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We will run through what to expect from an Assessment Centre together with tips on how to succeed during our coaching call. In the meantime, however, please find below some excellent resources which will help you get a grasp of the basics of how to perform well at Assessment Centres.
Articles
Here are some useful articles which give some idea of what to expect from Assessment Days/Centres and provide some tips on how to tackle them:
http://www.allaboutcareers.com/careers-advice/assessment-centre
http://l2b.thelawyer.com/how-to-survive-assessment-days/122911.article
http://l2b.thelawyer.com/how-to-survive-assessment-days/1011494.article
http://legalrecruitment.blogspot.com/2009/05/assessment-days-recent-experience-may.html
Videos
http://www.careerplayer.com/tips-and-advice/general-advice/assessment-centers.aspx
Clifford Chance Assessment Centre Tips – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZsD4gIbxq8&feature=related
Tests/Exercises
Assessment Centres come in all shapes and forms.
Two of the most common exercises in law firm Assessment Centres are the Group Exercise and the Written Exercise. Here are two excellent guides to assist you in preparing specifically for such exercises:
Guide to Written & E-tray Exercises
Whilst you may not know the specifics of what you will encounter there are similarities between the tests and you will benefit from practising some of them by taking a look at the following. They are not specifically tests from training contract assessment days but will give you a good broad practice opportunity:
General
– http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/psychotests.htm
– http://www.shldirect.com/practice_tests.html
– http://www.kenexa.com/assessments/assessment_guidance
– http://www.morrisby.com/pages/individuals/practicetests.aspx
– http://www.previsor.co.uk/products/certifications
– http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/article5208407.ece
– http://pg.sitebase.net/pg_images/taleo/practicetest.htm
– http://faststream.civilservice.gov.uk/How-do-I-apply/Step-by-Step-Application-Process/
– http://www.theonlinetestcentre.com/
In-Tray/E-Tray Exercise:
These are designed to test your ability to prioritise tasks based on their importance and urgency.
– http://faststream.civilservice.gov.uk/How-do-I-apply/Example-e-Tray-Excercise/
– Eg’s – http://www.jobtestprep.co.uk/intraypractice.aspx
Another practice test can be found here: http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/careers-advice/students/example-in-tray-assessmentday1.pdf. With answers to it here: http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/careers-advice/students/answers-in-tray-assessmentday.pdf
And another one here : http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/careers/using-careers-service/cvs-apps-interviews/assess/types-exercise/in-tray
Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Exercise:
– http://graduates.hoganlovells.com/apply_now/critical_thinking_test/
For a free iphone App to help you practice your critical thinking see here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/critical-thinking-university/id423986330?mt=8
Financial Services:
– http://students.efinancialcareers.co.uk/numerical_test.htm
Paid Services:
– http://www.assessmentday.co.uk/ – paid for practice tests which include feedback on why questions are answered incorrectly and why others are correct
– http://www.jobtestprep.co.uk/ – some free eg’s and test samples can be found here. There are also various paid practice tests ranging from intray tests to verbal reasoning tests.
– http://legal-recruit.org/ – verbal reasoning and situational judgment tests specifically for vac scheme and training contract candidates