HEO Test Practice: SJT, Numerical, Verbal and Timed Papers

Original HEO practice. Open the 300-scenario HEO bank or try this no-account sample. Our suggested ratings and practice score are independent of publicjobs.

Free HEO practice, no account needed

Rate five actions independently.

Choose a rating from 1 (highly inappropriate) to 6 (highly appropriate) for every action. You may use a rating more than once.

You are an HEO managing two EOs and six COs in an application processing team. One EO consistently finishes more cases than colleagues, but COs say she answers questions sharply and they now avoid asking her for help. Her decisions pass quality checks. She says repeated questions prevent her meeting targets, and an approaching deadline is increasing pressure. You have responsibility for allocating work and developing the team, and the AP expects you to maintain both output and reliable supervision.

Judge each action on its own merits. All five ratings are required.

Scroll sideways to see all six ratings. The action stays visible as you choose. On a keyboard, use the arrow keys to change a rating.

Rate each action independently from 1 to 6. Select one rating in every row; repeated ratings are allowed.

Action	1Highly Inappropriate	2Inappropriate	3Slightly Inappropriate	4Slightly Appropriate	5Appropriate	6Highly Appropriate
1Move all CO queries to the other EO until the deadline has passed.Not rated	Choose 1: Highly Inappropriate	Choose 2: Inappropriate	Choose 3: Slightly Inappropriate	Choose 4: Slightly Appropriate	Choose 5: Appropriate	Choose 6: Highly Appropriate
2Meet the EO privately, discuss specific examples and agree respectful support arrangements with protected time for recurring questions.Not rated	Choose 1: Highly Inappropriate	Choose 2: Inappropriate	Choose 3: Slightly Inappropriate	Choose 4: Slightly Appropriate	Choose 5: Appropriate	Choose 6: Highly Appropriate
3Ask the AP to speak to the EO because criticism from a senior manager will carry more weight.Not rated	Choose 1: Highly Inappropriate	Choose 2: Inappropriate	Choose 3: Slightly Inappropriate	Choose 4: Slightly Appropriate	Choose 5: Appropriate	Choose 6: Highly Appropriate
4Tell COs to group questions more carefully and reassure them that the EO's results show her approach is working.Not rated	Choose 1: Highly Inappropriate	Choose 2: Inappropriate	Choose 3: Slightly Inappropriate	Choose 4: Slightly Appropriate	Choose 5: Appropriate	Choose 6: Highly Appropriate
5Introduce a shared question log and short daily clinic, then review whether COs feel able to seek help.Not rated	Choose 1: Highly Inappropriate	Choose 2: Inappropriate	Choose 3: Slightly Inappropriate	Choose 4: Slightly Appropriate	Choose 5: Appropriate	Choose 6: Highly Appropriate

0/5 actions rated.

Check my ratings

The HEO bank has 300 original situational judgement scenarios with explanations and 30 numbered mocks, alongside numerical and verbal practice. Open HEO SJT directly.

Applying from outside the civil service? Our plain-English civil service glossary explains grades, reporting lines and workplace terms. Read it alongside the guide to all 18 Irish government departments to become familiar with the setting of the scenarios. Use the facts and instructions in your own assessment rather than assuming a particular internal procedure.

What HEO material is available?

Practice	Available now	Open the material
Situational judgement (SJT)	300 HEO scenarios with independent six-point ratings, coached and untimed practice, and 30 numbered 10-scenario, 50-minute mocks	Start HEO SJT practice
Numerical reasoning	568 distinct prompts with worked explanations; fresh availability follows your practice history	Start HEO numerical practice
Verbal reasoning	1,950 questions with worked explanations	Start HEO verbal practice
Timed reasoning papers	Numbered numerical papers and 50 verbal papers	Choose a timed HEO paper

The numerical and verbal papers use questions from those banks. HEO SJT uses five independent action ratings per scenario, from 1 (highly inappropriate) to 6 (highly appropriate). Repeated ratings are allowed. Choose coached or untimed practice to learn with explanations, or an original 10-scenario, 50-minute session with feedback at the end.

