A Guide to Interviews and Assessment

Preparing for interview

The recruitment process for Executive positions can be demanding so it's important to put the same rigour and energy into your preparation and application, this is your chance to show that you meet the necessary criteria and are the right person for the role.

Do your homework

• Be sure to prepare effectively by investigating everything about the post and the organisation.   To get a clear picture of the organisation and the role, you may wish to consider the following as appropriate:
• Speak to partners of the organisation to gather their perspectives on your potential employer and the challenges/opportunities they are currently dealing with.
• Ask your head hunter to arrange a telephone call or meeting with your potential line manager. Often this will feature in the final stage of the selection process and will usually be made available to candidates who have been formally shortlisted. If the option is available, seize it and make time to go and visit. Do make sure though that you are properly prepared as first impressions do count. Make sure you are armed with a range of questions that will help you firmly understand what the role is about, what key challenges you will be faced with, what resources you will have access to and discuss what your potential employer is really looking for you to do. Ask if they would recommend you speak to any other members of the senior management team or external bodies.
• If you are moving sectors, make sure you immerse yourself in the sector issues by reading the right trade press, internet and by engaging with your own networks.
• Make sure you read all recent regulatory and performance reports about the organisation, these are readily and freely available on the internet and are often published on the recruiting organisation's own website, along with their strategic and workforce plans.

Interview Format

• Ask in advance about the format the interview will take. This should help prevent any unexpected surprises on the day.
• Try to second guess the questions you may be asked; these may well be around the issues of leadership, managing budgets, change management and the essential criteria in the person specification.
  
  
• From the research you have done, think about examples that will illustrate how you have added value to your own organisation that may have gone through similar challenges/opportunities.  Most importantly, really think about how you worked to ensure what you delivered, was successful.  Recruiters want to hear about how you have achieved results, especially when you have led teams/departments or whole organisations through change.  They will look to establish the impact of your actions and the legacies you left behind.  Don't be afraid of claiming the successes, but equally ensure that you acknowledge and differentiate the contributions made by your team/peers.
  
  
• Try and anticipate the difficult questions you may get asked, e.g. your reasons for leaving your current organisation, your motivations for applying for the role, where your experience may be light etc. 

Panel Interviews

• Panel interviews can be a daunting, although panels of six or more interviewers can offer an interesting insight into the organisation, but will also test the breadth of your experience. Some other key tips include:
• If you have been asked to deliver a presentation, DO NOT OVER RUN. You will need to have practiced this many times before. Panels generally take a very dim view when people do overrun so be careful - ask for a two minute warning if that helps.
• Make sure you have eye contact across the whole panel from time to time, don't just direct your answer to the person asking the question.
• If you are unsure about the question, ask for more context, or suggest to the panel member that they stop you if you are not proving the right information. Usually the panel will ask two or three questions on particular themes relevant to the role and their organisation, that's why your pre-interview preparation is so important.
• At the end of the interview make sure you are clear what the next steps are and when you will hear the outcome. The timing of this varies from organisation to organisation and the particular situation surrounding the appointment, but usually a decision is available quite quickly.

What to expect from the assessment process

If you will shortly be participating in an assessment centre as part of a selection process, or if you are likely to be at some point in your future career, here are some useful pointers on how to prepare yourself.

As experts in assessment centre methodology, we believe in helping candidates to give their best. There are no tricks of the trade or mysteries surrounding what assessment centres aim to do but we appreciate that they can be challenging, even anxiety-provoking events.

There is no one single format to an assessment centre - they come in various shapes and sizes - but there are some common themes. You are likely to:

• Be assessed alongside and meet other candidates on the day
• Be observed or interact with more than one assessor
• Take part in several activities
• Be told the competencies (skills and behaviours) that are being assessed

It is the multiplicity of assessors and activities that characterises an assessment centre approach that makes it so fair and objective, and dramatically increases its predictive validity. In other words, assessment centres have been proven to be the most successful way of identifying the best candidate for the job. The good news is that it is also a positive, developmental experience for candidates, particularly if approached with the right frame of mind! Here are some suggestions and tips on what to expect, including how to prepare and do your best on the day itself.

Before the day...

Read and check your understanding of all the information that you have been given. This may include details of the competencies being assessed and information about any practise you can do in advance. Sometimes you might be asked to do some pre-work, such as completion of on-line psychometrics or prepare a paper.

Visit websites such as this! If you will be completing psychometric assessments, the reputable test publishers all have useful information on their websites and practise questions for ability/aptitude tests. 

