Does anyone else hate the idea of assessment days and centres

Legacy_user

Imo, they sound extremely stressful and terrifying, what happened to the days where you just went for a 1 to 1 interview...

One of the main reasons I'm happy as self employed

the_darkknight_2

Yes I agree, they are awful and I think are a really poor way to assess people. They favour those who are loud and confident, not those who will necessarily be good at the job.

[Deleted User]

I had liked the comfort of other people around me but I think that has something to do with me not starting jobs over the past year without it being as some sort of groupie thing, but I've also come to realise they don't learn much about you really, on a first day I thought this is no time to be re-reading my CV if it ever was, no wonder people end up in wrong fitting jobs and the art of interviewing skills is lost for both parties though it probably is why it is becoming more the norm!

I had a Skype interview, urgh that really freaked me out to if I'm honest and I thought how in-personal struggled to get past it, 'even if there is a need to move with the world of technology' and more recently I was offered a job without any sort of interview, scary to think you can start somewhere where you've not have chance to even feel if you'll fit in until it is to late

Group assessments great if you can't hold an interview on your tod or to get your mo-jo back if your in the right group of people (it can gain an offer of employment albeit rarely for the long term I've found) Though I also now think - trying to hide something about job? it is a smokescreen for getting away with saying less? While I can understand testing as a matter of course it is awful to be potentially judged by a score alone.

cazziebo

the_darkknight wrote: »

Yes I agree, they are awful and I think are a really poor way to assess people. They favour those who are loud and confident, not those who will necessarily be good at the job.

Not always the case ; it depends on what competencies are required. If communication skills are necessary then listening is twice as important as making yourself heard.

If the AC is properly run it can be far more effective for selection than a one on one interview. The standard of interviewing skills is generally very poor.

amiehall

I would say that a group exercise does NOT favour the loud or confident. I've normally done well at AC but people who are too loud do as badly as those who are too quiet.

I don't like how dependent it is on the kinds of people you end up with in your group. I feel like I spend a huge amount of energy second guessing myself about how I "should" be behaving rather than being myself and getting on with the task. I'm also really terrible with names, other people are making notes about the exercise, I'm making a seating chart with people's names on haha!

I just find the situation so false. The worst thing I've ever had to do at an AC was speak to a "distraught" actor. It's just so contrived and hard to act naturally...

poorlittlefish

I've been through two of these to date. One was OK as it was kept relatively relaxed, but the other one was extremely intense and I was literally shaking from start to finish (and despite thinking I'd done terribly I was offered the job!).

I really don't like being put up against my "competitors" and being under constant scrutiny. If there is lunch or a coffee break, remember that the assessors will still be looking to see how you're interacting with the others.

The thing to remember is that you will be assessed against a number of competencies or desired attributes, so if you don't do so well against one you may shine in another. If there have also been other stages, such as application forms, CVs, interviews and psychometric tests then they will also be taken into account.