Nasdaq Assessment Tests

Nasdaq Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a customer service adviser. Two colleagues on your row have stopped speaking after an argument about who handled a complaint badly. Each has taken you aside to explain why the other was at fault. Calls are being transferred between them without a word, and a customer has noticed. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stay out of it entirely and take the transferred calls yourself whenever you can, so that customers stop being passed between two people who will not speak.
   2. Report both of them to your team leader today, setting out what each has said to you about the other and asking for the row to be dealt with formally.
   3. Tell each of them what the other has been saying about the complaint, so that they can both see how the argument actually looks from the outside.
   4. Tell each of them that you are not going to take a side, and say that the transfers are now visible to customers, so it needs sorting between them or with your team leader today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell each of them that you are not going to take a side, and say that the transfers are now visible to customers, so it needs sorting between them or with your team leader today.

   Least effective: C. Tell each of them what the other has been saying about the complaint, so that they can both see how the argument actually looks from the outside.

   A: Absorbs the symptom: the calls stop being visible, which removes the one pressure that was going to force the dispute to be dealt with.

   B: Escalates before either has been asked to fix it: two colleagues who could still resolve this between them arrive at a formal conversation instead.

   C: Carries private remarks between two people in a dispute: each hears the worst version of the other, and a row about one complaint becomes a grievance about what was said behind a back.

   The most effective response is to tell each of them you are not going to take a side, and say the transfers are now visible to customers so it needs sorting between them or with your team leader today: it refuses the role each is trying to give you, names the thing that has to change, and leaves a route open. It beats staying out of it and taking the transferred calls yourself, because absorbing them hides the problem that was about to force a fix. It beats reporting both of them to your team leader today, because neither has yet been asked to sort it out. The least effective response is telling each of them what the other has been saying: it moves private accounts into the open, which turns a disagreement about a complaint into a personal grievance nobody can step back from. That is personalising the conflict rather than handling it clumsily. The principle: decline the role of go-between, and name the consequence that makes it urgent.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a settlements assistant. Yesterday you cleared one desk’s items first and another desk’s items missed the cut-off. In this morning’s stand-up the second desk’s supervisor asks, in front of everybody, why theirs were left. Your reason was that the first desk’s items had a client deadline. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Explain the reason briefly in the stand-up, acknowledge the impact on his desk, and offer to agree a standing rule for when the two clash again.
   2. Say you will explain it to him separately after the stand-up, so the detail does not take up everybody else's time this morning.
   3. Say in front of the others that his desk sends its items late every day, and that this is really a problem with how his team works rather than with your ordering.
   4. Apologise and undertake to clear his desk's items first tomorrow, so that the complaint is settled quickly and the meeting can move on.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Explain the reason briefly in the stand-up, acknowledge the impact on his desk, and offer to agree a standing rule for when the two clash again.

   Least effective: C. Say in front of the others that his desk sends its items late every day, and that this is really a problem with how his team works rather than with your ordering.

   B: Leaves the question hanging in the room: everybody heard the challenge and nobody hears that there was a reason.

   C: Answers a fair question with a criticism of his team in public: the ordering is never explained, and the stand-up becomes an argument between two desks.

   D: Buys peace with a commitment you should not give: tomorrow's ordering depends on tomorrow's deadlines, not on who complained today.

   The most effective response is to explain the reason briefly in the stand- up, acknowledge the impact on his desk, and offer to agree a standing rule for when the two clash: the reason is good, it takes fifteen seconds, and the standing rule turns a complaint into something useful. It beats saying you will explain it to him separately afterwards, because the challenge was public and the answer should be too. It beats apologising and undertaking to clear his desk’s items first tomorrow, because promising tomorrow’s order to whoever complained loudest is how the next failure happens. The least effective response is saying in front of the others that his desk sends its items late every day: a reasonable question is answered by criticising his team, and the ordering itself is never justified. That is personalising it rather than answering it in the wrong place. The principle: give the reason where the question was asked, then fix the rule.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a management accounts assistant. Every month you rekey the same figures between two systems, which takes half a day and causes errors. You could write a small spreadsheet tool that does it automatically. Tools that move data between these systems have to be registered and reviewed by the systems team first. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Build a prototype, show your manager the half-day saving, and ask them to put it to the systems team for registration before anybody uses it for real.
   2. Ask the systems team to build the tool themselves, since they own the registration process and will know how it should be done.
   3. Carry on rekeying each month and raise the idea at the next systems team forum in three months, when there is a proper slot for suggestions like this one.
   4. Build the tool and start using it for this month's close, and register it with the systems team afterwards once it has proved that it works properly.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Build a prototype, show your manager the half-day saving, and ask them to put it to the systems team for registration before anybody uses it for real.

   Least effective: D. Build the tool and start using it for this month's close, and register it with the systems team afterwards once it has proved that it works properly.

