Careers Consultant Beka Kimberley offers her advice on group interviews in the charity sector after working as an assessor for Charityworks
Charityworks is a paid 12 month graduate programme which places graduates in full time work with charities, alongside leadership training, research and mentorship to prepare their trainees for a career in the non-profit sector. They also have a fast-track pathway for candidates from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. Careers consultant Beka Kimberley volunteered as an assessor for their online group interview stage. Here are some of her reflections from the other side of the process.
Recruiters are human too!
The thing that struck me the most was that everyone involved in recruiting and assessing candidates is friendly and positive. They have a lot of empathy for how hard it can be to go through a recruitment process and they’re really keen to make sure everyone is comfortable enough to showcase their potential to the full. This is true of other recruiters and HR teams I’ve spoken to during my time working for the career service. The process is designed to help you achieve your best, not catch you out! So don’t be afraid to let them know if you have concerns or worries that they could help you with, for example if you’re having some difficulties with your Internet connection.
Speak up…
We always remind students that it’s important to speak clearly enough that an assessor can hear you. This really hit home when I was doing the assessment myself. I was listening to a discussion between 4-6 people and trying to mark them against a grid with up to 20 criteria. Whilst I was absolutely looking out for those who hadn’t contributed as much to make sure I scored them fairly against what they did say, the reality is that if you’re speaking less or speaking very quietly, there are fewer opportunities to notice the contribution you make.
…But you don’t need to dominate
On the other hand, naturally confident speakers are much easier to assess on their ability to contribute ideas and understand the objective of the task at hand. But sometimes there was less evidence of their ability to listen respectfully or support their teammates. If someone continually dominates the conversation, it actually becomes a little frustrating as the assessor wants to hear from everyone. A frustrated assessor is never what you want! In almost all jobs, they will also be looking to assess people for their ability to collaborate so don’t forget to demonstrate you’re a true team player by sitting back and allowing others their opportunity to shine.
No-one is looking for perfect
I’ve already mentioned the 20 criteria that we were scoring against, and I was struck that even in a short space of time I could see some candidates had strengths in different areas. Some were natural organisers, keeping everyone on track and reminding them of the objective, others were cheerleaders supporting the team and helping everyone to achieve their best, others were contributing ideas and coming up with innovative solutions. No-one I assessed scored top marks in absolutely every area, but people with very different strengths made a positive contribution to the group and scored well overall as a result. So, if you feel you were a bit weaker in one area, don’t worry that you’ve missed your chance to impress!
For more support and advice, on the group stage of recruitment and Assessment Centres see our webpage https://www.careers.cam.ac.uk/applying-for-jobs/selection-group-tasks-assessment-centres