowledgements become something the team is holding back together, and the two people chasing are answered by a team that already knows.

   The most effective response is to tell the person who supervises the complaints work today what you have found, with the eleven dates. Eleven complainants waited longer than the log shows, two have written again, and only somebody who can reopen those eleven is able to put it right. Starting to enter the sent date on your own acknowledgements is weaker, because it protects future entries and leaves the eleven people already waiting exactly where they are. Waiting for the team meeting in three weeks is weaker too, because the two who have written again are waiting now and three weeks is longer than the rule allows for an acknowledgement. The least effective response is to agree with the others to keep it between the team until the backlog is cleared: it turns eleven late acknowledgements into something the team is holding back together, and it puts you inside the thing that has to come out. A rule everybody around you is quietly ignoring is still the rule, and the people it protects are outside the room.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are an enquiry desk assistant at the FBI. Last week you and a colleague argued in front of the desk about which of you should have taken a long queue, and neither of you has mentioned it since. Today the person who builds the desk rota asks you, in confidence, how the two of you work together, because they are deciding who is paired with whom for the next three months and will act on what you say. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Describe the disagreement honestly, say it has not been talked about since, and tell the rota person that you would rather sort it out with the colleague directly before the pairs are set.
   2. Say the two of you work well enough together and leave last week out of it, since the argument was a one off and the rota person only needs to know whether you can share a desk.
   3. Say you would rather not answer, and suggest the rota person asks the colleague the same question, since it seems unfair to describe a disagreement only one of you is being asked about.
   4. Say there is a problem you would rather not describe, and hand it straight to the desk manager to deal with, since sorting out staff disagreements is their job.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Describe the disagreement honestly, say it has not been talked about since, and tell the rota person that you would rather sort it out with the colleague directly before the pairs are set.

   Least effective: D. Say there is a problem you would rather not describe, and hand it straight to the desk manager to deal with, since sorting out staff disagreements is their job.

   B: Prioritises harmony over honesty: the rota person has said they will act on what you say, so a reassuring answer sets three months of pairings on a picture you know is incomplete.

   C: Steps back from a question only you were asked: fairness is met by saying what happened rather than by saying nothing, and the rota is set either way, with or without your account.

   D: Passes the problem on without owning it: a disagreement you have never raised with the colleague becomes something the manager has to take up formally, and the rota person is left with a flag and no account of it.

   The most effective response is describing the disagreement honestly and telling the rota person you would rather sort it out with the colleague directly. The rota person has said they will act on what you say, the argument happened in front of the desk and has never been talked about, and the only version of this that ends well is one the colleague hears from you first. It beats saying the two of you work well enough together and leaving last week out of it, because three months of pairings would then rest on a picture you know is incomplete. It beats declining to answer and suggesting they ask the colleague the same question, because the rota is set either way and your silence simply removes what you know from it. The least effective response is saying there is a problem you would rather not describe and handing it straight to the desk manager: it turns a disagreement the colleague has never heard raised into somebody else’s case to look into, and gives the rota person a flag without an account, which is a different kind of wrong from being too kind or too quiet. It is worse than the reassuring answer and worse than the refusal because both of those leave the disagreement where it can still be fixed between the two of you, while this one moves it to a manager who now has to act on something nobody has described. The principle: feedback that will be acted on is for describing what happened, not for handing an unraised disagreement to somebody else.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a duty team member at the FBI. Your supervisor has asked you to rewrite the whole of last week’s handover notes by tomorrow morning and has given no reason for it. The notes looked fine to you, the work will take most of a day, and you already have a report due on Friday that she is expecting. A colleague on the same shift asks why you look so fed up. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask the supervisor what the rewritten notes are needed for and by when, and tell her that Friday's report will slip if the notes take a full day.
   2. Criticise the request to the rest of the shift, saying the supervisor never explains herself and hands out pointless work, rather than asking her what the notes are for.
   3. Rewrite all of last week's notes tonight and hand Friday's report in late, on the basis that the supervisor asked for the notes and she can sort the report out afterwards.
   4. Rewrite the parts of the notes you think were weak, leave the rest as they are, and hand them in tomorrow without saying which parts you changed.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ask the supervisor what the rewritten notes are needed for and by when, and tell her that Friday's report will slip if the notes take a full day.

   Least effective: B. Criticise the request to the rest of the shift, saying the supervisor never explains herself and hands out pointless work, rather than asking her what the notes are for.

   B: Personalises the frustration: the shift ends up with a view of the supervisor instead of an answer, the notes are still due tomorrow, and the one person who knows what they are for has not been asked.

   C: Abandons your own committed work: the report is due on Friday and is expected, so a second deadline is quietly broken to protect the first without anybody being told.

   D: Substitutes your own judgement for the supervisor's: you do not know what the rewrite is for, so guessing at which parts matter risks handing back exactly the pages she needed done.

