Second interviews and assessment centres allow recruiters and job applicants a more in-depth look at whether they suit each other. Assessment centres typically involve assembling ~8 candidates in one place who are applying for the same position and putting them through a variety of different tests. Organisational Solutions have years of experiences of running Graduate Recruitment programmes and can even provide solutions in a world crippled by Covid-19.
Why Assessment Centres?
Quite simply because it makes it easier for candidates to showcase a range of skills and competences than they would be able to demonstrate in an interview alone. Our “off the shelf” or bespoke exercises and tasks are designed to mirror those competencies needed in the job, so we are measuring directly against the skills candidates would need to do the job well.
While candidates are generally not in direct competition with the other candidates – as they are being assessed against the employer’s criteria, not against each other. Also, it’s critically important to see that they can work in a team and co-operate with others.
What to expect from Assessment Centres
Assessment centres can last from half a day to three days. A typical one-day assessment centre would start with a welcome to the company followed by introductions and an ice-breaker. This might be followed by individual and group exercises. Without giving away too many secrets, needless to say, there are a multitude of opportunities to observe the candidates behaving, when they have settled into the day and become more comfortable, so are more likely to behave like their real selves.
The programme of events can incorporate some or all of the following:
- Group exercises
- Individual exercises
- Panel interviews
- Social events
- Written exercises or case studies
- Psychometric, particularly, personality tests always form the basis of our Assessment Centres
Examples of Group Exercises
- Case study
The group is asked to deal with a scenario based on a real-life business situation, specific to the organisations and to present its findings.
- Discussion group
The group is given a topic, often a recent news story, to discuss.
- Leaderless task
Each member of the group is given an individual briefing document, so everyone has a different agenda
Examples of Individual Exercises
These are designed to mirror tasks you would be doing on the job.
- In-tray exercise
Candidates are presented with a series of letters or emails varying in degrees of importance and given about 30–60 minutes to tackle it.
- Case study
Candidates are typically given a business scenario and asked to imagine they are giving advice to a client or colleague on the basis of the evidence. They will then have to make a presentation explaining your findings. This may be either a group or an individual exercise.
- Presentation
Candidates will be asked to prepare this in advance: they are told the subject and length of the presentation and what the visual aids available (eg flipcharts, presentation software or a laptop).