Assessment Centres UL

8/6/2019 Assessment Centres UL

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University of Limerick

Careers Service

AssessmentCentres




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Why do Employers Use

Assessment Centres

� Used to assess if a candidate has the personal

qualities needed

� Used to predict future work performance

� Used to see if you fit in the organisational

culture




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What is an Assessment Centre

� Usually a 1 or 2 day selection process

� Attended by a group in the company premisesor a neutral venue

� Includes: Group exercises, In tray exercises,

Role plays, presentations, aptitude test &

interview




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What is an Assessment Centre?� Usually a 1 or 2 day selection process

� Company premises or neutral venue

� Includes social or informal events

� Meeting with recent graduates or

managers

� Simulates real work environment� Varied activities to assess different attributes




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Typical Asssessment Criteria� Teamwork

� Ledership

� Interpersonal skills ± Communication, Networking

� Problem-solving/logical reasoning

� Ability to work under pressure

� Ability to think quickly on your feet

� Ability to cope with uncertainty� Ability to see the big picture




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Diary of an Assessment Centre

� 9.30 Meet other candidates over coffee

� 10.00 Group discussion

� 10.30 Fact-finding exercise

� 11.30 Interview

� 12.00 Aptitude test

� 12.30 Lunch

� 1.30 Case study exercise

� 2.30 Case study presentation

� 2.45 Group exercise

� 4.45 Company presentation by senior managers

� 5.15 Depart




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Assessment Exercises� Group

± Group Discussion/Chaired Discussion Group

± Case Studies/Business Games/Outdoor exercises

± Informal Discussion with Employees

� Individual

± Personality and Aptitude Tests

± In-tray Exercises/Written Exercises ± Presentation skills

± In-depth Interviews




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Informal Discussion withEmployees

� Network with other candidates and employers

� Ask intelligent questions

� Show interest in their work

� Don¶t drink too much

� Don¶t boast about what you can do for them




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In-tray Exercises

� Measures competencies such as OrganisationalSkills, Planning, Communication Skills, Problem

Solving, Client Focus� Based on typical day to day issues that may arise

� The contents of your ³in-tray´ might include faxes,meeting minutes, emails, letters etc.

� Your task is to prioritise the tasks, take action andgive reasons




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In ± tray exerciseDo

� Try to be clear about the instructions.

� Keep a sense of proportion - balance the urgency against how importantsomething actually is.

� Aim to focus on the essential points about the tasks not every minor detailinvolved.

� Be specific when giving your reasons.

Don't

� Get distracted by irrelevant information or 'errors'.

� Spend too much time analysing the information.� Over scrutinize the details.

� Try to do everything yourself - use other people in the organisation!

� DON'T PANIC!




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Group Discussions

� Given a topic to discuss ± may be the

company, the industry, current affairs, recent

news headlines, university life etc.

� Usually a time period is given e.g. 30 minutes

� Observed by 2 or more staff members




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Group Discussion Exercise

� Working in groups of 6, you have two hours todecide how to spend ¼1m for the benefit of the

business. Your company has acquired this throughselling off one of its chains of Italian-stylerestaurants and you have to decide which parts of theremaining business could benefit. You have a chainof hotels, a small chain of up-market pubs, a chain of

travel agencies and five new leisure complexes. ( Youwill be given data about the performance of each of these groups and you may be allocated a role as representing one of these sections.)




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Case Study� As an individual, you have 15 minutes to study the

following example of a problem which may face a

manager in our company. You may make notes if you

wish.

� As a group you will be asked to discuss the problem

and reach conclusions on it. These conclusions should

be unanimous and not decided by voting.

(45 minutes allowed for discussion)




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Group Discussions

� Be prepared ± research the company, use websites,

brochures, trade journals etc.

� Be prepared ± be up to date with any relevant

developments in the news ± read the µquality¶

newspapers

� Be prepared - Get some practices speaking up in

tutorials, clubs, societies etc.




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Chaired Group Discussions

� Candidates are chosen in turn to lead a group discussion

on a given topic

� Usually about 10 minutes each

Your role:

Introduce the topic ± manage the time

Encourage contribution from participantsHelp to maintain the flow of discussion

Summarise when neccessary




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Group Exercises

� How do you perform in a group setting?

� Are you a regular team player, a natural leader or a maverick?

� Do you tend to be the ice-breaker, the protagonist or the ideas generator in the

group?� Employers are interested in the right balance

of characteristics




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Group Discussion Exercise

� Working in groups of 6, you have two hours todecide how to spend ¼1m for the benefit of the

business. Your company has acquired this throughselling off one of its chains of Italian-stylerestaurants and you have to decide which parts of theremaining business could benefit. You have a chainof hotels, a small chain of up-market pubs, a chain of

travel agencies and five new leisure complexes. ( Youwill be given data about the performance of each of these groups and you may be allocated a role as representing one of these sections.)




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Group Discussion

± Who talks the most

± Who strays from the

subject

± Whose arguments areignored

± Who insists on being

dominant, interrupts or squashes other contributors

± Who doesn¶t talk at all

+ Whose points are accepted

+ Who encourages others to join in

+ Who introduces new ideas

+ Who listens beforecontributing

+ Who builds on the ideas of others

� Notice:




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Psychometric Tests� Aptitude Tests - measure skills relevant to position

± Verbal comprehension - evaluate logic of text

± Numerical reasoning - interpret statistical data

± Diagrammatic reasoning - recognise patterns

± Watch timing ± complete as many as possible

� Personality Questionnaires

± Look at personality style

± No right or wrong answers

± Be spontaneous, don¶t try to second-guess

± Tests include built-in checks

± Employers may be looking for different personality profiles

� Practice using online tests on www.ul.ie/careers




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Before the test

� Practice, Practice, Practice!

� Get a good nights sleep� Do some basic maths revision

� Listen to/Read the instructions carefully

� Avoid spending too long on a question




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Presentations� Prepare and practise

� Have a structure

� Think about the audience

� Use some visuals� Have 4-5 main points

� Don¶t overload with information

� Give an outline and summarize at the end

� Watch the time

� Finish on a strong note




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In-Depth Interviews� Prepare

� Review CV, company information, job description

� Review skills checklist and think about evidence

� Prepare questions to ask

� Interview more related to work you will be doing

� Interviewers much more technical in their questions

� Interviewer might refer to some of the exercises

� Person you might be working for will probably behighly influential




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Resources

� www.ul.ie/careers - Destinations

� www. targetjob.com

� www.shl.com

� www.realworldmagazine.com

� www.gradirealand.com

� DVD on Assessment Centres from CareersService

Documents

Assessment Centres UL