You could be expected to get involved in some of the following activities:

Social events

Take the opportunity over drinks or dinner to talk to recent graduates. They will hopefully be able to give you a clearer picture of what it might be like to work for your chosen company. It is a chance to ask more detailed questions in an informal setting. However it is important to remember that you are being assessed all the time so do not let yourself down by behaving inappropriately or drinking too much! Employers are keen to see you in all types of situations and this social setting may give them an indication of how you might be when entertaining business clients. It is therefore important to be consistent in your behaviour over the two days.

Group tasks

These generally involve discussions and negotiations with other candidates and can take different formats as follows:

1. Group discussions

The group may be given a topic to discuss and perhaps reach a consensus on. The assessors will be looking to see how you contribute to the group:

• What are your communication skills like?
• Do you listen to others as well as putting your own views forward?
• How do you react if your viewpoint is challenged?

You don't have to necessarily be dominant in the group to be successful - employers are looking for team players who can fit in to a team easily.

2. Role play exercises

You could be asked to play a particular role in a group:

For example, you might be part of a committee looking at the amenities in a town. There could be a pot of money that needs to be invested as wisely as possible, to give the residents the most benefit.

Each group member will have a different role. For example one role-play might be that of youth worker and this particular remit could be to try and persuade the rest of the team to use the money towards setting up a local youth centre. The assessors will once again be looking at how you put your views across and might be looking to see if you can construct a convincing argument and how well you persuade others around to your viewpoint.

3. Business game/simulation

This usually entails tackling a simulated business situation where a task has to be performed, targets met and difficulties overcome. It is vital to keep to time and allocate tasks to ensure completion of the exercise.

Remember: You can prepare for many of these exercises in your own academic departments. Project work and seminar sessions frequently involve teamwork where you can practise listening to others and trying to persuade them to your point of view. You may also have an opportunity to practise these group skills through work experience, voluntary work, hobbies and through student committee membership. Usually the best team outcomes are achieved by using a mix of originality balanced with a degree of compromise, so don't overlook your past experiences when you are thinking about these exercises.

Individual exercises

Written exercises

These are usually timed and a typical example would be an In-Tray exercise. This involves reading through information contained in a typical in tray. It could involve drafting replies, writing memos and emails or preparing statistical reports.

A similar exercise to this is the electronic version, E-Tray exercise, which usually involves prioritising incoming emails.

For further information about in-tray/e-tray exercices visit www.assessmentday.co.uk/in-tray-exercise.htm.

It is important to read all the information carefully, then set priorities and then act. For this type of exercise you might want to think about how you deal with current deadlines within a tight timescale.

If you are required to write a report using several pieces of information the same principles apply. It is really no different from collecting information from a variety of sources in order to write an essay or other written assignment.

Psychometric assessments

The most commonly used psychometric assessments are aptitude tests and personality questionnaires.

>>More information can be found on the psychometric assessment pages.

Presentations

You may be given advance notice if you will be required to give a short presentation. This obviously means that you can prepare and practice your presentation before the big day. Even if you are not sure what you might be asked to talk about it is a good idea to have a few topics in mind beforehand.

Hints and tips on presentations:

• If given a choice of topic make sure you choose something you know about.
• Try and use notes to read from and avoid reading from a script.
• Maintain eye contact with your audience.
• Smile and look relaxed.
• Don't try and be funny - it doesn't often work in this situation.
• If audiovisual equipment is available to use then you will probably be expected to use it.
• Remember to refer to your audiovisuals.
• Ensure that you have a strong, positive introduction.
• Decide when you are going to finish - don't just fizzle out.
• More information about presentations can be found in the Student Learning Centre website.

>>Read more tips for interview presentations

Interviews

You may have already had experience from a first interview, but may now need to be prepared for more in depth questioning, possibly from functional specialists. Your knowledge, ability to do the job and motivation will be under close scrutiny. You may well have a panel interview and in some ways this should be treated the same as a one-to one interview.

Try and concentrate on the person who is asking the question and direct your answers to them, occasionally glancing at the rest of the panel in order to include everyone.

There is plenty of information on interviews available in the Careers Service. It is also possible to book a practice interview with a careers adviser.

>>What are the selectors looking for?