Interview and Assessment Day - Assistance please

[stackmonkey]

Story thus far is I've somehow managed to get through the initial stages of application for job I'd really like.

The next stage is a full day's assessment (week commencing 11th Feb) for myself and unknown number of others, taking place at one of two locations.
This involves;
1) group discussion exercise,
2) 2 written exercises,
3) mechanical reasoning test,
4) re-test of a numerical ability test (presumably to check we didn't cheat on the on line one)
5 )competency based interview including
a) planning and scheduling work
b) effective change implementation
c) making decisions
d) emotional resilience and managing conflict
e) continuous improvement and learning
f) influencing
each of these has to include more than one example from a work/educational setting.

has anyone been on this kind of assessment before? any tips on how to approach the exercises?
While I obviously need have some preparation on the competencies to do, are there any websites etc that give practice etc on the tests?

any help appreciated, as ever.

[Jon Ison]

Been there, very nerve racking but you got to sell yourself, one of the girls who worked for the company gave me the nod they like "you" to be heard in group discussions etc...... That was the bit that clinched it for me too, or I was told it was anyways after the event.

Good luck.

[Pork_n_Beem]

Really depends on what role they are looking for. The assessment centres can try and create stressful scenarios to see how you react based upon people in stressful situations result to type etc etc.

You need to be sharp for the competency stuff and chilled for the conflict / stress induced stuff.

I think it helps alot if you know what it is happening and why.

Being asked to co-operate with other job applicants who you are competing against for the job can be a real head scratcher.

All i can suggest is be open minded and don't bite at the conflict creation stuff

[Anna_S]

Hiya, I know your pain!! I did all these for my placement year at uni and then did them all over again to get on a graduate scheme when I'd finished my degree.

For the job I'm doing now we all had to have a 2 day assessment which sounds similar to the one you're doing. Have a look at this site http://www.shl.com/shl/en-int/candidatehelpline SHL seem to be one of the main companies that do these kinds of tests. Might help you get a feel for them.

What line of work are you hoping to get into? I think they'll be looking for different things for different industries.
Can't think of any fabulous advice to be honest, apart from in group activities. There are the basics that I'm sure you know, like give everyone chance to speak, when someone else is talking make sure you are actually listening to them and not just waiting for them to finish so you can say something. If what they're saying doesn't make sense, its ok to ask. The worst thing I ever did in these is to not understand the task and just sit there and not say anything until it was over. It's ok to ask questions and makes you look much better than trying to muddle through.

Good luck with it and let us know how you get on. Will keep thinking of any more useful tips!

[nicktowe]

Inthe group discussions the key thing is to make sure you are involved, always be positive, present ideas but don't get arrogant or pushy. Be preapred to listen toand expand on others ideas, but don't rubbish them unless you have a well reasoned argument. also don't be afraid to sit and listen, then come up with a relevant and material point.

Be careful of your body language, remain enthusiastic, don't lie (a trained interviewer can always tell). If you have panel interviews make contact will all of them.

Get a good nights sleep for 2 nights before hand, avoid alcohol the night before and smoking (if u smoke and can leave it for 24 hours so u semm fresher)

Above all relax but be sharp.

Good luck

ps. I interview many people, and the decision is usually made within the first 5 minutes of the interview starting, unless someone is patently nervous or they need to give details of their technical skills in relation to the job

Edited by nicktowe on Monday 4th February 10:27

[Prof Beard]

Don't think I can add much.

Thinks about the skills they are looking for:


Leadership
Management
Listening
Planning
Interpersonal
Team

etc

Be yourself! Having met you - you come across as a nice chap - remember that! Ultimately, if they know you can do the job, they'll be looking at:

a) Will you get on with others there (especially them!)
b) Will you bring something new
c) Do you have potential

[stackmonkey]

Thansk for the help; will do my studying and report back when I know.

[madbadger]

Biggest problem with the ones I have been on is that everyone knows the assesors want you to be involved in discussions and it can turn into a real rabble. In a job situation nothing would get done like that, so it is quite forced. Best to try to keep it more realistic.

Good luck.

[RobJShe]

This has reminded me of an assesment day I had at a large car factory in Burnaston, Derbyshire. I was given the heads up by an employee who I knew at the time and was pleased he told me what he did.

One of the assesments was in an exam type situation and we were shown bits of a video and then asked questions. To put it bluntly it was pretty impossible to get right. Cables in the back of a series of equipment which never seemed to change anyway and questions which you looked at and thought WTF?

The idea though was`nt to get it right. The whole room was being watched by others (behind one way glass at the back corner of the room) who were looking at the way the situation was handled by each individual. I remember that the guy next to me was swearing a lot and shrugging his shoulders and making it clear it was stressing him out. Knowing what I did I just carried on being very relaxed.

This may be of no use to you at all but though I would share it anyway!

[stackmonkey]

Well, Assessment is all done and was as hard as expected!!

Thank you to all those who offered help and ecouragement.
They kept to the format, fortunately, but the tests were all hard with plenty of handwriting (long time since I did so much of that!) and maths (no calculators). A very tiring but hopefully worthwhile day; I was glad I travelled up the evening before and split the drive home, too.

Over 4,500 people applied on line, <250 will be assessed as I was, with about 50 jobs on offer.
'Results' will be in about a calendar month's time.