   B: Hands away the part you are best placed to do: you know the process and the failure modes, and their queue is long.

   C: Delays the decision for a quarter: three more months of half-days and known errors, to wait for a meeting.

   D: Builds a workaround around a control: a month's reported figures come out of an unreviewed tool, and registration afterwards cannot undo that they already have.

   The most effective response is to build a prototype, show your manager the half-day saving, and ask him to put it to the systems team for registration before anybody uses it for real: the prototype makes the case concrete, he owns the priority, and registration happens before anything real depends on it. It beats carrying on rekeying and raising the idea at the systems forum in three months, because three months of known errors is a real cost. It beats asking the systems team to build the tool themselves, because handing it to a long queue loses the knowledge that makes it work. The least effective response is building the tool, using it for this month’s close, and registering it afterwards: a month’s figures are produced by a tool that the review exists to look at before it is trusted. That is going around a stated control rather than moving too slowly or too fast. The principle: build it, show it, and get it approved before anything real runs on it.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an onboarding analyst. A client’s go-live has slipped by three weeks. The client’s project manager is relaxed about dates; your own sales colleague has a bonus tied to this quarter and has been telling people it will land. Both need to know today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send both of them the same written note at the same time, without speaking to your sales colleague first about what it is going to say.
   2. Tell your sales colleague first so he is not blindsided, then send both him and the client the same written note setting out the new date and why.
   3. Tell the client first and blame your sales colleague for the dates, explaining that he has been giving out timings he was never in a position to commit the firm to.
   4. Tell your sales colleague today and leave him to decide when and how the client should be told about the three-week slip.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell your sales colleague first so he is not blindsided, then send both him and the client the same written note setting out the new date and why.

   Least effective: C. Tell the client first and blame your sales colleague for the dates, explaining that he has been giving out timings he was never in a position to commit the firm to.

   A: Treats two very different stakes identically: he reads about his quarter in a group email, which is the part that could have been handled.

   C: Criticises a colleague to the client: the slip is real, and what the client now knows is that your own firm's people contradict each other.

   D: Hands the client message to the person most likely to delay it: the client needs the date today.

   The most effective response is to tell your sales colleague first so he is not blindsided, then send him and the client the same written note setting out the new date and why: both get the same facts in writing, and the person with most at stake hears it from you first rather than in a group email. It beats sending both the same note at the same time without speaking to him first, because a two-minute warning costs nothing and matters a lot to him. It beats telling him today and leaving him to decide when the client hears, because the client’s date should not wait on his convenience. The least effective response is telling the client that your colleague has been giving out timings he could not commit the firm to: a delivery slip reaches the client as a criticism of your own side, so the firm looks divided and he is undermined in front of the account. That is personalising it rather than sequencing it badly. The principle: same facts to both, and warn the one who will take it hardest.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a customer service adviser. A customer has been told by a colleague that his claim would be settled this week. It will not be: it needs information from him that nobody has asked for, and that will take another fortnight. He is telephoning now, expecting good news. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him there has been a delay and that somebody will contact him with a new date once the file has been properly reviewed.
   2. Assure him it is still on track for this week, and leave the letter to correct him when it does not arrive, by which time somebody else will be handling it.
   3. Apologise at length for the wrong information, and offer to raise a complaint about the colleague who gave him the original date.
   4. Tell him plainly that it will take about a fortnight, apologise that he was told otherwise, and take the information you need from him on this call.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell him plainly that it will take about a fortnight, apologise that he was told otherwise, and take the information you need from him on this call.

   Least effective: B. Assure him it is still on track for this week, and leave the letter to correct him when it does not arrive, by which time somebody else will be handling it.

   A: Gives him a delay and no plan: the information you need is still not asked for, so the fortnight does not start today.

   B: Repeats a promise you know is wrong: he plans around a settlement that is not coming, and the correction is left to arrive by post from nobody in particular.

   C: Offers process instead of progress: he wants his claim settled, and a complaint about a colleague does not move it forward by a day.

   The most effective response is to tell him plainly that it will take about a fortnight, apologise that he was told otherwise, and take what you need from him on this call: it corrects the expectation, owns the firm’s error, and uses the call to start the fortnight rather than to schedule another one. It beats telling him there has been a delay and that somebody will contact him with a new date, because a vague delay leaves the clock stopped. It beats apologising at length and offering to raise a complaint about the colleague who gave the original date, because a complaint does not settle his claim. The least effective response is assuring him it is still on track for this week: a promise you know to be false buys a comfortable call, and he discovers the truth when nothing arrives. That is a false statement rather than an incomplete or misdirected response. The principle: give the real date, own the error, and start the clock on the call.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a risk assistant. A long-standing customer’s account has been restricted while a review runs and he is telephoning daily. You cannot tell him why, and you do not know how long it will take. He is polite, plainly worried, and says he has bills he cannot pay. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him you will chase the review team every day and let him know the moment there is any news at all about when the restriction might be lifted.
   2. Tell him honestly that you cannot say why or for how long, explain exactly what you can do about the bills in the meantime, and agree a day each week when you will call him.
   3. Tell him you cannot discuss the review at all and that he will have to wait to be contacted, without offering anything about the bills or about when he might hear something.
   4. Assure him the review will be finished within a few days, because that is usually how long these take and it will stop him telephoning every single morning while it runs.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell him honestly that you cannot say why or for how long, explain exactly what you can do about the bills in the meantime, and agree a day each week when you will call him.

