Why do employers use assessment centres?

If you’ve been invited to an assessment centre as part of a recruitment process, you might be wondering why employers use them and how they work.

In our guide, we’ll explain the purpose of an assessment centre, the different tasks you’ll come across and the skills employers are looking for in each activity.

We’ll cover:

• Why do employers use assessment centres?
• What activities happen at assessment centres and what skills are employers looking for?
  • Working in a group
  • Case studies
  • Presentations
  • In-tray and e-tray exercises

Employers use assessment centres to assess candidates through various tasks, including group work, case study interviews, presentations and in-tray (or e-tray) exercises.

An assessment centre gives employers the opportunity to evaluate the abilities of multiple applicants due to its structure (ie. various types of tasks) and scale (ie. a large number of attendees). Assessment centres also help employers judge the skills of those who don’t have much on-paper experience. Because of this combination, they’re particularly popular with graduate scheme employers. Grad schemes typically attract lots of applicants and often offer multiple placements. An assessment centre helps employers work out which candidates are good fits for the cohort.

It's helpful to know that the ‘centre’ part of assessment centre is slightly misleading. The term refers to the activities you do, not the place they take place. An assessment centre can happen at your potential future workplace or remotely (known as a virtual assessment centre). Some employers call them assessment days instead.

Assessment centres (or days) are helpful tools for employers looking to figure out which candidates have the skills they’re looking for.

At an assessment centre, employers assess candidates’ abilities through various activities, including:

• Working in a group
• Case studies
• Presentations
• In-tray and e-tray exercises

Employers are looking for different skills depending on the task, so we’ll run through the activities one by one.

Employers use groupwork tasks at assessment centres to evaluate the following skills:

• Teamwork
• Listening
• Leadership
• Persuasion
• Commercial awareness

How an employer assesses your groupwork skills will depend. They might ask you to brainstorm something related to your potential future job or carry out a teambuilding activity.

An example brief is:

“Construct a bridge using only the materials provided on the desk. Your budget is £200. Each material has been assigned a value.”

It’s not your bridge-building skills that matter here. Instead, it’s how you work together and decide on a plan of action. To shine, you need to show your problem-solving skills and ability to listen. You’ll display commercial awareness too by factoring in the budget.

Whatever type of group exercise you do, employers will be watching:

• if you work well in a team
• how you communicate your opinions while taking others’ views into account
• how you respond to stressful situations

If you’re a natural leader, you can show that too. However, don’t take over and shout everybody else down. Assessors won’t look favourably on those who don’t respect others’ opinions and bark orders. Make sure you participate and make useful contributions, though. Employers want to see active participants.

For more advice on teamwork exercises, check out our tips on how to ace a group project or task.

Employers will deploy case studies during an assessment centre to measure key skills such as:

• Problem-solving
• Analytical abilities
• Commercial awareness
• Time management

Assessors will also be looking for your ability to think on your feet.

As part of a case study task, an assessor will present you with information (usually based on a real-world business scenario). It’s then up to you to analyse it and draw a conclusion. Sometimes, you’ll crack a case study alone. Other times, you’ll do it in a group. Whether solo or in a team, always keep an eye on the clock and plan your time carefully. You’ll likely have a tight deadline. Once you’re done, you’ll usually need to present your solution.

To succeed with a case study, you’ve got to be completely clear on the objectives. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you need to double-check anything. It’s better to query something than give a presentation that misses the point. If you’re working in a team, stick to the same tips we shared for general group discussions. Don’t dominate or dismiss other candidates’ views, but make sure you contribute. You might choose to split up tasks between you. If that’s the case, do it early on.

Want to know more about tackling this type of assessment? Case studies are common in the consulting sector. Our guide on smashing consulting case study interviews will help you impress employers.

When employers ask for candidates to give presentations at an assessment centre, they’re looking for qualities like:

• Confidence
• Professionalism
• Planning skills
• Public speaking skills

If a presentation is part of your assessment centre activities, your potential employer will either set you a topic in advance or on the day.

If you receive your presentation topic before, spend time preparing and practising. It’s common for candidates to find giving a presentation the most daunting part of an assessment day, so don’t worry about worrying itself. It’s OK to feel nervous. Presenting to a roomful of people doesn’t come naturally to everybody. However, it’ll get easier with practice. Nobody’s expecting you to be a flawless public speaker, so be kind to yourself. You just need to show confidence in what you’re saying and do your best to get your point across clearly and convincingly. Assessors know it might be your first time giving a presentation outside of academia, too.

At an assessment centre, you could present to employees from the organisation, third-party assessors or your fellow candidates. Whoever your audience is, address everyone equally and try to make good eye contact with everyone in the room. . Don’t just talk directly to your friend in the front row (even though locating a friendly face can help ease your nerves).

Want to boost your presenting abilities? Check out our guide on how to improve your presentation skills.

When an assessor sets you an in-tray or e-tray exercise, they’re wanting to see if you’ve got the following skills:

• Time management
• Prioritisation
• Ability to respond to pressure

Employers use in-tray and e-tray exercises to watch how you’d handle the correspondence during a working day – whether that’s documents, emails or in-person interruptions. It’s a type of job simulation.

If it occurs remotely, it’s normally called an e-tray exercise. At a physical assessment centre, assessors may call it an in-tray exercise. However, given how many jobs involve digital skills, it’s still more likely you’ll be sifting through an email inbox than an actual in-tray (a type of container for documents and letters) even when at an in-person assessment day.

During the exercise, you’ll need to prioritise your tasks (eg. reply to an email, return a phone call, book a meeting, order supplies, etc.). An assessor is examining your ability to identify the most urgent tasks and how well you estimate how long they’ll take.

It’s common for an assessor to ask you to explain how you’d respond to each task and your reasons behind your decisions.

For more tips, visit our guide to in-tray and e-tray exercises.

Employers use assessment centres as a way of getting to know candidates’ different skills.

The purpose of an assessment centre is to give employers the chance to see applicants in action with various activities – and allow potential employees to show they’ve got what it takes.

While the tasks you’ll face at an assessment centre will vary depending on the employer (and if it’s in-person or virtual), understanding why employers use assessment centres and the potential activities that could come up will help you get ahead.

When you arrive at a skill assessment centre, it’s good to be aware of which competencies employers are likely looking for during each exercise. You can then tackle tasks with confidence. Need more of a boost? Read our advice on how to be confident in interviews and assessment centres.

We’ve also put together more guidance on what to expect from an assessment centre. Once you know what an assessment centre involves and what employers are looking for from attendees, you’ll be in a better place to deal with any activity. Good luck!