Nigel PovahChartered Occupational Psychologist

Lucy PovahConsultant Occupational Psychologist

• Face an Assessment Centre confidently

• Hold your own in presentations, group exercises and role-plays

• Prepare for and excel at psychometric tests

• Keep your cool in and out of the interview room

Learn to:

Succeeding at

Assessment Centres

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Open the book and find:

• The key features of an Assessment Centre

• Brilliant ways to research your chosen job role

• The skills that each exercise is used to assess

• Strategies to help you prepare for any assessment task

• What to do – and not do – in each activity

• Advice on body language and how to behave in front of potential colleagues

• Expert tips for achieving peak performance

Nigel Povah is the Managing Director of A&DC, a practice specialising in assessment methods and developing people’s potential at work. He is a leading expert in the Assessment Centre field. Lucy Povah is a Senior Consultant at A&DC and has a Master’s degree in Occupational Psychology.

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With more and more companies using Assessment Centres as part of their recruitment process, it’s vital to recognise what makes an ideal candidate. Inside you’ll find expert advice on how to excel at the most common Assessment Centre exercises, as well as must-know information on matching each exercise to the skill set being assessed – enabling you to prepare smart rather than hard, and maximise your success.

• Get to grips with Assessment Centres – know what to expect and how to prepare

• Tackle simulation exercises – perform to your best ability in fact-finding, analysis, scheduling and inbox activities, and more

• Master interviews and psychometric tests – outshine the competition in these two popular assessment activities

• Excel from start to finish – do your research, make a memorable introduction and learn from the feedback you receive

Impress the assessors and get the job you want

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Succeeding at Assessm

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Succeeding atAssessment Centres

FOR

DUMmIES‰

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Succeeding atAssessment Centres

FOR

DUMmIES‰

by Nigel Povah and Lucy Povah

A John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, Publication

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Succeeding at Assessment Centres For Dummies®

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About the AuthorsNigel Povah is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and isthe Managing Director and founder of A&DC, which is one ofthe UK’s leading HR consultancies in the Talent Managementfield (www.ADC.uk.com).

Upon graduating from Leeds University in Psychology andobtaining a Masters at London University’s Birkbeck College inOccupational Psychology, he decided to pursue a career as aprofessional chess player. During a five-year spell he repre-sented England on a number of occasions, wrote four books onchess, became an International Master and taught andcoached numerous players, including some of England’s cur-rent crop of Grandmasters.

In the early 1980s Nigel decided to return to his interest in psy-chology and embarked upon a career in Human Resource con-sultancy which included stints in recruitment and training,before he founded Assessment & Development Consultants(A&DC) in 1988.

Nigel is widely regarded as one of the UK’s leading experts inthe Assessment Centre field, having co-authored Assessmentand Development Centres (Gower). He was also one of themembers of the British Psychological Society’s SteeringCommittee who produced the ‘Best Practice Guidelines on theDesign, Implementation and Evaluation of Assessment andDevelopment Centres’.

As well as his executive role at A&DC, Nigel continues to writearticles on Assessment and Development Centres and deliverspapers at various conferences.

Nigel lives in Guildford with his wife Gill and their children andhe still tries to find time to pursue his interest in chess as akeen amateur.

Lucy Povah is a Senior Consultant at A&DC where she hasworked with her father for the last five years since graduatingfrom Warwick University in Psychology and obtaining herMasters in Occupational Psychology from Surrey University.

During those five years she’s designed and run many AssessmentCentres, both in the UK and internationally, for a wide range ofpublic and private sector organisations such as Acas, BAA,Boots, HMRC, Syngenta, and the UK Fire and Rescue Service.

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These Assessment Centres have been targeted at staff at alllevels from graduates through to senior management and execu-tives, where she has enabled organisations to adopt best practice selection processes.

Lucy has a particular interest in Positive Psychology, whichfocuses on enabling people to take full advantage of theirstrengths, especially within Assessment Centres.

Lucy currently lives in London, where she splits her timebetween visiting her family and friends in Surrey and enjoyingthe attractions of London.

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DedicationTo our family and loved ones for putting up with numerousweekends and evenings of neglect; we hope you’ll forgive us.We would also like to thank you for your encouragement andsupport throughout this project and beyond.

Authors’ AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank the people at Wiley, including WejdanIsmail for recognising the value of a book such as this, trackingus down and offering us this opportunity, and Rachael Chilversfor being highly supportive and encouraging us during thewriting.

