Assessment

Centres
Most large recruiters run events that are called ‘assessment centres’,
‘assessment days’ or sometimes just ‘second or final interviews days’,
as the final part of their recruitment process.

Your performance in a variety of different work related tasks, including interview situations, will be
assessed by a number of trained assessors, usually from the recruiters’ staff. A range of selection
techniques will be used. They are designed to assess your suitability for a particular role. You will be
assessed on both your individual performance and as a team player. Assessing candidates by using
different people, across a broad range of criteria, should make the selection process fairer and give you
more opportunities to demonstrate your skills.

This leaflet will help you to prepare for an assessment centre, tell you what to expect and help you to
perform at your best and create a favourable impression.

How does the assessment centre fit into the

recruitment process?
Most major recruiters use a competency based selection procedure. This involves testing, across all
stages of the recruitment process, for the skills and attributes required for a particular role or more
generally for a graduate training programme that might offer various different roles.

Typical competencies or skills required by recruiters, excluding any job specific skills, include:

• team working skills;

• communication skills (oral and written);
• leadership skills;
• negotiation/influencing skills;
• problem solving/decision making skills;
• creativity;
• analytical skills;
• commercial awareness;
• planning and organisational skills;
• flexibility/adaptability;
• commitment/motivation; or
• integrity/trust.

Some recruiters have introduced a variant on the competency based system, particularly in relation to
interviewing. This is known as ‘strength-based’ interviewing and, if competencies can be defined as ‘what
you can do’, strengths are defined as ‘what you really enjoy doing’. The system is more about looking at
your strengths and natural aptitude for a role. This style of interview can involve a broader range of quite
direct questions. These may be asked at a higher pace than a competency based interview.

The two systems have a lot in common; it’s vital that you can evidence and demonstrate both your
personal strengths and any required competencies during an assessment centre.

2 Assessment Centres
The recruitment process with a major recruiter
frequently includes:
• completion of an application form, usually now online;
• a telephone interview;
• an initial or first interview;
• psychometric or aptitude tests; and
• an assessment centre or second interview.

The order and content of these stages varies from recruiter to recruiter. Some may conduct the first
interview entirely by telephone and a telephone first interview can last as long as 40 minutes. Others will
not use telephone interviewing at any stage. Occasionally recruiters conduct a final interview, usually by a
line manager, after a candidate has passed the assessment centre stage.

Psychometric or aptitude tests may be carried out before or after the first interview stage; some recruiters
only use tests in the final interview process. You may take an online test as part of your application and
then be asked to complete a second test, under controlled conditions, at the assessment centre. We can
offer you the opportunity to take online psychometric tests in verbal and numerical reasoning that are
typical of those used by many organisations who recruit graduates. Email us and we’ll send you
instructions of how you can practice online.

See our leaflets “Interviews” and Tests & Exercises” in the Careers & Employability Service and on our
website for more advice on these stages.

Preparing for an assessment centre

Read the instructions you’ve been sent about the assessment centre very carefully. If you need any
special arrangements to help you complete the assessment centre process, contact the recruiter as soon
as possible.

• Re-read your application form and/or your CV. Pay particular attention to any areas that gave rise to
any difficult or searching questions at first interview. The recruiter may go into more depth about a
particular answer to a competency based question, or to probe issues such as a lack of relevant
work experience, weak exam results, an unusual holiday job or an interesting hobby.
• Check the recruiter’s website and any information sent to you by the organisation. Make sure you are
fully aware of the requirements of the job and the skills that are being sought for that role.
• Get up-to-date with any recent news stories and events involving the recruiter (including its financial
performance, its staff, its products or services). Information on these matters can usually be found on
the main company website but some major recruiters have information in the Careers Resource
Centre which may contain some useful information.
• Become familiar with the context in which the organisation operates, e.g. who are its competitors?
Check competitor websites and the websites of relevant trade or professional bodies.
• Be aware of major current affairs issues by listening to radio/TV news and by reading a quality
newspaper for a few days prior to the assessment centre.
• Look at completed interview feedback questionnaires from students who have recently attended
assessment centres. These are available in the Careers Resource Centre'.

www.liv.ac.uk/careers 3
Other than taking these steps it is difficult to prepare for assessment centres. Most recruiters accept that
assessment centres are quite daunting events. Our best advice is to try to relax and be yourself. You’ll
have impressed the recruiter over the first stages of the recruitment process and your chances of success
at the assessment centre stage can be as high as one in four or five. You are not necessarily competing
against the other people attending your assessment centre; recruiters often run a series of assessment
centres and will select the best candidates across the whole series. Expect between six and eight
candidates in each assessment centre group.

