When applying for a new job or promotion many people face the rigours of an assessment centre. Many organisations, in both the public and private sectors, use these extended forms of assessment for selection purposes to guarantee they pick the candidate who will be the best fit for the company. However candidates often fail to do themselves justice as they are unaware of the different type of assessment tasks they may have to undertake. How to Succeed at an Assessment Centre provides ideal preparation for assessment events and gives expert advice on all the key issues such as how the assessments are conducted, how to behave in formal and informal situations as well as how to prepare for the different forms of assessment. With a plethora of practice questions, answers and explanations, How to Succeed at an Assessment Centre gives essential practical advice on the many different assessment processes, from group exercises to panel interviews and presentations.
This manual informs readers of what to expect when attending an assessment centre and offers advice on how candidates might prepare for the different forms of assessment.
Bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Do you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to evaluate behavior, performance, and readiness? Read Mastering the Fire Service Assessment Center to identify what you need to learn and understand how to learn it. There is no way you can read and reflect on the wisdom in these pages and not become a better person and a better firefighter. Why Read This Book? The American fire service is facing a new normal fueled by mass exodus, influx of new generations of firefighters, a lack of hands-on leadership training, sweeping changes in mission, decimated budgets, and the genetics of task-oriented, reactive forefathers. The greatest and perhaps only area that we can affect directly is hands-on, inspiring, realistic, and useful training for our aspiring and incumbent leaders. This book will help you regardless of the fire officer rank you seek. It will help you know where you need to improve, how to develop a specific personal plan to become an excellent officer, and how to do well with whatever assessment center exercises throw at you. NEW MATERIAL in this second edition: --Enjoy reading “Wisdom from the Masters” from 18 fire service luminaries. They provide invaluable insights and challenges you will face as you prepare to promote, whether for the first time as a company officer or up the chain as a chief officer. --Learn lessons from thousands of students from the past 12 years whose feedback will benefit you in this second edition. --Benefit from the many new elements in this book, including relevant articles, additional exercises, and content regarding the dimensions of leadership, management, and emergency operations. The complexities of being a fire officer in the 21st century require an undercurrent of humility while continually pursuing mastery of leading in the modern fire service. Learn how to lead the modern-day firefighter in a modern world, with modern technology, modern fire behavior, and modern sociopolitical and economic challenges. Many firefighters ask themselves if they really want to do this job, but nothing is as professionally rewarding and challenging as leading others in battle to save lives! “This book will give you the greatest probability of success in your assessment center process.” —Bobby Halton, editor-in-chief, Fire Engineering magazine
Explores the evolution of the goals of assessment center programs and the ways in which assessment centers and their component parts have been used. This book differentiates between assessment centers used for prediction, diagnoses, and development. It also explores court cases involving assessment centers, assessor training, and more.
Facing the Assessment Centre, the final stage in selection competitions for permanent jobs in the EU institutions, can be a daunting challenge. This brand new edition of The Ultimate EU Test Book has been written by specialist trainers in EPSO competitions to give practical help to candidates. It explains what the assessors are really looking for and the important do's and don'ts it is essential to be aware of. Written in a lively hands-on style, this is a must-have resource for anyone preparing for the Assessment Centre.● How the EPSO Assessment Centre works, including a typical day● The EPSO competencies and how they are measured: Analysis and Problem Solving, Communicating, Delivering Quality and Results, Learning and Development, Prioritising and Organising, Resilience, Working with Others, Leadership ● The exercises used to test the competencies, the keys to success and the pitfalls to avoid - the Case Study, the Oral Presentation, the Competency Based and Field Interviews, the Group Exercise, plus the In-tray● Full sample exercises with scoring keys ● Recruitment & the Competency Passport ● Relevant for all Administrator and Assistant competitionsTABLE OF CONTENTSChapters1. The EPSO Assessment Centre2. The EPSO Competency Framework3. The Case Study4. The Competency Based Interview (the Structured Interview)5. The Oral Presentation6. The Interview in the Field7. The In-tray (E-tray) Exercise8. The Group Exercise9. Recruitment10. What if You're Not on the Reserve List?Annexes1. Sample Case Study2. Competency Based Interview Questions3. Sample Oral Presentation4. Sample In-tray (E-tray) Exercise5. Sample Group Exercise6. Sample Competency Passports7. Glossary
Assessment centres, psychometric testing and structured interviews are all methods that are regularly used to select and recruit employees. Assessment Methods in Recruitment, Selection and Performance offers clear explanations of the principles behind these methods along with their history, practice and implementation. There is also an exploration of how these methods can be used to determine competencies to shape performance management systems. Complete with case studies, figures and illustrations, the book links selection and performance management by examining a number of issues including the use of selection and recruitment methods; the background and approaches to measurement within performance management; and, the use of information and communication technology in assessment and performance management.
