Assessment Center Interviews

Interviews are never easy. Even landing one is half-the-battle won. I’ve had countless interviews through the years – for internships, full time jobs, business school and even one for volunteer work. I’ve always enjoyed them, particularly behavioral types, and less so the “how do you do an LBO” type for I-banking. The most memorable was a phone interview on the morning after my wedding dinner, a technical one no less, and which is of little wonder I did not get a follow up.

And then I had my first assessment center (AC) interview. I was exhilarated, yet apprehensive. This was a new ball-game. They didn’t prepare us for this type of interview at business school, or so I thought. At Cornell, we rehearsed case-cracking, ‘why me’ questions, and PARs (problem action results), and this AC was going to be different. Of course I scoured the Net for whatever I could find to help. All that reading was good info on what to expect but no substitute for actually being through one, where many dimensions of personal performance is examined simultaneously. To summise, there were negotiations, analysis, presentations, high-pressure situations and managerial scenarios. I thoroughly enjoyed the assessment center and all the anxiety disappeared when I imagined myself as being a day on the job, albeit a very busy one. All that activity, collaboration and problem-solving actually got me enthused. Lucky for me, the AC allowed me to showcase some of the softer skills and personal traits not obvious on my resume. Through my scouting days, military service, school and working days, I’ve learnt and honed many traits that are identified by John Maxwell for success in the workplace (“The 360° Leader”, wiki bio). In retrospect, business school had indeed helped prepare me. The numerous group projects and social functions were training grounds for the professionalism and communication style expected. Applying a framework to the marketing case-study and presenting it clearly was also refined at b-school. At the end of the day, I got the job, but every one of my fellow interviewees was distinguished.

I’ve conducted interviews on the phone and in-person, spending much time asking probing questions and yet still be left clueless about how a candidate would actually turn out if I was tasked on the same team as him/her. I’m convinced that the AC is a much better recruitment tool than a 2-dimensional Q&A interview. One can better observe whether a candidate has managerial instincts, interpersonal skills, teamwork, leadership and other traits. It allows the company to identify the candidate with the better fit and more realistically shows the candidate in the operational environment. Of course some of that can still be rehearsed, but throw in a few curveballs and most people would be thrown off-balance. The AC cannot be conducted for all levels of recruitment because it is resource intensive and likely costly. As such, it is ideal for mid-level recruitment where getting people who would work well in the culture and be an enabler in the organization means more than how fast they can churn out an Excel model.

The interview proper:
Read on if you want to learn more about them.

The Assessment Center was a full day interview that is carried out at a local hotel in a series of rooms. The fun really actually began when I arrived and was invited for breakfast along with several other candidates. Like me, they were all grad students with prior work experience. This was the ‘break the ice session’ which was to set us up for the first session – a group task that involved a scenario in which we had to deliver an action plan within the hour. The real assessment, however, was not the end product, but how we interacted with one another, the interplay of group dynamics and our personal styles. The team was very professional and we got through the task without ending in fist-fights. Next up was an individual case study on marketing, with a presentation and grilling Q&A. It is important to articulate a good case for one’s analysis and decisions. Just as important was how one responses to the questions which were meant to put one on the grill. A thorough 1-on-1 interview followed, with the typical behaviorial and experience questions. Finally, there was an individual role-playing session where I had to counsel a non-performing employee, employing all the tact and charm possible to elicit the true reason for the poor performance, and set about a remedial course of action.

Feel free to drop me a note if you want to know more about surviving the day.

Now, if only I can get on the next season of “The Apprentice”.

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Tags: Career, Human Resource