GCHQ Assessment Tests

GCHQ Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a selection centre assistant at GCHQ. Eleven candidates are waiting to have their identity documents checked before the day starts, and the stated cut-off is nine o’clock: anybody not checked in by then cannot take part and has to be offered another date. It is twenty to nine and each check takes about three minutes. Two of the eleven have already told you they cannot come back on another day. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Hand the queue to a colleague from the room next door and go and set up the first exercise, since the checks are somebody's job for the day and the room has to be ready.
   2. Work through the eleven in the order they are standing, starting at the front of the line and working straight back along it, at three minutes each, and see how far you get before nine rather than making anybody feel singled out.
   3. Ask the person running the day to move the nine o'clock cut-off back by fifteen minutes, explaining that eleven checks at three minutes each will not fit into the twenty left, so that everybody can be checked before anything begins.
   4. Check the two who cannot come back first, then work through the rest in order, and tell the person running the day now how many will not be checked by nine, so that another date can be offered.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Check the two who cannot come back first, then work through the rest in order, and tell the person running the day now how many will not be checked by nine, so that another date can be offered.

   Least effective: A. Hand the queue to a colleague from the room next door and go and set up the first exercise, since the checks are somebody's job for the day and the room has to be ready.

   A: Passes responsibility to others: the colleague inherits a queue they cannot clear either, and nobody has told the person running the day that eleven will not be checked by nine.

   B: Treats order of arrival as fairness: it spends the last checks on people who can be offered another date, and the two who cannot come back are at the mercy of where they happened to stand.

   C: Reopens a fixed constraint before working inside it: the cut-off was stated to every candidate and the whole day is built on it, and you have not yet tried the one ordering that saves the people who cannot return.

   The most effective response is to check the two who cannot come back first, then work through the rest in order, and tell the person running the day at once how many will not be checked by nine: the cut-off is fixed and cannot be met for eleven people, so the thing left to protect is the two for whom another date is no use, and the person running the day needs the number while a second date can still be arranged. It is better than working through the eleven in the order they are standing, because order of arrival is not a reason and it spends the last checks on people who can come back. It is better than asking for the nine o’clock cut-off to be moved, because the cut-off was stated to every candidate and the day is built on it. The least effective response is to hand the queue to a colleague from the room next door and go and set up the first exercise: the checks were yours, the colleague inherits a queue they cannot clear either, and nobody has told the person running the day what is about to happen. The principle: when a stated cut-off will pass, work the queue by who has most to lose and tell the person who can still act.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a candidate liaison assistant at GCHQ. At this morning’s team meeting the person who runs the selection centre thanked you in front of the team for rewriting the joining instructions candidates receive. A colleague wrote them, and you said nothing at the time. Afterwards the colleague stops you in the corridor, plainly angry, and says you took the credit for their work. The same person is deciding next week who leads the next piece of writing. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Apologise to the colleague and agree to mention whose work it was the next time the whole team meets, which is in a fortnight.
   2. Tell the colleague that the mistake was made by the person who runs the selection centre and that they should take it up with them directly.
   3. Assure the colleague that you have already put the person who runs the selection centre straight, when you have not, so that the argument ends before anybody overhears it.
   4. Tell the colleague you should have spoken up, then tell the person who runs the selection centre plainly whose work the rewrite was, since they decide next week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell the colleague you should have spoken up, then tell the person who runs the selection centre plainly whose work the rewrite was, since they decide next week.

   Least effective: C. Assure the colleague that you have already put the person who runs the selection centre straight, when you have not, so that the argument ends before anybody overhears it.

   A: Delays the correction until it no longer counts: the decision on who leads the next piece of writing is next week, and a fortnight puts the correction on the far side of it.

   B: Puts the correction on the person who was wronged: they now have to ask to be credited, while the person who was standing there when it happened says nothing at all.

   C: Gives an assurance you have not acted on: the colleague stops chasing a correction that is now never going to happen, and the decision next week is made on the wrong picture.

