Assessment Centre

Introduction
Assessment Centre has a variety of definitions and these are based on its methodology of assessing a candidates performance and aptitude. Trained Assessors observe a group of candidates performing a variety of aptitude diagnostic procedures which provide specific information on the abilities and developmental capacity of each applicant. An Assessment Centre is actually a process applicants take part in and is not specific to any one location. Its popularity is also evident in staff growth plans where it is usually known as a Development Centre. These procedures are designed to ensure employee investment is maximised for both the organisation and the individual. Whilst the general process is very similar to Assessment Centres the subtle difference is that at a Development Centre you will be given feedback immediately and work with the assessor to agree a future plan. Many organisations use the expertise of an HR consultant to design the exercises to meet their specific role requirements and then to conduct the actual testing and assessment of candidates. These services come with a significant cost and that is why you will increasing face testing through an Assessment Centre as you apply for higher-level strategic and technical roles. The length of an Assessment Centre will vary from half-a-day to two full days and may be held on the employers premises, often within their own training facilities or on the premises of the organisations Human Resources (HR) consultant. Candidates attending an Assessment Centre will take part in a variety of specially designed exercises which allow them to demonstrate how their skills and aptitudes correlate with those required to perform the role. Each of the exercises simulates aspects of the job description and work environment . Types of Assessment and Development Centre Exercise The diagram below shows the most common exercises to be included in an assessment centre.

An in-tray or in-basket exercise asks to assume a particular role as an employee of a fictitious company and work through the correspondence in your in-tray. This exercise is designed to measure your ability to organize and prioritize work. In a presentation exercise, you will be given a topic or possibly a choice of topics and asked to make a presentation of around ten minutes with five minutes at the end for questions. This is designed to measure your presentation skills including your ability to organise and structure the information and to communicate your points clearly and concisely. Group discussion exercises involve you working with other candidates as part of a team to resolve a presented issue. These exercises are designed to measure interpersonal skills such as group leadership, teamwork, negotiation, and group problem solving skills. Panel interviews are regarded as a more objective means of assessing your suitability as you will be interviewed by between three and five people and therefore the decision is not reliant on just one person's opinion. In addition, they are usually more structured than a oneto-one interview as the panel need to assess all of the candidates against the same criteria. The expense of conducting an assessment centre is usually somewhere between $1,000 and $5,000 per candidate. This tends to restrict their use to situations where the costs can be justified in terms of preventing high expenses associated with unsuitable personnel e.g. high staff turnover or poor job performance resulting in low productivity. Assessment centres are seen as one of the most effective ways of identifying top candidates who'll get on well with others and fit in with the organizations culture. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's Recruitment, Retention and Turnover 2004 Survey, 34 per cent of employers now use assessment centres when recruiting managers, professionals and graduates. This figure will inevitably grow as organizations seek to make more accurate selection and promotion decisions. The assessment centre method is utilized in a variety of settings including industry and business, government, armed forces, educational institutions, and safety forces to select individuals for supervisory, technical, sales, or management positions. One recent trend is in the development of mass testing. This is done by video-taping candidates as they perform various exercises and by using objectively scored exercises. This permits the assessment of a much larger number of candidates per day as the scoring is done later and requires far less observation and administration.

