By Iris N, Career Services Liaison Officer & Editorial Assistant at WikiJob
With the explosion of technology, it's no surprise that employers are turning to virtual assessment centres as part of their recruitment strategies. They are quick and easy to set up, there's no travel involved, and they can be far more cost-effective than hiring a physical venue.
Although the coronavirus pandemic may have accelerated the switch to virtual assessment centres, we anticipate that they may remain a crucial element of any recruitment plans moving forward. This is because the lack of geographical boundaries means that employers can use virtual assessment centres to conduct virtual interviews with candidates across the country. Beyond this, employers can use their new investment into remote working capabilities to hire successful candidates regardless of their proximity to the office location.
According to research giant Mckinsey: ‘More than 20 percent of the workforce could work remotely three to five days a week as effectively as they could if working from an office. If remote work took hold at that level, that would mean three to four times as many people working from home than before the pandemic….’. With this in mind, let’s find out more about what virtual assessment centres are and how you can prepare for your next virtual assessment day.
What Are Virtual Assessment Centres?
These are a way for employers to conduct group interviews for work experience opportunities or graduate jobs. It's an online variation of the traditional in-person assessment center or careers day. If you are invited to attend a virtual assessment centre, you could expect to join in with online information sessions, Q&As, group exercises and even a formal interview.
Virtual assessment centres are designed to be as thorough as face-to-face assessment centres. As a result, they enable employers to spot those with the potential to succeed in their company.
How to Prepare for a Virtual Assessment Centre
You should prepare for your virtual assessment the same way you would if an employer interviews you face-to-face. This means that you need to:
- Research the company fully, understand who they are and what they do, and their corporate culture.
- Pay close attention to their place within the wider sector
- Pay attention to any topical news from the industry
- Review your application and the job description before attending, to know what information you have already shared with the recruiter and what the job requires.
This is where virtual assessment centres have an advantage over in-person interviews – you can write some notes as a handy reminder and have them visible to you out of sight of the interviewer.
Before your virtual interview, make sure you:
If you are interviewed online, you want to know that you have a strong internet connection, a quiet place to focus and enough battery power in your device. You should also download the software that will be used to facilitate the virtual assessment centre. It may be Zoom, MS Teams, Skype or Google Hangout.
Where possible, try to familiarise yourself with the technology before signing in – knowing how to adjust your audio, share your screen or change your background settings can improve your professionalism.
Tips for a Successful Virtual Assessment Day
To ensure that you succeed in your virtual assessment day, you should treat it as you would a face-to-face job interview. This means dressing in appropriate attire, looking neat and presentable and showing that you are actively listening to what others are saying.
Of course, body language and eye contact are just as important when you are online – try to stare into the camera lens as a way of maintaining eye contact, and don't get distracted by things nearby. Show that you are paying attention and are an active participant in the conversation.
Meeting virtually adds new challenges to the interviewing process. Talking to someone via a webcam can be difficult. We recommend that you lift your laptop screen or camera so that you are not looking down. Even popping your laptop on top of a box can be enough to change the camera's angle and avoid the dreaded double chin.
You should think about your lighting and your audio connections – can you hear each other correctly? You may wish to invest in a headset to help you improve the audio. We also recommend that you think about your background – what can the recruiter see behind you? If you don't have a neutral or professional looking area to work from, take advantage of the background minimiser settings available in Teams or Zoom. You can choose to blur your background (giving you privacy), or you can use a CGI background of your choice.
Just remember to choose a professional looking backdrop – and make sure that if you have previously applied a filter, you know how to turn it off! We all remember the case of the lawyer who got stuck with the cat filter during a virtual courtroom.
Conclusion
Remember that your virtual assessment is designed to show off your strengths. Although they may be taking place virtually, they will cover the same content that you would expect from an in-person assessment. Employers will want you to do well, and every question they ask will encourage you to show off your skills and convince them that they should hire you.