We would also like to thank all the clients we’ve worked withover the years for providing the rich tapestry of experiencesthat have given rise to the numerous anecdotes and usefullessons that we’ve been able to share with you in this book.

Finally, we’d like to thank numerous fellow practitioners,including past and present colleagues at A&DC (too many tomention by name but you know who you are), with whom wehave exchanged stories over many years, because many of theobservations and recommendations within this book arebased on their experiences as much as our own.

Thank you to you all!

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Publisher’s AcknowledgementsWe’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies onlineregistration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

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Contents at a GlanceIntroduction:......................................................1

Part I: Introducing Assessment Centres................5Chapter 1: Demystifying Assessment Centres........................................7Chapter 2: How an Assessment Centre Works......................................27Chapter 3: Maximising Your Chances of Success.................................47

Part II: Mastering Assessment Centre Exercises ...............................................61

Chapter 4: Standing Out in Group Exercises.........................................63Chapter 5: Impressing in Oral Presentations........................................81Chapter 6: Starring in Role-Plays............................................................99Chapter 7: Shining in Fact-Finding Exercises ......................................119Chapter 8: Achieving in Analysis Exercises ........................................131Chapter 9: Performing in Planning and Scheduling Exercises..........145Chapter 10: Managing In-Basket or Inbox Exercises ..........................157

Part III: Excelling at Non-Exercise Assessment Centre Activities ............................................175

Chapter 11: Responding Effectively in Interviews .............................177Chapter 12: Perfecting Your Approach to Psychometric Tests........199Chapter 13: Tackling Other Activities..................................................217Chapter 14: Learning from Attending an Assessment Centre...........233

Part IV: The Part of Tens ................................255Chapter 15: Ten Ways to Impress the Assessors................................257Chapter 16: Ten Ways of Behaving Effectively....................................265Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Achieving Peak Performance.....................273

Index.............................................................279

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Table of ContentsIntroduction .......................................................1

About This Book .........................................................................1Conventions Used in This Book ................................................2Foolish Assumptions ..................................................................2How This Book Is Organised......................................................3

Part I: Introducing Assessment Centres ........................3Part II: Mastering Assessment Centre Exercises ..........3Part III: Excelling at Non-Exercise Assessment

Centre Activities............................................................3Part IV: The Part of Tens .................................................4

Icons Used in This Book.............................................................4Where to Go from Here .............................................................4

Part I: Introducing Assessment Centres................5Chapter 1: Demystifying Assessment Centres. . . . . . . . . 7

What Assessment Centres Are (and Aren’t)............................7Defining Assessment Centres..........................................8What an Assessment Centre isn’t .................................10Answering common questions about Assessment

Centres .........................................................................12Key Features of Assessment Centres .....................................13

Measuring job-related competencies...........................14Using job-related simulations .......................................14Involving more than one assessor................................14Gathering independent data for making decisions ....15Assessing multiple participants ...................................15

Advantages of Using Assessment Centres.............................16Predicting future potential with greater accuracy .....16

Providing a fair and equal opportunity to all candidates....17Providing a realistic job preview ..................................19

Common Uses of Assessment Centres...................................19External recruitment ......................................................20Internal promotion .........................................................22Development ...................................................................22

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Succeeding at Assessment Centres For Dummies xiiChapter 2: How an Assessment Centre Works . . . . . . . 27

Knowing about Measuring Performance................................27Job-related skills, or competencies..............................28Levels of performance ...................................................31

Attending the Assessment Centre ..........................................31Timetabling......................................................................32Tackling the exercises....................................................34

Ways of Working........................................................................35Working in groups...........................................................36Working one-to-one.........................................................36Working on your own .....................................................38

‘Independent’ Exercises versus ‘Themed’ Exercises............39Additional Activities .................................................................40

Competency Based Interview .......................................40Psychometric tests.........................................................41Other activities ...............................................................41

Discovering Who’s Who ...........................................................42Other candidates ............................................................42Centre manager and centre administrators ................42Role-players.....................................................................43The assessors..................................................................43

Decision-Making Time ..............................................................44During the activities .......................................................44Coming to a decision......................................................45

Chapter 3: Maximising Your Chances of Success . . . . 47Researching the Organisation .................................................47Finding Out about the Job .......................................................49

Reviewing the job description ......................................49Reading the job advert...................................................50Identifying your questions.............................................51

