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    How to Succeed

    at an AssessmentCentre

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    How to Succeed

    at an AssessmentCentreEssential preparation for psychometric

    tests, group and role-play exercises,panel interviews and presentations

    3rd edition

    Harry Tolley & Robert Wood

    iii

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    Publisher’s note

    Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in thisbook is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and authors cannot

    accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility forloss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a resultof the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or any ofthe authors.

    120 Pentonville RoadLondon N1 9JNUnited Kingdom

    www.koganpage.com

    1518 Walnut Street, Suite 1100Philadelphia PA 19102USA

    © Harry Tolley and Robert Wood, 2001, 2006, 2010, 2011

    The right of Harry Tolley and Robert Wood to be identified as the authors of this work has beenasserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

    ISBN 978 0 7494 6229 1E-ISBN 978 0 7494 6228 4

    British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

    A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Tolley, Harry.How to succeed at an assessment centre : essential preparation for psychometric tests group

    and role-play exercises panel interviews and presentations / Harry Tolley, Robert Wood.p. cm.

    Rev. ed. of: How to succeed at an assessment centre : essential preparation for psychome trictests, group and role-play exercises, panel interviews and presentations. 3rd ed. 2010.

    ISBN 978-0-7494-6229-1 – ISBN 978-0-7494-6228-4 1. Employment tests.2. Assessment centers (Personnel management procedure) I. Wood, Robert, 1941 Mar.10- II. Title.

    HF5549.5.E5T65 2011650.14–dc22

    2010053962

    Typeset by Graphicraft Ltd, Hong KongPrinted and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd

    4737/23 Ansari RoadDaryaganjNew Delhi 110002

    India

    First published in Great Britain in 2001Second edition 2006Third edition 2010This edition 2011

    Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review,as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may onlybe reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission inwriting of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with theterms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these termsshould be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:

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    Contents

    About the authors viii

    Introduction 1

    1 Assessment centres and multi-assessmentevents 7What is an assessment centre? 7What to expect – the programme 8What to expect – the assessment activities 11

    Assessing your performance 22Social activities and events 23Dress code 24Punctuality 25

    Advance preparation 26

    2 How to succeed in group exercises 29Group exercises in the assessment process 29What the assessors are looking for 31

    Assigned, non-assigned and assumed roles 35Tactical considerations 37Icebreaker exercises 41Professional role-players 42

    Preparing for group discussion exercises 43What assessors do not want to see 44

    3 How to make successful presentations 47Planning and preparation 48Structuring your presentation 50

    v

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    vi CONTENTS

    Getting your presentation off to a good start 51Delivering your presentation 52What the assessors will be looking for 57

    Summary 57

    4 How to excel in psychometric tests 59Tests and why selectors use them 59Types of psychometric test 60Examples from a logical reasoning test 63Examples from numerical reasoning tests 65Examples from verbal usage and reasoning tests 70Comprehension/critical thinking 78Examples of situational judgement tests 88The importance of doing well in selection tests 91Practice does make a difference 92Performing to the best of your ability on tests 93Completing psychometric tests online 94

    Answers to sample questions 96

    5 How to project yourself authentically throughpersonality, motivation and emotionalintelligence questionnaires 101Personality 102

    Emotional intelligence 115Motivation 120Summary 134

    6 How to succeed at panel interviews 135Why interviews are used in the selection process 135Panel interviews 136

    Advance preparation 141Common failings at interviews 144The interview 147Types of questions interviewers ask 148Summary 154

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    CONTENTS vii

    7 In-tray/in-box, case study and role-play exercises 157In-tray/in-box exercises 157Case study exercises 163Role-play exercises 165Summary 169

    8 Rounding off your preparation for an assessment centre 171

    Improving your reading skills 171Improving your listening skills 175Preparing for an assessment centre: some final advice 178Summary 180

    9 After an assessment centre: how to achieve future success 181

    Seeking feedback from others 181Self-review – evaluating your assessment centre

    experience 184Developing a self-improvement action plan 184Summary 186

    Appendix: Auditing your skills 187

    Further reading from Kogan Page 201

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    About the authors

    Dr Harry Tolley is a Special Professor in the School of Educationat the University of Nottingham as well as being a researcher, author

    and freelance consultant. He is the co-author of How to PassNumeracy Tests, How to Pass Verbal Reasoning Tests and How toPass the New Police Selection System , all published by KoganPage.