Assessment centres are usually used after the initial stages of the selection process, because of the large amount of time and expense in conducting them, and usually follow the initial job interview. Other measurements such as psychological tests may complement the selection process. They are commonly held either on employers premises or in a hotel and are considered by many organizations to be the fairest and most accurate method of selecting staff. This is because a number of different selectors get to see you over a longer period of time and have the chance to see what you can do, rather than what you say you can do, in a variety of situations. How are the Assessment and Development Centre Exercises Conducted? Assessment Centres may be conducted by HR personnel within the employer company or by outside consultants. They are highly structured in their design, application, and assessment procedure and are specifically adapted to assess factors such as your level of skills, aptitude and compatibility with the organization's culture. Each test measures a range of indicators within these factors. During each test, a group of observers will rate you on a range of set indicators, using a prescribed performance scale. Results are then cross compared against the same indicators, which are measured in other tests. Following test completion, observers meet to discuss the test results and reach a group consensus about your ratings. At the beginning of the assessment, you should receive an initial briefing about the timetable of tests, location of rooms etc. Prior to each test, you will be given instructions describing the exercise, your role, timeframe's, equipment etc. You will not be told in detail about the individual indicators which will be measured. In addition, you are unlikely to receive feedback on your results, unless you have been successfully selected. The reason for using an assessment center is that the organisation wants to see how candidates actually behave in the exercises. These behaviours will then be compared to the key behavioural criteria which have been specified for that role. Always remember that the assessment centre exercises are designed to judge how well you exhibit the required behaviours of the job you are applying for. This is by assessing to what extent you are able to: y Exhibit the correct level of knowledge, y Display the right type of skills, and y Demonstrate the attitudes of the role. Within the human resources industry these are commonly abbreviated to KSA's Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes. You can't afford to leave anything to chance or assumption during your Assessment Centre. Your assessor can ONLY give you credit for the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA's) that you exhibit during the exercises. So, 'if you know it, you have to show it', to those watching you..

Presentation Exercise
These presentations need to be kept fairly short as the same assessors will observe all of the candidates to make sure that the assessment is fair. You will be given a topic or possibly a choice of topics in advance and will also be told the duration of the presentation, often around ten minutes with five minutes at the end for questions. You can also expect to receive a list of the presentation equipment that is available, usually an OHP.

The

assessors

are

expecting

you

to

demonstrate

the

following

skills:

Quality of Research You will need to research the topic carefully. Make sure that your sources are all credible and up to date. The internet is probably the easiest way to research a topic but remember to check any information that you want to use for accuracy and currency. Organization Having gathered all of the facts you need to make your presentation, you will need to put them into some kind of order. The best way to do this is to use cards, about 3 by 5 is ideal. Write one fact on each card, spread them out and then try to sort them in the most appropriate order. It is best to put the most important facts first and avoid trying to get too much information across in the limited time that you have. If the presentation is scheduled to last for ten minutes then you will need to allow one minute at the beginning to introduce yourself and the topic and one minute at the end to summarize your arguments. This means that you only have 8 minutes to get your points across. You may therefore need to discard some of the less important information. Persuasiveness You need to structure your delivery to ensure that your ideas are well organized, logical and convincing. The best way to do this is to support each point that you want to get across with just enough information, before moving on to the next point. Again, you can use cards for this. Write the point at the top and summarize the supporting information underneath it. You should end up with between 5 and 10 cards for a ten minute presentation. Presentation Skills The only acceptable way to make a presentation is to speak naturally using cue cards to prompt you. You must not simply read a pre-prepared script this will not be acceptable. In

order to be able to present in this way you need to rehearse the whole presentation at least three times. This will enable you to refine your cue cards so that they hold the minimum amount of information needed to prompt you and you will not be tempted to just read out your notes. Remember to speak at a steady pace and with clarity so that you can be heard. Keep eye contact with the observers and try not to refer to your cue cards other than when strictly necessary. Handling Questions At the end of your presentation the observers will ask a few questions. Think about the sort of things that might be asked and try to have good answers ready. If you dont understand the question dont be afraid to ask for clarification and if you dont know the answer, then be honest. If the assessor disagrees with one of your points then you will be expected to defend your reasoning but remember to be polite and constructive. Use of Time The assessors will also be checking that you stay within the allocated time frame. This is another reason why you must rehearse your delivery. Even experienced presenters cannot make an accurate measurement of how long a presentation will take to deliver just by looking at their notes. There is no excuse for overrunning your time slot or for running out of material when you have been told how long your presentation should take.

Group Test
Group discussion exercises involve candidates working together as a team, to resolve a presented issue. These exercises commonly measure interpersonal skills such as group leadership, teamwork, negotiation, and group problem solving skills. Group exercises may range from 'leaderless group discussion' formats to problem solving scenarios.