On the day, leave yourself enough travelling time. Aim to arrive early. Consider staying overnight if your
journey is lengthy or difficult. If you do encounter any travel problems on the day, telephone the recruiter
as soon as you can. Remember to keep a note of any realistic and legitimate expenses together with any
receipts if you can claim expenses.

Structure of an assessment centre

Assessment centres are now, typically, held over just one day. Sometimes they are preceded by dinner
the night before. Occasionally they are extended over two days by adding additional group exercises or
interviews.

The structure of a typical one day assessment centre is shown below:

09.00 - 09.45 Arrival, administration, ‘ice breaker’ introductions

09.45 - 11.15 Tests (e.g. numeric, diagrammatic, verbal reasoning, personality)
11.15 - 11.30 Coffee
11.30 - 13.00 Group Exercise
13.00 - 14.00 Lunch
14.00 - 15.00 Presentations followed by interview 1
15.00 - 15.15 Tea
15.15 - 16.00 Interview 2
16.00 - 17.00 Feedback on tests etc. and final briefing

Top tips for assessment centres

Informal / social events
Any part of the assessment centre programme that is said to be informal, e.g. lunch, dinner and trips
round the factory or office with young graduate employees, may not be part of the formal selection
process but any adverse behaviour or ill judged comments you make will, almost certainly, filter through to
the selection panel and are likely to be taken into account.

These sessions give you a good chance to find out about the business, training opportunities and
support, social activities and promotion prospects from people probably already on the recruiter’s
graduate programme. They help you get a ‘feel’ for the organisation and its staff.

At events such as lunch or dinner be careful not to drink too much alcohol and try to ask intelligent
questions about the organisation and the industry sector. Ensure that you talk to the senior management
present and, if the function is a buffet, try to circulate rather than talking to your fellow candidates.

4 Assessment Centres
Group activities
Group activities, which can be designed to test any specific competency, are particularly assessing your
ability to communicate effectively, your common sense and, in most cases, your ability to work in a team.
They generally fall into the following types:

Business game scenarios - often linked to the company’s own business. Your grasp of basic
commercial issues, your ability to negotiate and organise workflow and, most importantly, your team
working skills are being assessed.

‘Ranking’ exercises - e.g. list in order, your top ten favourite songs of all time. Your ability to construct
an argument and negotiate with other members of the group is being assessed.

Physical tasks - e.g. building models, getting objects over real or imaginary obstacles. Your interaction
with other members of the group, your leadership and your practical problem solving skills are being
assessed.

Other activities that can take place at assessment centres may include:

‘E-Tray’ / ‘In-tray’ prioritising exercises - can be a mixture of email and/or paper documents that have
to be dealt within a set time. It is recommended that you quickly scan all the documents before dealing
with specific items. Your ability to recognise the difference between urgent and important issues and your
organisational ability are being assessed alongside your communication skills. There are a number of online
e-tray exercises where you can practice. You can find links to these sites on our website.

Role plays - for certain types of role e.g. customer facing posts, sales positions or human resource
management roles, one to one situational role plays may be used. An assessor or fellow candidate may
take the part of a customer or member of staff with you being required to deal with a particular problem.

During any form of group exercise one or two trained observers will closely watch your individual
performance. It is important that you:

• read the brief carefully and check all the instructions are understood by the group. Consider
formulating an outline plan of how the task might be completed within the time allowed;
• ensure that the brief is followed. Pay careful attention to the requirements of the exercise. Make sure
any discussion is kept to time and does not stray too far from the task or subject;
• show regard for other members of the team e.g. consider rearranging the seating so that everyone
can feel part of the group, try and bring shy or quieter members of the group into the discussion;
• try and make sensible points, don’t remain completely silent or inactive;
• don’t criticise the exercise itself or seek to monopolise/dominate the discussions;
• don’t argue dogmatically, try to involve others, be polite and tactful when presenting an opposite view
by saying, for instance, ‘that’s a good point but don’t you think...’;
• support and praise other contributions and be sensitive to the feelings of the other team members; and
• if you have to present your group’s view on a topic or the results of a task always seek to use visual
aids if they are available. If you can, try to be the person who does the presenting rather than the
recording. This gives you the opportunity to stand out from the group.

Remember a sense of humour is appreciated and is needed in most jobs these days, a good ‘one liner’
often helps relax the group – but don’t be frivolous.

