What are assessment centres?
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- Good presentations are well-structured.
- Keep to time limits, don't try to say too much.
- Be aware of the importance of both content and presentation.
- Write and prepare are a simple, ten-minute presentation beforehand.
- Practice giving presentations before the assessment centre.
In-tray exercises
This exercise is designed to test your ability to absorb a large volume of complex information quickly, to work out what would be priorities and make decisions. You will be given a large amount of information and a set of instructions and a time limit. The documents usually include a pile of letters, memos and phone messages plus some background about the organisation (contact lists, personnel files, budgets, etc).
Group discussion
It is common for an assessment centre to include some form of group debate or discussion. These can be in the form of a Leaderless Discussion Group (LDG) or follow a format with each candidate taking turns at being in the chair. The purpose of a LDG is to assess your negotiation and influencing skills, it is normally only used where this is a key part of the job. As well as leaderless groups, it is also common to be given an exercise that requires you to work together and find a solution to problem. These can be in the form of cases studies sometimes referred to as 'situational decision making'.
