How to prepare for Assessment Centres

What to expect
Assessment Centres typically involve a number of elements:
- Social/informal events: where you will meet a number of people, including other candidates, the assessors, potentially future peers from the company, the wider staff and management team.
- Information sessions: these provide more detail about the organisation and the roles available.
- Tests and exercises: designed to reveal your ability and potential. See below for a comprehensive list.
How to prepare
You have been advised by letter, email or phone call that you are invited to attend a company’s forthcoming assessment centre. Great news which means that the hard work you put into developing your CV has paid off! To prepare as fully as possible do not be afraid to ask the organisation for the following information.
Use this as a checklist and call the company to gather any missing details:
- Date, start, finish times and location
- Detail about which exercises and tests will be included in the assessment centre. Ask for names of specific tests that will be used. If you are asked to prepare a presentation make sure you know what medium you are expected to use and the available technology
- The nature of the interview – type of questions that will be asked and the format used
- Who will interview you, by name and position
- Competency or skills profile and/or a job description against which you will be measured
- If you will be given a tour of the company
Research the company and industry comprehensively
You must demonstrate to the hiring organisation that you have made significant efforts to research the company and industry comprehensively. The company running the assessment centre needs to feel that you particularly want to work for them. Equally, you need to use your research to help establish whether this is the right organisation for you to join or not. You can fill in gaps of information whilst you are attending the assessment centre, by asking appropriate questions.
Prepare questions you want to ask at the Assessment Centre
Furthermore, you should prepare questions you want to ask at the Assessment Centre. These may give you an opportunity to demonstrate the amount of research you have carried out, for example by mentioning a business article you have read about the company and asking about a particular new strategy or development of a product.
Review why you are a right match for the job and organisation
If you want this job then you need to differentiate yourself from other applicants by preparing as fully as possible. Review your original CV against the competency profile or job description that the company has provided you with.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What qualifications, experience, knowledge, and skills do I possess that match what this company is looking for?
- Which achievements of mine fit with what I know about the position?
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