The Assessment Centre

Most graduates facing their first assessment centre for a graduate training job will feel fearful and deep anxiety. But why?


Our fear comes from the fact we have no experience of an assessment centre, no idea of what the interviewer will be like. And many of us will accept the fact that this is just the way things are. Yet this fear is the main reason why so many of us will fail at our first attempt. We simply will be too fearful of the resulting effect, and hence most will go to two extremes - either close up and become invisible to the recruiters, or perhaps worse, become too visible, trying too hard to get the recruiter to notice you, and in turn, ruining your chances by displaying yourself as a overbearing, overpowering figure.


But like an exam, what if you were prepared for it? Your fear level would dramatically reduce, because you know what to expect - what the recruiters are likely to ask, how to actually work on the group problem solving task, how to present yourself like a professional. If you knew how to approach an assessment centre, you would feel far more confident, and get the job you really want the first time round.


Using the advice from HPD, understand clearly what is required of you, and what you need to expect. Like the saying goes: "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail."


Vinay Trivedi, Director, The Career Agency