If you've watched 'The Apprentice' or entertainment-oriented shows featuring judging panels, you might think you have a passing idea of what an assessment centre is all about. Really, you don't know the half of it unless you've been to one yourself.

The assessment centre is an examination tool used by employers for measuring job applicants in a real-world group setting. The exam is gaining traction in the corporate world because employers want to determine objectively what you really can do after you've said what you can do. Especially common in graduate-level hiring scenarios, the assessment group's participants include the candidates themselves, often ranging from as few as six to as many as 20. But if you can imagine an X-Factor contestant singing their song, then turning around and singing a song by one of their competitors in the head-to-head elimination, you might gain better insight into the assessment centre dynamics. Make no mistake about it - at the assessment centre, roles will be reversed for different group exercises. Leaders will become followers, followers assume leadership, new responsibilities are given, skills are assessed & identified, and the hiring criteria is met or found to be wanting.

The desire of higher-end companies to use assessment centres has increased no doubt due to the centre's attributes of objectivity in candidate evaluation. Wikijob.co.uk states that some companies:


Assessment centres, in comparison to the more common job interview, have been judged by business psychologists to better determine a candidate's competency. Especially in terms of what the candidate can do on their feet - in pre-assessment centre functions, employers routinely disseminate more up-to-date company information than can be found through candidate research. So it bears mentioning that if you have a question about something, ask - your ability to turn around and do some last-minute research on the missed information may not bear out what you've been told, thus putting you at a distinct disadvantage.

According to prospects.ac.uk, an invitation to participate in assessment centres usually takes place after a face-to-face interview and tends to run for two days, though situations can vary. Even the seemingly informal matters involved are anything but: social events tend to lead off the process:
 
As expected, actual assessments come next in the form of work-related activities. Employers set up these functions with the intent of re-creating the company's working atmosphere to a T, be it on company ground or elsewhere (hotels tend to be a common assessment spot). The Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD) says that the tasks set at the assessment centre should coincide with the details of the job description. In essence, while you may not be doing the job 'on site', you are still carrying out the functions the job requires to be done.

Now for the fun part: how to associate with your 'teammates'. It can be a tricky situation, seeing as throughout various tasks, candidates have to switch responsibilities while associating with other candidates that can easily be construed as 'competition'. The situation almost indirectly calls for a 'master of all trades' performer - desire to achieve without aggression; a good team worker without appearing too compliant; doing remedial tasks well and willingly while avoiding complete subservience to leadership.

But one thing to clear up is this: your cohorts should not be viewed as your competitors. WikiJob backs up this assertion:

 
The key to successful assessment centre approach is this - assume the role of your designated title at that moment to the best of your ability and to the benefit of the tasks at hand. Above all, projects need teamwork, communication, objective input, forward thinking and leadership. It's tough to maintain excellence at any of those standards if you're thinking along the lines of Vinnie Jones to their Paul Gascoigne in that infamous picture!

The heart of the objectivity lies with the assessment panel, an all-encompassing conglomeration of the company's top executives across the board. Some of them come from HR; others serve as departmental managers; still more can be company partners. In general, the idea is to judge according to what each person holds true to the effective performance of the job. A programme manager may spot a flaw or strength the partner might have missed, and vice-versa. The wider the range of personnel there are to provide input, the more input the panel can have at their disposal to make an informed decision. So your teamwork, communication and leadership skills, and the way you interact with fellow candidates during tasks, becomes central to your effective performance.

Here are ten central tenets to your approach to an assessment centre:

1. Remember that assessment centres are used to judge candidate's competency levels and is difficult to prepare in advance for i.e., Planning & Organising, Team Skills, Professional Knowledge & Judgement, Leadership, etc.
2. Generally, assessment centre activities for project management will include a project scenario (which may be derived from a real-life example). You may be asked (as a group) to produce any number of deliveries i.e., risk management plan, work breakdown structure, issues log, etc.
3. In group activities you may be assigned a team role or asked to put yourself forward for a position. Don't be concerned if you feel the role you have been assigned is not one of leadership, the panel are also looking for good team behaviours including how you support the leader.
4. Be prepared to make sure you get the best out of the team regardless of your role within the group. Ask questions, play the devil's advocate (a little!), confirm with the group on decisions made.
5. Assessment centres are not always about team working and group work, be prepared for tasks which are just directed at you. The panel will also be interested in seeing how you perform an individual task under pressure.
6. Give it 100%. Assessment centres can be hard work and some of the others in the group can be hard work, too. Just be yourself and remember that the panel is looking for a display of strong competencies NOT how competitive you are.
7. Be gracious. If others in the group look a little lost or overcome with shyness, help them along by including them in the activity. Compassion will not be overlooked by the selection panel.
8. Often the activity will include an opportunity to present back to the panel on completion of the exercise. Not everyone will have the opportunity to do the actual presentation, so be prepared to perform another role like scribe or offer to part share the presentation with others in the group.
9. Some assessment centres include older more informal tasks such as the Shipwreck or Plane Crash exercises. If you're not familiar with them, take a look.
   
10. I think you know what the final point of advice is going to be...be yourself! Really! Preparation is difficult for assessment centres, other than understanding what competencies are important for the job you are going for, you should be concentrating on giving the best performance you can.

- Reviewed by John Zachar, Product Development Manager with the APM. John has previously written for both Tipoffs and How to Manage a Camel, and would love to hear your feedback. Feel free to contact John with your thoughts about The Lazy Project Manager at john.zachar@btinternet.com. This review is the work of Mr Zachar and is no way connected to any views, beliefs or opinions of the APM.