University
of
Nottingham
Maggie Wolff and Rob James
Senior Careers Advisers
Careers and Employability Service
Academic Year: 2011/2012
Assessment Centres
Learning Outcomes:
• To have the opportunity to practise an
assessment centre activity
• To have the opportunity to reflect on the
application stages leading up to an assessment
centre
• To receive feedback on performance
• To develop your understanding of what constitutes
an assessment centre
Assessment Centres
Why do employers use Assessment Centres?
• To select the best candidate(s) for the job by
observing and analysing behaviours in a range of
simulated situations.
- Assessment against the candidate profile.
- May use a matrix to score performance
Assessment Centres
What are Assessment Centres?
• Intensive recruitment programmes, incorporating
a variety of activities, which the employer uses to
assess the potential of candidates to do the job
for which they have applied.
• The activities will reflect the job competencies
being sought.
• Will assess behaviour under pressure and are
designed to challenge candidates mental and
physical stamina
Assessment Centres
Examples of Matrix approach:
Leading: to understand and articulate the future
direction of the business together with the values
which underpin the uniqueness of the business:
Negative
behaviours
0
1
2
Positive behaviours
Takes a backseat
role – gives little
direction
Leads team with a
mixture of
support/direction
Does not seek
agreement from
others
Seeks agreement
from others’
consensus of
opinions
Assessment Centres
What might they involve?
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•
•
•
•
•
•
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Group Exercises and Group Discussions
Presentations
Role Play
In-Tray Exercises
Written Exercises, reports, letters, memos
Psychometric assessments
Interviews
And....dinner!
An Assessment Centre is usually a one or two
day event. You will work alongside other
candidates and be assessed against a standard set by the
employer.
Types of Activities
• Interviews – two or more interviews with an individual or a
panel of experts.
• Ability Tests – provide objective evidence of your aptitude.
• Personality Tests – used to measure characteristics and
traits, for example, what motivates you, how you interact with
others or your emotional make-up.
• Group Exercises – can take different forms:
leaderless discussions, leader led discussions, role play
exercises or problem solving tasks.
Types of Activities
• Case Study – often focus on technical or business
problems relevant to the organisation or role. Assessed through
interview and written report.
• Presentations – the topic might be set in advance or given
during the day or emerge from an activity.
• In- or e-tray exercises – manage an administrative
scenario, which might include prioritising letters, memos, emails,
faxes, both internal and external to the department or
organisation.
• Social Activities – meals, informal discussions with
employees, company managers etc.
Assessment Centres
What’s involved?
A typical agenda for an Assessment Centre
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9.00 Coffee and registration
9.30 Introduction to the day plus company presentation
10.15
Group Exercise
11.00
Individual presentations
12.00
Lunch with partners, managers and recent graduates
1.00
Aptitude Tests
2.00
Coffee
2.30
Individual case/in-tray exercise
3.30
40 minute case study interview with senior manager
4.30
Interview with Partner
Assessment Centres
Group Exercises
• Group is given a task.
• Idea is to assess a range of skills e.g. teamwork, negotiation,
leadership, problem solving, interpersonal skills, time
management, ability to summarise/come to conclusions. Will
depend on competencies they are seeking.
• Observers sit around the room making notes on individuals’
performance – there may be one per candidate!
Assessment Centres
Group Discussions
• Designed to assess your:
- communication skills and ability to listen!
- understanding (of the topic or issues)
- how you ‘think’
- personal effectiveness
- powers of influence
• Timed discussion topics – sometimes job or functional specific or
‘general’
• Listening skills and assertiveness!
Assessment Centres
Group Exercise:
Using the eight shapes given you, make a square
(5 minutes)
Assessment Centres
Group Exercise
How did you find this?
What group work skills did you use?
What might employers be looking for
with an exercise like this?
Assessment Centres
The Boat Disaster!
After a fierce storm you find yourself trapped on a
sinking yacht in shark infested seas.
The storm damage has also destroyed the boat’s
radio equipment. You and your companions are
1000 miles from the nearest land and you discover
that, to your horror, the lifeboat will not hold
everyone! The yacht is sinking fast.
Your group have 15 minutes to decide who will
be allowed to travel in the lifeboat, taking into
account the following information:
Assessment Centres
• They will need to carry a supply of water weighing 2 stone
• They will need to wear life jackets that add 1 stone to the weight of
the boat
• The average person weighs 12 stone
• The boat will only hold 290kg
• There are 6.3503 kg in a stone
• Who’s on the boat?
- Orla Jones, a voluntary Red Cross worker
- Britney Spears, pop star
- David Beckham, football player
- David Cameron, politician
- Tom Nelson, Captain of the boat
- Freda Heindrick, Doctor
- Sophie Mitchell, a 5-year old
The Boat Disaster
• There is no right answer!
• The maximum capacity of the lifeboat suggests that
you can choose only 3 people!
• It’s up to the group to realise this and come to a
consensus through using skills such as:
communication, body language, numeracy,
teamwork, problem solving, analytical thinking,
decision making, assertiveness, negotiation, time
management, logical argument.
Group debriefing
• What actions helped your group accomplish the task?
• What actions hindered the group?
• How did leadership emerge in the group?
• Who participated most? … least?
• What feelings were shown? (frustration, humour,
enthusiasm, boredom)
• How could the performance of the group be improved?
Resources on Assessment Centres
• Books (available for overnight loan)
• DVD – at ‘At the Assessment Centre’
and ‘Assessment Centre’
• See Careers website and Assessment Centres
• Careers leaflet ‘Assessment Centres and
Psychometric Tests’ (available on-line)
• Prospects