   The most effective response is to tell the colleague you should have spoken up at the time and then say plainly to the person who runs the selection centre whose work the rewrite was. The credit is still sitting in the wrong place, the person who gave it is choosing next week who leads the next piece of writing, and only they can move it. Apologising and agreeing to mention it when the whole team next meets is weaker, because that meeting is a fortnight away and the decision is next week. Telling the colleague to take it up with the person who runs the selection centre themselves is weaker too, because it asks the person who was passed over to correct a mistake you were standing there for. The least effective response is to assure the colleague that you have already put the person who runs the selection centre straight when you have not: it ends the argument with something untrue, and the colleague stops chasing a correction that will now never be made. An unearned credit is corrected with the person who gave it, and quickly, because it is already being acted on.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a complaints administration assistant at GCHQ. 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.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a course administration assistant at GCHQ. Another assistant on the course team has fallen behind: forty trainees’ preparation tasks are unmarked on the completion log, which has to be complete before Monday’s assessment. They have told only you and have asked you not to make a fuss. You can see which tasks have actually been submitted and which have not. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Mark all forty preparation tasks on the completion log as done so the log is ready for Monday, and let the colleague check the submissions afterwards when they have caught up.
   2. Tell the colleague you will help, that the person who runs the course has to know today, since only they can move Monday, then mark with them only what is genuinely in.
   3. Work through all forty unmarked tasks yourself in the evenings on top of your own work, checking each submission as you go, and tell nobody, so that the colleague is not embarrassed and the log is ready by Monday.
   4. Send the person who runs the course a note this morning saying the colleague is forty tasks behind on the completion log, before saying anything to the colleague, so that Monday's assessment is not put at risk.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell the colleague you will help, that the person who runs the course has to know today, since only they can move Monday, then mark with them only what is genuinely in.

   Least effective: A. Mark all forty preparation tasks on the completion log as done so the log is ready for Monday, and let the colleague check the submissions afterwards when they have caught up.

   A: Records work as done that was never checked: the log then says trainees have prepared when you can see that some have not, and Monday's assessment runs on it.

   C: Avoids the difficult conversation: one person quietly absorbing a two-person backlog gets Monday through and leaves the same colleague in the same position next month.

   D: Goes over the colleague's head first: they confided in you, a word to them costs nothing, and the note arrives without any account of what has actually been submitted.

   The most effective response is telling the colleague you will help while making clear that the person who runs the course has to know today: Monday is fixed, forty tasks are unmarked, and the only person who can move the assessment or find another pair of hands is the one nobody has told. It beats working through the unmarked tasks yourself in the evenings and telling nobody, because one person quietly absorbing a two-person backlog leaves the same problem standing next month. It beats sending a note about the colleague before saying anything to them, since they confided in you and a word first costs nothing and keeps them in the conversation. The least effective response is marking all forty tasks on the completion log as done: the log then says trainees have prepared when you can see that some have not, and Monday’s assessment runs on a record you know to be wrong. The principle: help a struggling colleague by getting the right people involved, never by making the paperwork say something that is not so.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a contact handling assistant at GCHQ. A colleague on your team has twice described calls the two of you took, including what the callers said and where they live, to friends in a pub where other people could hear. They say it is harmless because no names were used. The rule you both signed says nothing about a call leaves the team. Your supervisor asks the team every Friday whether anything needs raising. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the colleague directly that what they described could identify a caller, say that you will raise it on Friday if it happens again, and then do exactly that.
   2. Repeat it around the team and spread the story of the pub, so that everybody knows who talks about callers and the colleague hears about it from somebody other than you.
   3. Raise it with the whole team on Friday without speaking to the colleague first, and restate the rule about calls without mentioning the pub or naming anybody at all.
   4. Leave it alone and take your breaks away from the colleague, on the basis that what they do in a pub is between them and the rule they signed.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell the colleague directly that what they described could identify a caller, say that you will raise it on Friday if it happens again, and then do exactly that.

   Least effective: B. Repeat it around the team and spread the story of the pub, so that everybody knows who talks about callers and the colleague hears about it from somebody other than you.

   B: Turns it into gossip about a person: the confidentiality problem is left exactly where it was, the colleague learns it secondhand, and nobody who could act has been told anything.

   C: Chooses the group over the person: a general restatement lets the one person it is aimed at conclude it was aimed at somebody else, and the retelling carries on.

   D: Avoids the difficult conversation: the calls being described are ones you took as well, the colleague thinks it is harmless, and nobody has told them otherwise.

   The most effective response is telling the colleague directly that what they described could identify a caller, and saying you will raise it on Friday if it happens again: they believe it is harmless, nobody has told them otherwise, and the rule they signed is what settles it. It beats raising it with the whole team on Friday without speaking to the colleague first, because a general restatement lets the person it is about decide it was meant for somebody else. It beats leaving it alone and taking your breaks elsewhere, since the calls being described are ones the two of you took and the next retelling is days away. The least effective response is repeating it around the team and spreading the story of the pub: it makes a confidentiality problem into entertainment about a colleague, and still nobody who could act on the rule has heard a word. The principle: deal with a colleague’s conduct with the colleague, and take it to the person who can act if it does not stop.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a service desk assistant at GCHQ. 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.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a property store assistant at GCHQ, and you post out the charge letters for equipment that has not been returned. Opening today’s returned post, you find that last week’s letter for one member of staff, which lists their home address and what they owe, went to a different person with a similar name. The person who runs the store is on leave for a fortnight. The stated rule is that any letter reaching the wrong address is reported the same day to the team that handles records. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ring the member of staff whose letter it was, apologise and tell them what has happened, then hold the report back until the person who runs the store is off leave and can settle how it should be worded.
   2. Report it to the records team today as the stated rule requires, since a home address has reached the wrong household, telling them who received the letter and whose details it carried, then ask what happens next.
   3. Write to the person who received the letter asking them to destroy it, and treat that as the end of the matter, since the details have gone no further than one household and no harm looks likely to follow.
   4. File the returned letter, post a fresh one to the right address, and get on with the day's issuing without mentioning to anybody that the first one went astray.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Report it to the records team today as the stated rule requires, since a home address has reached the wrong household, telling them who received the letter and whose details it carried, then ask what happens next.

