These are five sample questions from Bryq’s Emotional Intelligence assessment, a soft skills assessment for hiring people who understand and manage emotions well at work. The full assessment covers five skills: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Each question describes an emotionally charged workplace situation and asks which response shows the most emotional intelligence, with four options.
Self-Awareness
Question
You notice that you consistently perform well under pressure when working alone, but become visibly quieter and less decisive in group settings. How do you respond to this pattern?
Select your answer
Reflect on what shifts in group settings, then set yourself one specific, small goal to test in your next team meeting.
Accept it as part of your personality and focus on the environments where you naturally thrive.
Make more of an effort to speak up in group settings to counteract the tendency.
Reflect on what group dynamics trigger in you and identify what specifically shifts your confidence.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
Treating the pattern as information to understand and then act on combines reflection with deliberate development.
Self-Regulation
Question
You are in an important meeting, and a colleague challenges your credibility in front of the group in a way that feels unfair. How do you respond?
Select your answer
Stay composed, briefly correct the record with facts, and follow up with the colleague privately to address the dynamic.
Stay silent in the meeting and raise it with your manager afterward.
Respond firmly in the moment to make clear you will not be undermined publicly.
Calmly address the challenge in the moment by stating the facts and inviting the group to continue.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
Staying composed in the room and addressing the dynamic privately protects the meeting and credibility while still dealing with the underlying issue.
Motivation
Question
You have been working toward a significant personal development goal for several months and are beginning to question whether it is the right goal for you. How do you respond?
Select your answer
Sit with the uncertainty, examine what the goal still means to you and what may have shifted, then make a deliberate and honest decision about how to proceed.
Push through the doubt; commitment matters more than certainty at this stage.
Put the goal on hold and revisit it when you have more clarity.
Talk it through with a mentor and follow their recommendation.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
Doubt is a signal worth examining, not something to suppress or avoid.
Empathy
Question
You notice that a colleague who is usually energetic and engaged has become flat and withdrawn over the past two weeks, but has not mentioned anything to you. What do you do?
Select your answer
Check in privately, name what you have noticed with care, and let them know you are available without any pressure to share.
Keep an eye on them and wait another week before deciding whether to say anything.
Give them space; if they wanted support, they would ask for it.
Mention in passing that they seem a bit quieter lately, and leave the door open.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
A private, caring check-in shows attention and signals support, while leaving them fully in control of how much they share.
Social Skills
Question
You are facilitating a team session and notice that the same people are contributing while others have gone quiet, despite the topic being relevant to everyone. What do you do?
Select your answer
Adjust your facilitation approach in the moment to create a structured space for different voices, and reflect afterward on how to build this into future sessions as a norm.
Pause the session and invite everyone to contribute before moving on.
Let it play out; if people have something to add, they will find a moment to speak.
Ask the quieter members directly if they have anything to add.
