Second Post

I have two assessment centres next Tuesday and Wednesday...sounds like I'm having a lot of luck with my job hunt? Well I graduated last year 2008 and I have never been to a single interview or assessment centre and suddenly I get invited to two in a row. I have some good ideas on how to act in an assessment centre - introduce myself, be clear, get everyone involved in group task etc. I have no idea what to expect though, my main concern is definetly the presentation and group tasks. I appear confident and unnerved on the outside but I have a tendancy to mask nervousness with poor attempts at humour or make a 'joke' out of the presentation or task. lol. Any advice?

Usually assessement centres are at least half a day if not all day. My main advice would be to assume that the whole event is being assessed not just the actual tasks such as the presentation and group tasks. It's quite likely they'll be looking at how you interact with your peers as well as with the members of their staff too so make sure you're behaving professionally at all times. They may even use the coffee and lunch breaks to find out a bit more about you. If you're given any tours of facilities or introduced to any members of staff take any opportunities that arise to ask astute questions about the company, the role or any other relevant topic. Poor attempts at humour will definitely make you stand out for the wrong reasons. Overally, show that you're genuinely interested in the company, what they do and what you potentially could be doing there. Oh and if you ask a good question, make sure you listen to the answer so you can follow up with some intelligent discussion if necessary. Hope that helps and good luck.

Thanks for the advice! You've highlighted one of my problems - when I ask a question to impress so to speak...I don't listen to the answer! I keep thinking "That was a good question...I wonder what they think of me now?". Plus in a situation like that I get a bit self-conscious about the image I'm giving off which ends up with my focus becoming distracted. Does this happen to you?

Yes I know what you mean I think it's easy to focus so much on how you want to come across that you forget to be natural. Just remember that it is you that they want to find out about so the more natural you can be the better. They don't want to see a forced and incorrect portrayal of who you are but they do want to see you making an effort and seeing you at your best. The more assessment centres you do the more you will get used to the process so if you get an invitation to any assessments or interviews for roles that you are not that keen on, get yourself there so that you can practice and start feeling more confident at the whole process. They may seem daunting now but once you've had a few they'll become second nature....

Be prepared for the role plays. There always seems to be one so get ready. It may or may not be related to the job you are doing. The oddest one I ever had to do was try and sell a product as if I was on one of the TV sales programmes...

Yeah I went to both - the first one which was recruitment consultant position went pretty bad. The second one which was in an IT company went well - there was only six people there so I had lots of opportunities to stand out etc.

Hearing from IT company on Monday/Tuesday...fingers crossed!

Wishing you the best of luck - let us know how it went! :)

Didn't get either of them! Back to the job boards! I'm getting feedback within a week or so which should clarify things, I thought I did okay but it must be a case of false confidence. The group excerise was okay so was the aptitude test but the individual presentation followed by interview was shaky at best. It wasn't the way I presented it - it was what I actually presented, the project I had was quite weak and my visual aids looked like something I did in Year 3.

The interview was also hit and miss - as usual I remembered stuff I should've said AFTER the interview but hey...you win some you lose some!

It's all good practice though and a skill in itself that they don't teach at uni so don't lose heart.... Do enough of them and you'll see your own progress and one of them will come good.

Unlucky! Good experience though as long as you learn from it.

hey you said you went to recruitment consultant assessment day,

just wondering if you had any role plays and what kind of things do they ask?

i have one coming up on tuesday with role plays and im totaly unsure of what to expect.  ive read all the advice on the net but it seems to be pretty much the same nothing specific.

thanks!

Mil,

What did the recruiment assessment day involve? I have one on Tuesday and it would be great if I could get some much needed advice! Many thanks

James

Had a full day with Nestle last year - it was straight forward. Watch out for the lurkers in the corner of the rooms looking at your body language. Main thing about these days is to take part, be at the front and in conversation. You really cannot say too much on these assemeent days.

I have also an assessment centre coming up in few days, my written exercise is report writing and I also have a role play but I have no idea about any of them specially role play, any tips wud b more then welcome ??

Without wanting to sound obvious but doing role plays you need to really think about confidence and presentation techniques like eye contact.  Make it interesting i reckon and make sure you think about what the company is probably looking for from the role play!

I have been on a few Assessment Centres now. In my experience, with role plays and group discussions in particular, the assessors are observing your communication skills, the manner in which you convey a message, how you articulate yourself and this is the key part, how you listen to others. They are looking for someone who is confident and able to adapt to different situations and people so interpersonal and presentation skills are key. I mean, who would want a boring or even a troublesome person working for their organisation right? If the company has asked for you to prepare a presentation make sure this is well prepared and have a few practice runs with some friends so that they can ask you some questions, (they may bring something up which you had not thought of and these questions may well be brought up on your assessment day!) Be your self and enjoy the day. Check out some tips on the web, I've heard the Graduates First website is pretty decent.

Chris

I have found a site  www.graduate2success.co.uk which has lots of hints and tips on how to deal with assessment centres and there is also an E Book which I used called something like 'How to win at assessment centres'. Can't remember who wrote it but if you google it you will find it. The thing that I think worked for me was not to stand out too much and to listen to what my team members were saying rather than thinking about me the whole time. It was quite scary but once you have got a feel for what they are expecting it is much simpler. The other thing that used to get me was these so called competency questions. They are not like normal interview questions but ask you to show specific things. You will get those as well and you really have to know how to answer them.  that Hope that helps. Don't lose heart, I did get a job eventually with a big bluechip but it is tough.

I would recommend to practice verbal and numerical tests on the following two sites : www.graduatesfirst.com and www.shl.com

i have one on wednesday going to ask finance questions,please who had ideas