You have conquered many hurdles; application forms, covering letters and telephone interviews and now you’re here here: the Assessment Centre. You are ready to show that company you have been relentlessly stalking at Careers Fairs and researching since first year that you are their next valuable recruit. You\u2019re confident you\u2019re exuding professionalism through and through; adorned in your smartest suit and ready to show them why you deserve to be hired. You\u2019ve done the obligatory networking over coffee and lunch- a bit awkward, but it\u2019s yet another great opportunity to highlight your abilities.<\/p>\n
On to the next task: the Group Activity. The part of the day you\u2019re looking forward to the least. What can they possibly ask us to do?
\n\u2022 A discussion around a topic? – What if I don\u2019t know anything about it!?
\n\u2022 A business task and presentation? – I\u2019m not a natural leader or presenter!
\n\u2022 A role play!!? \u2013 I am a terrible actor- how embarrassing!<\/p>\n
Maybe I\u2019ll just keep \u2018shtum\u2019 to avoid making an idiot of myself\u2026<\/p>\n
No! Sitting there quietly, hoping that you can just get by saying the bare minimum or agreeing with the other candidates is setting yourself up for a fall. If you give nothing to the Group Task- whatever the task may be- you will be giving your assessor absolutely nothing positive to relay about your contribution.
\nRemember at an assessment centre, the ultimate aim is to make the most of what you have to offer to demonstrate that you meet their criteria in order to get to the next stage, whether that\u2019s final interview or a job offer! Here are some top tips on how to ensure you are making positive contributions to a group task:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Do work as a team
\nWhilst you might be competing against each other at the assessment day, during this task your team work and interpersonal skills will be assessed so make sure you are demonstrating the key interpersonal skills that make you a valuable asset. Remember it is not the person who shouts the loudest that gets the job- demonstrate your abilities through making logical suggestions, listening to and encouraging others and using any information provided purposefully! Have a look at our Transferable Skills Framework if you would like further information.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Do opt for responsibility
\nThere are a number of questions that you could bare in mind to give yourself an additional responsibility during the group task which nod towards positive leadership skills. Try thinking to yourself \u2018is time being used effectively?\u2019 or \u2018is the group fulfilling to the brief?\u2019 so that you can constructively promote efficiency and direction.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Do use people\u2019s names
\nA really useful tip when working in a group is to use people\u2019s names, it shows that you are paying attention to people and the points they are making. Give people praise for their ideas but also don\u2019t be afraid to be creative and build on them.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Do adopt a persona seriously
\nAs unnatural is it might feel, you need to make sure you take any role play activity seriously. They\u2019re not assessing your acting ability; they will be looking for evidence of the skills required for the role and to fit in with their company. Even if you\u2019re not asked to do a role play, adopting the most professional version of yourself is key.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Do bear in mind the role and company
\nThe group task is your opportunity to demonstrate exactly how effectively you use the skills required for the role and show how well you would perform for the company. Think about the brief you have been given, the research you did around the company and the skills you highlighted in your application and interview. Work out how you can naturally draw on this to enhance your \u2018performance\u2019 in the group task.<\/p>\n
If you would like to practice performing at an assessment centre, with the opportunity to practice a Group Task, book in to a Mock Assessment Centre<\/a> via MyCareers<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You have conquered many hurdles; application forms, covering letters and telephone interviews and now you’re here here: the Assessment Centre. You are ready to show that company you have been relentlessly stalking at Careers Fairs and researching since first year that you are their next valuable recruit. You\u2019re confident you\u2019re exuding professionalism through and through; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":30,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[30,28,19,8,2,21,4,20,29,7],"class_list":["post-29","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ambition","tag-application","tag-assessment-centre","tag-career-development-service","tag-careers-advice","tag-graduate","tag-graduate-jobs","tag-interview","tag-recruiter","tag-university-of-leicester"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31,"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29\/revisions\/31"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staffblogs.le.ac.uk\/careerdevelopmentservice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}