Soaking Up Your Briefing Material ..........................................51Scrutinising the tasks.....................................................52Doing practice tests .......................................................53

Preparing for the Assessment Centre ....................................54Linking the job accountabilities with skills being

assessed.......................................................................54Displaying the necessary skills and competencies....55Matching competencies to your skills

and strengths...............................................................56Planning how to compensate for weaknesses ............57

Clearing Your Path to the Assessment Centre ......................57Notifying the centre of a disability ...............................58Taking account of previous Assessment

Centre feedback ..........................................................59

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Table of Contents xiii

Part II: Mastering Assessment Centre Exercises .........................................................61

Chapter 4: Standing Out in Group Exercises . . . . . . . . . 63Looking into Group Exercises .................................................63

Group size and timing ....................................................64Activity-based group exercises.....................................65Discussion-based group exercises ...............................66Assigned role group discussions..................................68

Common Competencies Being Assessed ...............................70Behaving Effectively .................................................................72

Helping the group to get organised..............................72Speaking now or forever holding your peace! ............73Staying in the game ........................................................74Managing the opposition ...............................................74Giving the quieter group members a chance..............75Being prepared to compromise ....................................75In the firing line: Dealing with challenges....................76Trying to ignore the assessors......................................77

Gearing Up for the Group Exercise .........................................77Before the assessment centre.......................................78During the assessment centre.......................................78

Chapter 5: Impressing in Oral Presentations. . . . . . . . . 81Figuring Out the Format...........................................................81

As a stand-alone exercise ..............................................82Linked to other exercises ..............................................83

Prep, Delivery and Q&A: The Three Stages...........................84The preparation stage....................................................84The delivery stage ..........................................................86The question and answer (Q&A) stage........................87

Different Types of Presentation ..............................................88Presenting on your own to a few ..................................88Presenting on your own to a group..............................89Presenting as part of a team..........................................89

Common Competencies Being Assessed ...............................90Behaving Effectively .................................................................92

Building in appropriate content ...................................92Using visual aids .............................................................92Starting with a bang!.......................................................93Controlling your nerves.................................................94Projecting positive body language ...............................95

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Succeeding at Assessment Centres For Dummies xivTuning into your audience ............................................95Using humour appropriately.........................................96Finishing with a flourish ................................................97

Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins of Presenting ......................97

Chapter 6: Starring in Role-Plays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Recognising Role-Play Exercises.............................................99

One-to-one role-play exercises....................................100Multiple role-play exercises ........................................102

Popular Scenarios ...................................................................105Internal role-plays.........................................................105External role-plays........................................................106

Role of the Role-Player ...........................................................108Common Competencies Being Assessed .............................108Behaving Effectively ...............................................................110

Having a well-prepared plan........................................110Building the relationship .............................................110Making your point ........................................................113Handling resistance......................................................113Expecting the unexpected ...........................................114Balancing individual and organisational needs ........114Summarising the outcome...........................................115

Avoiding Ineffective Behaviours ...........................................115Becoming angry or aggressive....................................115Getting frustrated .........................................................116Starting to panic ...........................................................117

Gearing Up for the Role-Play Exercise..................................117Before the Assessment Centre....................................117During the Assessment Centre....................................118

Chapter 7: Shining in Fact-Finding Exercises . . . . . . . 119Fathoming Fact-Finding Exercises ........................................119

Phase 1: Planning and preparing ................................120Phase 2: Questioning and interpreting ......................121Phase 3: Evaluating and deciding ...............................122Phase 4: Reviewing and justifying ..............................122

Common Competencies Being Assessed .............................123Behaving Effectively ...............................................................125

Thinking on your feet ...................................................125Taking brief notes .........................................................125Weighing up the information.......................................126Coping with the pressure ............................................126

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Table of Contents xvAvoiding Ineffective Behaviours ...........................................127

Jumping to conclusions ...............................................127Freezing in the headlights ...........................................127Being prejudiced and having preconceived ideas....127Asking ineffective questions .......................................128

Gearing Up for the Fact-Finding Exercise.............................129Before the Assessment Centre....................................129During the Assessment Centre....................................130

Chapter 8: Achieving in Analysis Exercises . . . . . . . . 131Analysing Analysis Exercises ................................................131Outlining Analysis Exercise Formats....................................132

Analysis exercise written reports...............................133Analysis exercise presentations .................................135Analysis exercise group discussions .........................136

Common Competencies Being Assessed .............................137Behaving Effectively ...............................................................139

