Law firm assessment centres: what to expect

Assessment centres are a common part of the recruitment process for law firms, as they offer the chance to see beyond application forms to how candidates actually get on in a work environment. Oliver Savill, director of AssessmentDay, offers his advice on what to expect.

Assessment centres are a formal selection process used to assess small groups of candidates for a role. They involve multiple exercises and selection methods, and can last anything from half a day to two full days. In large firms the assessment centre will be run by internal HR staff at the employer's office, while some smaller organisations choose to outsource the process to a specialist third party. Candidates at all job levels may be expected to go through an assessment centre, but they are most common in graduate-level recruitment.

The time involved in organising and running assessment centres, and the specialist skills involved, means that they are notoriously expensive for the recruiting organisation to run (sometimes costing thousands of pounds per candidate). But their attraction is that they tend to be very good tools for predicting which applicant will go on to perform well in the role. That predictive element is extremely valuable for organisations, especially when they have to pick from hundreds of hopeful applicants.

The forms of assessment you can expect if invited to a firm’s assessment centre are outlined below.

Psychometric tests

Candidates are increasingly likely to encounter psychometric testing during the recruitment processes. Psychometric tests including critical thinking, verbal reasoning tests, numerical reasoning tests and personality questionnaires are all common components of assessment centres. When candidates have completed online psychometric tests prior to attending the assessment centre, they may be asked to validate their results at the assessment centre by taking a repeat test.

As with any form of test, preparation and practice is the key to good performance. Practice will help familiarise you with the style of test and will reduce anxiety on the day, helping you perform to your best ability.

In law, the most common types of psychometric test used are verbal reasoning tests and the Watson-Glaser critical thinking test, which is similar in structure and format to the Bar Course Aptitude test (BCAT).

Candidates are advised to ask the employer what psychometric tests will be included in the assessment centre so that they have time to prepare beforehand.

E-tray exercises

E-tray exercises are computer-based job simulation tests which place candidates in a fictitious workplace scenario, requiring them to respond to emails, prioritise tasks and provide recommendations. Assessors are fond of e-tray exercises because they are a realistic approximation of a real working environment, and they are usually self-explanatory for the candidate. In-tray exercises assess similar skills, but are paper-based rather than electronic.

Candidates will be faced with an almost overwhelming stream of documents, so the trick with these exercises is to prioritise. Do not simply deal with each item in the order it arrives, otherwise some urgent matters might get neglected. Time is key and being able to cast aside unimportant documents is as important as acting decisively on urgent items.

Group exercises

Group exercises allow assessors to observe how candidates solve problems, cooperate with others and work under pressure. Typically, between four and eight candidates will take part in a group exercise. The group will be asked collectively to provide recommended actions in response to fictional scenarios. Not only is the quality of each candidate's contributions evaluated, so are their interpersonal behaviours, conduct, encouragement and empathy with others in the group.

Candidates can practice a group exercise on AssessmentDay's website.

Case study exercises

Case studies assess a candidate's analytical skills, problem-solving ability and innovative thinking by providing them with a workplace-relevant issue and requiring the candidate to address it. The topic of the case study is likely to be relevant to the position applied for, and sometimes the assessor will use real cases the firm has worked on, with client identities disguised.

With case study exercises candidates should remember that they cannot be awarded any marks for thoughts they do not express, so get into the habit of describing out loud your thought process. Another good tip for case study exercises is to imagine yourself having to deal with the problem; too often graduates fall back on repeating what they have learnt in a module or recent case law instead of thinking about a problem afresh and with a pragmatic approach.

Role-play exercises

Role-play exercises are another common selection process due to their similarity with real-life situations. They simulate a meeting or professional interaction with a client, colleague or opposing lawyer. Assessors are looking at how candidates behave, react and conduct themselves in high-pressure situations, often involving negotiation.

The same advice applies here as it does for the case study; try to think realistically about how you would really respond in a work setting, not how a text book would respond. Try to establish a rapport with the role player; in real life, when trying to persuade someone, the chances are you would start with polite conversation before trying to gently win them round. Bullying rarely gets positive marks.

Presentation exercises

Presentations will typically last between 10 and 20 minutes, usually with the use of slides permitted, and will be followed by probing questions from the assessors. Some firms ask candidates to arrive at the assessment centre with a pre-prepared presentation, while others will only reveal the topic on the day and give candidates a short period of time in which to prepare. Frequently the topic of the presentation will be the recommendations the candidate has provided from a previous exercise, such as the case study.

Good presentation technique applies here: engage the audience; speak slowly and clearly; use intonation; smile; and use slides sparingly.

Interviews

Sometimes this will be a follow-up interview and other times it will be the first time the candidate is interviewed by the firm. A vast range of interview formats exist, with the most common being partner interviews, competency-based interviews, and strength-based interviews. A new interview being introduced by, among others, Hogan Lovells is the situational interview. In situational interviews candidates are asked how they would behave in fictional work-based scenarios (much like a situational judgement test but with an interviewer). With situational interviews, candidates are advised to think aloud and reveal to the interviewer their thought process.

Candidates are advised to find out what style of interview they will have, to help with interview preparation. For example, if a structured competency-based interview is used, candidates will be asked about times when they have demonstrated strengths, so they should prepare by having a few examples up their sleeves. If a partner interview is used, fictional case study questions might come up, in which case the interviewers are interested as much in your thought process as your final answer.

Good luck in your assessment centre and try to enjoy it!

Oliver Savill is director of AssessmentDay, a company which provides practice exercises and psychometric tests.

For more advice on this, read our feature on how to prepare for an assessment centre and what skills and behaviours you will need to demonstrate on the day.