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Assessment Centres

Assessment centres are designed to measure key knowledge, skills and behaviours for the role. These could include your ability to work as part of a team, or your ability to analyse data under pressure.

At the assessment centre, there will be between 6 and 12 candidates, and a number of trained assessors from the business. These assessors will interview and observe candidates in the various activities, and collate evidence which they’ll use to evaluate you. There will also be a facilitator or two, who will ensure everyone is in the right place at the right times, and answer any questions.

Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of the day:

  • Preparation is everything. Research us and our High Performance Behaviours so you can show us you’re interested. Consider the types of questions we might ask you and the answers you could give, to demonstrate that you have the qualities we’re looking for.
  • Ask questions. If you’re unclear about anything that’s being asked of you, ask for clarification. Remember, this is your chance to see if we’re right for you, so if there’s anything else you want to know, just ask!
  • Take your time. No matter how well you’ve prepared, there will always be questions you didn’t think of. So don’t be afraid to take a moment or two to shape your answers.
  • Be professional and dress appropriately.
  • Finally, relax and try to enjoy yourself!

Most assessment centres last a day. They usually include a combination of some of these activities:

  1. A behavioural interview
  2. A technical interview
  3. A role play
  4. A group exercise
  5. A presentation
  6. Ability testing (e.g. verbal, numerical and diagrammatical)

The specific exercises you will be expected to do will be communicated to you in your invite.You’ll be given a timetable on the day, and could complete the exercises in any order. Different exercises look at different behaviours, with different assessors, so throughout the day we’ll collate a good spread of evidence and develop a well-rounded view of your performance.

Assessors will also be looking for evidence to assess you against our High Performance Behaviours framework. This framework reflects the behaviours we value in our employees, and those which will drive the success of the business. Make sure you’re familiar with it.

The Exercises

1. Behavioural Interviews

You’ll be asked questions based on Jaguar Land Rover's High Performance Behaviours Framework. We’ll ask you to describe times when you’ve displayed these behaviours. For example, "Can you tell me about a time when you had to work hard to complete a difficult task to a high standard?"

It's not enough to just say what you can offer - assessors need convincing. Do this by giving specific evidence. Although it is important, assessors are less interested in what you've done - but more in how you've done it. They need to understand how you may approach similar situations in the future.

How To Answer Competency Based Questions - The "CAR" Approach

A good way of dealing with these types of questions is by using the CAR approach. CAR stands for Context, Action, Result - it helps you to structure your answer.

  • The CONTEXT forms an introduction, describing the scenario you faced, when and where
  • The ACTION should be the longest part of your answer, and describes what you did and how you did it
  • The RESULT is the conclusion / outcome of the situation, and, like the introduction, should be quite short

Example Question:

"Describe how your personal planning and organisation resulted in the successful achievement of a task".

The table below shows how an example answer to this question might look using the CAR technique.

Example Answer:

CONTEXT Describe the situation and the specific task you were faced with: when, where, with whom? Whilst employed at Acme Co. last year, I was given the task of reviewing the stock control system.
ACTION How? What action did YOU take? Sometimes people focus on what the group did without mentioning their individual contribution. I looked at factors such as when the stock was last ordered, what it was used for and how often it was used. I worked out a method of streamlining the paperwork involved in this process and redesigned the relevant forms, which I then submitted to my manager.
RESULT What results did you achieve / conclusions did you reach / what did you learn from the experience? My ideas were accepted and implemented and a 20% reduction in stock levels was achieved.

When answering these types of questions:

  1. Try to give quantifiable results if possible.
    • "during my time as chairman, membership rose by 20"
    • "we raised £200 for charity"
    • "the level of reworks improved from 20% to 10%"
  2. Try to use positive examples, but if the result was negative, then say what you learned from the experience and what you would do differently next time.
  3. The examples you give can be from work, study or personal life – but try to give a recent, relevant answer from a variety of experiences.
  4. Don't go into too much background detail - keep to the point!
  5. Relevant examples are more important than "impressive" ones. For example, if you are asked to describe a time when you had to give a presentation in front of others, a presentation which involved research and planning will carry more weight than "presenting a bouquet to the Queen"!

2. Technical Interviews

You’ll be asked a series of questions focused on your current technical knowledge and skills, and those which you will be expected to demonstrate in the role you’ve applied for. Make sure you review the requirements outlined in the Role Description as part of your preparation.