Managing your time well..............................................139Deciding what information is missing........................140Analysing the pros and cons.......................................140Giving reasons for decisions .......................................141Remembering other effective behaviours .................142

Gearing Yourself Up for the Analysis Exercise....................142Before the Assessment Centre....................................142During the Assessment Centre....................................143

Chapter 9: Performing in Planning and Scheduling Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Introducing Planning and Scheduling Exercises .................146Six Steps for Project Planning and Implementation ...........149Common Competencies Being Assessed .............................150Behaving Effectively ...............................................................151

Following the rules .......................................................151Recording your thoughts.............................................151Reviewing your final solution......................................152

Avoiding Ineffective Behaviours ...........................................152Creating confusion........................................................152Overlooking dependencies..........................................152

Preparing for Action ...............................................................153Before the Assessment Centre....................................153Reading up on project planning..................................154Practising producing a project plan...........................154During the Assessment Centre....................................155

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Succeeding at Assessment Centres For Dummies xviChapter 10: Managing In-Basket

or Inbox Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157In-Basket or Inbox? .................................................................158Tackling the Task Before You ................................................160

Setting priorities with a matrix ...................................161Tackling paper-based in-basket exercises .................162Dealing with electronic inbox exercises ....................163

Common Competencies Being Assessed .............................165Behaving Effectively ...............................................................166

Looking before you leap ..............................................166Making things stand out ..............................................167Checking priorities .......................................................167Looking for links ...........................................................168Tuning into your audience ..........................................168Using all available resources.......................................169Watching the clock .......................................................170

Avoiding Ineffective Behaviours ...........................................171Being superficial ...........................................................171Being overly detailed ...................................................171Never-ending paper shuffling......................................173

Gearing Yourself Up for the Exercise....................................173Before the Assessment Centre....................................173During the Assessment Centre....................................174

Part III: Excelling at Non-Exercise Assessment Centre Activities ............................................175

Chapter 11: Responding Effectively in Interviews . . . 177Staffing the Interview .............................................................178

One-to-one interviews..................................................178Two-to-one interviews..................................................179Panel interviews ...........................................................180

Taking the Structured Approach...........................................181Situational interviews ..................................................182Behavioural description interviews...........................183

Highlighting Competency Based Interviews .......................183Step 1: Describing the context/scenario....................185Step 2: Describing what you did .................................185Step 3: Describing what happened.............................186

Common Competencies Being Assessed .............................188

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Table of Contents xviiBehaving Effectively ...............................................................190

Making a good first impression...................................190Listening attentively.....................................................191Getting on the right track ............................................192Putting your failings positively ...................................192

Avoiding Ineffective Behaviours ...........................................193Sitting in painful silence...............................................193Appearing too laid-back...............................................194Talking hypothetically..................................................194Telling blatant lies ........................................................194

Preparing for Action ...............................................................195Before the Assessment Centre....................................195During the Assessment Centre....................................197

Chapter 12: Perfecting Your Approach to Psychometric Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Studying Common Psychometric Tests ...............................200Administration ..............................................................200Interpretation and scoring ..........................................201

Performing at Ability Tests ....................................................202Verbal ability tests........................................................203Numerical ability tests .................................................205Abstract ability tests....................................................205Mechanical and spatial ability tests...........................207

Answering Personality Questionnaires................................210Handling Situational Judgement Tests .................................212Completing 360° Feedback Questionnaires .........................214Psyching Yourself Up for the Test.........................................216

Before the day ...............................................................216On the day .....................................................................216

Chapter 13: Tackling Other Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Getting Off to a Quick Start....................................................218

Controlling your nerves upon arrival ........................218Making an impactful introduction ..............................219Tackling icebreakers.....................................................221

Making Your Mark on the Assessment Activities ...............222Participating in business games .................................222Undertaking outdoor activities...................................224Reviewing personal performance...............................225

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Succeeding at Assessment Centres For Dummies xviiiTaking Part in Information Sessions.....................................227

Responding to company presentations.....................228Tackling Q&A sessions with recent recruits .............229

Providing Feedback on the Assessment Centre..................230

Chapter 14: Learning from Attending an Assessment Centre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Reviewing Your Own Performance .......................................234Reviewing each activity ...............................................234Reviewing your performance as a whole...................235Discovering what you’ve learned ...............................239

Getting Feedback on Your Performance ..............................240Asking for feedback ......................................................241Getting your feedback..................................................242Receiving feedback in style .........................................244Optimising different forms of feedback .....................245