How to access HEO practice

1. Open HEO practice. This link selects HEO for you.
2. Sign in or create an account if prompted.
3. Choose situational judgement, numerical or verbal reasoning and your practice style. Check that the visible grade is HEO.

Free accounts can try HEO SJT samples. The independent six-point HEO sample on this page needs no account. The separate no-account taster is an EO six-point rating exercise. The complete banks and timed papers require paid test access. Existing members with test access can use the HEO material now.

SJT preparation for HEO candidates

Preparing for HEO and want to improve your situational judgement? Start by explaining why one response is stronger than another. Memorising a rule such as “always ask your manager” will not help when the scenario gives you the authority and information to act yourself.

The candidate-supplied HEO 2026 Stage 1 familiarisation booklet reviewed on 11 October 2026 confirms SJT. It requires 10 scenarios and 50 actions in a 50-minute overall limit. Rate every action independently: 1 highly inappropriate, 2 inappropriate, 3 slightly inappropriate, 4 slightly appropriate, 5 appropriate, 6 highly appropriate. You may repeat ratings. Correct and near-correct ratings receive credit, with no negative marking; speed within the limit does not affect the SJT score. The official scoring weights are not disclosed. Our questions, suggested ratings and practice scoring are original PSP material.

Think through the management decision

For a scenario that puts you in charge of a team, work through five questions:

1. What needs protecting? Identify the service deadline, accuracy, fair treatment or immediate risk described.
2. What is within your authority? Make decisions you are authorised to make. Escalate risks or decisions beyond your remit with the relevant facts and a proposed next step.
3. How will the team deliver? Consider priorities, staff capacity and appropriate delegation. Taking every task on yourself can leave the underlying problem unresolved.
4. Who needs an update? Give the right people an accurate, timely explanation. Avoid promises the scenario does not support.
5. How will you follow through? Set a clear owner and review point, and check that the action resolved the problem.

These are prompts for analysing practice scenarios, not a scoring formula. Read the official HEO Capability Framework through publicjobs alongside the requirements for your own competition.

Worked example: a team deadline and a quality problem

Original PSP scenario: You lead a small team. A service report is due tomorrow. Two figures conflict with the source records, and one colleague is already handling urgent public enquiries. You can reallocate work within the team. Another trained colleague has capacity to check the figures today, and your manager is available if the deadline becomes unachievable.

Which response best addresses the situation?

• A: Submit the report unchanged because meeting the deadline matters most.
• B: Assign the available trained colleague to verify the figures, agree a review time today, keep urgent enquiries covered and alert your manager promptly if a material risk to delivery remains.
• C: Send the entire problem to your manager without checking your team’s capacity or proposing a plan.
• D: Take over every report and enquiry yourself, without changing priorities or telling the team.

Suggested strongest response: B. It addresses accuracy and delivery together, uses the capacity explicitly available, protects the public-facing service and creates a check before the deadline. Escalation remains available if the risk cannot be resolved.

A knowingly passes on unreliable information. C transfers a manageable decision upwards without a proposal. D sounds committed but creates a bottleneck and leaves colleagues unclear about their responsibilities. A different scenario, such as an immediate serious risk or a decision outside your authority, could require immediate escalation.

This is a single-choice learning exercise. It does not predict the format of the HEO assessment.

Practise the reasoning, then the format

Open the HEO SJT bank for grade-specific practice. The free HEO question on this page uses independent six-point action ratings. Compare each rating with PSP’s suggested rating and explanation. For each difference, write down the detail you missed: authority, urgency, evidence, fairness, delegation or follow-through. Our practice score is not a publicjobs score or a pass prediction.

Read the SJT practice guide with more worked scenarios for the difference between ranking and rating. Once your official instructions arrive, focus on the confirmed format and timing. Do not assume that an EO example, a PSP sample or another competition’s scoring rules describe your HEO test.

