Weeding out ‘unsuitable’ teaching applicants
Whilst it is not unusual for employers to ask prospective employees to undergo psychometric assessment as a tool to assist in their development it is rare, except for verbal and numeric reasoning, for it to be widely used as part of the recruitment process.
But, in a global first for England, the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) has announced that by 2012 all applicants for University teacher training courses will undergo psychometric assessment. Continue Reading »
Accent the positive
In UK broadcasting over the last 15 years regional accents have been eagerly accepted at the expense of “received pronunciation” (RP) and some presenters have been dismissed for allegedly sounding “too posh”. But, is the same true in business? Continue Reading »
Goldilocks and the three assessment centres
I was speaking to an eminently well qualified graduate candidate a few weeks ago who had failed to succeed at two Investment Bank assessment centres. He couldn’t understand why. At his first assessment centre James found the group exercises troublesome. He didn’t want to appear pushy or arrogant so his performance was low key. Feedback was that his performance was Continue Reading »
Moving away from the 2.1 filter
A number of companies, including npower and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, have concluded that using the 2.1 degree as a filter for assessing candidates (eliminating applicants without at least a 2.1) is flawed. This should not come as a surprise. Hard as it is for Continue Reading »
No launderettes in Kensington
Winston was the clever one at home, an only child whose single mum doted on him. He was the first in the family to stay on for the sixth form and the first to go to university. It was not just any university either but a prestigious Russell Group university in London; far enough away from home to give him some independence but still close enough for visits or, as I later learned, for visitors.
I first saw him, one evening, sitting at the end of a bar in a hotel in Kensington; he looked like a fish out of water. There was Continue Reading »
What not to do at Assessment Centre
What counts as the worst advice that can be given to candidates as they fight their way through the twists and turns of recruitment processes that make Harry Potter’s adventures seem like a walk in the park? The answer is three little words – “Just be yourself”.
How many 21/22 year olds know who they are? Continue Reading »