Bringing Together What You’ve Learned .............................247Peeking through the Johari Window ..........................248Putting all the information together...........................250

Preparing for the Next Time ..................................................251Your path to improvement: Using the Ability-

Awareness model ......................................................251Applying your learning ................................................253

Part IV: The Part of Tens ................................255Chapter 15: Ten Ways to Impress the Assessors . . . . 257

Dress to Impress .....................................................................257Align Yourself with the Organisation’s Values.....................258Play to Your Strengths............................................................259Be Prepared .............................................................................259Exhibit Your Enthusiasm and Commitment ........................260Signal a Willingness to Learn.................................................260Retain Your Composure .........................................................261Show Respect Towards Others .............................................261Convince the Organisation of Your Worth...........................262Get It Right for the Assessors................................................262

Chapter 16: Ten Ways of Behaving Effectively . . . . . . 265Behave Assertively .................................................................265Show Confidence.....................................................................266Earn the Respect of Others....................................................267Gain the Support of Others....................................................267Be Genuine and Sincere .........................................................268

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Table of Contents xixBe Friendly and Approachable..............................................268Act with Assurance.................................................................269Stay Focused............................................................................270Use Appropriate Body Language ..........................................270Make Sure You Get Noticed ...................................................271

Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Achieving Peak Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Arrive in Good Time, Relaxed and Ready to Perform ........273Pay Careful Attention to All Instructions

(Oral or Written) .................................................................274Focus Clearly on the Aim of the Task...................................275Use Preparation Time Effectively..........................................275Manage Your Time ..................................................................276Focus on One Task at a Time.................................................276Don’t Dwell on Disappointments ..........................................277Relax During Breaks................................................................277Be Yourself ...............................................................................278Enjoy the Experience!.............................................................278

Index .............................................................279

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xx Succeeding at Assessment Centres For Dummies

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Introduction

Welcome to Succeeding at Assessment Centres ForDummies! Did you pick up this book because you’re

due to attend an Assessment Centre and, like most people,you’re not really sure what to expect? Well, rest assured, thisbook will remove the veil of mystique and provide you with aclear appreciation of what Assessment Centres are all about.

Assessment Centres have been around for over half a centuryduring which time they’ve grown steadily in popularity,mainly because organisations trust them to help them makeeffective selection decisions. One of the main attractions of anAssessment Centre is that they’re one of the most comprehen-sive and accurate ways of identifying the skills and abilitiesrequired for success in a given job. An Assessment Centreenables you to display all your qualities, so you have a greatopportunity to show what you’re capable of and realise yourfull potential.

About This BookAssessment Centres can appear complicated, so we’ve setabout providing you with a clear explanation of how theywork and what you need to know, to give you the best possi-ble chance of success.

Having designed and run literally hundreds of AssessmentCentres of varying duration and content, we have channelledour knowledge of what exercises aim to assess and whatassessors generally look for from your performance, to pro-vide you with some focused advice.

You can dip in and out of this book as you like; don’t feel com-pelled to read it from cover to cover. However, if you’vereceived an invitation to an Assessment Centre, the followingapproach is useful:

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Succeeding at Assessment Centres For Dummies 2� If you know very little about the Centre and have never

attended an Assessment Centre before, the first threechapters in Part I provide a useful background.

� If you know what exercises you’re likely to face, refer tothe relevant chapters in Part II.

� If you believe that you’ll sit a psychometric test and/orperhaps have an interview, head to the chapters in Part III.

� Finally, as part of your general preparation, follow theadvice in Chapters 3 and 13 and read the tips in Chapters15 to 17 in Part IV.

Conventions Used in This BookTo help you as you go through this book we use the followingconventions:

� Italics have been used to highlight quotations and definitions.

� Monofont is used for occasional web addresses which wesuggest you might wish to use to access useful information.

� We use male pronouns in odd chapters and female pro-nouns in even chapters to be fair to both genders!

Foolish AssumptionsWhile writing this book we made some assumptions aboutyour knowledge of Assessment Centres, why you might beinterested in this book, and what you want to get out of it. Weassume that your reason for picking up this book might beone or more of the following:

� You don’t know anything at all about Assessment Centresand you want to gain some understanding, which couldrange from knowing the basics through to having a fairlythorough grasp of what they’re all about.

� You’ve been invited to attend an Assessment Centre forthe first time and want to know what to expect.

