Not considered an Assessment Centre as part of your candidate assessment process? You’re missing a trick.

Assessment centres are often dreaded by candidates

There are a few things in life that most people would rather avoid. It sometimes strikes me that attending an assessment centre is right up there with filling in a tax return or going to the dentist. Whenever we mention that there is an assessment center as part of the selection process, there is nearly always a brief silence at the other end of the phone.

Not many candidates see the point in spending an afternoon at a company with a bunch of strangers with onlookers evaluating their every move. All in the hope that they might move to the next stage of a recruitment process that may or may not secure them their next role.

This is a very common perception amongst candidates so we are trying to change perceptions as it’s a great opportunity for employers and candidates. Assessment centres vary greatly in content, but they have one thing in common – they will test you and that will mean you and the potential employer will learn a lot.

Why are assessment centres good for candidates?

Let’s be honest, when you are looking for a job, you need all the stimulation and feedback that you can get. Yes, it takes a while to get there. Yes, it is fairly mentally draining and you may not get a fantastic night’s sleep beforehand. But…. you will have some valuable food for thought afterwards, and if you are fully present during the day, you will give yourself every chance of performing at your best (and getting that elusive job).

3. The potential hiring company wants to understand what makes you tick.
4. They want to give you more of an insight into their business and what it’s like to work there.
5. You might also start to uncover a few things about yourself as well. The beauty of going through a recruitment process is that in thinking through the questions, you come to understand yourself that little bit better too.

Our clients love assessment centres

Our clients love running assessment centres because they test skills you would never see in a 1-1 interview. We therefore work hard to ensure candidates embrace this form of assessment, taking the opportunity to showcase their talents beyond just having a chat about their CV.

Need some tips on assessment centres

There is no doubt that assessment centres are exhausting all round. Running assessment takes lots of hard work, planning and resourcing to get right. Ensuring that everyone turns up and gets the most out of the day really enabling themselves to sell their personal brand to the company for the role (or even future roles) is essential too.

We’ve run many assessment centres and we understand the challenges for recruiters and candidates alike; what works, what doesn’t work, the frustrations and the benefits and how to get the most out of them. So if you think they could be for you, you want to improve your current assessment centres or even if you’ve been trying to avoid them get in touch on 01962 676214 or drop me a line at mike@finda.uk and let us tell you why you shouldn’t dismiss them.