Employers are looking for management skills, one of which is the ability to get the best out of your co-workers. Your social skills will be included in the assessment so listen to other people, be friendly and participate. Employers dont usually want people who are withdrawn, or those who are aggressively dominant. In group test exercises try to forget the assessors, give your attention to the task and the group. You will be assessed on the quality of your contribution and how you relate to the other participants.

You will be also assessed on your ideas, leadership, involvement and co-operation. Remember that your participation and reasoning is more important than the substance of your ideas and decisions.

Panel Interviews at the Promotional Assessment centre

This may be either a panel or with one interviewer, or sometimes a series of interviews with different assessors. Interviews at this stage are likely to be more in-depth than those you experienced during the first stages of selection and could be with someone from the department to which you are applying or even with a potential future colleague. Questions may refer back to your first interview, to assessment centre activities or to aptitude or personality test results. Panel interviews are regarded as a more objective means of assessing your suitability as you will be interviewed by between three and five people and therefore the decision is not reliant on just one person's opinion. In addition, they are usually more structured than a oneto-one interview as the panel need to assess all of the candidates against the same criteria. You should prepare for a panel interview in the same way that you would prepare for a oneto-one interview, but remember to greet each panel member with a firm handshake at the beginning of the interview. You should also look at all of the panel members when answering a question, whilst making the majority of the eye contact with the person who asked it. Role Play Exercises at the Promotional Assessment Centre You will usually be asked to assume a fictitious role and handle a particular work situation. Role Plays usually use professional actors who are clearly briefed about their role and how to respond when you take a particular approach. A role play exercise allows the assessors to see if you can play the role that is necessary to address the situation they have created. You may need to make a conscious effort to overcome your natural responses in these exercises. For example, the assessors are looking to see whether you can exhibit sensitivity or toughness in those situations that require it, not whether you are a naturally sensitive or tough person.

Most role play exercises will involve you interacting with another person or group of people to resolve some issue. The role play scenario should reflect the needs and concerns of the organization. If the organization needs a change agent, then the exercise may require you to convince reluctant subordinates to accept a new idea.

Conflict resolution, problem solving, and interpersonal skills are at the top of the list of things that are usually measured. Composure, decision making, organizational skills, job knowledge, leadership, sensitivity, and supervisory skills may also be assessed. There are many ways to succeed at role play exercises but there are two vital points that you must keep in mind. 1. Identify the problem as soon as possible 2. Use an approach that you are comfortable with In many cases, you will be presented with one or more symptoms. This could be a customer complaint or an under-performing subordinate. You need to identify the underlying problem straightaway. Why is the customer complaining? Why is the member of staff under performing? Identifying the underlying problem is the essential first step to taking the necessary remedial action. It is also important to use an approach that you are comfortable with and that you feel will best accomplish the goals appropriate for that situation. Role play situations may call for a wide variety of approaches. The approach that you might use in dealing one-on-one with a poor performing subordinate may be wholly inappropriate for addressing a large group of upset customers. The important point is that you need to stay in control for the duration of the exercise so dont start something that you cant finish.

In Tray Exercise
If your assessment center involves an in-tray exercise then you will usually be asked to assume a particular role as an employee of a fictitious organization and to work through a pile of correspondence in your in-tray. The in-tray exercise items will be specifically designed to measure job skills such as: ability to organize and prioritize work; analytical skills; communication with team members and customers; written communication skills; and delegation.

The in-tray exercise is a major component of most assessment centres, not only because of the variety of skills, knowledge and attitudes that can be tested but because this exercise also has considerable face validity. This means that candidates can see how it relates to the job they are applying for and therefore they tend to take it seriously.

