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UCL CAREERS GRADCLUB
DAY 4: JUMPSTART
YOUR JOB HUNTSUCCEEDING AT ASSESSMENT
CENTRESDiana Omololu & Evan Hancock
UCL Careers
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Plan for today….
understand why recruiters use assessment centres
opportunity to practice common activities:Introductions exercise, icebreaker (presentation), e-tray
exercise, situational judgement test, group discussion and a
business case study (NOT interviews)
sit in the recruiter’s shoes
learn how to improve your performance‘permission to fail’
further support and resources
housekeeping
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Best Holiday Destination Ice Breaker
What is your favourite holiday destination?
Take 1 minute to prepare
Each person presents for 1 minute only (go clockwise)
The aim is to persuade your group members that yourpreferred destination is the best.
Introductory partner keeps time and then providesfeedback at the END of all the presentations:
what they did well
what they could improve on
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The Ice Breaker
Why do employers use ice breakers at the start?
introductions / relax candidatesform initial opinions
Other examples:
present introductions of each other, build
something as a team……
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Insights
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What is an Assessment Centre?
• commonly used by larger graduate recruiters
– tool of mass recruitment
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Selection methods
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Number of
applications received
by AGR employers pervacancy
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What is an Assessment Centre?
• commonly used by larger graduate recruiters
• compared to initial selection process, you are now
a probable, not a possible employee (5-10%
candidates)
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What is an Assessment Centre?
• commonly used by larger graduate recruiters
• compared to initial selection process, you are now
a probable, not a possible employee (5-10%
candidates)
• assessment centres:
– are often longer and held on recruiter premises – more work-related tests and group tasks
– involve more senior organisational staff
– seek evidence of potential
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register/ situational judgement/ online application form online psychometric tests
test centre e-tray includes verbal/ numerical retests assessment centre:
written exercise – policy recommendation
group exercise – role play
briefing exercise
competency-based interview
Fast Stream Job offers
Recruitment report
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register/ situational judgement/ online application form (15,590) online psychometric tests (13,170)
test centre e-tray (invite 3,194)includes verbal/ numerical retests assessment centre: (586)
written exercise – policy recommendation
group exercise – role play
briefing exercise
competency-based interview
Fast Stream Job offers – 191 (81 per place)
Recruitment report
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Competency assessment
Application
Aptitude
test Interview
Group
Exercise Presentation
Role-
play Informal
Written Communication
Presentation
Interpersonal
Time Management
Commercial awareness
Leadership
Resilience
Analtyical
Initiative
Assessment centre
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Assessment centre testing
Aptitude Tests
assess abilities in numerical, verbal
diagrammatic/ reasoning
typically multiple-choice format
right & wrong answers, timed conditions
measure potential not knowledge
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Practice materialKenexa online aptitude test
Timed online testing of
graduate recruiter calibre1 hour limit plus practice
questions
Automatic results and
feedback by emailRequire registration emailwww.ucl.ac.uk/careers/gradclub/helpwi
thapplicationsandinterviews/application
sandinterviews/aptitude
Careers library loans
Borrow Self-help and test
banks3 working days
£10 refundable deposit
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Assessment centre Testing
Situational Judgement Test (STJ’s)
used for self-assessment or as filtering mechanism
candidates presented with a range of ‘role-relevant’situations
for each situation, usually 4 or 5 potential actions
(most, least relevant)
no special training, knowledge or experience requiredgenerally online, multiple-choice and time limits
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You are working as a Graduate Trainee for Sutton & Sykes, a manufacturer of
domestic electrical goods for the UK and European market. You are on a
rotational placement programme spending 6 months in each of 4 different
departments of the company in order to ‘learn the ropes’ before being
assessed for a permanent management position. You have completed yourplacements in Manufacturing and in Facilities Services. You are half-way
through your 6 months in the Human Resources (HR) department.
Your final placement will be with the Finance department and is due to
commence upon completion of your 6 months in HR.
In relation to the following situations, what do you consider to be the most
and least applicable response.
Sample Situational Judgement test
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You have had an email from a senior manager in the Finance department, Sally Arkwright, who will be your placement supervisor when you join the team in 3 months’
time. She is keen that you are aware that you will be joining the department at their
busiest time. You are due to start in Finance in January which is the peak financial
planning season. The staff will be working flat out to produce the annual business
plans and budget allocations for each department in Sutton & Sykes and to align this
with the projections of profit & loss for the business. Your supervisor feels that it is
very important you are aware of this so you can ‘hit the ground running’ when you jointhe team. You have never worked in a finance role before.
MOST LEAST
Search the internet for information on business planning, budgeting and profit & loss
calculation.
