Assessment centres
An Assessment Centre is a collection of activities designed to show whether your skills, experiences and personal qualities match the organisation's selection criteria and culture. They will vary in structure, but typically:
- Several candidates will be present (approximately 6-12)
- Some exercises will involve other candidates, some you may do on your own
- You are assessed against a number of key competencies (skills) required to do the job
An Assessment Centre may include several multiple methods of assessment, including:
Assessment Centres are favoured by many employers because they provide a more comprehensive overview of your strengths and limitations. Furthermore, they are more objective than traditional interviews alone which may be influenced by the interviewers' biases.
Quick tips
- You should be told in advance what kind of exercises you will be doing and if you need to prepare anything. Familiarise yourself with the process and complete any practice exercises that are relevant.
- If you feel you have not done well in one assessment, keep trying as you can make up for it in another exercise. Assessment Centres allow you to show a range of abilities in a variety of different situations; your performance on all the different exercises is taken into account.
- In group activities, loudest does not equal best! However, if you are too quiet the assessors will have nothing to judge. Find a balance - and make sure you listen to others.
- Pace yourself in timed activities in order to achieve the most correct answers (not the most questions answered!)
- Ensure you are up to date with what is happening in your industry or the organisation. If you can slip real-life current examples into an activity this will help you stand out from others.
- Be your (professional) self! (But remember that you may be assessed outside of the formal activities, so be friendly and professional)
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