Assessment centres

Below are some of the more common tasks you may face as part of your assessment centre. You may not have to do all these activities and you may encounter tasks and activities not listed here.

Presentation by the employer

Often, an assessment centre will start with a presentation by the employer describing the organisation, their graduate scheme and career progression opportunities. Generally, you are not assessed during this activity but pay close attention to what is said as it may be useful to you at a later stage (perhaps during one of the activities). Look interested and ask questions.

Ice-breaker exercises

Initial exercises to get everyone working together; a willingness to contribute and get involved in the activity is important. These might involve:

• A formal and generic short presentation lasting where you stand up one at a time to introduce yourself to the group. Alternatively, you may be asked to find out as much as possible about the candidate next to you and then introduce them to the group.
• A less conventional approach, such as doing a group task together, drawing a picture or playing a game which encourages communication and builds initial rapport.

Group exercises

The group is given a problem to discuss with a specific objective. It usually isn’t straightforward, and every approach may have disadvantages as well as advantages. The problem may be a physical puzzle to solve, such as building a bridge, or a theoretical one, such as a scenario-based emergency situation where you are presented with facts of the case and must logically work out the best option. The aim is to agree a plan of action by the end of the exercise, so negotiation and compromise are important. You may have to present your findings in an individual or group presentation at the end of the session.

Make sure you understand the task and approach it in a logical way. Decide and agree on the goals and priorities. Consider allocating tasks to different team members to use time effectively – perhaps do this in a manner which utilises each individual’s skills, as you should have got to know one another through the initial introduction.

Listen to others, contribute and don’t dominate discussions.

Committee exercise / debates

Group members are designated roles and are tasked to come up with a consensus plan that the committee agrees on and puts forward. The topic might be very vague, so the discussion has to be kept focused if the committee is to achieve something.

Within a debate, a topic question may be given and the members are free to discuss the pros and cons of different angles concerning it. Make sure you contribute, but listen to others as well and try to involve everyone in the debate. It will be noted if you don’t contribute to the discussion, but likewise it will be noticed if you dominate the discussion and don’t listen to others. Be assertive but not aggressive, and put your points across firmly and fairly, responding to others politely whether you agree or disagree with their points. Remember, the selectors are not expecting you to be an expert on the subject under discussion or the task to completed, but they do want to see evidence that you can make an effective contribution to a group.

Case study

This could be a group or individual exercise in which you are given official reports, tables of figures, newspaper cuttings, memos, etc. and a problem to solve.

Alternatively, the group may be given a business case study, which has to be analysed and understood before making suggestions for subsequent action. You may be asked to make a presentation about the key issues and suggested strategy, demonstrating that you or the group can respond well to assessors posing questions.

There is often not one specific ‘correct’ answer in this exercise. Recruiters are assessing your ability to analyse problems, prioritise tasks and put forward effective arguments with clarity and tact.

In-tray / e-tray exercise

Designed to simulate the administrative features of a job. For example, you may be given a pile of papers representing a post tray containing emails, memos, letters, telephone messages and reports. Alternatively, it could be entirely PC-based (known as an e-tray exercise), where you may be asked to organise and reply to emails in Outlook, amend an Excel spreadsheet, or summarise an article in Word (or a combination of all the above and more). Your task may be to sort the documents according to importance and evaluate how quickly to act, to draft mock replies to the material, or to prioritise your workload as if this was your desk in the morning.

General advice for this is don’t just work from the top down, and if you are provided with instructions, ensure you read them as thoroughly and accurately as possible within the given time, as it may be testing your attention to detail. Sometimes, the exercise may be complicated by a messenger, calling at your ‘office’ every few minutes or so, delivering more material.

Report writing / essay

You may be asked to analyse information independently and then present your summary and findings in a written report, essay or letter.

The essence here is to think clearly. You will be assessed on how you use your skills to present focused information that others will understand, the reasoning for your decisions and to test you on your written skills (spelling, grammar, etc.). For example, you could be asked to write a letter to a customer based on the information presented, explaining clearly and tactfully why you will not extend their contract to supply a product or service.

Presentation

Here you are asked to talk about a subject, either on your own or in a group, for a specified period of time. It could be about a case study (see left), a topic given in advance of the assessment centre, or a subject given on the day where you have a short time to prepare. You may also be given a free choice of what to present about, so it is worth planning something in advance to make sure you perform well.

• Use the resources available (such as PowerPoint or a flipchart) along with any other visual aids that might help you.
• Think about your audience – don’t use technical jargon if they are not familiar with the terminology.
• Technical information is difficult to present, so choose a topic of wide interest. Make sure your presentation has a clear structure and be careful about telling jokes – not everyone may appreciate your sense of humour.
• Speak clearly and stick to the time limit.
• Be prepared to answer questions posed by the assessors at the end of your presentation – use this as a chance to clarify aspects of your presentation in more detail.

To prepare for a presentation about yourself, use the Elevator Pitch Builder on Build My Career: Elevator Pitch Builder student link / Elevator Pitch Builder graduate link.

IT and computer-based tests

You may be tested on the programmes you would use in the role or on general Microsoft Office skills. If you think this may come up, the best practise is to refresh your Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint skills beforehand to make sure you are composed and confident on the day.

Psychometric Tests

Interview

Usually all Assessment Centres include an interview with one assessor or a panel. 

• The competencies the recruiters have identified as being important for the job will usually provide a framework for the interview. 
• Be prepared to have your answers challenged as the interviewer(s) probe you further, test your ability to think on your feet and put across your ideas effectively.
• See the interviews section for more information.