� You have a pretty good idea of the activities you’ll face onan Assessment Centre but you want to be as thoroughlyprepared for it as you can, because you’re keen to do well.

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How This Book is OrganisedThis book is divided into four major parts. The chapterswithin each part go into greater detail of specific aspects orelements of an Assessment Centre. Each chapter providesself-contained coverage of that particular aspect, so you don’tneed to read all of the chapters or read them in sequence. TheTable of Contents provides a comprehensive list of everythingwe cover, enabling you to jump around the book as you like.

Part I: Introducing AssessmentCentresThis part provides you with an introductory overview toAssessment Centres. Starting with an introduction to thebasic principles and a description of what an AssessmentCentre looks like, we then go into greater detail about howthey actually work. These first two chapters provide you witha foundation upon which to build your understanding. We alsofocus on some of the general preparation you can do beforeyour Assessment Centre to ensure you maximise yourchances of success.

Part II: Mastering AssessmentCentre ExercisesThis part explains each of the different types of exercises thatare used most frequently on Assessment Centres. Knowingwhat to expect and how to handle these types of exercise willboost your confidence no end, enabling you to feel you cantackle whatever’s thrown at you.

Part III: Excelling at Non-ExerciseAssessment Centre ActivitiesThis part covers interviews, psychometric tests and variousbriefing sessions. Attending an Assessment Centre is likely tobe one of the most insightful events of your career, so we alsocover how to ensure you make the most of the opportunity tolearn from this enriching experience.

Introduction 3

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Part IV: The Part of Tens This part provides a series of general tips that apply to theAssessment Centre as a whole, rather than being aligned withany specific aspect of a Centre. We start by covering somepractical tips about how to impress the Assessors, becauseyour success at a Centre is very much in their hands. We thenprovide some suggestions about how best to behave, withappropriate warnings about behaviours to avoid! Finally, weoffer some classic tips about how to ensure you’re at the topof your game, so you can leave the Assessment Centre feelingpositive and knowing you gave it your best.

Icons Used in This BookWe use a number of different icons throughout this book todraw your attention to particular pieces of information.

The knotted string highlights particularly important informa-tion to remember.

This icon relates to technical stuff that you don’t necessarilyneed to know and can skip over if you want to. However, weinclude it in case you want to understand the underlyingtheory behind some of the points covered.

This icon refers to useful ideas and suggestions.

The bomb signals something to be careful about and high-lights behaviours to avoid.

Where to Go from Here What to read next? The choice is yours. You can just dip inand out of the different chapters, depending on which bitsappear most relevant and useful to you. Or you can go downthe traditional route and read this book from cover to cover.

We hope that this book helps you to perform more effectivelyin an Assessment Centre, so you can achieve your ambition ofgetting that job or promotion you want. Give the best perform-ance you can, and remember to always be yourself. Good luck!

Succeeding at Assessment Centres For Dummies 4

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Part IIntroducing

Assessment Centres

‘He’s certainly keen and in very good time —his assessment is not until next week.’

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In this part . . .

For many people the term Assessment Centre conjuresup an image of somewhere that you go to be prodded

and probed until your innermost secrets are exposed.Little wonder that being asked to attend an AssessmentCentre can be an intimidating prospect for the uninitiated!

This part aims to remove the mystique of AssessmentCentres, so you can attend armed with the confidence tosucceed.

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Chapter 1

Demystifying AssessmentCentres

In This Chapter� Understanding what an Assessment Centre is and what it isn’t

� Knowing why and when Assessment Centres are used

� Appreciating why you’re being invited to an Assessment Centre

For many people an Assessment Centre and what goes onthere is a complete mystery. In this chapter we explain

just what an Assessment Centre is and what it isn’t. We’re alsogoing to attempt to dispel many of the myths accompanyingAssessment Centres, so that if you’re invited to attend a centreyou can happily go armed with knowledge and confidence.

We also tell you about the different purposes for whichAssessment Centres are used and how they’re run so that youknow what to expect when attending an Assessment Centre.

What Assessment Centres Are (and Aren’t)

Hearing the term Assessment Centre for the first time, you maynaturally assume that an Assessment Centre is a place whereassessments are carried out. This popular misconception isbased on the fact that the earliest such assessment eventswere run at a place called the Assessment Centre, so the namestuck. Nowadays, an Assessment Centre is a particular type ofassessment process used for selecting the right person for the

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Part I: Introducing Assessment Centres 8right job, and which has been steadily growing in popularitysince the Second World War. In short, it is a process not aplace.

