a guide to assessment centres

Although the prospect may seem daunting Assessment Centres can be most accurate and the fairest forms of selection.

- They provide a more comprehensive overview of an individual's strengths and ares for development than any single method

- They are standardised, so everyone who takes part in the same exercise has the same opportunity to demonstrate their skills and abilities

- They are more objective than an interview alone

- They allow you to show the range of your abilities in a variety of different situations. These can involve:

Group Exercise

You could be asked to work as part of a team to undertake a practical task under timed conditions.

Written Exercise

In this timed exercise you could be asked to imagine yourself in the role as a manager within a fictional organisation, and to deal with a range of managerial situations

Group Discussion

You could be tasked with working as part of a team to discuss and resolve a series of business problems under timed conditions. You should be given a detailed brief before the discussion begins.

Role Play

In this exercise, you may be asked to conduct a meeting with a member of staff (played by an assessor) in the same fictitious organisation as in the above exercises.

In all these exercises the assessors will be observing how you interact with others and how you approach the task in question. You will be taking part in more than one exercise, so there are plenty of opportunities to show what you can do. If you feel you have done poorly in one exercise, don't give up; your performance on all of them will be taken into account.

Hints and Tips

- Make sure all practical arrangements are clear so that you do not arrive feeling flustered or unprepared. Ensure you know what the dress code is in advance.

- Listen carefully to the instructions you are given, and ask if you are unsure about what you have to do. Assessors will be looking to see how you perform on the exercise themselves, so it is important that you have understood the instructions before beginning each exercise.

- Don't make assumptions about the way you should respond. If you try to guess what the assessors are looking for, you may be wrong. It is usually best to be yourself, and respond honestly in the way which seems best to you.