It is vital that you practice this exercise to improve your chances of achieving a maximum score. With practice, you can learn to see which specific in-tray items are testing which of your skills and learn how best to respond to the problems and issues they raise. Remember, if you have not practiced an in-tray exercise before it is very easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of material you are presented with and expected to work through in the time available. At the very least you should practice working through items and classifying them according to their urgency and importance. You will invariably find that there are one or two major issues hidden among the in-tray items and if you miss these you will struggle to remain a credible candidate. Many people find the in-tray to be the most difficult of all of the assessment centre exercises. Your brief may be something totally unexpected like being told that it is the first day of your new job as deputy head-teacher and given a list of thirty tasks and memos to prioritize and action. You may be given this type of scenario even if you are applying for a job that has nothing to do with education. Dont make the mistake of worrying about the topic. You will be judged on how well you can handle complex information, determine priorities, make decisions within time limits, display sensitivity to potential problems and communicate clearly. Try to imagine that you are at work doing the described duties, rather than just completing an exercise, but make sure that the reasons for your actions are clear and documented. The type of issues you will be asked to review and action will reflect the nature of the role you have applied for. This does not necessarily mean that the scenario will be based on your industry or sector, but it does mean that if you are applying for a strategic role then it is likely that you can expect a significant number of your in-tray items will be designed to test your strategic decision making; whereas if you are hoping for a management role, the in-tray items are more likely to raise issues about team building, coaching, motivation and other management issues. In-tray exercises can take a variety of formats and the two most popular are : 1. You are given between 12-24 in-tray items which you have to prioritize and action. This is done by answering a series of multiple choice questions (usually 15-30). 2. You are given between 12-24 in-tray items which you have to prioritize and action. This is followed by an interview with an assessor in which you are expected to justify your decisions. For the majority of in-tray exercises you will be given the following information and told that it has all taken place in the same calendar year. y Details of your role and responsibilities. y Key issues and objectives of the organization. y An organizational chart or description. y A list of the staff that report to you (where applicable)

y y y

A list of key employees that you may need to interact with during the exercise. Third party relationships and activities. A calendar of the next two to three months.

You should check whether you can write on, or jot notes on, the in-tray items themselves. If you can, then make full use of this option. Be mindful to be consistent in where you write your notes so that you can easily review them i.e. always in bottom right-hand corner. Remember that everything you do must maximize and efficiently use the time you have available. From the data you are supplied with you will be able to extract the necessary information which will form the basis of your decision making during the exercise. During your preparation for the in-tray exercise it is important keep in mind the Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes your assessors will be looking for you to exhibit. If you are applying for a top level management or strategic role, you will find that the in-tray exercise is longer and has a greater intensity contained within its items than those on line management grades. You will frequently find that you are required to produce written responses to items. As the intensity of the exercises increases the likelihood of being able to complete the whole exercise in the allocated time diminishes. It is how you respond to the major issues that matters, more than being able to complete the whole exercise but the latter should always be your goal. For some candidates their in-tray exercise could be up to three hours in length. This is frequently done in two or three sections which are fitted around the other exercises you will undertake during the assessment center. You can rest assured that all candidates will have the same experience, so that you can all be scored fairly.

Maximizing Your Score

During the in-tray exercise you must work in a way that maximises the score you can achieve. Some items will be far more important than others and the assessors are looking to see how you deal with these items and how it fits in with the ethos and values of the organisation. To avoid missing these important items, the best approach is to work quickly through all of the items and determine the urgency and importance of each one. You can then use the 80/20 rule to apportion your time between the items. This means that you will use 80% of the time available to work on the most important items and then 20% on the less significant and mundane items. Always keep in your mind how much time you have in the scenario to deal with each item.

