Assessment Centre Tips: Interviews

Assessment centres interviews are essential for employers to figure out your personality. Read Futureboard’s tips to for a great interview.

According to Megan Nee, consultant at Futureboard, assessment centre interview questions are generally competency-based. Competency questions are a way for a company to assess exactly when, where and how you have used your skills and personality in various situations. The best way to answer them is using the STAR technique, explained here.

Megan says: “It’s very likely that the person who interviews you will turn out to be your manager if the company hires you. So assessment centre interviews are a great way to showcase your personality and see whether it’s in line with the company’s way of working.”

Successful candidates in assessment centre interviews research the company properly. Knowing the company values and their unique selling point might set you aside from other candidates. Read more about researching a company for interviews here.

A key question in most assessment centres is: “What’s your weakness?” According to the Futureboard staff, there is no single right answer: responses should vary depending on the company.

Generally however, the Futureboard staff suggests you should show honesty and humility: past candidates that have described how they completely failed in a situation were really liked by the company for their sincerity.

Nonetheless, it’s also important to be careful not to undermine your application. Rowen Douglas, Consultant at Futureboard, says: “If you’re being interviewed for a finance role, saying you hate numbers might not be a good idea!”

Nathan Doig, consultant at Futureboard, says: “Stay away from weaknesses that are potentially a quality, like perfectionism. It’s important to show that you’re self-aware and that you know what you’re best and worse at.”

Nick Barker, consultant at Futureboard, suggests it’s also important to know why you want to work for the company you’re applying to. He says: “It’s important to be ready to answer questions such as, ‘Why does this sector attract you?’ and to understand your role within the company and which kind of career progression you’d like to have.”