    Professor Robert Wood is an author and freelance consultant. Hehas written and co-written numerous books and papers based on

    his extensive experience in recruitment, assessment and selection.He now writes novels, short stories and walking books.

    viii

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    Introduction

    It has been common practice to invite candidates who havesuccessfully negotiated a job or a promotion interview to attend

    for a second interview. This was often very similar to the first, thoughthe chances are that the questions would have been more search-ing, and the candidates would have had to face a panel rather thana single interviewer. However, many organizations have now cometo realize that such procedures are seriously flawed as a means ofrecruiting new people, or even as a method of selecting employeesfor promotion or further training. The reasons for this are:

    A second interview can easily cover the same issues in a similar●

    way to the first – even when conducted by skilled andexperienced interviewers.

    Selection based purely on interviews is likely to be more●

    subjective than is desirable because of the importance attached

    to first impressions, and the possibility of stereotyping andunintended bias on the part of the interviewers.

    Interviews on their own do not provide organizations with●

    sufficient information about the ability of candidates to copewith the particular requirements of the job, course of training oreducation programme for which they have applied.

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    INTRODUCTION 3

    applicants for jobs, promotion, further training and even educationcourses can now expect to be assessed by a variety of methodsin a recruitment-selection process, which consists of a number of

    stages.For the candidate, this is a multi-stage assessment process

    usually beginning with the completion and submission of some formof written application – an on-line application form, a curriculumvitae and/or a letter. These will not only be used as an initial filter, ieto decide whether or not to progress your application to the nextstage in the recruitment process, but also to build up the evidence

    on which the final assessment of your suitability will be based. Whatyou submit can also be used to inform subsequent stages in theassessment process, eg the questions for you to be asked in aninterview, or what behaviours to look out for when you are interact-ing with other people. It is worth remembering that in completingthis stage of the process, you will be judged not just on the contentof your application, but also on your written communication skills

    including the accuracy of your spelling, punctuation and grammar.Given the importance of ‘first impressions’ in a highly competitivelabour market, you cannot afford to treat this initial stage of theprocess lightly, and we strongly recommend that you read andfollow the advice given in the other books in the Kogan Page serieswritten specifically for this purpose, such as Preparing the Perfect

    Job Application and Preparing the Perfect CV .

    Candidates judged to best meet the selection criteria in the earlystages of the process are now likely to find themselves invited toattend what is known as an ‘assessment centre’, where further evalu-ation of their suitability will be undertaken over an extended periodof time – sometimes several hours, sometimes even longer. It shouldbe noted that in this context the term ‘assessment centre’ refers toa process rather than a location – a term like ‘multi-assessment

    event’ would do just as well. Assessment centres are highly structured in terms of both their

    programmes and assessment activities – the same being true ofmulti-assessment events. They will be run, in some cases, by humanresources staff from within the organization, assisted, as appro-priate, by other people such as senior managers. In other situations,

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    HOW TO SUCCEED AT AN ASSESSMENT CENTRE4

    recruitment professionals such as occupational psychologists fromoutside the organization may be involved as consultants, and actorsmay be employed in some role-play activities.

    The structure and content of the programme will vary accordingto the precise details of the job or training opportunity on offer. Forexample, a post in management might involve a combination ofthe following activities: an in-tray or ‘in-box’ exercise; group problemsolving; a case study; presentations; ability tests; and personalityinventories/questionnaires. For jobs in other types of employmentthere may well be a greater emphasis on, for example, creative think-

    ing, information technology (IT), numeracy or written communicationskills.

    Whatever the selection of activities, the emphasis is often on theobservable behaviour of candidates, and to that end exercises willhave been designed to capture and simulate key aspects of therelevant job. For example, would-be police officers are required toparticipate in role-play exercises in which they have to deal with

    problem situations. The candidates’ performance on tasks such asthese is then assessed against criteria derived from the compe-tencies required for the job.