   The most effective response is asking the supervisor what the rewritten notes are needed for and telling her that Friday’s report will slip. One question turns an unexplained task into a job you can size, and the person who set both deadlines is the only one who can choose between them. That is better than rewriting everything tonight and handing the report in late, because that quietly breaks a deadline she is expecting you to meet and she never gets the chance to move it. It is also better than rewriting only the parts you think were weak, since without knowing the purpose you may leave undone the very pages the rewrite exists for. The least effective response is criticising the request to the rest of the shift: it turns a question about the work into a verdict on a colleague, spreads it through the team, and leaves both the notes and Friday’s report exactly where they were, which is worse than doing too much or doing the wrong half. The principle: when a task arrives without a reason, ask the person who set it before you judge either the task or them.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a duty team member at the FBI, working the desk that keeps the team’s duty diary. The stated rule is that a change to the diary is made only after the person who runs the team has approved it. That person is out of the office until four but can be reached by phone. A colleague asks you to move her name to tomorrow morning so that she can keep a family appointment, and says the person who runs the team will not mind. The diary is circulated at three. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your colleague it is arranged and put the change into the diary before three, without checking with the person who runs the team, whose view you are sure of.
   2. Ring the person who runs the team with the one request before three, explain the appointment and the timing, and tell your colleague you will confirm once you have an answer.
   3. Leave the diary as it stands, put the request to the person who runs the team when they are back at four, and reissue the diary tomorrow with the change in it.
   4. Tell your colleague the rule does not allow the change and leave it there, so that she can take the appointment up with the person who runs the team herself.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ring the person who runs the team with the one request before three, explain the appointment and the timing, and tell your colleague you will confirm once you have an answer.

   Least effective: A. Tell your colleague it is arranged and put the change into the diary before three, without checking with the person who runs the team, whose view you are sure of.

   A: Gives an assurance you have not got: the rule names one approver, that approver is a phone call away, and the diary that goes out at three then carries a change nobody agreed to.

   C: Delays the decision: the diary people work from goes out at three, so a change made after four reaches everybody on the morning it was supposed to cover.

   D: Treats the rule as the whole answer: the rule says who decides, not that the answer is no, and your colleague has no way of reaching that person before three while you have.

   The most effective response is ringing the person who runs the team with the one request before three: they are reachable, the rule puts the decision with them, and asking costs a single phone call. It is stronger than leaving the diary as it stands and reissuing it tomorrow, because the diary people work from goes out at three and a later correction arrives on the morning it was meant to cover. It is also stronger than telling your colleague the rule does not allow it and leaving her to raise it herself, since she cannot reach the approver before the diary is circulated and you can. The least effective response is telling your colleague the change is arranged and entering it in the diary without checking: it puts a statement you have not verified in front of a colleague and an unapproved change in front of the whole team, and both are harder to unpick than the question you skipped. The principle: when the rule points at somebody else’s decision and that person can still be reached, get the decision rather than supply one.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a community engagement assistant at the FBI. A supplier who provides the catering for your public open days offers you two tickets to a concert next month, worth about a hundred pounds. The written rule you were given on your first day says any offer of a gift or hospitality must be entered in the declarations log within one working day, so that the person who runs the log decides whether it can be kept. The supplier is bidding for next year’s catering work. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Decline the tickets and enter the offer in the declarations log the same day, noting that the supplier is bidding for next year's catering work so the person who runs the log has the full picture.
    2. Turn the tickets down in a friendly message to the supplier and treat the refusal as the end of it, leaving the declarations log with nothing in it about the concert tickets, their hundred pound value, or the catering bid.
    3. Enter the offer in the log at the end of the month with the other event paperwork, since the tickets are for a concert several weeks away and nothing about them is settled until then.
    4. Ask the supplier to send the offer to your supervisor instead, so that it is somebody else's decision and your name is not attached to it, and get on with the open day arrangements.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Decline the tickets and enter the offer in the declarations log the same day, noting that the supplier is bidding for next year's catering work so the person who runs the log has the full picture.

    Least effective: B. Turn the tickets down in a friendly message to the supplier and treat the refusal as the end of it, leaving the declarations log with nothing in it about the concert tickets, their hundred pound value, or the catering bid.

    B: Breaches a stated rule: the log exists so that somebody other than you decides, and an offer from a supplier with a bid in front of the organisation is exactly the one that needed to be on the record.

    C: Delays the entry past its purpose: the rule says one working day because the catering decision may be taken first, and a late entry records something that has already stopped mattering.

    D: Passes responsibility to others: the offer was made to you, the rule puts the entry in your hands, and routing it away leaves the person who runs the log with no record of who was approached.

    The most effective response is to decline the tickets and enter the offer in the declarations log the same day, noting that the supplier is bidding for next year’s catering work: the log exists so that somebody other than you decides, and the person who runs it can only decide on what it holds. It is better than entering the offer at the end of the month with the other event paperwork, because the catering decision may be taken first and a late entry records something that has already stopped mattering. It is better than asking the supplier to send the offer to your supervisor, because the offer was made to you and the rule puts the entry in your hands. The least effective response is to turn the tickets down in a friendly message to the supplier and treat the refusal as the end of it, leaving the log entry unmade: a refusal is not a record, and the one offer the log most needed to hold is the one made while that supplier had a bid in front of the organisation. The principle: where a rule says an offer is written down, writing it down is the act, not the answer you happened to give.