How to succeed at an Assessment Centre

Beforehand

You may - or may not - be given details of what the day will involve beforehand.

Find out as much about the company as possible.

You may be given a brief and asked to prepare an exercise, such as a report.

To improve your presentations skills, practice speaking confidently to groups of people a few times. Make sure you can operate Powerpoint to a satisfactory level.

If you wish to practice Psychometric Tests, follow the links for online examples given later on in this article.

Get a good night’s sleep the night before.

Build plenty of time into your journey for unexpected delays.

Setting off

Unless otherwise instructed, wear business dress.

Make sure you set off with the full address of your destination and a contact telephone number. If you are delayed en route and are going to be late, ring to advise as soon as you can.

Travel expenses may be met, so ensure you get receipts for petrol, trains, taxis etc.

Ensure you take with you anything that you have been asked to bring, such as any prepared work.

On the day

Can last from a few hours up to 1 or 2 days.

Try to relax, enjoy the experience and be yourself.

Be enthusiastic.

Watch the clock carefully during timed exercises - over-running may be penalised.

Listen carefully to instructions. If you need clarification, ask for it.

Be confident - purely by being invited to an Assessment Centre, you are being viewed as a potential employee.

The day could include one, some or all of the following exercises. Think carefully about what the assessors are looking for in each one.

Role Play

Characteristics being sought: problem-solving abilities and commercial awareness.

You will probably be put in a challenging situation - such as dealing with a difficult customer - to see how well you cope. Take a flexible approach and think through fully, and consider the implications of, any proposals you make. You will be marked on how you tackle solving the problem as well as your actual solution.

Group Discussion

Characteristics being sought: leadership, flexibility, communication skills and teamworking.

You could be working in a small team to solve a problem.

Contribute to group discussions, but listen to others too.

Help make sure everyone is given the opportunity to voice their opinion.

Recognise other people’s contributions.

Ensure that any criticism you give is constructive.

In-Tray Exercise

Characteristics being sought: ability to prioritise and stay calm under pressure of time.

You will be asked to sort through an in-tray of items such as letters, memos, reports, requests, emails and problems, and decide on priorities and actions. They will usually consist of a range of issues of varying degrees of importance/urgency, some of which may well be related.

Keep calm but think quickly.

Presentation Exercise

Characteristics being sought: understanding of subject matter, confident public-speaking.

You could be making a presentation which you have prepared in advance of the Assessment Centre to a group, or preparing one in ten minutes and presenting to an Assessor.

Structure your presentation with a definitive beginning, middle and end.

Be confident.

Even if you don’t feel confident, try to look it by keeping your shoulders down, by not speaking too quickly, by looking up as much as you can (even if you are reading from notes) and by smiling occasionally.

Don’t tap your hands or feet, or fidget in any way.

Practical Team Task

Characteristics being sought: leadership and motivational skills, creative/lateral thinking and teamwork.

Tasks can range from being asked to construct a long bridge or a high tower through to getting the whole team round an assault course whilst being tied to each other.

You will be assessed on the level of your individual contribution to the team’s overall performance.

Be assertive, but not bossy.

Psychometric Tests

Characteristics being sought: problem-solving skills, good judgement and reasoning.

Read each question carefully before you answer.

The following links will enable you to practice, free of charge, answering psychometric questions:

www.shldirect.com
www.practicetests.co.uk
www.jobtestprep.co.uk

Analytical exercises

Usually individual exercises where you will be asked to assimilate a large amount of data such as facts, figures or technical information. You will then have to prepare a report or presentation, or undergo an interview, regarding the data

Additional

The Assessment Day will also probably feature an interview and some form of aptitude/personality testing.

Some time at the Assessment Centre will be spent ‘socialising’ with Assessors and other candidates. Try to use this time to find out more about the company and the type of people who have been successful in it - this will reinforce your interest and give you a better indication as to whether working there would suit you.

If alcohol - even complimentary - is being served, refrain entirely, or drink extremely moderately.

Remember to thank the assessors for their time before you leave.

Afterwards

If you are unsuccessful, feedback as to why may be available. If it is, request it and learn from it. Work on any areas of weakness and go into your next Assessment Centre an improved candidate!