3. Role Play

The role play exercise is designed to assess how you read, digest and disseminate information. You’ll be given a brief to read on the day. From this, you’ll need to prepare your approach for a ‘meeting’ to be held with a role player - which will be observed by an assessor. The role player's responsibility is to question you, your approach and rationale. Through this, the assessor will discover how you’ve made your decisions and how well you have considered the objectives given in the brief.

4. Group Excercises

It’s important to assess how you work with others to analyse and assimilate information and reach an effective conclusion. In this exercise, you’ll be given a set of information, which other members of the group may or may not have received. Interacting with the group, you’ll use this information to reach a desired outcome. The exercise will often reflect realistic scenarios that you may encounter in the role.

5. Presentations

You may be asked to give a presentation as part of your assessment event. We might provide a topic in advance (usually 5 working days before) or you may be given one on the day, with time to prepare.

It’s important that you use the time you have to gather some relevant and reliable information to present to your assessors. Naturally, if you’ve been asked to prepare something on the day, you’ll need to rely more heavily on your existing knowledge and experiences for the content.

No matter how much time you have, it’s vital to consider each of the following:

  • What is the message behind this presentation? (Does it match the brief?)
  • Have I included evidence to back up the message?
  • Do I have any personal experience of the topic?
  • Is the presentation engaging and appropriate given the time, context and audience?
  • Have I structured the presentation logically?

6. Ability Tests

Ability tests are structured, systematic ways of evaluating how people perform on tasks or react to different situations. At Jaguar Land Rover, we look at the following areas:

  • Verbal Reasoning - your ability to understand, interpret and evaluate written information
  • Numerical Reasoning - your ability to understand, interpret and evaluate data
  • Diagrammatical Reasoning - your ability to analyse diagrams, sequences and transformations

We use standardised methods of administration and scoring. Your results will be quantified and compared with how others have done at the same tests. These tests are increasingly being administered online as part of the application process, and then retested at assessment centre stage.

We usually administer ability tests under timed, examination conditions. They commonly take the form of multiple choice questions with right and wrong answers. You are advised to work through the tests as quickly and accurately as possible. If you're not sure, select your best answer.

If you have a disability or other special requirement, please make contact in advance as we may be able to make reasonable adjustments.

If you’re applying for a senior managerial role, you may also be asked to complete a Professional Styles profile. The results of this profile will help to inform your interview.

Ability Tests – Preparation Tips

Evidence suggests that some practice of similar tests may improve your performance on actual tests. There are a number of practice tests available on-line. Naturally, they won’t be the same as our test, but they’ll give you a guide to the style of questions, and help you get used to this type of testing:

Here are some further tips:

  • Even basic word and number puzzles may help you become used to the comprehension and arithmetic aspects of some tests.
  • Addition, subtraction, division, multiplication as well as calculations of percentages and ratios are commonly required.
  • Remember that the ability to identify and extract information from charts and graphs can be as important as the actual calculations when it comes to getting the correct answer.
  • If you have a numerical test coming up, but you haven't done any maths since school, then brush up on your numeracy. Try BBC Skillswise.
  • Stop using a calculator for everyday calculations. Practice your multiplication and division, ability to calculate percentages, and to read graphs and tables.
  • Verbal reasoning skills are more difficult to brush up on. Reading more may help - especially newspapers. Practice extracting the main points from passages of information.
  • Having a go at word games, mathematical teasers, puzzles with diagrams, etc. may help you to get into a logical and analytical frame of mind.

On the day, remember:

  • Read the instructions you’re given, and follow them precisely. Many people make errors because they've misunderstood what they have to do.
  • Before the actual test, you may be given some practice questions. Complete these questions to familiarise yourself with the process.
  • There will often be a lot of questions in a short time. Try not to get bogged down on any one question. If you can’t do it, make your best guess and move on to the next one. After all, you can only score points for questions you answer, not for those you don't. But do remember that questions may get harder as you proceed.
  • It’s worth making educated guesses. In multiple choice tests, you may be able to quickly rule out obviously wrong answers and concentrate on the others. In maths tests, if you’re not sure, you may be able to save time by estimating the answer rather than working it out precisely.

Good Luck!