Don’t panic if one person appears to be leading the group in an aggressive or domineering manner; that
style is unlikely to impress the assessors.

www.liv.ac.uk/careers 5
Checklist: Preparing for assessment centres
• Book a mock interview with a careers adviser and attend our assessment centre preparation seminars
– see our What’s On Guide or website for details
• Review your application, recruiters website, news reports etc

Assessment What’s involved What they’re looking for

‘E-tray’ or ‘In-Tray’ You will deal with typical e-tray/ in-tray of tasks Ability to prioritise and analyse
exercise that have to be dealt within a set time Communication
Problem solving

Group activities Work with other candidates to discuss topics Team working
and recommend solution or physical tasks e.g. Negotiation
making an object Time management
Problem solving & creativity
Organisation & leadership

Interviews In-depth discussion, one or more interviewers, Competence for the role
competence or strength based, issues arising Awareness of role
from 1st interview explored Enthusiasm & confidence
Interpersonal skills
Commercial awareness

Personality Assess what you are like as a person and how Candidates who will ’fit’ into
questionnaires you might react in different situations. No right their organisational culture and
or wrong answers. specific roles

Presentations Giving an oral presentation to an individual or Candidates who can organise

group which you may (or may not) have their material, speak fluently to an
prepared in advance audience and answer questions

Psychometric tests Timed tests, verbal, numeric, Ability / aptitude appropriate for
diagrammatic etc job role

Social events Meeting candidates and employees over Interpersonal skills

meal / drinks Interest in organisation

Information sessions Presentation on opportunities available Active listening – cues that you
are paying attention

6 Assessment Centres
• To answer competence based questions use the STAR Technique - Situation, Task, Action, Result
• Presentations – use simple structure e.g. SWOT analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats

Getting it right… Getting it wrong…

Quickly go through entire tray first No rationale for what you’ve done
Being ready for unexpected Not completing task
Checking dates of correspondence Inaccurate / inappropriate content
Being client focussed

Contributing Ignoring other candidates

Working with best ideas, even if not yours Not saying anything
Encouraging others Talking over other candidates
Maintaining sense humour Running out of time
Ensuring the brief of the task is achieved Not achieving the brief of the task

Anticipating questions – prepare Lack of thorough preparation

Using STAR technique to answer questions
Being confident but not arrogant
Speaking clearly and maintain eye contact
Giving clear examples of competencies from
academia, work, extra curricula etc.
Contradicting self/telling stories
Underselling yourself
Not answering the question asked
Not giving sufficient evidence of the
competencies

Keeping calm Trying to second guess what they want

Answering questions honestly Not finishing

Having a simple structure e.g. introduction, Mumbling

SWOT, conclusion & recommendations Going over time/rambling
Maintaining eye contact Lack of clear structure
Speaking confidently & clearly

Preparing by doing practice tests at Careers. Spending too long on difficult questions
Managing time. Answering as many questions as
possible. Reading questions carefully.

Showing interest by asking questions and Being late, drinking and eating too much.
listening attentively Being loud and noisy

Asking relevant questions Falling asleep!

www.liv.ac.uk/careers 7
Giving a presentation
You may be asked to give a presentation or a talk on either a prepared subject or a topic that is given to
you just before the session. Usually the talk is to last no longer than five or six minutes. In most cases you
will be told whether you can use any form of visual aid, such as PowerPoint.

Sometimes, at the end of a group exercise, it is appropriate to present the group findings and you could
ask for a flip chart for this purpose. The essentials of giving a good presentation are:
• keeping to time;
• speaking clearly to the group – not to the flip chart, chalkboard or your notes;
• structuring your presentation with an introduction, followed by the main body of points you wish to
make and, finally, a conclusion;
• making brief notes or writing down key words to help keep you on topic but not reading your talk
‘word for word’;
• trying to include a little appropriate humour; and
• only making statements that you can defend.

Interviews
Interviews will form a substantial part of any assessment centre. They can take different forms.

• A ‘job related’ interview – usually subject or industry focused, often with a senior line manager. Be
prepared to talk about the content and relevance of degree, your work experience and industry issues.
• A ‘personal’ interview – often with a member of the recruiter’s HR team, this type of interview will
focus on your skills, achievements, interests and career aspirations.
• A panel interview – this can involve up to five or six interviewers and may range over both ‘job related’
and ‘personal’ issues. When replying to an interviewer’s questions in a panel situation, direct your
comments to the person who posed the question.

Any of the above styles of interview can be 'structured' i.e. each candidate will be asked a very similar set
of questions or they can be free ranging and dependent on your own experience and background.

Any areas of doubt that arose at first interview may well be probed in more depth at the final interview
stage. It is important that you:

• think before you answer;

• answer questions honestly; and
• try to turn any negative points raised by the interviewer into positive attributes, e.g. overcoming a
setback in examination results shows determination and resilience.

Remember for most graduate training posts, interviewers will be assessing you for your ability to progress
to middle/senior management. Our leaflet “Interviews” will give you more advice on how to prepare and
perform effectively at interview. Get a copy from the Careers & Employability Service and on our website.

8 Assessment Centres
After the assessment centre
At the end of most assessment centres you will be given some feedback (or you will be invited to ask for
it within a few days). You will also be told the timescale in which you will hear whether or not you have
been successful.

If you are offered a feedback opportunity, take it. However disappointed you are at not being offered a
post, you can always learn from the experience.

Generally, if you hear very quickly after the event, you have either got the job or you have been
unsuccessful. If you have heard nothing approaching the deadline date it can mean that you have been
shortlisted and your chance of an offer may depend on someone else withdrawing.

You should always reply to a job offer as soon as possible. If you are awaiting other job offers you can
delay formal acceptance by saying that you wish to consider the offer for a few days or by asking for a
small extension to any deadline acceptance date.

If you are very close to an acceptance deadline from one prospective recruiter and you are awaiting a
response after attending another assessment centre, contact the second recruiter to try and confirm
whether you are likely to receive a job offer. It is useful to consult the Careers & Employability Service in
such circumstances.

If you are rejecting a job offer, write a polite letter thanking the recruiter for the offer. Offer good reasons
for your decision; you might wish to work for that company at some point in the future.

After any interview or recruitment procedure, record what areas you felt went well, together with what
preparation work was useful, as well as recording any problems that arose. This will help improve your
performance at any future assessment centres.

www.liv.ac.uk/careers 9
How the Careers & Employability Service can help
See our website www.liv.ac.uk/careers for links to resources which will sharpen up your assessment
centre skills.

Talks, seminars and workshops on assessment centres, run by both the Careers & Employability
Service and outside recruiters, are held during both semesters. Look in our ‘What’s On’ guide – available
from the Careers & Employability Service or see our website for full details.

Need some advice on assessment centres or some interview practice?

Quick query interviews are available each day, bookable on the day. Lasting a maximum of 15 minutes,
they offer the chance for you to discuss your interview or assessment centre preparation or an interview
that you have already had. Ask at the Careers & Employability Service or visit our website for full details.

Book a practice/mock interview session. A careers adviser will simulate a job interview with you. We’ll
aim to ask you the type of questions you could anticipate at interview. These questions would generally
relate to you and your experience, the employer, the type of job and the industry you are applying to.
You’ll get feedback on your performance to help you prepare for the real thing. Book at the Careers &
Employability Service at least three days before your interview date. Make sure you email or bring us a
copy of your application and job details when you book.

Look at our interview feedback files in the Careers Resource Centre. You can read completed
questionnaires from students who have attended interviews with a wide range of organisations. You can
help us by completing a feedback questionnaire after your assessment centre – ask for a blank form at
the Careers & Employability Service or download a copy from our website.

Handouts available from the Careers & Employability Service and on our website

• “Interviews” (tips on what to do at interviews including telephone interviews).

• “Psychometric Tests” (including sample questions and other sources helping you to practice).
• “Going for Interviews”, AGCAS (including advice on interviews and assessment centres).

DVDs (can be viewed in the Careers & Employability Service)

• “Selection Success in One”, AGCAS (covers assessment centres and interviews).

• “At the Assessment Centre”, AGCAS (shows real students and graduates being assessed by
actual recruiters in a range of assessment centre activities. You can see examples of ice breaker
exercises, prepared presentation, role play interviews, in-tray exercises, group discussions, meal with
the selectors, case study interviews and interviews generally).
• “Making an Impact – The Graduate Job Interview”, AGCAS (covers first interview procedures).

Online practice psychometric testing

We can offer you the opportunity to take online psychometric tests in verbal and numerical reasoning.
These are typical of those used by many organisations who recruit graduates. To find out more, email us.
We’ll send you some instructions about completing the tests online. These instructions will appear in your
inbox from ‘practest@liv.ac.uk’.

Reference Books
The Careers Resource Centre holds a selection of reference books dedicated to assessment centres.
These books are located at class number 08.5. You can find a full list of the latest editions on the
university library catalogue.

10 Assessment Centres
Notes:

www.liv.ac.uk/careers 11
Where can you find us?
Get in touch; ask questions, we’re here to
help. We’re located on the first floor of the
Student Services Centre, next to the Guild
of Students.

You can also find us in Careers Express in the

courtyard of the Guild of Students. Use
Careers Express to find out about job
vacancies, book for events, meet employers
on campus and get your CV checked.

Call in, give us a call, drop us an email or visit our website if there’s anything else you need to know.

Careers & Employability Service

University of Liverpool

Tel: 0151 794 4647

Email: careers@liv.ac.uk

www.liv.ac.uk/careers

Opening hours: Visit our website for our latest opening hours

© University of Liverpool Careers & Employability Service 2009

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