Official competition information

Status checked 12 September 2026: Publicjobs confirms applications for vacancy 8195 are closed. The closing date was 10 September. This guide retains the application evidence for candidates already in the process. The assessment format below was updated against the candidate-supplied Stage 1 familiarisation booklet on 11 October 2026.

The availability of PSP practice and the official competition format are separate matters. Our material is ready now; your invitation determines the formats you will actually sit.

The candidate-supplied HEO 2026 Stage 1 familiarisation booklet reviewed on 11 October confirms verbal, numerical and SJT assessments. Numerical and verbal each have 15 questions, no fixed time limit and approximately 15 minutes indicated; they are adaptive and forward-only. Our fixed reasoning skills papers are not an exact adaptive assessment simulation. Your invitation controls your sitting date and individual instructions.

The confirmed subject areas are verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and SJT. Our HEO SJT uses independent six-point ratings. Premium includes adaptive verbal tests and adaptive numerical tests, alongside coached, untimed and timed reasoning practice. New HEO adaptive numerical tests use five data blocks with three questions per block. After each block, two or three correct answers aim for a harder block; zero or one aims lower, using the closest remaining unseen block. New numerical tests do not reuse issued questions or data blocks. Adaptive verbal practice adjusts difficulty after each answer and starts at Level 1, using five difficulty levels from simple facts to complex reasoning. Correct verbal answers target one level higher; wrong answers and skips target one lower, using the closest unseen question available. Both subjects save progress and show feedback at the end. Saved tests keep their original format and questions. Question history is shared across practice modes for each subject. PSP difficulty-weighted points are independent practice scores; we do not reproduce the official adaptive scoring model.

Follow the familiarisation material and invitation sent to you, including any individual arrangements.

Test-day checklist

Checked 17 October 2026. The official HEO competition page confirms assessments from 15 to 22 October and results expected at the end of November. The supplied Stage 1 familiarisation booklet specifies completion by 1pm on Thursday 22 October 2026. Follow any updated instructions sent directly to you. The current public page says deadline extensions cannot be granted; plan to finish early.

This checklist summarises practical facts from the candidate-supplied booklet reviewed on 17 October. It does not reproduce the booklet or its questions. Read your own copy in full, including any approved reasonable accommodations.

Before starting

• Use the official practice and system checks on the device and connection you will use for the assessment. Test the camera and microphone and connect your device to power.
• Prepare valid photo ID. Choose a quiet, private room and prevent interruptions. Keep the camera and microphone working throughout the required session.
• Follow the single-device, single-screen rule. A second monitor in the room is prohibited unless your approved accommodations allow it. Switching it off is not stated as an exception.
• Have pen, paper and a handheld calculator ready for numerical reasoning only. Do not use rough work for verbal reasoning. A phone calculator is not permitted. The booklet describes the computer’s built-in calculator as a fallback; follow the instructions on your assessment screen.
• Remove your phone and other prohibited devices. Do not use headphones unless specifically approved. Close PSP and any AI or other assistance before the official assessment.

Timing, order and breaks

Complete the welcome and identity checks, then verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and SJT, in that order. The booklet recommends taking all three together where possible and gives approximately 80 minutes for the assessments. Allow additional time for instructions, examples and identity checks.

Each reasoning assessment has 15 questions and an indicative duration of about 15 minutes, without a fixed time limit. Response time and question difficulty contribute to the official result, alongside accuracy; their exact weights are not disclosed. Work carefully without treating 15 minutes as a hard cutoff. Reasoning is forward-only: you cannot return to an answered question.

The SJT has 10 scenarios and 50 action ratings in a standard 50-minute limit. Speed within that limit does not affect its score. Approved additional time follows your individual arrangements.

Can I spread the sections across days? The overall booklet recommendation is one sitting where possible; it also says to finish each individual reasoning assessment in one sitting. That is not permission to pause midway through an active assessment. If you need to separate sections, check your invitation and the official helpdesk before relying on another candidate’s experience. Finish every section and authentication check before the deadline.