There are several things you can take into the assessment centre that will make the task of sorting through in-tray exercise items easier and faster. You should always take: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Colored Pens Pencil Eraser Highlighter Pens Post-it Notes Scrap Paper Calculator

You could for example, mark items which are urgent and important with a particular colour which will save time when sorting through them. You will need to develop your own system for classifying items which is something that you can do using the practice tests. This will take time and effort to do but it will save you time in the actual exercise and you can spend that time very profitably making more considered decisions. It is important to make your decision from the information provided. You should not make any assumptions, or try to read more into it, than is actually supplied for each exercise. Assessors will want to see how well you evaluate the information supplied and the appropriateness of your decision based on the scenario. Before you begin the in-tray exercise you will be handed several items which are number or lettered for easy reference, these will provide you with all of the information you need to complete the exercise. Do not make any assumptions and only use the information provided to arrive at your decisions. If you know that you are going to be given the opportunity to justify your answers, then you may be able to take a few more risks in the decision making process. However, if you are not going to be given the opportunity to justify your decisions then you should choose the most obviously correct answer. Be wary of falling into the trap of making a decision or selecting an answer that you would normally want more detailed information about before making. If it is appropriate for the nature of the question your answer could be None of the above or, Id want to delay my decision until I had more information. The in-tray exercise addresses an issue facing all levels of management, that of information overload and provides a good indicator of how well you can cope with it. By using a fictional scenario the exercise quickly measures your ability to draw out key information and act on it appropriately. It assesses how you use information contained in one item to add substance to another item, how you circulate this amongst your colleagues and what timescales you wish to set. Many in-tray exercise will provide you with a diary sheet and calendar. These are valuable assets to have and if none are provided then make sure you create your own. This does not

have to be very elaborate, a simple grid will be sufficient. You only need to be able to see the days of the week and mark in significant appointments and actions. In this way you can easily see any double bookings you have as a result of the change outlined in the overview. You can also use these sheets to show how youd request essential reports needed for a meeting, monitor certain actions, or delegated tasks. In this way you provide the assessors and yourself with a written record of how you have approached the exercise. This is particularly useful to refer to if you have a face-to-face meeting with the assessors following the exercise as it is very easy to forget why you made certain decisions.

Working Through the Items

When you are working through the items in an in-tray exercise always try to be as logical and systematic as possible in the way that you work. The information may be presented in a haphazard way, but you dont want to be seen to work in a haphazard way. Be mindful of how your desk or working area looks during and at the end of the exercise. Always try to present an organised appearance and try and avoid looking as if you are in chaos. Using post-it notes to identify items and clearly annotating items will greatly enhance your efficiency and help you to keep things under control. Firstly, you should scan through each of the in-tray exercise items quickly and sort them into chronological order. At the same time, look out for items which are interdependent or items which make a previous item redundant. This is an important step as you dont want to waste time with items which have been superseded and which dont need to be auctioned. Also, you may think you have quickly solved one problem only to find that a memo sent three days later has added a further complication which makes your original decision unworkable or impractical. For example, you may want to put his items into three piles using a post-it to identify each one Urgent, Important & Routine. For each of these piles you may then segregate them further by who is to deal with them Myself, Delegate (Name) & File, or it could be based on a time frame Next Hour, Today, Tomorrow & Later. If you are using a time frame as a method of prioritising then you may wish to use the calendar provided or create your own to make notes on so that you can easily see and overview of the situation. Use your highlighter to identify key information you have been given: o Who you are, o Your function, o Type of organisation (government, industrial or non-profit), o Recipient & how they relate to you, o Date on the item in relation to todays o Dates of meetings & deadlines. Sometimes details contained in your role overview may consciously try to limit your ability to