Think about the competencies being assessed and what strengths you possess. Be aware of how your strengths, and even your development needs, manifest themselves at work.

At the assessment centre...

Take it seriously. Like an examination, it is one point in time to demonstrate your skills. The assessors will only rate you on what they see on the day, not on your reputation.

Some exercises may be very specific to the role and ‘true to life', others may be generic. It is the skills and behaviours that are being tested and you can demonstrate these in any context. Do not be wrong-footed by the content of any exercise or indeed by the perceived knowledge and experience of your fellow candidates on the day. The assessment centre will have been designed to be a level playing field.

What happens afterwards?

After an assessment centre, the assessors will spend about the same time again integrating all the information they have gathered about you. Usually this is written up into a summary report for those conducting a final panel interview or sometimes the findings are delivered orally to the panel.

The most important thing for you is to seek feedback on your whole performance. Hopefully it will have been a valuable experience from which you can learn more about yourself, even if you have done more than you can count during your career!

What sort of activities will I take part in?

Here is a list of the activities you might be asked to take part in. Some will be undertaken individually, others will be administered in groups. The mix of activities will depend on the role and the other elements of the assessment centre.  Most are time limited and therefore require you to strike an appropriate balance between working quickly and being thorough.

• One-to-one feedback on personality questionnaires - the assessor will share the profiles and findings with you with a view to better understanding them. Be open and honest and try to offer examples where relevant. There is no right or wrong personality but it will be important to try and understand if there is a good fit between preferred styles of behaving and what is required in the role and the organisation culturally.
• Ability / aptitude testing - these may be administered electronically or using paper and pencil. There are right and wrong answers and normally they will be time limited. Tests like these tap into very specific aspects of intellect, for example, how to reason with words or numbers, and how to pick out trends and patterns in information. Work both quickly and accurately and do not worry if you find a test hard (it should be!) or if you do not finish it.
• Role-play exercise - often, a professional actor will play a role with you and the assessor will observe the interaction. This might be a meeting with a stakeholder or a subordinate. The scenario may be set in a real work context or be entirely removed from it. There may be some background material to read first and some time to prepare. Typically, these exercises will tap into interpersonal skills and behaviours.
• In-tray exercise - this will comprise a range of issues that you might typically come across in the role (or again, you may be placed in a generic role). There may be a mix of operational and strategic issues and normally there will be cross-cutting themes. The objective is to demonstrate not only what you would do in the situation presented but also your thinking - remember that the assessor can only give you credit for what is written down, and not what is still in your head! Try to capture as much of your thinking as possible in your responses.
• Written exercise - these exercises usually centre on a particular topic (rather than several smaller issues like an in-tray) and require a good deal of analysis. The output will be a written paper and varying degrees of instruction will be given on how that should be structured. Again, it is important to demonstrate thinking but also to show how coherently you can present an argument using the written word.
• Group discussion exercise - here you will work with other candidates to discuss and normally reach consensus on an issue. It is not necessarily about demonstrating leadership or chairing skills so beware of seeking to dominate the discussion in an effort to showcase your skills. Like a role-play exercise, interpersonal skills will undoubtedly feature in the assessment of these exercises and collaboration will probably be key.
• Briefing/presentation exercise - this exercise is similar to a written exercise but the output is delivered orally rather than it being a piece of written work. Both analytical and interpersonal skills are tested here as the topic or question posed normally requires you to assimilate some information as well as give your own perspective.
• Competency based interview - this form of interview may feel different from ones that you have experienced in the past. They tend to focus on behaviour as opposed to technical knowledge and experience and can feel quite formal. The assessor will pose a series of scripted questions and ask you to respond succinctly. The assessor will normally write your answers verbatim and later evaluate them. Most questions will ask for specific examples from your recent experience or you should at least offer specific examples as much as you can to fully evidence what you are saying. Try and avoid talking theoretically strike a balance between being too long-winded and overly concise.
• Stakeholder panel - some assessment centres may include a meeting with key stakeholders relevant to the post. This will normally be facilitated and observed by one of the assessors. You may be given a question or topic to prepare to talk about and then asked to lead or facilitate a discussion. Stakeholder panels vary greatly so be sure about what is expected of you and follow the brief.
• Meeting or interview with the recruiting manager or other colleagues - there is sometimes an interview with the recruiting manager included as part of the assessment centre and this may be very informal or more formal. This, plus the opportunity to meet other colleagues, is usually about you finding out more about the job and the organisation than it is about you being formally assessed. Be aware, however, that the impression you make throughout the whole process may impact the final decision making process.