Five years after going through the RB Graduate Assessment centre myself I participated as one of the Assessors yesterday. It felt odd being on the other end of the process but I thoroughly enjoyed it and it gives me great satisfaction to know I’ve inputted into this year’s intake.
We deliberated hard on a couple of the candidates (in this photo) but we found what we were looking for.
I have to say it really is a gruelling process for the candidates to get onto the RB grad scheme. Before this final RB assessment centre they all had to go through a telephone interview and previous assessment centre with our recruitment agency, and this day was very stretching.
From 9am to 5pm the day was back to back with a mixture of assessments, both group and individual exercises and interviews. Each exercise is designed to test a specific RB competency and the day is scheduled to allow all the assessors to see all the candidates to ensure a fair decision is made.
It’s critical that we get the highest possible calibre of graduates into the business as we are looking for our future senior leaders so expect to be really pushed!
If youre coming to an RB assessment centre my tips would be:
-Relax, it’s your time to shine and we want you to succeed, so don’t let nerves get the better of you.
-It’s a cliché but be yourself and act naturally. Its very obvious when candidates try to second guess what we are looking for and then ‘perform’ to deliver, and it always goes against them
-The harder you find it the better youre doing as we will keep challenging you to see how you perform under pressure. Take it as a compliment and thrive under the challenge. You shouldn’t find the day easy!
-Take each exercise as it comes and again, try not to second guess the competency being tested. Some candidates yesterday second guessed and then underperformed. It was a shame as had they not had this in the back of their mind they would have excelled
-You’ve worked hard and achieved a lot to get to this stage, enjoy it!
Tags: future leaders, Graduate assessment, graduate assessment centre, hardwork, interview, new challenge, peer assessment, RB grad scheme
I’ve never been to an assessment center but it sounds like it would give candidates a better shot at getting the job, instead of just taking a test from a PEO. I think the assessment center gives the employers and the candidates a better chance of getting to know each other because you are assessed in person. They get to know how you work, and you get to know how they work. You can also make a decision to not join the company based on what you see and learn at the center.