   Least effective: D. Assure him the review will be finished within a few days, because that is usually how long these take and it will stop him telephoning every single morning while it runs.

   A: Promises a level of contact you cannot sustain: a daily chase you do not control becomes a daily failure he notices.

   C: Refuses everything because one thing is confidential: the bills and the contact pattern are both things you could actually help with.

   D: Gives a timescale you do not have: he plans his bills around it, and when the few days pass he has been told something untrue by the one person he trusts here.

   The most effective response is to tell him honestly that you cannot say why or for how long, explain exactly what you can do about the bills, and agree a day each week when you will call: it is honest about the two things you cannot give him, and gives him the two you can, which are practical help and a predictable call. It beats telling him you cannot discuss the review and that he must wait to be contacted, because confidentiality about the review does not extend to his bills. It beats promising to chase the review team every day and call the moment there is news, because promising daily news you do not control fails publicly. The least effective response is assuring him the review will be finished within a few days: a timescale is invented to end an uncomfortable call, and a worried customer plans his finances on it. That is a false assurance rather than an unhelpful or over-generous answer. The principle: be honest about the gap, and be generous with what you can control.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are an accounts assistant. Two jobs are on your desk: a half-day reconciliation due Friday, and a five-minute approval that a colleague cannot start her own work without. It is Tuesday morning and she is waiting at your desk. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the approval over to your team leader to action on your behalf, so that you can stay on the reconciliation and your colleague still gets what she needs from you today.
   2. Do the five-minute approval now so your colleague can get on, then give the reconciliation a clear run for the rest of the morning.
   3. Carry on with the reconciliation and leave the approval alone until Friday, since the reconciliation is the job with a real deadline attached to it and the approval has none.
   4. Ask your colleague to come back after lunch, so that the morning's work on the reconciliation is not broken up before it has properly started.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Do the five-minute approval now so your colleague can get on, then give the reconciliation a clear run for the rest of the morning.

   Least effective: C. Carry on with the reconciliation and leave the approval alone until Friday, since the reconciliation is the job with a real deadline attached to it and the approval has none.

   A: Passes responsibility upward for five minutes of work: the approval is yours to give and moving it adds a step for no gain.

   C: Leaves a colleague blocked for three days: five minutes of your time is holding up somebody else's whole task, and nothing about Friday gets easier for having started earlier.

   D: Delays a trivial task at real cost: half a day of her time buys you an uninterrupted morning you did not need.

   The most effective response is to do the five-minute approval now so your colleague can get on, then give the reconciliation a clear run: five minutes releases somebody else’s whole day, and the reconciliation still has three days and an uninterrupted morning. It beats asking her to come back after lunch, because making her wait costs her far more than it saves you. It beats sending the approval to your team leader to action on your behalf, because routing a five-minute job through him adds a step and an explanation. The least effective response is carrying on with the reconciliation and leaving the approval until Friday: a colleague sits blocked because a job with slack was treated as the one that could not be interrupted. That is avoiding the small task rather than ordering the work badly. The principle: clear what is blocking somebody else before settling into your own work.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a personal banking assistant. A long-standing customer wants his daily transfer limit raised to £20,000 today so he can send a deposit to someone he has met online but never in person. He is certain and slightly impatient. The limit change is within what you can do. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Raise the limit to £20,000 as he has asked, since it is within what you are allowed to do and he is a long-standing customer who has been clear about what he wants.
   2. Explain plainly why sending a large deposit to someone he has never met carries a real risk, ask him a few questions about the arrangement, and only then discuss the limit.
   3. Tell him the limit cannot be raised today and that he will need to come back another time, without going into why you are uncomfortable with the transfer.
   4. Refer him to the fraud team and take no part in the conversation yourself, since deposits to people met online are exactly what they are there for.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Explain plainly why sending a large deposit to someone he has never met carries a real risk, ask him a few questions about the arrangement, and only then discuss the limit.

   Least effective: A. Raise the limit to £20,000 as he has asked, since it is within what you are allowed to do and he is a long-standing customer who has been clear about what he wants.

   A: Decides which parts of the job count: the limit is within your authority, but so is the conversation about why the money is moving, and skipping it is the whole of what the role is for here.