    Unfortunately, many good candidates fail to do themselvesjustice because they are unaware of what kinds of tasks they maybe asked to undertake when attending an assessment centre ormulti-assessment event. The aims of this book, therefore, are to:

    inform you about what to expect when you are asked to attend●

    an assessment event of this kind;

    explain how such events are conducted and how this fits into●

    the whole recruitment and selection process;

    offer advice on how you should behave during your time●

    at an assessment centre in both formal and informalsituations;

    give guidance on how you might prepare for the different forms●

    of assessment (including ability and other tests) you are likely toface in order to maximize your chances of success;

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    INTRODUCTION 5

    suggest learning activities that you can undertake in order to●

    prepare yourself for the different types of assessment exercisesyou are likely to face.

    The contents of this book and the way they have been organizedand presented are designed to help you to achieve these goals.

    As this is the third edition of the book, we have taken advantage ofthe opportunity to update its content, most noticeably by addingnew material to existing chapters. As a result, the book moreaccurately reflects recent developments and trends in the ways

    in which assessment centres and multi-assessment events areconducted. We begin in Chapter 1 by giving you an introduction towhat to expect if you are invited to attend an assessment event ofthis kind.

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    C H A P T E R 1

    Assessment centres andmulti-assessment events

    In this chapter you will be given an overview of what to expect if youare invited to attend an assessment centre or to participate in amulti-assessment event. We will therefore explain to you: what anassessment centre is; what kind of programme to expect; and theassessment exercises you are likely to encounter. In addition, wewill give you constructive guidance on how to cope with the demands

    that will be placed upon you, and how you should prepare forattending an assessment centre. The chapter also deals with thoseaspects of the assessment centre experience which often causeparticipants trouble, such as the social activities included in the pro-gramme, dress codes and punctuality. Finally, we offer guidance onsome of the things you can do to prepare for attending an assess-ment centre or multi-assessment event.

    What is an assessment centre?If you are invited to attend an assessment centre, you will join a smallgroup of other applicants, possibly as many as a dozen. Together

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    HOW TO SUCCEED AT AN ASSESSMENT CENTRE8

    you will be asked to undertake a series of assessments that havebeen designed to reveal to the assessors whether you possess thecompetencies and personal attributes necessary for you to: work

    effectively in the relevant job; benefit from a further training oppor-tunity; or cope with the demands of an education programme.

    Depending on the arrangements, the assessment process cantake anything from a few hours to a couple of days. In the lattercase, both the candidates and the assessors are likely to be inresidence at the same place. It is not surprising, therefore, thatsome candidates find this to be quite stressful, not least because

    they are in an unfamiliar environment with people who are strangersto them, doing something to which they are not accustomed. It isnatural for those who find themselves in this position to have troublerelaxing because they think that they are being assessed all the time– even during informal breaks in the proceedings. What you mustalways remember is that, because of the expense entailed, organ-izations will only invite those candidates to an assessment centre

    or a multi-assessment event they consider to be worthy of closerscrutiny. This means that, if you have got through to this stage in therecruitment selection process, you must be getting closer to beingone of the chosen candidates. If you are not yet on the ‘short list’ ofthose from whom the final selection will be made, you are certainlyon the ‘long list’!

    What to expect – the programmeIf you are fortunate enough to receive an invitation to attend a multi-assessment event, what should you expect? The letter inviting youto attend should give you a good idea. First, it should provide youwith details concerning the venue itself – the address, location and

    how to get there. Then you should be given some preliminary infor-mation about what to expect, including an outline of the programmetogether with the approximate timings. Under normal circumstancesyou should also be given an indication of the types of assessmentthat will be used and their place and purpose in the overall selectionprocess. Some organizations may even send you some sample test

