assessment centres bruce woodcock university of kent careers and employability service [email protected]...
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ASSESSMENT CENTRES
Bruce Woodcock University of Kent Careers and Employability [email protected]
You can download a copy of this presentation at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm
What is an assessment centre?
• A series of exercises, carried out individually or in a small group over one or two days, designed to measure the competencies needed in graduate recruits
• The final stage in the selection process
• Good news! Normally only 5% of the original applicants will get this far
Who uses assessment centres?
Most large graduate recruiters including:
• The Civil Service • Local government; the NHS• Manufacturing companies• Banks, chartered accountants • Advertising agencies• Consultancies• The armed forces, police etc.
Why do employers use assessment centres?
• They are one of the most reliable indicators of successful future job performance
• They are a fair and objective selection method
• They assess candidates across a number of dimensions
What happens at an assessment centre?
Group exercises:
• Discussions
• Practical tasks
• Role play
Individual exercises:
• Written tasks
• In-tray exercises
• Psychometric tests
• Presentations
• Interviews
A number of different exercises, which are likely to include:
Plus socialising with assessors, fellow-candidates and recent graduates
The most frequently-used exercises at assessment centres
• Interview 97%
• Psychometric test91%
• Group discussion 89%
• Personality test 79%
• Case study 71%
• Presentation 61%
• In-tray exercise 48%
How will you be assessed?
• By people with clipboards!
• On a range of competencies that are important in the job you are applying for:For marketing it might be negotiating and persuading skillsFor computing it might be more problem solving and analytical skills
• By more than one person
• On your own merits
What are assessors looking for?
• Evidence of the competencies needed to perform well in the job.
• You have already been assessed on these on paper and at first interview…
• The assessment centre will look particularly at your ability to work with others, influence and persuade – and how others respond to you.
Group exercises
• Discussions
• Practical tasks
• Role play
Group DiscussionsDiscussion of a general topic, e.g.
• Should tolls be introduced on all motorways?
• What can be done to improve the NHS?
• How can the problems associated with excessive alcohol consumption be tackled?
Discussion of a scenario:
• Assessment of bids for lottery funding• Shipwreck/desert survival
Group Exercises
Practical tasks, e.g.
• Constructing a Lego tower or paper chain
• Creating an advertising campaign for a specific product
• Crossing a “shark-infested river”
Role Play• Discussion of a given topic or problem
• Each member of the group allocated a role, e.g. Marketing Manager/Finance Director
• You will have information that other members of the group do not
• Need to reach an agreement or produce a recommendation
What are assessors looking for in group activities?
• Interpersonal skills
• Persuasiveness
• Co-operation and teamwork
• Analysis, judgement and decision-making
• Initiative and creativity
• Time management
Case Studies• May be one of the group exercises
and discussions, often involving role-play ..
• … or an individual task
• Will need to study the information you are presented with, pick out the key points and reach decisions …
• … which you may need to write up in a report or to present verbally
Presentations
• You may be given a topic in advance or allocated one on the day
• Keep visual aids simple and relevant
• You will be allowed to use notes – small cards are best
In-Tray/E-tray Exercises• Simulates the work you will be doing if
selected
• You will be given a number of messages – plus attached documents – that you might find in your inbox one morning
• Need to sort, prioritise and take or recommend action
• Time-limited: new emails (and even phone calls) may keep coming in!
Interviews• Likely to be more challenging and probing
than previous interviews …
• … but will be with a different interviewer so be prepared for some of the same points to be covered …
• … especially anything that has emerged as a weak point at previous interviews
The Social Side
• May include coffee breaks/lunch with the assessors and/or meetings with recent graduates
• Not part of the formal assessment …• … but anything you say or do could be
remembered
What happens after the assessment centre?
or
How you can prepare
• You can practise for some exercises in advance …
• .. and keep up to date with current issues
• Think back over your previous interviews with this organisation
• Use the information sources coming up on the next slide!
Further help and information
• Assessment Centre Videoswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/IntVid.htm
• Web pageswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/selection.htm
Careers Employability Award on Moodle
Assessed by a range of quizzes and assignments
Will greatly improve your career planning and jobhunting skills, giving you strategies to make career choices and will increase your chances of getting a graduate level job.
Takes about 12 hours to complete
On completion you will get a University of Kent Careers Employability Award to add to your CV
Get 60 Kent Employability points for successful completion of the module.
DX_CEA
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/moodle.htm
THE END …. of this presentation
Careers and Employability Servicewww.kent.ac.uk/careers
At the end of Keynes driveway, Opening hours 9.00 am - 5.00 pm, Monday to
FridayDuty adviser each weekday 10.30 – 12.30
and 2 to 5
ASSESSMENT CENTRES
Bruce Woodcock University of Kent Careers and Employability [email protected]
You can download a copy of this presentation at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm