If you’re applying for graduate schemes, be warned: if all goes well, at some point in the recruitment cycle you may well be invited to an assessment centre. These are used by employers to cut down shortlists. They include a number of different exercises, usually ranging from interviews to psychometric tests. So what pitfalls do you need to steer clear of to make it through to the next stage?
Preparation is key
What you wear is particularly important, and dressing for an assessment centre isn’t quite the same as choosing your outfit for a graduate job interview. At interviews you can expect to do a lot of sitting around, but assessment centres may involve a number of different tasks. For example, you probably shouldn’t be wearing a pencil skirt if you’re going to be crawling around on the floor – it has happened. For more general tips on preparation, see our recent advice article on managing your nerves.
You can get a good idea of the sorts of exercises that are going to come up by checking out our Employer Insights and assessment centre advice. What’s more, most assessment centre organisers will give you some idea of the format before the day. That said, you should expect the unexpected. If an exercise comes up which you didn’t prepare for, read the instructions carefully and give your best effort.
Unzip the lip…
One of the worst things you can do in an assessment centre is to keep quiet in exercises where you should be joining in. Assessors really hate this because if you don’t participate they can’t grade you, and are forced to give you no marks. Even if you only offer to be the timekeeper for the group, you will be showing a willingness to participate.
However, while candidates shouldn’t stay quiet in discussions, they shouldn’t try to dominate them either. There have been situations where an entire group has been knocked out of the running because they allowed one or two members to shout everyone else down. Speak up, but encourage other group members to do the same.
…but rein in the ego
Some applicants make the mistake of seeing assessment centres as a competition. This is not surprising, since this is one of the few occasions when they are likely to meet the other candidates for the same job. However, this is not usually what the organisers want.
In reality, assessment centres are there to test your ability to work with other people. There are usually a number of vacancies on offer, and various different groups going through the process – if you are offered a choice of dates this is probably the case. Try your best with the people in your group; you could end up working with them.
Think before you speak
It’s all right to relax a little bit at assessment centres, but don’t get too comfortable. Sitting in a room with a group of people your own age, you might be tempted to chat, flirt, or generally muck around. Needless to say, most assessors take a dim view of having to act as babysitters. Stay in ‘business’ mode, and think of the other candidates as colleagues, rather than friends.
This is particularly important remember because some companies run meet-and-greet sessions with current or former scheme members. This is a good opportunity to find out information that wouldn’t be so easy to come by online, such as what working life is really like. What’s more, assessors may reward you for asking smart questions.
Source: Targetjobs.co.uk, Thursday 2nd August 2012
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