Assessment Centres - Practice Makes Perfect?

Many students worry about what will happen in a job interview, but increasingly the key phase of the selection process for many UK companies is the Assessment Centre. Usually only offered to candidates who have passed the initial stages of selection, such as an online application form or a telephone interview, assessment centres are a longer event, typically lasting one or possibly more days.

Elements that tend to be included in an assessment centre are:

• Psychometric tests
• Group discussion exercises
• E-tray or in tray prioritisation exercises
• Business case studies
• Presentations
• In-depth interviews

Candidates are under fairly intense scrutiny and are often very aware of competing each other, which may lead to some rather unnatural behaviour. According to careers advisers, some of the phrases that indicate successful performance are:  speaking up (without being unduly dominant), taking a lead, "building" on the contributions of others, keeping an eye on time, analysing facts, facilitating, awareness of the 'big picture'. Much of this focus is on how people work together in teams so it may be worth studying something about group dynamics in business situations.

But nothing beats having a try! Many careers services are now offering practice sessions on Assessment Centres to students and the University of Cumbria is no exception. On 13th November, we plan to run two practice assessment centres in collaboration with Enterprise Rent-a-Car at our Lancaster campus (exact location to be confirmed).  Priority will be offered to students from the New Business School but a large number of places will be available, so watch your student globals at the start of next session.

If you can't wait until then, here are a couple of links to help you gen up on the subject of Assessment Centres:

http://www.diigo.com/user/uoccareers/assessment

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/interview_tips_assessment_centres.htm

Enjoy!

Interview Infographic

Infographics have become a bit of a trend recently and are increasingly being used on careers websites. Here's an example of one I found on the subject of interviews. As it's a bit small to read properly here, you might want to take a look at the original on mint.com:

The basic principle is to convey a lot of information in very few words and the use of the various graphics makes the key messages stand out in a way that appeals to the imagination (right side of the brain, Tony Buzan, etc).

One obvious drawback is you have no means of checking the validity of the information provided. Who for example says that 26% of 'warm source' interviews come from company websites?  How do we define a warm or cold source anyway?

Well suffice it to say that this is a pretty good introduction to the wonderful world of job interviews for candidates.  The only comments I would add are:

• Length of ideal interview answer probably varies from person to person.  Not everyone 'drones on' - a lot of people answer too briefly.
• A couple of feared questions that could have been added are: "Where do you see yourself in five years' time?" and "What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?"

It's also apparent that infographics are multiplying like rabbits.  You can even use them to write your CV!

Controlling Your Interview Nerves... Before you Even Get There

I read a blog post the other day that claimed the worst thing you can do in a job interview is accept a glass of water, and then be unable to hold it steady because you are so nervous.

That's a bit rough though, isn't it?  It's probably nerves that gives you a dry throat in the first place.  It got me thinking about how it's almost impossible to control your behaviour once you're actually in the interview and that the only way forward is take control of things before you end up in the hot seat.  I suppose this makes it my duty to reveal an Easter Bunny from the hat to show how it can be achieved.  So here goes:

The first thing to realise is that nerves are basically a physical reaction, so that the key to controlling you nerves is controlling your non-verbal behaviour. There are a few ways in which you can do this.

1) Use Positive Thinking Techniques

To suffer from interview nerves is natural but some people undermine themselves so diligently that they basically do not believe they are good enough to do the job.  Either they have a deepseated inferiority complex or they suffer from impostor syndrome

If you think you may fall into this sort of category, consider using techniques such as affirmation (e.g. "I am an excellent, talented... and I'm going to get the job") and visualisation (e.g visualising yourself being offered the job.)

If this theme interests you, there is a whole school of American-inspired literature on the subject of positive thinking. A word of warning here is that some of the writings from across the ocean have a "Get Rich Quick" or bible-bashing feel to them. But the works of many authors, for example Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy or Stephen Covey are generally more palatable to a UK audience.

Positive thinking techniques definitely work - but you can't expect them to start working the night before an interview.  They need time and repetition.

2) Think Of Something Pleasant...

This simple solution was suggested by a girl I used to work with.  In the last five minutes before her interview was called, she would simple imagine herself as a child sitting on a tree swing, gently rocking to and fro.  For her, it was an image of great inner harmony, so that she inevitably felt inwardly relaxed and happy.  So her non-verbal behaviour would be correspondingly relaxed and happy when she was finally invited to go in.  There is a lot of evidence to suggest that first interview impressions can be vital...

Now I can imagine that there are many, many pleasant things that you could find to think of while you wait to be called for an interview and students' suggestions have occasionally been imaginative.  Take your pick!

3) Relaxation and Breathing

Bearing in mind that the origin of nerves is the body, exercises that concentrate on the body like breathing and relaxation exercises as per this NHS guide can with some adaptation also be used to help you calm down immediately before an interview.

On relaxation, I particularly like the Gestalt concept of gradually just noticing each part of your body from the feet up (or head down).  Sometimes just being aware of tension in say your stomach or neck can be enough to resolve it, and this is something you can readily do without anyone else noticing.

4) Just Smile

One of the first things that happens when people become nervous is that they forget to smile.  If you notice that this has happened, try laughing at yourself and you will be smiling!

This is really a behaviourist idea and is based on the theory that if you do the behaviour, the feeling and thinking will fall in line.

The fact that this one doesn't totally ring with me reminds me to mention a couple of extra things:

• The above is a 'horses for courses' list.  Not all the techniques are for everyone, so pick the ones that suit you.
• If you have a major hang-up about job interviews that has resulted from very negative experiences, it might be worth requesting help from a Careers Adviser to get some practice in a non-threatening environment.  If you are a University of Cumbria student or recent graduate, you can do so by contacting us via careers@cumbria.ac.uk

Impressive careers information

Have you had a look at the National Career Service website lately?car
No? Well as a self-confessed careers information nerd I have!
And it's pretty impressive.
Careers information databases like this one and Prospects (the UK's official graduate careers website) are a great starting point for researching your job ideas.
Not only do they give you a summary of what the job involves, skills and qualifications needed, routes in as well as pay, but the further information section is great at taking your research that bit further by giving you links to industry bodies and key organisations.
This sort of exploration can lead you to ideas for work experience, key job vacancy sites, interesting courses and application and interview advice - for the job area that interests you.
Much better than Googling!

Preparing for Band 5 Nursing Interviews

The NHS is currently placing a big stress on patient safety issues and it was suggested that applicants for Band 5 Nursing posts would do well to familiarise themselves with a number of resulting national initiatives.  These are:

• Safety Express - concerning the reduction of possible "occurrences of harm" (e.g. falls, embolisms, bedsores, urinary tract infections) as audited through the monthly "Safety Thermometer"
• Productive Services - about improving efficiency to find time for caring, e.g. by standardising ward layouts and equipment locations
• Leading Improvements in Patient Safety - reviewing case notes to check for possible risks of harm.
• Energising for Excellence (E4E) - reviewing appropriateness of staffing levels related to patients' levels of dependency

If you are being interviewed for a Band 5 vacancy shortly, it might also be worth familiarising yourself with any additional local initiatives on patient safety and avoidance of harm.