Overview

An Assessment Centre is not a place. It is a method used by employers to select the best candidates for positions within the Organisation. It is often used in Graduate Selection as it provides a systematic and reliable approach, which is both legally defensible and valid.

Psychologists have consistently demonstrated that the best predictor of future behaviour is past and present behaviour – thus using a competency based assessment approach, organisations have more of an opportunity to search for evidence to support any competencies that are required for a particular role.

The best way to assess whether an individual is likely to perform well in a role is to put them in the job itself. However, in reality this is not always feasible as the consequences of errors can be extremely high. Thus organisations develop assessment centres that use exercises which simulate the tasks required in the real job. These exercises require the use of the same competencies as would be required to do the actual job.

Several candidates are observed at each Centre. A number of Assessors observe candidates’ behaviour in various exercises and simulations. Psychometric tests generally form part of an Assessment Centre. They are also often used at the first stage of the selection process, in order to screen candidates prior to attending the Centre.

Exercises at an assessment centre can include:

• Psychometric Tests – Ability Tests and Personality Questionnaires which are often also administered online prior to the centre.
• Group Exercises - Each candidate in the group plays a designated role in a simulated work event, such as a meeting. The group is observed together by several assessors.
• Presentation Exercises – Each candidate individually presents on a specified topic to an assessor.
• In-Tray Exercises - A paper exercise in which candidates deal with items in an In-tray, which simulates the potential work environment of the position for which they are applying.
• Interviews – Competency-based interviews designed to ask candidates probing questions about past experiences where they have demonstrated a number of specified competencies that relate to the current job.

Each of the above exercises is designed to measure candidates’ performance against specified criteria. These criteria, or competencies, are clearly defined by the Organisation prior to the Assessment Centre – they have often been shown to be predictive of high performance in the job (known as validity). They represent essential skill requirements of the particular position for which candidates are being selected.

All Assessment Centre exercises are timed. It is therefore advantageous to practise beforehand, as this reduces precious time taken for candidates to familiarise themselves with the task once at the Assessment Centre.

The information provided below will help you understand each of the exercises that you are likely to undertake in more detail.

Competency Based Interviews

The interview will seek to gather evidence of the behaviours you have demonstrated in various situations in the past. The process will focus on particular competencies that are deemed to be relevant to the role. Each competency is underpinned by particular behaviours, and it is the past demonstration of these behaviours that will act as evidence for that competency. Indeed, each competency also has undesirable behaviours that can negatively impact any positive aspects of a particular competency that you may demonstrate.

For example: a job may require the “Planning and Organising” competency.

The interviewer will often ask you to ‘tell them about a time when you have had to plan and organise a project or task’. They will probe further until you have fulfilled the following aspects to support your demonstration of this competency.

This can be remembered using the acronym ‘STAR’.

An example here may refer to a project which you undertook, highlighting behaviours such as planning with contingency, being aware of and sharing risk with all stakeholders, providing updates to all stakeholders on a regular basis, managing expectations of all stakeholders and so on. However, if you did not perform any of these behaviours, or demonstrate an awareness of the importance of these, then this would suggest your competence in ‘Planning and Organising’ is not sufficient - this would be likely to work against you.

It is important that you consider the role you that are applying for carefully, and review any job descriptions that may exist against the Graduates First’ Competency Model. Using this methodology, you will be able to identify those competencies that are likely to be assessed by the recruitment process and we will provide you with the types of questions that are likely to come up. This will help you prepare and plan for your Competency Based Interview with greater confidence.

Psychometric Tests and other Ability tests

Please see the Psychometrics section for more information on this.

Group Discussion Exercise

These exercises tend to look at some common competencies across different jobs, although there are other competencies that will vary by role. Common competencies include:

• Team working – how candidates work together, supporting each other, and allowing each other an opportunity to express themselves. It is important to remember not to confuse ‘Influencing’ with ‘Team Working’ as it is highly unlikely that both of these will be assessed during a single exercise.
• Communicating – how candidates get their message across, how their body language helps their communication, how they listen to others.
• Influencing – Some recruiters may consider being able to influence to be critical to success in the job. As a result, they may use a group discussion to see how well candidates influence others. For example, for a sales job where individuals often work competitively.

Use the Graduates First 'Competency Model' to identify those competencies that are likely to be assessed by the recruitment process for the job you are applying for and we will provide you with the types of behaviours you should demonstrate during the session. This will help you prepare and plan for your ‘Group Exercise’ with greater confidence.