Assessment Centre Exercises 2026 Full Practice Guide.

1. Introduction

Not sure if you should practice to prepare for assessment centre exercises? A recent study found that around one-third of employers use assessment centres in their application processes (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2020).

Without further delay, let’s find out everything about assessment centre exercises below!

2. What is an Assessment Centre?

The assessment centre or assessment day is a series of individual, group, and work simulation exercises used by employers in their selection process to evaluate applicants’ relevant skills, competencies, and personal attributes as required for the role.

Do you wonder what makes assessment centres popular with employers? Find out below some facts about assessment centre exercises.

Assessment Centre: 5 Key Facts

Here are 5 key facts you must know about assessment centres before you start your next job application’s assessment day.

5 Key Facts About Assessment Centre

1. The assessment centre is usually the last stage that you encounter as part of your recruitment process, and can last anywhere from half a day to two days.
2. An assessment centre can be either physical or virtual. In recent times, most employers prefer to have their assessment day virtually to attract global talent. 
3. Depending upon the job role and employer, you may still undergo an in-person or online assessment centre for hiring after a virtual session.
4. Most assessment centre tasks are real work simulations that aim to assess how well you respond to workplace situations and on-the-job tasks.
5. Initially, assessment centre exercises were used for senior managerial and leadership roles. These days, employers use it for graduate and early career roles as well.

So what form does the assessment centre take? Keep reading as we dive into the types of assessment centres that you can expect during your assessment day!

3. Types of Assessment Centre

What are the types of assessment centres?

There are 4 major types of assessment centres that employers use in their hiring process, and you can expect to encounter any of the following:

Now that we have covered the types of assessment centres, check out the difference between virtual assessment centres and in-person assessment centres below!

Differences Between Virtual and In-Person Assessment Centres

What are the differences between virtual and in-person assessment centres?

Virtual or online assessment centres became more prevalent during the pandemic as virtual screening methods allowed continuous recruitment despite the pandemic. Find below the difference between the two methods of screening.

Virtual Assessment Centres	In-person Assessment Centres
It can be conducted from anywhere with the availability of an internet connection.	Require candidates to travel to a physical location.
Candidates completing exercises in their own environment have less monitoring in these centres.	Provides a more controlled environment, with specific facilities and resources available.
Relies on technology for interactions with other candidates and the assessors, which can feel less natural.	Involves face-to-face interactions between candidates and assessors.
Use tools such as e-trays and interactive situational judgement tests for work simulation exercises.	Use more traditional assessments such as case studies, role-plays, and group discussions.
Overall are more cost-effective and time-efficient for both candidates and the employer.	In-person assessment requires travel and accommodation expenses, which may not be covered by the employer.

Now that you have learnt the forms of assessment centres, let’s go into the assessment centre exercises involved in a virtual/in-person assessment day.

4. What are Assessment Centre Exercises?

What happens in an assessment centre?

Most assessment centres include at least two or more common online assessment centre exercises to evaluate you on some of the employer’s pre-set competency framework and skills.

What are the exercises used in an assessment centre?

The most common types of assessment exercises are discussed below:

• Group Exercises: You are required to work together with 6-12 candidates to solve a real or simulated problem, with assessors observing collaboration, contribution, and negotiation skills.
• Presentation Exercises: These assessment exercises require you to present on a set topic, individually or in groups, showcasing communication, time management, and presentation skills.
• Role-Play Exercises: These require you to act out a job-related scenario to demonstrate negotiation, problem-solving, and role-specific understanding.
• In-Tray Exercises: Candidates manage letters, reports, and other documents within a set time, testing prioritisation, adaptability, attention to detail, and task management under pressure.
• E-Tray Exercises: A digital version of in-tray tasks where candidates prioritise and respond to online communications, often emails, to assess efficiency and decision-making.
• Written Exercises: A case study exercise where you are required to produce written outputs, such as action plans or case study analyses, assessing analytical thinking, problem-solving, and clarity under pressure.
• Interviews: These assessment centre interviews may be competency-based, behavioural, technical, motivational, or strengths-focused, depending on the role and organisational needs

Do you want to prepare for your assessment centre interview? Use our Go Essential package to practice interview questions!

So what exactly do each of these exercises measure? Find out below!

What Do Assessment Centre Exercises Measure?

Assessment centre exercises involve various tasks and interviews that simulate workplace challenges, which the assessors will use to evaluate your performance and required skill sets.

The skills that will be measured include:

Now that you know the skills that assessment centres measure, let’s talk about the employers that use assessment centres in their hiring process.

5. Employers That Use Assessment Centres

Which companies use assessment centres for hiring?

Assessment centres are used by many global industry giants in both public and private sectors in fields such as customer service, technology, and fashion, as a part of their hiring and training programmes. Here is a list of some of these top employers:

KPMG	Unilever	Microsoft
IBM	P&G	BP (British Petroleum)
Nestle	Deloitte	O2
Shell	PwC	EY

These employers and many others use assessment centres as part of their hiring process to find candidates for their various companies and roles.

