Ohio Civil Service Exam Situational Judgment 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You are working at a public-facing counter and a citizen you are helping suddenly becomes confused and appears to be experiencing a medical emergency. What is your FIRST action?
- Continue the transaction and hope the citizen recovers quickly
- Call for emergency assistance (911 or on-site first aid) immediately (Correct answer)
- Ask other citizens in line if anyone is a doctor
- Ask the citizen to step aside so you can serve the next person
Correct answer: Call for emergency assistance (911 or on-site first aid) immediately
A potential medical emergency requires immediate activation of emergency services as the top priority over all other tasks.
Question 2: You are asked by your supervisor to complete a task that you believe may be unethical but is not clearly illegal. What is the BEST first step?
- Refuse the task immediately without explanation
- Comply fully without raising your concern
- Express your ethical concern to your supervisor and seek clarification on the reasoning and any applicable policy (Correct answer)
- Report your supervisor to the Inspector General before raising the concern internally
Correct answer: Express your ethical concern to your supervisor and seek clarification on the reasoning and any applicable policy
Raising an ethical concern with your supervisor first gives an opportunity for clarification or correction before escalating.
Question 3: A coworker confides in you that they have been falsifying their time records and asks you not to tell anyone. What should you do?
- Keep it confidential since the coworker trusted you
- Encourage the coworker to self-report and make clear that you are obligated to report the misconduct if they do not (Correct answer)
- Report it anonymously to avoid any conflict with the coworker
- Confront the coworker publicly to pressure them to stop
Correct answer: Encourage the coworker to self-report and make clear that you are obligated to report the misconduct if they do not
Encouraging self-reporting while making clear your own reporting obligation is the appropriate balanced response to known misconduct.
Question 4: You are assigned a long-term project with no interim checkpoints set by your supervisor. How should you manage the project?
- Work on it only when you have extra time and deliver at the final deadline
- Set your own interim milestones, periodically update your supervisor on progress, and flag issues early (Correct answer)
- Wait for your supervisor to check in before taking action
- Complete it as quickly as possible regardless of quality to get it off your plate
Correct answer: Set your own interim milestones, periodically update your supervisor on progress, and flag issues early
Self-managed milestones and proactive supervisor updates demonstrate initiative and prevent deadline surprises.
Question 5: During a phone call with a citizen, the citizen becomes threatening and uses profanity directed at you personally. What is the BEST action?
- Respond with equal force to assert yourself
- Calmly warn the citizen that you will end the call if the behavior continues, and do so if it does not stop (Correct answer)
- Hang up immediately without warning
- Transfer the call to a coworker without explanation
Correct answer: Calmly warn the citizen that you will end the call if the behavior continues, and do so if it does not stop
A clear warning followed by ending the call if the behavior continues is the appropriate professional boundary for threatening interactions.
Question 6: You are completing a form for a citizen and realize that filling it out as the citizen requests would result in a benefit they are not entitled to under the rules. What do you do?
- Complete the form as requested since it is the citizen's responsibility to know the rules
- Explain the eligibility rules to the citizen and complete the form accurately based on the facts (Correct answer)
- Deny the request without explanation
- Complete the form as the citizen asks and let another department catch the error
Correct answer: Explain the eligibility rules to the citizen and complete the form accurately based on the facts
Explaining eligibility rules and completing the form accurately fulfills your duty to the citizen and protects program integrity.
Question 7: Your agency introduces a new software system and you are struggling to adapt while your coworkers seem to manage fine. What is the BEST response?
- Avoid using the new system and rely on the old process as long as possible
- Pretend you understand and hope you figure it out on the job
- Ask a coworker or your supervisor for additional training or guidance to get up to speed (Correct answer)
- Complain to others that the system is poorly designed
Correct answer: Ask a coworker or your supervisor for additional training or guidance to get up to speed
Proactively seeking help when struggling with new tools ensures productivity and shows professional initiative.
Ohio Civil Service Exam Situational Judgment 5
You are working at a public-facing counter and a citizen you are helping suddenly becomes confused and appears to be experiencing a medical emergency.
What is your FIRST action?