Assessment Day Assessment days (also called assessment centres) allow companies to assess candidates over an extended period of time, whilst offering candidates the chance to find out about  an employer in greater detail.    Numerical Reasoning  Verbal Reasoning  Contact Us  Security and Privacy  CV & Cover Letter  Interviews  Assessment Day  Links Copyright © 2011. Aptitude Tests Online. All Rights Reserved. Assessment Day / Assessment Centre Assessment days (also called assessment centres) allow companies to assess candidates over an  extended period of time, whilst offering candidates the chance to find out about an employer in greater  detail. An assessment day also usually provides an opportunity for a candidate to meet with current  employees at a firm. Assessment days can be long, time consuming and highly mentally demanding.  What is an Assessment Day? An "assessment day" is an important part of the recruitment process for many employers. As the name  suggests, it is a period of extended assessment that usually lasts for the best part of a day, and  occasionally, two, or even three days). A well structured assessment day is generally considered to be amongst the fairest and most objective  means of selecting employees for jobs, particularly graduate jobs. This is because they give a number  of different interviewers a chance to assess candidates over an extended period of time, enabling  assessors to see what you can do, rather than what you say you can do, in a wide variety of situations. Where do Assessment Days take place? Assessment days are usually take place at employer's offices, although some firms use third party  organisations to run their assessment days. For two and three day assessment days, some employers  use hotels to run their assessment activities, hiring function rooms and paying for rooms and meals for  candidates. What happens at an Assessment Day? Assessment days require you to participate in a number of individual and group exercises. The exact  tasks involved are designed to replicate the demands of the specific job you have applied for.  Assessment days usually comprise a mixture of: interviews (including competency based interviews  and partner interviews), case studies, aptitude tests (such as verbal and numerical reasoning),  personality tests, group exercises, role plays and presentations (both group and individual). Candidates are also usually given a tour of company offices during an assessment day and several opportunities to  meet with, and talk to, current employees.  How to behave at an Assessment Day Candidates should be assertive, enthusiastic and co-operative at an assessment day. An assessment  day is not a competition; teamwork is key if you want to do well. Be friendly, polite and supportive to  other candidates. Assessors are looking for competitive people who can work well with others, not just  competitive people. Assessment centre etiquette It is important to be professional at an assessment centre. Candidates should behave like the  employees of the company they are being assessed by. You must wear smart business dress  throughout; men should wear ties and polish their shoes; women should dress appropriately. If in  doubt, dress conservatively. Be polite, look people in the eye and shake hands. Make an effort to say hello to your fellow candidates  and assessors. Everything you do during an assessment centre will be noted. Assessment panels An assessment centre is usually conducted by a group of assessors made up of members of an  employer's HR team, departmental managers and partners at the firm. In theory this makes the  process more objective, because the final decision on each candidate must be agreed on by a team of  assessors, using a range of structured assessment methods, rather than one person. Assessment centres are not a competition You will not be in direct competition with other candidates at an assessment centre. It is normal for  large organisations to recruit to a standard. All, several, one or none of your assessment group may be  hired. You need to perform to a very high standard at an assessment centre, but you do not need to  challenge, compete or disagree with other candidates. In fact, it may harm your assessors opinion of  you if you do.  Selectors want to see how you react to and get on with other people during your assessments.  Although it is good to show that you are competitive, your assessors are just as interested to see  evidence of teamwork, communication and leadership skills, all things that are essential for a good  employee to possess. What are the assessments? Assessment centres are commonly made up of a mixture of (but not all of) the following individual and  group assessments: Typical interviews used at an assessment centre     * Competency interview      * Partner interview      * Technical interview      * Panel Interview  Typical individual assessments used at an assessment centre     * Aptitude tests - (verbal reasoning, diagrammatic reasoning and/or numerical reasoning)      * Personality tests     * Case study     * Presentation     * E-tray exercise      * In-tray exercise      * Written exercise  Competency Based Interview  A competency interview (also referred to as a situational, behavioural or competency based interview)  is a style of interviewing often used to evaluate a candidate's competence, particularly when it is hard  to select on the basis of technical merit: for example, for a particular graduate scheme or graduate job  where relevant experience is less important or not required. However, increasingly, companies are  using competency based interviews as part of the selection process for experienced recruitment, as it  can give valuable insights into an individual's preferred style of working and help predict behaviours in  future situations. Conventional job interviews may focus on questions relating to an applicant's past or previous industry  experience, but this is an ineffective tool for graduate level candidates who are not expected to have  any former experience in the industry they wish to work in.  