respond so that they can assess how you deal with such a situation. If your response to an item is to delegate a task to one of your staff, the assessment centre assessors will want to observe how you perform this and how well it matches the organisations expectations. Do you provide a clear brief of the task requirements, details of the desired outcomes and a deadline. The assessors will also want to see how you would monitor progress. This could take the form of a note in your diary or planner. An in-tray exercise item may say that you or your boss are un-contactable for a week. This infers that you, or your boss are unable to make or receive calls, but it doesnt necessarily mean that you cant call in or contact them either by phone, text, fax or email. You will need to carefully read the brief and make sure of exact meanings. Dont be put off by minor diversions created in the brief. Other items can be used to assess your attention to detail. For example, do you make a connection to an individual in the organisation who is known to everyone by a nickname, or who has recently changed their name following a divorce, or marriage? As you read through each of the in-tray items you must always be mindful of the minor details it contains and check that they are accurate. You must check that names are spelt correctly and that dates used are real e.g. 30 February, 31 November. If you are asked to assess some financial information make sure that all details youd need to respond are detailed on your in-tray item. For example, you may be asked to solve a problem with an invoice, but the date of the order and/or the order number are missing; which makes your job difficult. You would need to ensure that the invoice you had in your intray was actually the one that created the problem. Watch out for bulk filler! These are attachments, brochures and reports that are included within an in-tray item, but do not really add further information or clarity to the issue raised. You will not have enough time to review such things within the exercise framework, so dont let yourself be sidetracked by them. Remember - The assessors may be testing how easily diverted you are from important issues, so dont fall into their trap. Be mindful that some attachments may be the issue of the in-tray item so should not be ignored. When you are justifying your actions remember it is vital that you explain everything, even if it seems trivial to you because you do it all the time, if you dont say you do it, how can an assessor add to your score. Remember Your Assessor has to see or hear something in order to score it! Also make sure that the tone of any communication is compatible with the ethos of the organisation. The item itself may be insignificant or unimportant, but the tone of the item may need to be addressed. You must also be able to show that you are understanding and empathetic with others. If you come across as totally focused on getting the job done it may be detrimental. Remember - View your actions in the context of the role you are performing in this in-tray exercise.

If you have followed our advice of dealing with the most important (to the job specification) and urgent items first, then these remaining items will not be critical. You should try to have an action for each item. When you walk away from the test area make sure that your desk looks tidy and organised as this will also send a message about your approach to the assessors.

Justifying Your Decisions

The in-tray exercise is frequently used to assess your ability to prioritise, evaluate and organise your time effectively. It is also a key way in which organisations will assess your problem solving abilities and how well your decision making skills match their needs. You are being assessed on how you deal with the items and it is very unlikely you will be asked to compose emails, letters or memos as part of this exercise. Your assessors will score you on the following: y How well you identify the Key issue of the item. y Your interpretation of the information provided. y Ease and speed with which you arrive at your decision. y The way in which you evaluate the information. y How effective your actions/decisions are in dealing with the presented problem. The assessors will be identifying how well you manage your own time and whether or not you spend your time on key issues that have a significant impact on the organisation or become distracted with urgent, yet trivial items. You will be judged on how well you prioritise the in-tray exercise items, your willingness and appropriateness to delegate and whether or not you set a deadline for the activity. Sticking to the point is vital especially during your justification as it is easy to get side-tracked and run out of time. You need to address all the major issues raised in order to achieve your objective of maximizing your score. An in-tray exercise may also be assessing your skills and knowledge in respect of commercial insight, your use of creativity in problem resolution and decision making. Of course it will be scoring you on the way you display your management style y Supervisory y Mentor y Delegator y Customer orientated y Organizationally orientated y People orientated Frequently there is a central theme to the in-tray exercise items. This could be an impending take over, potential merger, management buy-out, re-organisation with redundancies or poor financial performance. Whilst you are reading through the overview and the items provided

be mindful for this re-occurring theme. You will not be expected to have specific market or product knowledge, although being up-to-date on current industry issues may be useful its important to focus on how you deal with issues, how you manage the information and what actions you subsequently take, as this is what you will be scored on. During the justification they will want to see your reasoning behind these decisions and actions and you scored on how well you make the specification. If the in-tray exercise does not have this aspect then make sure your notes are readable (if you need to print in capitals) by anyone so they can see the thread of your reasoning. Any organisation will also want to assess how well your ethos matches their own. They will score you on the way you use, and the importance you place on, the company goals and objectives in your decision making process. Your assessors will want to see how you gauge the impact on the organisation of your decision, or action, and also the implications this could have on resources and other projects. They will be looking to see what your initial planning stages consist of and how you will monitor and measure its success. Some assessors will also judge what you do with an item once read (file/circulate/copy/discard/shred) as part of your overall score. You will be able to judge the importance of this aspect of your in-tray exercise depending on the nature of the organization. As the average number of multiple choice questions is slightly higher than those asked during a justification or discussion, you must be concise and decisive in your answers as youll only have about 5 minutes per question if you are asked a dozen during an hour. If the in-tray exercise involves a discussion of your answers and the opportunity to explain your decisions then you must remember that during this discussion you are also being assessed in terms of how you handle yourself under interrogation of your work. The Assessor will be observing how you respond to criticism and how easily you can be persuaded to alter your decision. The justification provides you with an excellent opportunity to explain why you prioritised things in the way you did. This may be because of your experience or the type of environment you currently work in. You will also have the opportunity to bring into the discussion your knowledge gained from your research into the organisation, its ethos and mission statement. If you can also show how your reasoning matches the values and beliefs of the organisation you will be able to increase marks for this exercise.

