Assessment centres
Source: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/careers/how-to-apply/assessment-centres/ Parent: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/careers/how-to-apply/
An assessment centre (or assessment day) is a combination of tasks and activities that helps an employer decide whether you are suitable for a particular job role. Assessment centres are an important part of the recruitment process for many graduate schemes and are often the final stage of the selection process for large graduate employers.
Each assessment centre may look for a slightly different set of skills, depending on the job role. Typically these include communication, interpersonal, leadership, negotiation, teamwork, problem-solving and task management skills.
Some graduate employers carry out their assessment centres virtually. This may involve video interviews, as well as online psychometric tests and group presentations.
What to expect at an assessment centre
An assessment centre can be held over one or two days and may require an overnight stay, which the employer will normally arrange.
Typically, you will work both individually and with a group of up to eight other candidates. You will be asked to complete a series of interviews, exercises and tests which are designed to evaluate your suitability for the job with the organisation. Some examples of these include:
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Group discussions
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Interviews
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Presentations
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Psychometric tests
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Social events
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Written exercises
How to prepare for an assessment centre
You can practise common assessment centre tasks with Graduates First – register for free using your University username and password.
In addition to Graduates First, there are a variety of resources that can help you prepare for assessment centres:
General advice
Virtual assessment centres
- Virtual assessment centres (TARGETjobs)
- Virtual assessment centres (Higherin)
- What to expect from a virtual assessment centre (Bright Network)
Disability-related resources
- Resources for students with disabilities - find out about disability-friendly employers and how to request reasonable adjustments during the application process.
- EmployAbility – a non-profit organisation that supports neurodiverse and disabled students and graduates into employment. Register to access free support and a range of opportunities.