   C: Uses a false obstacle instead of the real reason: he leaves without the information that might actually change his mind, and may simply try another route.

   D: Escalates before speaking to him: an impatient customer handed to a specialist team without a word from you is likely to disengage entirely.

   The most effective response is to explain plainly why sending a large deposit to someone he has never met carries a real risk, ask a few questions about the arrangement, and only then discuss the limit: it treats him as an adult, supplies the thing he does not have, and keeps the limit question open rather than making the conversation a refusal. It beats telling him the limit cannot be raised today without going into why, because inventing an obstacle sends him elsewhere with the same plan and no new information. It beats referring him to the fraud team and taking no part yourself, because a cold referral loses the only person he is currently willing to listen to. The least effective response is raising the limit to £20,000 as he asked because it is within what you may do: the transfer is enabled without any of the conversation the situation calls for, purely because the button was within reach. That is treating an authority as the whole job rather than a clumsily handled warning. The principle: authority to do something is not a reason to do it without the conversation that goes with it.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a client services associate. A client emails at 9am insisting that a routine quarterly statement is sent to her today rather than next week, and will not say why. Producing it early takes about forty minutes. Your other work today has no fixed deadline. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply that the statement will follow on the usual date next week, and assume that a client who will not explain the urgency does not really have any.
   2. Reply asking her to explain why she needs it today, and produce the statement once she has told you what the underlying deadline actually is.
   3. Produce the statement today and send it without any covering message, so that she has what she asked for and nothing more is made of it.
   4. Produce the statement today, and when you send it ask whether there is a deadline behind the request so the timing can be built in from next quarter.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Produce the statement today, and when you send it ask whether there is a deadline behind the request so the timing can be built in from next quarter.

   Least effective: A. Reply that the statement will follow on the usual date next week, and assume that a client who will not explain the urgency does not really have any.

   A: Declines to find out: forty minutes of uncommitted time is available, and the reason she will not explain is treated as evidence that there is no reason.

   B: Makes help conditional on an explanation: she has already declined to give one, and forty minutes of your time is not worth the standoff.

   C: Solves today and not next quarter: the same scramble happens again because nobody ever asked what sits behind the date.

   The most effective response is to produce the statement today and ask, when you send it, whether there is a deadline behind the request: she gets what she asked for inside a day that has room for it, and the question is asked at the point where it costs nothing. It beats replying to ask why she needs it today before producing anything, because forty spare minutes is not worth a standoff over an explanation. It beats producing it today and sending it without any covering message, because asking once prevents the same request arriving urgently every quarter. The least effective response is replying that the statement will follow on the usual date next week: a client is refused something the day plainly had room for, on an assumption about her motives that nobody tested. That is avoidance rather than an unhelpful way of helping. The principle: do the cheap thing, and ask the question that stops it recurring.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a branch adviser. A customer at the next desk raises his voice at a new colleague, saying she has “wasted an hour” of his time. Other customers are looking. Your colleague has gone quiet and is close to tears. The customer’s underlying problem is one you know how to fix. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Wait to see whether your colleague can manage it herself, and step in only if the customer's voice gets louder than it already is.
    2. Tell the customer in front of the others that speaking to staff like that is unacceptable, and that his behaviour is the reason his problem is still unresolved.
    3. Step across, offer to take the customer's problem yourself so your colleague can step away, and deal with him calmly at your own desk.
    4. Take your colleague aside straight away to check she is all right, and leave the customer at the desk until somebody else becomes free.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Step across, offer to take the customer's problem yourself so your colleague can step away, and deal with him calmly at your own desk.

    Least effective: B. Tell the customer in front of the others that speaking to staff like that is unacceptable, and that his behaviour is the reason his problem is still unresolved.

    A: Leaves a new colleague to absorb it: she has already gone quiet, and the test of whether she can cope is being run in front of a full branch.

    B: Makes it about the person in public: the branch now has two people raising their voices, the customer's problem is untouched, and your colleague is still at the centre of it.

    D: Solves half of it: she is looked after, and an angry customer is left unattended in a branch where everybody is watching.

    The most effective response is to step across, offer to take the customer’s problem yourself so your colleague can step away, and deal with him calmly at your own desk: it removes her from the exchange, gives him the one thing that will actually calm him, and moves it away from the audience. It beats waiting to see whether she can manage it herself, because she has already stopped coping and the branch is watching. It beats taking her aside to check she is all right and leaving him at the desk, because an abandoned angry customer gets louder, not quieter. The least effective response is telling him in front of the others that his behaviour is why his problem is unresolved: it answers a scene with a scene, the problem is no closer to being fixed, and she is left standing in the middle of a public argument about herself. That is personalising it rather than misjudging the timing. The principle: take the problem off them both, then deal with the behaviour privately.