Questions about industry experience will not be part of a competency interview. Instead interviewers  will ask questions that require candidates to demonstrate that they have a particular skill or a "key  competency" the firm is looking for. Candidates will be asked to do this using situational examples from  their life experiences, to illustrate their personality, skill set and individual competencies to the  interviewer. Competency interviews may also feature questions that probe candidates on their knowledge of the  company and industry they have applied to. This type of interview question tests candidates on their  motivation and commitment to career.  A typical competency based interview will last for one hour. At most major firms competency interviews  will also be standardised. Consequently all applicants can expect to be asked identical questions. What are Competencies? A competency is a particular quality that a company's recruiters have decided is desirable for  employees to possess. During interviews and assessment processes competencies are used as  benchmarks that assessors use to rate and evaluate candidates. In interviews recruiters look for evidence of competencies by asking candidates competency based  questions. This style of question forces candidates to give situational examples of times in the past  when they have performed particular tasks or achieved particular outcomes using certain skills.  Key Competencies A firm will usually isolate several key skills or "key competencies" to look for in candidates at interview.  You will be graded in terms of each competency based upon your answers to competency based  questions. Employers typically use some of the following as their key competencies:      * Teamwork      * Responsibility      * Commitment to career      * Commercial awareness     * Career motivation      * Decision making      * Communication      * Leadership     * Trustworthiness & Ethics     * Results orientation      * Problem solving      * Organisation  Why are Competency Based Questions Used at Interview? In the case of applications for graduate jobs, candidates typically have no experience in the industry to  which they have applied. Consequently it is not possible to assess their suitability for a job role based  upon their CV alone. This has led to the development of competency based interviews becoming the  prime way to interview inexperienced graduate applicants. Typical Competency Based Interview Structure  Questions in competency interviews will usually refer to activities a candidate has participated in at  school, college or university, or any other activities that can be used to effectively display evidence of  particular competencies or a particular competency.  A typical competency question could be: "Describe two situations where you have had to work as part  of a team." When asked a question like this, you should be able to talk for several minutes about your  participation to a particularly strong team you have been part of in the past and how your sense of  teamwork helped lead a task or project to successful completion. You should have an idea before the interview of the experiences from your life that you could use as  examples to demonstrate the key competencies of the firm to which you are applying. You are likely to  have to provide at least two examples for each competency during your interview. It is quite acceptable to ask for and to use a few moments of thinking time before answering  competency questions. If necessary, simply notify your interviewer by explaining you "may need to  think about this for a few moments". Once you have thought of a good example to use, continue with  your answer. Who Uses Competency Interviews? Estimates indicate that a third of all employers are using competency interviews as part of their  recruitment process. Large graduate employers are especially likely to use competency interviews as  part of their graduate recruitment procedure, in particular as part of an assessment centre.  Will I Be Given a Competency Interview? It is hard to tell if a competency interview will feature as part of your assessment process before  making your application to a firm, although the application form itself may help to give you a clue.  Many employers who do use competency interviews design their application forms to include a number  of competency questions. Take note if you find any questions on your application that ask you to give  situational examples. These may be a strong indicator of what is in store at interview! Key Competency: Motivation & Commitment to Career  It is likely you will be asked why you wish to work for this company in particular, and what  distinguishes this company, for you, from its competitors. This question requires you to discuss your  knowledge of the firm in detail and prove to your interviewer your desire for a job.  To answer this question you should describe:     * The key strengths this firm has over its competitors in the industry (e.g. more specialised in  certain niche areas, more international scope, more respected).      * What appeals to you personally about the firm (e.g. your interests in the firm's niche areas, your  relevant study at university).      * Other relevant factors you find interesting (e.g. the impression you have of the working style at  the firm, the social side of the company, the type of charitable work the firm is involved in).  You may also be asked what you believe you will be doing during your first year on the graduate  scheme. You should be particularly clear about exactly what it is you will be doing. If you cannot  answer this question, you are unlikely to be successful. If you are currently unsure, it is perfectly  acceptable to contact firm's graduate recruitment departments before applying to discuss anything you  do not already know about the job. Competency Based Interview: The first 60 seconds  Although competency based interviews are standardised, a typical interviewer will decide within  minutes whether they like you or not, and this is likely to affect the outcome of the interview. It is very  important to give a good impression to your interviewer from the very first moment you meet.  