Defining Assessment CentresNo single, universally accepted definition exists for anAssessment Centre, but there are many versions all tending to say much the same thing. Here’s a typical example:

An integrated system of tests and other measures, includingsimulation exercises designed to generate behaviour simi-lar to that required for success in a target job or job level.

So what does this tell you? Read on to find out.

Activities are relevant to the actual job you’re seekingFirst, you can expect the Assessment Centre to include activi-ties relating to the sorts of things you expect to do in the jobyou’re being assessed for. For example, if you’re applying for ajob as a customer service agent in a call centre, then you maywell find that you’re asked to handle one or more customerqueries over the phone. This type of activity simulates thereal job and is an essential principle of an Assessment Centre.

Assessment Centres set out to use realistic tasks serving togive you a useful insight into the nature of the job that you’reapplying for, helping both you and the organisation to decidewhether there is a good fit.

The process lets you display behaviours you’re actually going to needSecond, an Assessment Centre is designed to let you displaythe behaviour that’s considered relevant to the job in ques-tion. So, unlike an interview, where you have the opportunityto talk about yourself and what you would do or did do in agiven situation, at an Assessment Centre you need to showwhat you can do, the exercise simulations being both practi-cal and realistic.

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If you’ve applied for a particular job and you’ve been invitedto attend an Assessment Centre as part of the selectionprocess, try to identify what successful performance in thatjob would look like. What are the sorts of things a successfuljob performer would do? These behaviours are what theAssessors will be looking for and this can guide you as to howto behave on the Centre.

An integrated system is designed to give a full picture of your abilitiesThird, the reference to an ‘integrated system’ highlights thefact that the various parts of the Assessment Centre processall contribute to the assessment of the behaviours needed inthe job you’re being assessed for. This shows that AssessmentCentres are carefully constructed events and not simply a setof unrelated tasks that have been thrown together.

Chapter 1: Demystifying Assessment Centres 9

History of Assessment CentresThe Assessment Centre method wasdeveloped during the Second WorldWar when there was an urgent need tofind people with the capability to leadunder very difficult circumstances. Themilestones for Assessment Centres(ACs) are:

1942: German, UK and US ArmedForces use ACs for the selectionof officers

1945: UK Civil Service Selection Board(CSSB) – first non-military use of ACs

1956: Telecoms provider AT&T firstuse ACs for management devel-opment purposes

1960s: Interest grows in the US: IBM,Standard Oil, General Electric

1970s: Interest grows in the UK: ICL(now part of Fujitsu), Post Office,consumer brand giant GrandMetropolitan

1980s: Increasing use of AssessmentCentres for development (DCs)

1990s: Growth in use of AC/DCs in USand UK in public and private sectors

2000s: Growing global interest in useof ACs

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Your overall performance is determined by how well you didon the assessment as a whole; a less effective performance onone activity can be compensated for by a more than effectiveperformance on another. So give each activity your ‘best shot’and don’t be discouraged if you feel you’ve slipped up on one,because you may still have the opportunity to recover.

Well-designed Assessment Centres share certain key features,which we describe in ‘Key Features of Assessment Centres’later in this chapter.

What an Assessment Centre isn’tAn Assessment Centre is a structured process for assessingthe capabilities you’re going to need to be successful in a par-ticular job. This description can lend itself to all sorts of mis-understandings about what an Assessment Centre actually is,as the following sections explain.

A real-life version of The ApprenticeIn the popular TV series The Apprentice, a group of contest-ants carry out a series of tasks and are gradually whittleddown to a winner, who gets the much sought-after job. The TVshow is very different from the structure and purpose of anAssessment Centre because:

� Assessment Centres make sure that the requirements ofthe job are clearly defined before the assessment takesplace.

� A group of observers, known as assessors, are fullytrained in what to look for in the various tasks that theparticipants are asked to do.

� The tasks are chosen to simulate different aspects of thejob in question. Although this may be true for some ofthe tasks in The Apprentice, it certainly isn’t true for themall, because the contestants are frequently asked to carryout bizarre tasks totally unrelated to the job.

� Participants at an Assessment Centre aren’t competingwith one another because they’re all being measuredagainst a common standard, allowing each participant topass or fail. For the success of the show, Sir Alan Sugarhas to hire someone, even if none of the candidates comeup to scratch!

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