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Assessment centres are becoming more and more commonplace as a method of measuring multiple competencies across larger groups of candidates.

When attending an assessment centre, you should prepare for it in the same way that you would for a normal interview. This includes doing background research on the company and your interviewers, mystery shopping their businesses and potential competition and being prepared to talk about the figures from your previous employment.

What happens at an Assessment Centre?

Typically, Assessment Centres usually consist of a variety sections of both group and individual exercises and can include written tests as well as physical activities all designed to test particular competencies.

The key to your success at an assessment centre is to understand exactly what your assessors are looking for during each section.

During group exercises, candidates are asked to work together towards a stated goal. Assessors will look at how candidates organise themselves and assume/delegate responsibilities. They will generally be looking for candidates to take control of the situation and evoke input from the other candidates. It is important that other peoples views are taken on board and not dismissed and it is a particularly appealing skill to be able to identify other candidates strengths and utilise them accordingly.

Assessment Centres may include some or all of the following:

Group Exercise
These involve you working with other candidates as part of a team to resolve a presented issue. These exercises are designed to measure interpersonal skills such as group leadership, teamwork, negotiation, and group problem solving skills.

Behavioural Interview
To assess how a you will typically react given a certain situation, you will be asked to describe several events in your career such as major successes or events that resulted in an undesired outcome. The assessors will probe around these events and evaluate your approach to organisation, decision making, customer focus, tenacity, relationship building etc.

Panel Interview
These are regarded as a more objective means of assessing your suitability as you will be interviewed by between three and five people and therefore the decision is not reliant on just one person's opinion. In addition, they are usually more structured than a one-to-one interview as the panel need to assess all of the candidates against the same criteria.

In-tray Exercise
You are asked to assume the role of an employee of a fictitious company and work through your daily correspondance in your "in tray". This tests your ability to organise and prioritise tasks.

Verbal & Numerical Testing
These are used to measure your ability to process verbal and numerical information. This is usually done to a set time limit and candidates can be asked to complete tests either prior to the interview or on the day. They can be carried out on of offline and you are typically scored as a percentile rather than a percentage, measuring you against a control group.

Psychometric Testing
Similarly to verbal and numerical testing, psychometric testing can be performed on of offline and are not necessarily carried out at the assessment centre. They are designed to test your cultural fit for the business and as such, there are no right and wrong answers to the questions. It is difficult to prepare for these tests and it's best to answer honestly and openly as opposed to trying to maniplulate the results.

Presentations
You are given a particular subject or are asked to pick a subject of your choice on which to present. You may be asked to pre-preapre the presentation or may be given preparation time on the day. You are often asked to present a business plan for a period of 3,6 or 9 months and it's essential you are clear about what is being asked of you and the parameters that are set. If you are presenting on a subject of your choice, pick a topic that you are comfortable and familiar with and don't be too ambitious with your content.

Biographical Interview
You are interviewed against your CV. The aim is to understand your responsibilities and experience, your reasoning behind decisions you made, what motivates you, your impact on your businesses, your expectations etc.

How to Prepare Yourself
Preparation is everything! Ideally, you'll have a schedule of activities for the day that will enable you to prepare for each event individually. Make sure you've done your homework on the company by looking at websites and visiting sites in person and familiarise your self with job descriptions and person specifications if available.

Plan your journey well in advance and make provisions for delays.

Make a good first impression!
It's surprising what an interviewer will learn about you when you first meet them. It is well documented that a person will make their initial impressions about someone they are meeting for the first time after just a few seconds but an interviewer will also be influenced by the way you are dressed, your body language, your tonality, your smell(!) etc.

As a general rule, you should dress appropriately for the occassion. this normally means a clean, pressed business suit (no novelty ties!). You should be aware of how much aftershave/perfume you are wearing. A good firm handshake is ideal (but don't pull their arm off!), a smile and generally open body language will create an environment for good communication to begin.

In a group environment, be aware of making eye contact with everybody when meeting them and make an effort to remember names, and use them!

Communicate effectively
In a group environment, communicating effectively with every individual becomes more difficult as you will constantly need to adapt your approach for different personalities. Mirroring and matching other peoples behaviour will help facilitate communication but the quicker you can work out other peoples personality types, the quicker you can adapt and influence them more effectively.

Try to keep your body language open to everyone being careful not to alienate others from the group. Try to involve everyone in the activity; source, welcome and take on board feedback from other group members and give credit for valuable contributions.

Be assertive without being bossy
One of the things that people feel most difficult in a group setting is standing out without being overbearing. Ideally you want to be noticed, but for the right reasons. One of the key skills that employers will look for is the ability to influence others. The key to your success here is to communicate your points effectively and eloquently without trying to shout louder than the next person. Think carefully about what you say and how you say it before putting your point across and be prepared to explain the benefits of your argument to others who don't necessarily agree with it.

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