Email Sally and ask if it would be possible to have a one-to-one meeting with her
before you begin your placement to find out as much as possible about the projects
on which you might be working.
Thank Sally and say that you will contact her in December, a few weeks before your
placement, and ask for specific details of your projects.
Email Sally thanking her for her early warning. Ask her whether she can provide any
information on the projects on which you might be working in January.
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You have had an email from a senior manager in the Finance department, Sally Arkwright, who will be your placement supervisor when you join the team in 3 months’
time. She is keen that you are aware that you will be joining the department at their
busiest time. You are due to start in Finance in January which is the peak financial
planning season. The staff will be working flat out to produce the annual business
plans and budget allocations for each department in Sutton & Sykes and to align this
with the projections of profit & loss for the business. Your supervisor feels that it is
very important you are aware of this so you can ‘hit the ground running’ when you jointhe team. You have never worked in a finance role before.
MOST LEAST
Search the internet for information on business planning, budgeting and profit & loss
calculation.
Email Sally and ask if it would be possible to have a one-to-one meeting with her
before you begin your placement to find out as much as possible about the projects
on which you might be working. X
Thank Sally and say that you will contact her in December, a few weeks before your
placement, and ask for specific details of your projects.
Email Sally thanking her for her early warning. Ask her whether she can provide any
information on the projects on which you might be working in January.
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Your turn: Some Tests
Situational Judgement Test – 4 minutes
Sutton & Sykes
Feedback
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ItemPriorityA/B/C Justification for choice
1 A
1 A/B
Act immediately/ delegate as information potentially required for this afternoon's
meeting.
Act immediately as information potentially required for this afternoon's meeting.
1 A/B
(A) - respond to client this morning stating whether costs can be provided or potentially
forwarded later as currently not part of today’s agenda (assume 5 minutes)
(B) - If agree to provide, delegate immediately as information readily available but will
require significant preparation time (assume 10 minutes briefing time)
Degrees of Justification
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E-tray exercise – 12 minutes
Yellow Frog
IMPORTANT: Justify your answers
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Feedback
Chat with another partner about your answers and how you found the
tests
what insights have you gained?
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BREAK!
Strong backs
required please
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Group Exercises
practical
planning and organising a complicated task
analytical, teamwork and leadership skills.
case studies
real life problem facing an organisation
individual roles and briefings on their particular concerns.
discussions
chaired and leaderless
job-related issue or current affairs
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Group exercises
Group discussion exercise # 1
Bunker exercise
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Feedback
2 mins for assessor / candidate feedback
How was it being observed? What did you learn?
How was it being an assessor?
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Tactics in group discussions
participate but don’t dominateget involved early ondon’t talk over others/ make pointless comments
take a role if necessarylistenfollow conversation/ look interestedmake reference to & build on others’ ideas ‘I think it’s interesting what Emmasays….’
facilitate/bring structuresummarise points made/ keep group focusedvolunteer to chair/ keep time/ take notes/ feedback findingsinvolve quieter members
quality of thought/ expression and deliveryintroduce new ideas/ think laterallydefend your viewpoint but recognise others viewpointsconsider body language, speak clearly and succinctly.
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Group exercises
Group discussion exercise # 2
Restauranteur
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Practice material
Downloads and DVD’s Careers library loans
Borrow self-help and test
banks3 working days
£10 refundable deposit
• watch DVD in the
careers library• downloadable Guide• www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/gradclub/h
elpwithapplicationsandinterviews/
applicationsandinterviews/assess
ment
UCL CAREERS GRADCLUB
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GradClub
FREE 2 year dedicated careers support for UCLgraduates
automatic enrolment (maintain ‘My Careersservice’ login)
1 to 1 coaching with emphasis on accessibility
workshops designed for those with graduate
statuscontinued access to full UCL careers eventsprogramme
dedicated website/ bulletins/ social mediapresence
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UCL CAREERS GRADCLUB
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GradClub workshops
Jumpstart your job hunt
Mon 2nd to Thu 5th DecemberPlaces still available
Improving your job search
How to improve your CV and Applications
Succeeding at interviews
Succeeding at assessment centres
Mock aptitude testSucceeding at interviews (repeated)
UCL CAREERS GRADCLUB
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What’s coming up……….
Skills4work ‘Interview’ coaching: Barclays
Friday December 6th
Skills4work ‘CV/ application’ coaching: FactsetFriday December 6th
MBTI personality profiling
Tuesday 10th December
Webinars: Careers in Marketing/ Advertising/ PR
Sector panels: December 10, 11, 12th at 1-2pm
All bookable through ‘UCL My Careers Service’ account
UCL CAREERS GRADCLUB