   Least effective: D. File the returned letter, post a fresh one to the right address, and get on with the day's issuing without mentioning to anybody that the first one went astray.

   A: Delays a report the rule puts on the same day: a fortnight is how long the records team would be left unable to act, and the person who received the letter still has somebody else's address in their hands.

   C: Substitutes your own judgement for the stated rule: you cannot know what the recipient has done with the letter, and the records team is the only group that can decide what the member of staff is told.

   D: Withholds what the rule exists to surface: the records team never learns that a home address reached the wrong household, and the member of staff whose details went out never gets the chance to know.

   The most effective response is reporting it to the records team today, telling them who received the letter and whose details it carried, and asking what should be said to each of the two people. The rule puts the report on the same day precisely because somebody outside the store has to weigh what follows, and asking what to say next keeps you in the job rather than handing it away. That is stronger than ringing the member of staff and holding the report until the store is staffed again, because a fortnight of delay is a fortnight in which nobody who can act knows. It is stronger than writing to the recipient to ask them to destroy it, because that decides on your own how much this matters when you cannot see what the recipient has already done. The least effective response is filing the returned letter, posting a fresh one to the right address and mentioning it to nobody: both other responses at least put the facts in front of one of the people affected, while this leaves the records team, the member of staff and the recipient all in the dark, and the rule that would have caught it never runs. The principle: when a rule names who must be told and by when, an outcome you have quietly tidied up is not a substitute for telling them.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are an engagement events assistant at GCHQ. A community group running Thursday’s joint event needs the final numbers and the room layout from you by noon tomorrow, which you agreed with its organiser a fortnight ago. Yesterday you were also given the write-up of feedback forms from last month’s events, wanted by the end of the week. It became clear this morning that you cannot finish both by noon tomorrow, and the organiser does not know that yet. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Give the morning to the feedback write-up and the afternoon to the numbers and layout, then see tomorrow which of the two is nearer to being finished.
   2. Assume the community group will be relaxed about noon, say nothing to its organiser, and spend today and tomorrow morning on the feedback write-up, leaving the numbers and layout unfinished.
   3. Finish the numbers and the room layout for noon tomorrow, and tell the person who asked for the feedback write-up this morning that it will now come at the end of next week.
   4. Do the feedback write-up first because it was the most recent thing you were asked to do, and start the numbers and layout with whatever time is left tomorrow.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Finish the numbers and the room layout for noon tomorrow, and tell the person who asked for the feedback write-up this morning that it will now come at the end of next week.

   Least effective: B. Assume the community group will be relaxed about noon, say nothing to its organiser, and spend today and tomorrow morning on the feedback write-up, leaving the numbers and layout unfinished.

   A: Splits effort so nothing finishes: noon tomorrow is fixed and the feedback is not due until the end of the week, so dividing today between them risks missing the only date somebody outside is waiting on.

   B: Assumes goodwill instead of checking it: nobody has asked the organiser anything, she is expecting the layout at noon for an event two days later, and she finds out only when it fails to arrive.

   D: Ranks the work by who asked most recently: recency is not a reason, the feedback has four more days and the layout has until noon, so the two dates are never actually compared.