Explaining Your Answers

During the justification of the in-tray exercise your notes and prioritising methods (post-its, numbers or letters in a specific corner) will enable you to be more efficient and effective in

your answers as you wont be thumbing through all the items to find what you want to support your answers. By spending time at the end of the exercise to put all the in-tray items into orderly piles, with clear notes to help you, youll easily and quickly be able to refresh your memory if your justification follows a break from the initial in-tray exercise. You will also be able to show how other items in the in-tray supported or influenced your decisions. This will illustrate your aptitude and skills in organisation and evaluation of information and raise your marks with the Assessors. When you are performing the in-tray exercise you must remember to perform the task as if you were the actual character working in the fictional organisation given in the initial brief, not as yourself in your current position and organisation. If you do the latter even though you may resolve many of the issues raised in the in-tray, you will achieve lower marks because you will not be exhibiting the necessary behaviours required for the new role. So it is vital that when you are practicing the in-tray exercise you put yourself in the appropriate mindset. You must also be prepared to describe what strategies you used during the process and how you divided up the time allowed for the exercise. Be prepared to offer a detailed explanation of how you arrived at your decision and what factors you used to make it. Also, how and why you prioritised the items in the way you did and how you believe this reflects the objectives of the organisation. If you are asked to justify your decisions then the assessors will be trying to determine some or all of the following things about you: y Do you become defensive when your arguments is scrutinised? y How well do you deal with criticism? y Are you able to demonstrate a sound basis for your decision? y Can you be flexible? y Are you open to altering your decision if a better solution presents itself? y How easily can you be drawn from your decision? y Are you a people, or results, person? One of the most important things you will need to demonstrate is that your decisions match what you are saying and describing in the justification. You must be able to show that you have a clear understanding of the main issues raised in the items and of how you arrived at your decision. They will want to see that you are consistent in your arguments or approaches to a problem. It is important that your justification for each item matches your previously written answers, especially as there may be several hours gap between the two. Your assessors will be looking to see if you can identify with the individual whos role you have played and with the sort of issues and problems he or she faced. They may even ask you to describe the sort of person you think he or she is. A favorite question which can come at the beginning, or the end, of the justification, is If you were doing this in-tray exercise again would you do anything differently? If the question is used to open the discussion then you can reply that you are happy with your decisions and

you feel that the exercise went well. But if you are asked at the end then your answer will be influenced by how well the discussion has gone. What is important is that you reply honestly. Just be aware that if you respond by saying that you may do some things differently, then be ready for the next question of Why didnt you do it this way in the exercise? You may then use some of the feedback you have received during the discussion to back this up. Often assessors will ask what you thought of the in-tray exercise itself and it is extremely important that you respond in a positive way. You can say that you felt it was a true representation of the issues and problems someone in the role would face and has provided you with the opportunity to illustrate how well you could perform the role. Under no circumstances should you criticise the exercise as this will be seen as negative and destructive. If appropriate, you may wish to add that you felt the in-tray exercise has helped you to quickly gain an impression of the organisation and the issues that it faced. You may also want to highlight where you would want to know additional information to accurately form a view as to the likely success of the organisation and its partners or stakeholders.