SITUATIONEEL BEOORDELINGSVERMOGEN

Active listening test for hiring

See how candidates listen and respond in short written workplace conversations.

15 minuten
16 vragen
Intermediate
Judgment scenarios
Questions in Engels
Phone and desktop

Use this test free See the question formats

Het korte antwoord

The Active Listening test is an intermediate situational judgment test with 16 judgment scenarios about short written workplace conversations. Candidates choose the best of four replies, with partial credit for the second-best reply. It measures reflecting, clarifying, validating and summarizing for people managers, coaches, counselors, HR staff and client-facing roles.

Wat het meet

How well a candidate listens and responds in conversation: reflecting, clarifying, validating and summarizing.

Reflecting

Measures whether a candidate can reflect back what the speaker said.

Clarifying

Measures whether a candidate asks questions that clear up confusion.

Validating

Measures whether a candidate acknowledges how the speaker feels.

Summarizing

Measures whether a candidate can draw a longer conversation together.

Question formats

Judgment scenarios

The candidate: Reads a realistic workplace situation and chooses how to respond.

You see: How the candidate weighs customers, colleagues, rules and deadlines when there is no perfect option.

16 questions in 15 minutes, served one at a time.

Roles this test fits

Roles built on conversation and trust: people managers and team leads, coaches and mentors, counselors and advisors, HR and employee relations staff, mediators, and client-facing roles where understanding people comes before solving their problems.

What this test can show

See listening choices in context
A resume can describe communication experience, but these judgment scenarios show which reply a candidate picks when someone speaks to them, shares a feeling or needs a point cleared up.
Look beyond a single reply
The second-best reply earns partial credit, giving you more information than a simple right-or-wrong score about choices across reflecting, clarifying, validating and summarizing.
Focus follow-up time
Use the sub-skill results to choose what to probe in a structured interview, such as how the candidate validates feelings or summarizes a long conversation.
Choose for conversation-centered roles
Consider it for people managers and team leads, coaches and mentors, counselors and advisors, HR and employee relations staff, mediators, and client-facing roles built on understanding people.

What you get for each candidate

Example report (fictional data)Active Listening

75%Percentile 55. Benchmark: HireValid candidates, n = 1.648

Reflecting77%

Clarifying72%

Validating63%

Summarizing86%

Integrity ScoreHoge betrouwbaarheid

Stayed on the test tab throughout
No pasted answers
Answered at a steady pace

Scores, profiles and integrity signals are evidence for you to review alongside an interview, never an automatic decision.

Use this test free

How the test handles outside assistance

Each candidate receives a different set of questions from large question pools. Questions appear in a different order on each attempt, and answer options are shuffled. The browser receives one question at a time, and answer keys stay on HireValid’s servers. Timing runs on the server. If a candidate reloads the page, the same question returns with only the time left; candidates cannot go back to earlier questions. Question text cannot be copied or selected, and a blocked copy attempt is recorded in the timeline. HireValid records signals such as time away from the test tab, pastes into answers and answers faster than a question can be read. An Integrity Score and evidence timeline summarize signals for employer review; the score never decides on its own. With candidate consent, an employer can add webcam photos at random moments. Each scenario turns on the details on the screen, and the four replies are alike in length and tone.

Hoe we fraude met AI tegengaan · Integrity signals

Use the score as one piece of evidence

Review the score as evidence, not a verdict or a stand-alone decision. Compare it with a short work sample: give the candidate a written workplace conversation and ask them to draft a reply, then assess the same listening behaviors. Use a structured interview to ask how they would handle a real conversation relevant to the role. For related context, see How we build our tests, Communication Essentials and the pre-employment testing guide.

Vragen voor gestructureerde sollicitatiegesprekken

Tell me about a conversation where you realized you and the other person understood something differently. What did you say next?
Listen for how the candidate checked what was unclear and reflected the speaker’s point before moving toward a solution.
Describe a time someone shared frustration with you. How did you respond, and what happened in the conversation?
Listen for acknowledgment of the speaker’s feelings and a response grounded in what the person actually said.
Tell me about a long conversation where you needed to bring several points together. How did you make sure you had understood them?
Listen for a clear summary that connects the main points and gives the speaker a chance to clarify.

Understand scoring and benchmarks

Fairness and accommodations

Scenarios are written as text, not video, so accent, appearance and audio quality play no part. The speakers' words are plain and free of idioms and slang, the replies are alike in length and tone, and names, ages and settings vary widely, with no speaker drawn from a stereotype. No scenario depends on one culture's customs.

You can give any candidate extra time as an accommodation. Results are evidence for a person to review, never an automatic decision.

Provisional: reliability is reported once 200 candidates have completed it. No norms exist yet.

Lees hoe we met eerlijkheid omgaan

Test details

Short written workplace conversations: someone speaks to the candidate, and the candidate picks which of four replies would show the best listening. The scenarios cover reflecting back what was said, asking questions that clear up confusion, acknowledging how the speaker feels, and drawing a longer conversation together. The second-best reply earns partial credit.

Questions are in English.
No aids are needed.
Each question is answered once, in order, with no going back.
4 practice questions, 5 minutes, before the timed test.

Veelgestelde vragen

What does the Active Listening test measure?+

It measures how candidates respond in short written workplace conversations: reflecting back what was said, asking questions to clear up confusion, acknowledging how the speaker feels, and drawing a longer conversation together. It is intended for roles built on conversation and trust.

What does a candidate do in the Active Listening test?+

Candidates complete 16 judgment scenarios in 15 minutes. For each short written workplace conversation, they choose which of four replies would show the best listening. The second-best reply earns partial credit, and candidates cannot go back to earlier questions.

How should I interpret an Active Listening test score?+

Use the score as one signal to review alongside a conversation work sample and a structured interview, never alone. Reliability is provisional and will be reported once 200 candidates have completed the test; no norms exist yet.

Are the Active Listening test scenarios designed to be fair?+

Scenarios use text, not video, so accent, appearance and audio quality do not affect them. Speakers use plain words without idioms or slang, and names, ages and settings vary without relying on one culture’s customs. Candidates can try a practice set of four questions in five minutes.