   The most effective response is finishing the numbers and the room layout for noon tomorrow and telling the person who asked for the feedback write-up that it will now come at the end of next week. One date is tomorrow with an outside group behind it and the other has the rest of the week, so the order is settled by the dates, and the person whose work slips hears it while they can still do something. It beats giving the morning to the feedback and the afternoon to the numbers, because the fixed noon deadline should not be spending half of today competing with work that is not due yet. It is also better than doing the feedback first because it was asked most recently, which orders the day by nothing at all. The least effective response is assuming the community group will be relaxed about noon: unlike alternating, which at least advances both, and unlike the recency order, which at least decides something, this rests the whole plan on goodwill nobody has tested, and the organiser learns of the slip only when noon passes. The principle: order work by the dates people are relying on, and tell whoever loses out while they still have room to move.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are an enquiry desk assistant at GCHQ. Yesterday the person who runs your department thanked you, in front of the desk, for a redesign of the enquiry log that a colleague had actually done. You said nothing at the time. This morning that colleague told you, sharply and in front of everybody at the desk, that you had taken her work. She has covered your lunchtime slot for months and you have covered hers. The department meeting where the redesign will be discussed is on Friday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop covering her lunchtime slot on the desk, because she raised it in front of everybody rather than asking you quietly, and keep to what the rota requires from now on.
   2. Apologise to her privately for staying quiet yesterday, and let the credit stand as it is, since correcting it now would embarrass the person who runs the department.
   3. Tell the person who runs the department, before Friday's meeting, that the redesign was her work, and say to her directly that you should have corrected it yesterday.
   4. Take the disagreement to your supervisor today and ask him to settle who did the redesign, rather than speaking to her about it yourself before Friday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell the person who runs the department, before Friday's meeting, that the redesign was her work, and say to her directly that you should have corrected it yesterday.

   Least effective: A. Stop covering her lunchtime slot on the desk, because she raised it in front of everybody rather than asking you quietly, and keep to what the rota requires from now on.

   A: Withdraws help after a disagreement: she is right about the redesign, the credit is still uncorrected before Friday, and answering her by taking away cover she has relied on for months punishes the person you wronged.

   B: Prioritises harmony over honesty: a private apology costs her nothing back, and Friday's meeting still discusses her redesign with your name on it in front of everybody who heard the thanks.

   D: Escalates prematurely: the facts are not in dispute and you already agree with her, so making a third party rule on it turns a correction you could make yourself into a formal argument.

   The most effective response is telling the person who runs the department, before Friday’s meeting, that the redesign was her work, and saying to her directly that you should have corrected it yesterday. The credit was given in public and the meeting is on Friday, so the only thing that repairs both the record and the relationship is correcting it with the person who gave it and acknowledging the silence to her. It beats apologising privately and letting the credit stand, because an apology she cannot show anybody leaves Friday’s meeting attributing her work to you. It is also better than taking the disagreement to your supervisor, since nobody disputes what happened and a ruling is not what is missing. The least effective response is stopping the lunchtime slot you have covered for her, because she raised it in front of everybody: unlike the private apology, which at least concedes the point, and unlike the referral, which at least seeks a finding, this answers a justified complaint by removing something she relied on, and the redesign is still credited to the wrong person on Friday. The principle: when a conflict starts with something you got wrong, correct it where the wrong was done, and never settle it by withdrawing what the other person depends on.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a property store assistant at GCHQ. You have finished the monthly count of the radios and hand tools in the store, and the total is three short of the register. The written process says any difference between the count and the register is written up and sent to the person who owns the register before the count is signed off, whatever its size. Three items out of nine hundred is the smallest gap the store has had this year, and the sign-off is due tomorrow. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Leave the count unsigned and pass the discrepancy to your supervisor to write up, since three items is their call rather than yours and they know the register better than you do.
    2. Write up the difference of three items today, send it to the person who owns the register before the sign-off, and recount the shelves those items sit on while there is still time.
    3. Recount the whole store tomorrow morning before signing off, and write up the difference only if the second count still comes out three short of the register.
    4. Ask the two people who signed items out this month to check their own kit, then write the difference up tomorrow once they have both replied, since their answer may explain all three of them.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Write up the difference of three items today, send it to the person who owns the register before the sign-off, and recount the shelves those items sit on while there is still time.

    Least effective: A. Leave the count unsigned and pass the discrepancy to your supervisor to write up, since three items is their call rather than yours and they know the register better than you do.

    A: Passes ownership of your own count: the process puts the write-up with the person who did the counting, and handing it upward the day before sign-off buys nobody any time.

    C: Delays the report past its deadline: the process wants the write-up before the sign-off, and a second count tomorrow morning leaves no room for the register owner to do anything with it.

    D: Waits on other people before reporting: what two colleagues remember is not a count, and the process wants the write-up with the register owner before a sign-off that falls tomorrow.

    The most effective response is to write up the difference of three items today, send it to the person who owns the register before the sign-off, and recount the shelves those items sit on while there is still time: the written process says every difference is written up whatever its size, the sign-off is tomorrow, and a recount now either closes the gap or confirms it. It is better than recounting the whole store tomorrow morning and writing up the difference only if the second count still comes out short, because the report is due before the sign-off and a second count does not replace it. It is better than waiting on the two people who signed items out to check their own kit before writing anything up, because what they remember is not a count and the write-up is due before the sign-off. The least effective response is to leave the count unsigned and pass the discrepancy to your supervisor to write up: the counting was yours, the process puts the write-up with the person who did it, and moving it upward the day before sign-off gives the register owner less time, not more. The principle: a small difference is still a difference, and the person who counted is the person who reports it.