Taking Initiative
Assesses the ability to act proactively, identify improvement opportunities without being asked, and make decisions in situations of uncertainty.
An initiative test assesses the tendency to act on what you notice without waiting to be asked. At work this ranges from fixing a process that wastes everyone's time to flagging a project that is drifting, by way of an opportunity spotted at a client or a problem discovered in another team's area. This skill carries real weight in organisations where roles shift quickly and many issues have no designated owner.
This online test puts candidates in moments where they could act, raise an alert or make a proposal, often under uncertainty and sometimes outside their own remit. It helps candidates understand how they move into action, and helps recruiters identify people who can drive things forward without explicit instructions, for example in a newly created role or a fast-growing team.
What this test measures
- The response to a malfunction that nobody on the team has raised yet
- How an improvement idea that requires resources is carried up to senior management
- The decision made when an urgent incident occurs outside one's remit or working hours
- How a business opportunity or strategic information beyond one's current role is handled
- How one bounces back after an initiative that produced no result or was poorly received
Examples of situations in the test
- 1A maintenance technician who, arriving first on site, finds that a critical piece of equipment has stopped
- 2A legal counsel who learns of an upcoming regulatory change likely to affect her company's business
- 3A salesperson who discovers during a meeting that a client's need goes well beyond his usual offering
- 4A nurse coordinator who notices that a new hire is being welcomed without any real onboarding
About this test
This test uses situational judgement tests (SJT), true/false questions and prioritisation exercises to assess your real behaviours. Each answer is weighted: there is no obvious "wrong" answer.
How to read your result
High result
A high score describes someone who turns observations into useful action, takes a position under uncertainty and moves forward issues that others leave hanging.
Result to develop
A score with room to grow shows a tendency to wait for a signal before acting, or spontaneous moves that would benefit from better groundwork. The report points to the contexts involved and suggests ways to take action with more confidence.
Roles where this skill is decisive
- Product owner
- Continuous improvement lead
- Field sales representative
- Maintenance technician
- Business development officer
- Operations coordinator
Who is it for?
Candidates & Professionals
Assess your behavioural skills through realistic scenario-based questions. Get a detailed AI report on your strengths and development areas.
Recruiters & HR
Integrate this test into your selection process to objectively assess your candidates' soft skills.
Frequently asked questions
What does this initiative test measure?
It looks at what you do with what you notice: a recurring problem, an opportunity, a risk, a gap left by an absent manager. The situations also explore how you put forward an idea, mobilise resources and react when a spontaneous move does not deliver the hoped-for result.
How is it different from a creativity test?
Creativity is about generating new ideas. Initiative is about acting on them: recognising that an issue deserves attention, deciding to take it on and seeing it through. Someone can have plenty of ideas without carrying any of them forward, or act very effectively on quite simple improvements.
Why assess initiative during recruitment?
Interviews often reward the best-told stories. The test adds structured observation: every candidate in a campaign works through scenarios of the same order, so their profiles become comparable. The behavioural report then helps decide what to dig into during the interview.
Is the test available in several languages?
Yes, you can take it in French, English or Arabic after signing in. You answer 20 questions drawn at random from a larger bank in 35 minutes, with no obvious answer since every option is weighted, then receive an AI-generated behavioural report with your strengths, development areas and recommendations.