Many apprenticeships and graduate schemes ask you to attend an assessment centre. Here’s how to show off your teamwork skills on the day! It’s all part of your free Young Professional training.
An assessment centre day is an opportunity for potential employers to evaluate many different candidates at once to select the best person or people for a job opening. They are particularly common for graduate recruitment schemes, and many industries use them. During the Covid crisis, many employers have taken assessment days online, but they are now increasingly moving back towards an in-person model.
The point of an assessment centre is to test candidates on a wider array of skills and attributes than is possible in a traditional interview. One of the most important parts of an assessment centre day is the group exercise, in which you work with other candidates together on a task or project.
Read on to learn why these exercises matter and how you can excel in them.
Why Group Exercises Are Important
Teamwork is crucial to success in the workplace. By working together, teams can come up with better ideas, solve problems more effectively, and get work completed more efficiently. Group exercises allow your prospective employer to see how well you work with other people, giving them an idea of what you would be like in the workplace.
Some of the things you’ll be assessed on during the group exercise includes your communication skills, flexibility, and ability to share your ideas and listen to others.
Here are a few hints and tips to help you show off your teamwork skills at their best.
Listen More Than You Talk
Knowing how to talk confidently to a group of people is important, but listening well is just as crucial. Speak up and get your ideas across, but make sure you’re listening in an active and engaged manner at least as much as you’re talking.
Don’t interrupt people, don’t zone out while others are talking, and try to make sure the quieter and less confident people get an opportunity to speak.
Stay Focused
It is easy for group projects to be derailed or go off-track. If you can see that your group is getting sidetracked or focusing too much on one aspect of the project rather than the big picture, try to gently steer things back to the task at hand.
Teamwork is at its best when everyone is focused on the central goal. Make sure that you are all on the same page about what you are trying to achieve, and stay focused on achieving it.
Be Inclusive
The best teams are diverse, inclusive spaces that allow everyone a chance to speak and get their ideas heard. By showing inclusivity in your group exercise, you indicate that you will also embrace diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Inclusivity means ensuring that everyone has an equal voice, and paying particular attention to ways in which certain groups of people can be marginalised. For example, studies have shown that in the workplace, men tend to speak more often and for longer than women (despite persistent stereotypes to the contrary).
Notice who is speaking and who isn’t, and advocate for anyone who is being spoken over. This can be as simple as saying “I don’t think Sarah was finished talking” if someone cuts her off.
Demonstrate a Positive Attitude
We all have bad days, but displaying a positive attitude as much as possible is important when it comes to being a good team player. Try to use positive language and speak in a constructive way, and avoid being excessively negative or pessimistic.
It’s fine to talk about why you think an idea won’t work but, if you’re shooting down every suggestion or rubbishing ideas before you’ve thought them through, you are probably displaying a negative attitude.
Pull Your Weight
Remember those group projects at school where one person would slack off and leave the rest of the group carrying them? This happens in the workplace, too, and it’s just as annoying. In the group task portion of your assessment centre day, the potential employer will be on the lookout for signs that someone might be a slacker.
Therefore, make sure you pull your weight and do your fair share of the work in your group exercise. It’s not fair to take credit for other people’s hard work without doing your part.
If someone else in your group is not pulling their weight, try to encourage them to participate. Perhaps you could ask them to take on a specific task or encourage them to share their views with the group. A little nudge is sometimes all that’s needed for someone to start doing their bit.
Be Collaborative, Not Competitive
When you attend an assessment centre day, it is easy to see the other candidates as your competition. While this may be true to a certain extent (since there are usually more candidates than available positions), being overly competitive will actually hurt your chances.
In the workplace, things function best when everyone sees their teammates as collaborators rather than competitors. So instead of trying to outdo other people in your group, focus on how best to use your unique strengths along with theirs to get a better result for all of you.
It’s a myth that you have to step on other people in order to succeed. You will impress your prospective employer far more if you are seen to be pitching in, working together, and giving others a hand when it’s needed.
Exercise: Who Are You in a Team?
Have a look at this resource about the different roles people can play on a team. Think about which one most applies to you. Now write down three strengths you bring to a team, and three ways in which you could improve your teamwork skills.
If you’re not sure yet which role sounds most like you, think about which one you’d like to be and how you can work towards that.
Don’t Fear the Assessment Centre
Assessment centre days can feel scary. You might feel as though you are under a lot of pressure and you will likely be very aware that you are being evaluated against other candidates.
But don’t worry. These days are an opportunity for you to display your abilities, personality, and teamwork skills at their best. Prepare, stay calm, and remember that everyone else is nervous, too.
Good luck with your assessment centre day, and here’s to landing that dream job!