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    ASSESSMENT CENTRES AND MULTI-ASSESSMENT EVENTS 9

    items as an aid to your preparation, together with a questionnaire tocomplete. What this information should signal to you is that yourtime at an assessment centre or a multi-assessment event will bestructured and highly organized. This can be illustrated by referenceto the sample timetables given in Figures 1.1 to 1.3 – one for a half- day event ( Figure 1.1 ), one for a one-day programme ( Figure 1.2 )

    and the other for two days ( Figure 1.3 ).These sample timetables are intended to show what you mightexpect if you are invited to an assessment centre – though, whenstudying these timetables, you need to bear in mind that there areno hard-and-fast rules about how such programmes should becompiled. Consequently, there are many variants depending uponthe circumstances. For example, would-be police officers are

    required to attend a multi-assessment event that lasts for approxi-mately four hours, during which they are given an interview, under-take a writing exercise, take two psychometric tests and participatein role-plays – though not necessarily in that order. So, if you wantto know exactly what to expect, you will need to take a careful lookat the timetable you have been given.

    What the sample programmes also show is how busy you can

    expect to be during the time you are in attendance. Indeed, as acandidate, you will find that there will be very little time when you arenot actively engaged in one form of assessment or another. All of thisvariety and intensity of activity is intended to do more than simplyprovide the assessors with as much evidence as possible about theapplicants in the shortest possible time. Part of its purpose is to

    Figure 1.1 Sample timetable for a half-day multi-assessment event

    13.00 Arrive, welcome and introductions

    13.15 Cognitive test (critical thinking)

    14.00 Group discussion exercise

    14.45 Break15.00 Presentations

    16.00 Interviews

    17.00 Debrieng

    17.30 Depart

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    HOW TO SUCCEED AT AN ASSESSMENT CENTRE10

    Figure 1.2 Sample timetable for a one-day assessment centre

    DAY 1

    17.00 Arrive at venue for the assessment centre (eg a hotel)

    18.00 Welcome and introductory brieng

    18.30Icebreaker activity

    20.00 Dinner with representatives from the organization and assessors Work on preparatory task for following day’s activities (eg complete a questionnaire, read documents provided)

    DAY 2

    09.00 Introduction to the day’s programme

    09.15 Cognitive test and personality inventory

    11.00 Coffee11.15 In-tray or in-box exercise

    12.15 Presentations

    13.00 Lunch with senior managers and assessors

    14.00 Group decision-making exercise

    15.00 Break

    15.15 Interviews

    16.15 Debrieng session and brief presentation of the organization’s training and development programme

    17.00 Finish and depart

    Figure 1.3 Sample timetable for a two-day assessment centre

    10.00 Arrive, registration, coffee

    10.15 Welcome and introductions

    10.30 Cognitive and personality tests

    12.30 Buffet lunch with departmental staff 13.45 Interviews*

    15.00 Break

    15.15 Group discussion exercise

    16.30 Debrieng

    17.00 Depart

    * Applicants who do not do well enough on the tests may be asked to leavefollowing a short feedback session

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    ASSESSMENT CENTRES AND MULTI-ASSESSMENT EVENTS 11

    observe at first hand how you behave under pressure by simulatingthe circumstances under which you might be expected to perform ina real workplace, such as dealing with a difficult customer, working

    together in a team or handling electronic communication efficiently.In turn, the variety of assessment tasks is intended to provide differ-ent forms of evidence about you and the other candidates. This willthen enable the assessors to build up a profile of you and the othercandidates based on your performance on the individual assess-ment items. The completed profiles can then be used when makingthe final decision.

    In short, the principles that underpin the conduct of this form ofassessment are that the evidence on which the final decisions aremade should have been: derived from a range of carefully chosentasks; and based upon the judgements of more than one assessor.Only by following these principles can the reliability and validity ofthe final outcomes be boosted to desirable levels.

    What to expect – the assessmentactivities

    As with the programme, there is no set formula as to how manyexercises or which combination of activities should be included in

    an assessment centre or multi-assessment event. This is because theassessment tasks will have been chosen to provide the assessorswith evidence of the extent to which the candidates possess thosecompetencies judged to be relevant to the particular job, develop-ment opportunity or programme of study under consideration. How-ever, the research findings, which are summarized in Table 1.1 ,tell us that certain types of exercise are more likely to occur at an

    assessment centre than others, irrespective of the size of the recruit-ing organization. For example, as the table shows, assessment centresare almost certain to include some form of interview (ie one to oneor by an interview panel). What is crucial is that this is not the solemethod of extracting behavioural evidence. Other methods willcomprise some or all of the following: an aptitude (ability) test; a

