Most graduate employers include assessment centres as part of their recruitment process, typically lasting one or two days. Assessment centres are considered by many employers to be the fairest and most accurate method of selecting staff. They give the employer the chance to observe you and see what you can do, rather than what you say you can do, in a variety of situations.
As with interviews, a key to success is preparation and presenting yourself in a positive way.
Assessment centres typically include a number of elements:
Resources available in the Careers Service
If you have any particular concerns or need further help, call into the Careers Service.
During the assessment day, you will have to meet and deal with a variety of people, both selectors and other candidates.
You may have to take part in psychometric tests as part of the assessment centre. Tests are often of two different types:
Aptitude tests are timed, taken under examination conditions and are designed to measure your intellectual capability for thinking and reasoning. The most commonly used ones test numeracy and literacy.
Personality tests are not usually timed, have no right or wrong answers and ask how you would typically react or behave in different situations. They are often used to help ensure you are put into a working situation which will suit you. Make sure you pay attention to the instructions and answer honestly.
For more advice and links to practice tests, see Psychometric tests.
You may be asked to take part in a group discussion or an exercise where you will be asked to carry out a task or play a particular business role.
In group exercises, the selectors are looking for how well you work with other people. They may also be looking for verbal communication, negotiating, persuading, problem-solving and planning skills. To take part in a practice group exercise, look out for our Have a go at an assessment centre workshop during term time. You can also watch real students being assessed by actual recruiters in a group discussion exercise in the video: At the assessment centre.
Tips on dealing with group tasks:
Imperial College Business School has produced a useful guide on positive and negative behaviours assessors may be looking out for during group exercises. See also AllAboutCareers for further advice.
Case studies can be given as a group activity or as an individual exercise. Typically, you are given a set of papers relating to a particular situation and asked to make recommendations in a brief report. You are being tested on your ability to analyse information, to think clearly and logically, to exercise your judgement and to express yourself on paper.
Example exercises:
For further advice on case study exercises, visit Wikijob and TARGETjobs: Coping with case studies for graduate jobs.
In this type of exercise, you will be given an in-tray containing emails, memos, telephone messages, reports, letters etc or an email inbox (e-tray) containing electronic versions of the above. You may also be given information about the organisation to help you make decisions as to the actions you would take. You will need to prioritise the work, draft replies, delegate tasks and recommend actions. You will be assessed on how you handle lots of complicated information in a limited amount of time. You may need to justify why you have made certain decisions.
For further information see TARGETjobs.
Example exercises:
You may be asked to prepare a short talk and present it in front of the other candidates and/or the selectors. The selectors wants to know whether you can put information across effectively. Find out as much as you can beforehand. Don't be afraid to ask.
Ask yourself:
Your presentation should have a logical structure - an introduction or outline, a main theme and a conclusion.
80% of the message from your presentation is down to body language. Try to relax, smile and be positive. Avoid fidgeting or fiddling with hair, clothing or jewellery.
Practise your presentation in front of a friend and ask for feedback. If this feels worse than the presentation itself, use a mirror. Don't forget to keep to the allotted time.
Find out what resources are available to you. If there's a choice, use what you're most comfortable with.
Try to anticipate and prepare for likely questions.
Remember - only very few of us are naturally talented speakers. Almost everyone will be nervous before a presentation. First time speakers often think nervousness is a sign that they aren't good at delivering a good presentation. This isn't true - all the symptoms that accompany nervousness, such as frequent swallowing, trembling and perspiration are normal signs that your body is getting ready for something important.
See TARGETjobs for more advice on delivering a presentation during an assessment day. You can also watch real students being assessed by a graduate recruiter in a prepared presentation exercise in the video: At the assessment centre.
You may have one or more interviews as part of the assessment. For more information see Interviews.