ASSESSMENT CENTRES: HOW TO PREPARE AND PERFORM WELL
Many law firms use assessment centres as part of the selection process for vacation scheme and training contract candidates. So how do you prepare for an assessment centre, what can you expect on the day and what are firms looking for? Attending a law firm assessment centre can be a daunting experience, but if you follow this advice for preparing for and attending an assessment centre, you should be in a good position to complete the day confidently and successfully. How to prepare The first thing to realise is that the assessment centre will involve a number of exercises that you can’t fully prepare for, as part of the day is to see how you perform under pressure in unexpected situations. However, there are things you can do so that you feel more organised. First, make sure that you read the information provided by the firm about the assessment day, so that you know exactly what you will encounter and what will be expected of you. Take particular note of where it is being held and what time it starts. Also make sure to read and fully understand any materials that you are sent in advance. Next, get to grips with what the firm is all about, including its offices, culture, structure, practice areas and clients. You should re-familiarise yourself with the research into the firm that you undertook during the application process and then delve deeper. What recent deals has the firm been involved in? How does it differ from its competitors? What is being said about the firm in the legal press? A general awareness of what is going on in the business world is crucial – although you should not wait until being invited to an assessment day to start boosting your commercial awareness! This is something that
you need to work on from day one: stay up to date not only with what is happening in the legal and business arenas, but also what is happening nationally and globally that may affect law and business, and form your own opinions on these stories. Finally, try to practise the types of exercise that you may encounter at the assessment centre. See what tests are available online (eg, psychometric tests), attend skills workshops, practise with careers advisers and use any other resources available to you at your university. structured differently, but they tend to contain similar elements, including: • group exercises; • individual written exercises; • presentations; • psychometric tests; and • interviews. Group exercises Many group exercises take the form of a negotiation based on a commercial scenario. The exercise may not necessarily have much legal content, as the firm is likely to be assessing law and non-law candidates at the same time. The scenario may be based on something that the firm has worked on in the past (but don’t waste time trying to pinpoint the deal!). During the exercise, the assessors want to see that you can get the best out of colleagues, work together as a team to reach a consensus and ultimately find the best solution for the client within the right timeframe and at the right price. Written exercises The most common written exercise is drafting a letter to a client. Whatever the exercise, make sure to read the brief very carefully before starting out and pay attention to the word count. Firms are not looking for a flowery essay. They want you to get the basics down and be concise – these are the What to expect Each firm’s assessment day will be
skills that you will need as a lawyer. They are also looking for perfect spelling and grammar, and attention to detail. Presentations The assessment centre may include a presentation. This may be a brief that you are given in advance to prepare for in the weeks before the assessment, or it may be something that you see for the first time on the day and have only a limited timeframe to prepare for. The firm wants to check that you can apply the information that you have been given, communicate this clearly to others and deliver an intelligent, confident presentation. Psychometric tests You may be asked to complete psychometric tests, which give candidates a limited timeframe in which to draw logical conclusions about data presented to them in both verbal and numerical formats. This is something that you will constantly have to do as a lawyer. The tests can be useful for the firm to make a judgement about someone who they feel they haven’t seen enough of during the rest of the assessment day. interview towards the end of the day, possibly with a partner. Getting to this point may be conditional on ‘passing’ the rest of the day. If your assessment day does include an interview, make sure that you are fully prepared. Read “Training contract interviews made easy” on p90, How to behave The advice that comes up over and over again is, “Be yourself”; but it may be more helpful to phrase this as, “Be yourself in a work/commercial situation”. You should aim to be: Interview Some assessment days include an
assertive, but not overconfident or domineering; friendly and
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