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    HOW TO SUCCEED AT AN ASSESSMENT CENTRE12

    personality questionnaire; a group discussion exercise; perhaps acase study; a presentation; and an in-tray/in-box exercise. That is to

    say, in any assessment programme you should expect to encountera combination of some of the following assessment tasks:

    one-to-one interview or a panel interview;●

    ability tests (sometimes known as ‘cognitive’ or ‘psychometric’●

    tests);

    personality questionnaires (or ‘inventories’);●

    group discussion exercise;●

    case study;●

    in-tray/in-box exercise;●

    presentation.●

    By way of giving you an overview of what to expect, a brief des-cription is provided below for each of the most common types ofassessment tasks. More detailed guidance on what is involved andhow you can best prepare for them is then given in the subsequentchapters of this book.

    TABLE 1.1 Content of assessment centre exercises in the UKaccording to size of recruiting organizations (small, medium, large)

    Type of exercise Small Medium Large Total sample(%) (%) (%) (%)

    Interview 97 97 97 97

    Aptitude test 89 91 91 91

    Personality test 80 83 79 80

    Group discussion 67 79 89 79

    Case study 49 64 71 62Presentation 54 59 61 58

    In-tray/in-box 19 38 48 35

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    ASSESSMENT CENTRES AND MULTI-ASSESSMENT EVENTS 13

    Interviews An interview is an interview; we all think we know what to expect. You may already have had some form of an interview prior to yourreceiving an invitation to attend an assessment centre and now youare to be interviewed again. However, you would be well advised toapproach this so-called ‘second interview’ with greater care andprepare for it more thoroughly than you might have done ahead ofthe first interview. This is not just because the stakes get higher thecloser you get to the point at which the final selection is made:second interviews tend to be more challenging, perhaps becausethe assessors are just a little more on their mettle.

    So, in what ways do assessment centre interviews differ fromfirst interviews? The main features of second interviews are thatthey are:

    often conducted by a panel drawn from senior managers,●

    staff with relevant professional or technical expertise,human resource personnel and even outside consultants;

    driven by highly specific selection criteria, and as such are●

    intended to provide evidence that complements evidenceobtained by other means;

    based on more searching questions, which may be informed●

    by how you have performed on the other assessmentexercises or information you have provided in yourapplication;

    likely to focus at some point on any issues that were raised●

    during your first interview and that need further exploration.

    In the light of this knowledge it is worth doing a little advance prepar-

    ation before you go to the assessment centre. As you can see fromthe sample timetables given in Figures 1.1 to 1.3 , the chances arethat you won’t have much time when you get there. A checklist ofuseful things that you can do to get started on that process is givenin the box below.

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    HOW TO SUCCEED AT AN ASSESSMENT CENTRE14

    To sum up, expect your assessment centre interview to be moredemanding than the one that helped to get you there, make sureyou are familiar with what you said in your application form, CV andsupporting letter, and find out as much as you can about the joband the organization. More detailed guidance is given in Chapter 6.

    Ability testsThe use of tests in personnel selection is based on the assumptionthat there are stable job-related differences between candidates,and that these differences can be measured with a sufficient degreeof accuracy to be of value to employers. The ability tests chosen foruse at an assessment centre, therefore, will have been specifically

    designed to assess how good people are at doing certain things.So, expect to be given a test or tests that will provide the assessorswith some objective evidence of what you are able to do – in otherwords, a measure of your aptitude.

    The most commonly used ability tests are designed to assessyour skills in numeracy and verbal reasoning. In addition there are

    You can prepare in advance for your assessment centre interview by:

    taking a careful look at the job details together with your initial●application, CV and covering letter and reflecting on them in the lightof the knowledge you have since gained;

    studying any notes you made following your first interview;●

    thinking about what questions you were asked at that interview and●

    whether or not any areas were left unexplored;

    trying to identify what new questions you might be asked or areas●

    the interviewers might wish to explore;

    gathering relevant information about the organization, eg from●

    someone you know who may have had a second interview or via the internet.