What to expect from an assessment centre: tips and advice

Assessment centres are a staple of most graduate recruitment processes. They’re a brilliant opportunity to show your skills while getting to know your potential employer. Every assessment centre approaches things differently, so the exercises you take part in will vary in each one.

Assessment centres are a part of the recruitment process where employers invite candidates to take tests and complete tasks with other potential employees. The term ‘centre’ is a little misleading as it refers to the activities, not a type of building. Sometimes, employers will call them assessment days instead.

Assessment centres give you an insight into the company culture and the type of work you’ll be doing. Employers benefit as it’s a great way of testing you for core skills that you’ll need to fit in with their team. But seeing as each company does things their own way, how will you know what to expect? Often, employers will send you information outlining what exercises there will be. If not, ask the recruitment team for some more details. It’ll help you prepare and show that you’re keen.

While you can’t predict everything, we’ve put together some help for typical things to expect.

We’ll cover:

• Assessment centre interviews
• Typical tests
• Presentations
• Social events

Some people find it intimidating to be surrounded by great candidates but remember you’re one of them, too. You’ve got this far, and the right preparation increases your chance of success.

Read how to be confident at assessment centres.

Not every assessment centre will interview candidates, but you should prepare for biographical and technical ones.

Biographical interviews are about you, your experiences, strengths and weaknesses.

Technical interviews tend to feature questions specific to the role you’ve applied for. This type of interview is particularly common when hiring for grad jobs that are technical or specialist (eg. engineering).

Examples of technical tasks include the interviewer asking the candidate to complete a diagram or fix a line of code. Companies use technical tasks when they need graduates with certain skill sets. For example, investment banks use these tasks to test a candidate’s numeracy and logic skills.

In technical interviews, expect tough questions. Interviewers sometimes ask a brainteaser – eg. how many people go in and out of Heathrow every day? – or a tricky arithmetic question – eg. what’s the square root of 200? Unsure what you’d say? Here's how to answer those tricky brainteaser questions.

If you’re looking for more general tips, read up on how to prepare for an interview.

You’ll almost always have to do a test at your assessment centre. There’s a huge variety of test types, and sometimes you’ll need to do more than one. Some tests will be follow-ups based on how well you did on earlier ones.

Here are the tests you should prepare for:

An in-tray exercise is a type of role-play. Usually, an assessor will give you a task (like one you’d carry out in the role you’re applying for), and you need to respond to the situation as if it’s real.

In-tray exercises are paper-based or electronic (sometimes called e-tray exercises).

A typical example of an in-tray exercise is an assessor presenting you with a busy inbox and asking you to prioritise tasks.

For this type of assessment, key things to bear in mind are:

• There will be a lot of information to read – be sure to check over the instructions before you start anything
• You’ll have a time limit so keep a close eye on the time, but don’t panic if you can’t complete everything – prioritise and justify why you didn’t finish every task
• Beware of curveballs – assessors will sometimes add things in halfway through to see how you deal with change
• Be prepared to write emails or letters to show your writing ability
• Sometimes, there’ll be a de-brief afterwards where an assessor asks you questions about the decisions you’ve made so make sure you think logically as you’re going through

There are many psychometric tests, so it’s hard to prepare for them all. But familiarising yourself with the different types in our psychometric tests guide is a good place to start.

Before attending an assessment centre, ask your contact if they’re prepared to share more information about what tests you’ll be facing. The more you know, the better you’ll prepare.

Ability tests check things like your understanding of the technical side of the role, writing skills, and basic arithmetic. The exact tests will depend on the attributes an employer is looking for.

Case studies are problem-solving exercises that test how candidates deal with large volumes of information to come to logical business conclusions. You’ll do this assessment individually or as part of a group.

Unlike case studies, some group exercises are completely non-business related. Assessors use group exercises to test how you work together with others and to see if you’ve got the leadership skills they’re looking for.

Examples of group exercise tasks include:

• Building something out of supplied materials
• Facing a hypothetical survival situation
• Answering a business question related to an unfamiliar sector

The best way to impress in these situations is to be flexible, show enthusiasm and take the lead when appropriate. Speak clearly, listen to others and be aware of any dominant or shy people in the group. Above all, stay focused on the task and keep your team focused too.

Want to learn more? Here are our top tips on how to succeed in group exercises at assessment centres.

At some assessment centres, you’ll need to give a presentation.

Employers use presentations to assess candidates’ communication skills and see how well people work with and analyse information. The nature of an assessment centre presentation will vary depending on the job you’ve applied for.

Sometimes, employers will send information ahead of the day to prepare your presentation. If that’s the case, make sure you read the instructions carefully so that you follow the presentation guidelines.

Worried about delivering your presentation to an audience? Visit our ultimate guide to public speaking. Once you’re used to the idea of talking to a crowd, you’ll be able to present with confidence.

Finally, expect to have a social event as part of the day.

Assessment centres sometimes offer a social lunch, dinner or networking over tea and coffee. Remember, employers are assessing you from the minute you arrive so do everything possible to make a good impression – even during your social ‘downtime.’

Be enthusiastic and polite and help others engage in conversations too. Don’t dominate a conversation at the expense of other candidates.

Prepare intelligent questions to ask representatives from the organisation should you find yourself in a social situation with potential colleagues. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about them and what they do so if you’re offered a job you’ll know if you want to take it!