Find out why employers use assessment centres below.

Why do Employers Use Assessment Centres

Assessment centres are a top choice for employers to evaluate and shortlist from the pool of candidates for a variety of purposes, including: 

• Recruitment and selection
• Talent management
• Training and development
•  Succession planning

Discover the key reasons why more employers are opting for virtual assessment centres in our short video below!

Assessment centres offer some advantages to employers. Let’s go on to discuss the top 7 advantages that employers get by using assessment centres for hiring.

Top 7 Advantages of Assessment Centres

What are the advantages of assessment centres?

Most of the top employers like KPMG, Amazon, and Shell use assessment centres for the following reasons:

Having learnt the importance and advantages of assessment centres to employers, let’s dive into how to pass assessment centre exercises in the next section.

6. How To Pass Assessment Centres Exercises

What are the tips to ace assessment centre exercises?

As there are different types of assessment day exercises, we have curated some 13 tips for you to prepare for your assessment centre, including a virtual assessment day.

13 Top Tips to Pass Your Assessment Centre Exercises

1. Research the company and its objectives: Understand its values, culture, and goals. This helps you align your behaviour and responses with the qualities of the ‘ideal’ employee.
2. Revisit your job application: Be ready to expand on your work experience using the STAR+R method to answer competency-based questions clearly.
3. Check the job description: Identify the key skills and competencies the employer seeks and plan how you will demonstrate these in the exercises.
4. Stay updated on industry trends: Be aware of current developments, challenges, and innovations in the sector. This can provide useful examples during interviews or case studies.
5. Practise relevant concepts and terminology: Review technical knowledge, sector-specific language, and typical scenarios you might face in role-plays or case studies.
6. Dress professionally: Maintain a smart appearance, whether attending in person or online, to make a strong first impression.
7. Read instructions carefully: Take time to understand the requirements and guidelines for each exercise before starting.
8. Engage confidently in group tasks: Demonstrate active listening, collaboration, negotiation, and leadership without dominating the discussion.
9. Manage your time effectively: Practise working under timed conditions to prepare for presentations, in-tray, or e-tray exercises.
10. Maintain a positive attitude: Stay composed, attentive, and engaged throughout the day, even under pressure.
11. Ask thoughtful questions: Use opportunities to clarify instructions or engage with assessors to show motivation and interest.
12. Use reflection breaks wisely: If given preparation time before tasks, organise your thoughts, outline key points, and plan your approach.
13. Prepare for virtual platforms (if online): Test your technology, internet connection, and software in advance to avoid disruptions.

The assessment exercises you will take depend on the role you’ve applied for and often involve job-related scenarios or work simulation exercises. Therefore, these exercises are likely tailored to the requirements of the role.

Check out a mock assessment centre exercise example question and answer below!

Assessment Centre Exercise Example Question and Answer

How to practice for assessment centre exercises?

Find below an assessment centre in-tray exercise example designed by GF experts, used by employers in their assessment centres.

SCENARIO

You are a manager at a consulting firm. You have just returned from a meeting and have been given an in-tray of documents to review and respond to within 2 hours. These include:

• A new project proposal from an existing client
• An email from your boss asking for the current budget status report by the end of the day
• A memo from HR regarding upcoming team-building activities
• A request from a senior partner asking for a market research summary on a new investment opportunity
• An email from HR asking for availability for an interview for a new hire next week
• A memo from the finance team providing an update on expenses for the current quarter
• A report of the company’s recent financial performance

TASK

You have 2 hours to go through your in-tray and decide how you would respond to each document, make decisions, and take the best applicable action. Prioritise your tasks based on urgency and importance.

How to Answer an In-tray Exercise?

Here is a useful table that you can use to help with organising and delegating your tasks during an in-tray assessment: 

	High Priority/Urgent	Low Priority/Not Urgent
Important	These tasks are important and require prompt action.	These tasks are important but do not require prompt action.
Not Important	These tasks require prompt action but are not as critical as important tasks. They should be delegated or completed efficiently if possible.	These tasks are low in both urgency and importance. They can be postponed or delegated to someone else.

How will I be assessed in this assessment centre exercise?

The assessment centre assessors will be evaluating your ability to:

• Analyse information
• Provide recommendations
• Communicate effectively
• Prioritise tasks
• Time management
• Attention to detail

You will also be assessed on the quality of your responses and recommendations, the format in which they are written, and your ability to follow the provided instructions. 

Want to practice with more mock assessment centre exercise questions to boost your assessment day performance?  Practice with GF!

With this, we have been able to cover all you need to know about assessment centres as used in the hiring process of top organisations across the world.

However, before you go!  

Before you go for your virtual/in-person assessment centre, explore our FAQ section below for more answers about completing assessment centre exercises.

7. Assessment Centre Exercises FAQs