The routine jobs of yesterday are being replaced by technology and/or shipped off-shore. In their place, job categories that require knowledge management, abstract reasoning, and personal services seem to be growing. The modern workplace requires workers to have broad cognitive and affective skills. Often referred to as "21st century skills," these skills include being able to solve complex problems, to think critically about tasks, to effectively communicate with people from a variety of different cultures and using a variety of different techniques, to work in collaboration with others, to adapt to rapidly changing environments and conditions for performing tasks, to effectively manage one's work, and to acquire new skills and information on one's own. The National Research Council (NRC) has convened two prior workshops on the topic of 21st century skills. The first, held in 2007, was designed to examine research on the skills required for the 21st century workplace and the extent to which they are meaningfully different from earlier eras and require corresponding changes in educational experiences. The second workshop, held in 2009, was designed to explore demand for these types of skills, consider intersections between science education reform goals and 21st century skills, examine models of high-quality science instruction that may develop the skills, and consider science teacher readiness for 21st century skills. The third workshop was intended to delve more deeply into the topic of assessment. The goal for this workshop was to capitalize on the prior efforts and explore strategies for assessing the five skills identified earlier. The Committee on the Assessment of 21st Century Skills was asked to organize a workshop that reviewed the assessments and related research for each of the five skills identified at the previous workshops, with special attention to recent developments in technology-enabled assessment of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In designing the workshop, the committee collapsed the five skills into three broad clusters as shown below: Cognitive skills: nonroutine problem solving, critical thinking, systems thinking Interpersonal skills: complex communication, social skills, team-work, cultural sensitivity, dealing with diversity Intrapersonal skills: self-management, time management, self-development, self-regulation, adaptability, executive functioning Assessing 21st Century Skills provides an integrated summary of the presentations and discussions from both parts of the third workshop.
This third edition has the honesty, humor and interesting perspectives that made previous editions so enjoyable to read and easy to understand. In addition, every chapter has been refreshed and renewed with tips, techniques and insights that will help candidates use assessment center exercises to demonstrate their readiness for the rank and role they seek. Chapter Three, What Is Your Assessment Center Challenge? and Chapter Six, Three Characteristics of a High Caliber Candidate, are completely new. They reflect decades of observation and analysis and will provide insights and guidance not found in any other training or text. The entire book is focused on improving the law enforcement profession by helping promotional candidates prepare to be effective in their preparation and testing, then effective on the job as they develop as coaches and leaders. This book is a must-have for assessment center preparation for any rank or role.
This book is a fast-track course on how to perform convincingly and impressively for assessment centres and in-depth interviews. It guides students through the process from making the shortlist and preparing for psychometric tests through to delivering dynamic presentations and demonstrating your teamwork and leadership potential. Combining insights from employers who run assessment centres with the stories of graduates who have experienced them, it includes opportunities for students to try their hand at authentic assessment centre activities, build their knowledge of current recruitment methods and develop strategies for success. Packed with helpful advice and handy hints, this is an essential companion for all students preparing for assessment centres and interviews as part of the graduate recruitment process. It is also an ideal resource for students and staff on career and employability-related modules.
