Whatever you do, do not underestimate the Assessment Center.

It is by far one of the most nerve wracking experiences: you are basically put in a room full of people just like you, with your same strengths and knowledge. Some are smarter, some are less knowledgeable. And all of you have a great chance to go through.

But there is only one spot.

You need to compete with each other during different kind of tests.

THE STRUCTURE

Usually my assessment centers were built the following way:

• case study
• group exercise
• final interview(s)

CASE STUDY

During the Case Study, you have one hour to read through a bunch of papers with loads of data on a fictional company. You then need to pin point what is the biggest issues of that company, and come up with tangible solutions, based on the data you have read.

Then you need to start writing your presentation and then you need to present to a board of 2 to 5 members of the company, who have all read through the same case study… and impress them.

This was by far my biggest weak point until a year ago when it became my strongest feature. This goes to show that working on your weak points is actually a game changer.

HOW TO GET BETTER

I went from crap to glorious by experience, but also by following the few steps below:

• identify the 3 main pain points of the fictional company
• find a solution using the main strengths of the company
• find data in the info you have.Calculate and create more data to back up your solutions: the more they see you played with the data you were given the more they see that you are using it
• use your own creative mind to find alternative solutions that are maybe not that obvious or present in the case. Show that you can think outside of the box
• when reading the case study, do not read it cover to cover extremely attentively. Try your best to skim through it while not losing comprehension. It is ok if not all the information is going in. You will probably just need 20% of it anyway.

PRESENTATION TIPS

Before moving on to the group exercise, I would like to give you a few tips when it comes to presentations:

• if you are asked to write on big pieces of paper for your presentation, do not prepare them last minute. Always leave 20minutes for it during the case study prep as it takes more time than you can imagine.
• only write bullet points and the main elements of your answers
• do not do a lot of slides: on average 5 is ok (for marketing and sales case studies).
• when you present, smile, focus and move around the room like you own the place. You will come across as more powerful and in control, even when you are at loss of words.
• before you start the presentation, know what are the 3 main messages you aim to convey
• if the people judging you go hard on you, it is a test to see how well you react to friction. Imagine this was your actual job and that you didn’t try to convince them. Imagine you were the boss and these little people just needed reassurance.

GROUP EXERCISE

What usually happens is that you are put into a team and you need to solve a problem. You can also be in a team debating with another team about a particular issue. This exercise depends a lot on the kind of role you are going for but here are a few obvious rules:

• do not try and “lead” by dictating, you will look like an idiot
• rather than the above, listen a lot and only talk to contribute with some valuable information.
• if no one mentions the time ticking, mention it half way through
• if arguments are going all over the place, propose a strategy in order to come to a conclusion. For instance, what I say is “since there seems to be many opinions, I propose that we go round the table and vote, giving our main argument in a fairly quick way since we need to finish soon”.
• give recognition to a team member that contributed well by acknowledging how good his or her idea was
• do not interrupt

If you are going for a sales role, show resilience and persistence for the outcome you are looking for. Not in an aggressive way but do argument.

INTERVIEW

Finally you have the interview. This time with slightly bigger bosses.

Since I already went through my main tips in my Interview post, I will not expand on this. I would only add that it is incredibly important to notice that if people are going at you aggressively or teasing you, it is only a test to see if you got what it takes to overcome the pressure that will come in the job. Therefore please don’t take anything personally and bare in mind to react in a politically correct way at all times.

If a comment of theirs throws you off, try your best to answer with a question. For instance, if one of the interviewers says a statement about you that is clearly getting to you, simply respond with “what makes you say that?”.

Always remember, the power is in the hands of who asks the questions.

On this note, good luck for everything and do not hesitate to contact me if you ever need some more tips!

HOW CAN WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER (ONLINE OPPORTUNITY)

If you are struggling to find experience and are interested in Copywriting, Marketing or Entrepreneurship then we are looking for people to become editors of this website. I will form you and teach you everything I know. If you want to get involved with this blog then please do not hesitate to contact me via this Contact Form or via my Instagram account. This is a unique opportunity. Again, you can contact me for more details on how this may help you!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR YOU

Over the years I have created many guides and checklist that aim to help you save time. Here are a list of them just in case you might miss out on a few:

1. My 1st E-Book: a resource that has help me become a boss at Time Management. Moreover, it has also helped me create more time for what I love and get to my goals faster. It is lengthy, however it is arguably the best Time Management piece of research out there.
2. The Time Management Actionable Sheets: a summary of my E-Book. These sheets have conserved the absolute essential actions you need to take to make the most out of your time. Do not skip any steps!
3. My Before & After CV Transformation: a resource that has collected my CVs for the past 7 years to help you not only craft a great CV, but to also show you that everyone can start mediocre and grow exponentially.
4. How To Land a Job Faster Guide: a resource that aims to give you all of the tips and recommendations I have used during my career. This will help you avoid some common mistakes students do when starting off with their job applications.

MY OBJECTIVE IS AND WILL FOREVER BE TO HELP YOU

To conclude, the aim of this website is to help you have the best fresh start at University and with your career. There is nothing that gives me more happiness and joy but to hear your positive feedback on how helpful my content has been. Contact me if you have any feedback for me!

BEST OF LUCK WITH IT ALL!!!!

Much affection,

Francesca Michaud