Shake hands confidently, smile, introduce yourself, and be generally convivial to the occasion. Sitting  quietly and communicating poorly will not help you, and neither will boisterous or arrogant behaviour.  You should be polite but outgoing, assertive but not aggressive and aim to be every bit as professional  as the interviewer who is assessing you. Partner interviews Partners are senior members of staff at a firm. Unlike normal members of staff, they own a share of the  firm, receive a profit share (rather than a salary), and will undertake legal responsibility for the firm's  affairs. The Big 4 accounting firms all have more than 500 partners in the UK.  The purpose of the partner interview is to see if your personality is suitable for the firm you are joining.  There are no set questions, this is merely a conversation about why you want to join and what it is you  hope to achieve. Partners may also be looking for evidence of commercial awareness and commitment  to career. Questions Likely to Be Asked     * Why do you want to join this firm? Why not a competitor?      * Why the line of service you have joined?      * What do you think you can bring to this firm?      * How do you think you will benefit from working here?      * Where do you see yourself in five years' time?      * What do you do in your spare time?  Tips Partners are trying to determine whether you are a trustworthy, genuine person, who can be trusted to deal with the firm's clients and give them the right impression. They are also trying to determine if you  are likely to fit in amongst other employees.  Try not to show off. A partner has had many years of experience and if you talk about something bear  in mind that the partner is likely to know much more about it than you do.  This interview is predominantly a matter of assessing social chemistry, so make sure you are  personable, friendly, open and relaxed. Shake hands confidently, smile and be courteous. Make sure  you hold strong eye contact throughout your interview. You should ask questions, such as the partner's role in the firm, and what sort of clients he/she deals with.  Technical Interview A technical interview is a type of interview that typically features questions that are specific to the role  you have applied for, brain teaser and/or numerical reasoning questions, or both types of question.  Technical interviews are generally used to assess candidates for technical or specialist graduate job  positions (such as jobs in IT, Engineering and Science) rather than general graduate schemes. Technical interviews may be used for less specialist roles (but if so only usually for highly competitive  roles) such as jobs at investment banks. However, these interviews are less likely to contain technical  questions specific to the job itself, and more likely to contain numerical reasoning questions and/or  brain teaser questions. Types of Technical Interview It is not unusual for an interviewer to show a candidate a wiring diagram or a line of computer code  and expect instant analysis in a technical interview. Candidates should bear in mind that interviewers  are not just interested in technical knowledge (although this is very important) but also how candidates approach problems, construct their thought process, and demonstrate personal skills, such as  communication.  Technical Interview Questions In a technical interview candidates are likely to be asked questions that:     * relate to specific knowledge about the company's technical activities;      * relate to understanding the technical work required to be completed as part of the job applied for;      * relate to work completed as part of a degree course (if this relates to the job applied for);      * require candidates to solve actual technical prolems that they would be likely to face if employed.  Candidates may also be asked brain teaser questions and difficult numerical reasoning questions such  as:     * What is the degree angle between the hour and minute hand of a clock at 3:15pm? (Lehman  Brothers)     * What is 17 x 18? (JPMorgan)      * How many manhole covers are there in London?      * Why are manhole covers round?      * How many golf balls are up in the air in England on a Sunday at 13.00  Panel Interview A panel interview follows the same rules as a conventional interview, but is conducted by more than  one interviewer. For graduate level interviews, the panel will probably consist of just two or three  interviewers, usually a combination of:      * HR team member      * Line manager      * Partner  During a panel interview you may find that only one of your interviewers is asking you questions. Even  if this is the case, you must still make sure that you maintain eye contact with each assessor. Do not  talk directly to one person, but instead look from person to person when you talk, but always finish by  talking to and looking at the person who initially asked you the question. industry issues or work procedures is not usually tested. The subject of your written exercise may also  be used as the basis for a discussion in a later interview. Written Exercise Examples Examples of written exercises used by firms include:      * Write a report on the pros and cons of a takeover bid, based on 12-pages of material provided.     * Summarise the facts of a case file, listing its strengths and weaknesses.      * Summarise a Law report for a client who is concerned with the issues it covers but has no specific  legal knowledge.     * Write a letter of complaint to a local council on behalf of an elderly resident.  You will typically be given between 40-60 minutes to complete a written exercise.  Next Page ->