Assessment Centers

An assessment center is usually an all-day event (or longer) that forms part of the later stages of a company's recruitment process,  performance evaluation or successor planning process or as a corporate culture process in cases of M&A. It is a series of activities designed to test a candidate’s performance in scenarios relevant to their potential job’s functions and competencies.

Some of the activities that may be included

Interview: Interviews will focus on assessing the required competencies in the assesse.  This is done through coaching skills and through competency based interview techniques.

In-tray exercise: The scenario is that the manager has been taken ill and the candidate has to sort through the papers on his/her desk with the aid of a diary and organization chart. Aptitude or psychometric tests many employers run verbal and numerical reasoning tests these are held under strict exam conditions. Practice in advance, declare any disability (including dyslexia). Diagrammatic reasoning tests are used mainly in computing post.

Group exercises: These may be practical, discussion based or physical activities aiming to look for competencies such as strategic thinking, seeing the big picture, executive presence, teamwork and collaboration.

Presentation: A candidate may be notified of a topic in advance or given a subject during the assessment center. They will be evaluated on the style of the presentation (i.e. regarding their executive presence and emotional intelligence), as well as the content.

Group discussion: The candidate may be asked to discuss issues of current importance to the profession or sector or current news items. They will be expected to prepare by keeping up to date with news and researching the sector, other organizations within that sector, etc.