Before closing the assessment

1. Complete every assessment and all identity and authentication checks, including those at the end. Let required recordings finish, review and accept them, and follow the on-screen next step.
2. Use the assessment’s final submission or save-and-close controls where shown. Return to its homepage and check the status of all assessments and verification tasks.
3. Follow any further completion instruction in your publicjobs messages. PSP cannot certify that three ticks alone prove successful submission, or confirm a missing publicjobs completion control.
4. If a control is missing or your status is unclear, contact LVC4sovasupport@publicjobs.ie promptly. Include your Application ID and the vacancy name in the subject, and describe the issue in words. This is the publicjobs helpdesk specified for this competition, rather than SOVA or PSP support. Only photograph or screenshot assessment screens if publicjobs specifically instructs you to do so.

The supplied booklet gives support hours of 9am to 5pm on weekdays, excluding bank holidays. Check your latest messages for service changes. Do not leave a technical issue until after the deadline. The optional feedback survey is separate from completing the required assessments.

What counts towards the result?

You must reach the minimum standard in all three assessments. For successful candidates, verbal, numerical and SJT scores all contribute to the total used for the Stage 1 order of merit. Numerical is not merely a pass/fail hurdle in this HEO competition. Passing Stage 1 does not guarantee an invitation to the next stage or confirm eligibility.

PSP’s accuracy percentages, difficulty-weighted points and SJT practice weights are independent learning measures. They do not reproduce the undisclosed official formula. Read the scoring explanation and correction log.

Use practice to understand mistakes

Start with coached practice and read why an answer fits the passage, figures or scenario. If an explanation does not make sense, use the query link beside it rather than memorising an unsupported answer.

For numerical work, revise percentages, reverse calculations, ratios and weighted averages. For verbal work, practise the distinction between False and Cannot Say. For SJT, judge each action from the stated authority, evidence and consequences; several actions can deserve the same rating.

Compare fresh sessions of the same grade, subject and style. A high score on remembered questions is useful revision but does not show performance on unseen material. New sessions share question history across modes; HEO numerical timed and adaptive sessions also exclude previously issued data blocks. If a bank cannot supply a fresh full test, resume or review saved work instead. Saved results retain their original answers and scores.

After testing

Keep your submitted application and factual experience examples. Monitor publicjobs for your result and any subsequent invitation; the public campaign page currently expects Stage 1 results at the end of November. Follow the requirements of the actual next stage when issued. A high practice score does not establish eligibility or guarantee shortlisting.

You do not need to keep paying while waiting. Cancel renewal in Account and billing if that suits you; access continues until the paid period ends. The 90-day Competition Pass ends automatically. Your preparation choice for interview can wait until you know what you need.

FAQ

Is HEO practice available now?

Yes: 300 original HEO SJT scenarios, 30 SJT mocks, 568 distinct numerical prompts and 1,950 verbal questions. Fresh availability depends on your shared practice history and the complete blocks needed by each mode. Open HEO practice.

Are PSP answers official?

No. PSP scenarios, suggested ratings and scoring are independent. The practice correction log explains the 15 and 16 October SJT changes and why historical results remain unchanged.

Does an assessment invitation mean I have been shortlisted?

No. The booklet says an invitation does not confirm eligibility. Assessment results and the competition’s subsequent selection requirements still apply. Keep the application evidence you submitted.

Update log

17 October 2026: rechecked the official campaign dates and the supplied familiarisation booklet; added equipment, timing, authentication, completion and helpdesk guidance. Updated practice availability and linked corrections, scoring explanations and study methods. No official answer keys or assessment questions are published here.

15 and 16 October 2026: practice-bank expansion and SJT answer reviews completed. See the correction log for what changed and how saved attempts are preserved.

11 October 2026: checked the supplied Stage 1 booklet and added independent six-point HEO SJT practice and 10-scenario, 50-minute sessions.

The HEO 2026 campaign desk

HEO test practice is available now.

Open the HEO numerical and verbal banks, use the worked explanations and practise with timed papers.

Start HEO practiceFree sample available. Full banks require paid test access.