Shining in Group Exercises

Whether in-person or over a virtual platform, the group exercise is a key part of the day in an assessment centre, and helps recruiters assess how you may perform in a position. So impress them with these tips!

The ice-breaker

Your assessors may have one to help you relax and warm up to your assigned group in order for everyone to gel. Icebreakers typically revolve around completing a task in a set time.

For example, recruiters may ask your group to solve a puzzle within a time limit. Don’t forget to watch out for the time as you work with your group mates!

Many applicants make the mistake of spending too much time discussing and planning, causing them to fall short in the execution of the idea.

Still, as anyone who has been in an ice-breaker can tell you, these can get very awkward very quickly if no one steps in to take charge. That’s where you can come in – do your best to keep the ball rolling and get everyone chatting!

The group case study exercise

The group will be given a set period of time to working together and respond to a case study – often a set of documents based on a real-life situation will be given. The group may also be asked to present their findings as part of the exercise.

Assessors have been known to occasionally shake things up by giving each candidate a different briefing document or role to play, leaving the group to reach a conclusion in spite of the conflicting views each member may have.

Your goal is to show recruiters that you’re capable of working together towards a common target. Your recruiters actually aren’t looking out for the “correct” answer – they want to see the steps you’re willing to take to reach your goal.

The discussion group

You and your group will be given a topic – or multiple topics – to discuss. The nature of the topics can vary, but they usually involve issues of current importance to graduates, or were recently featured in the news.

At the end of the discussion, each candidate may be invited to comment briefly on one of the group’s conclusions, so it’s as vital to speak up as it is to listen.

You’ll have little to no preparation time for this, so it’s a good idea to build up a knowledge bank through quality newspaper and magazine articles in the weeks leading up to your day in the assessment centre. This way, you’ll be able to join in the discussion with a more complete picture of things.

The leaderless task

Each member of a group will be given a separate briefing – which may or may not be similar to others’ – and a time limit to complete a task as a group.

As no one in the group has a complete set of instructions and there’s no designated leader, everyone will have to work together to come to a decision acceptable to all members.

As before, there’s no “correct” answer, so be patient and try to broker as many compromises as possible. Assessors are more interested in seeing if you’re able to work with people holding different views, as well as how well you can navigate potential conflict.

The leadership task

A complete change from the leaderless task, recruiters occasionally spring this on candidates when they’re interested in testing leadership skills. In this scenario, you may be asked to act as the leader of your group or even chair a meeting.

Once again, there’ll be a set task – only this time, you’ll be expected to lead your group to success. This is what your assessors will be looking for: • Delegation: A good leader delegates tasks. You can’t do everything alone, so you must divide up the work between the others.

• Using the strengths of others:

Identifying strengths in group members and using them in appropriate ways is one of the hallmarks of a good leader.

• If you know what is going on:

Sticking to your guns and ignoring feedback aren’t characteristics of good leaders. It’s better to keep an eye on what’s going on and make changes if things don’t work out.

Skills to demonstrate in group exercises

Contribute, but don’t dominate Don’t be aggressive, but be assertive. If you’re a shy person who doesn’t speak up, do your best to participate.

Inversely, if you know that you sometimes talk too much, do your best to restrain yourself! Keep an eye on the time Stay focused on the overall objective. Every now and then, try to summarise the group’s progress to make sure you don’t shoot past the time limit given.

Try to keep things on schedule as diplomatically as possible. Be diplomatic If a group member is behaving in a dominant fashion, don’t shut them down. Instead, make sure everyone has the chance to share their thoughts.

Be prepared to compromise, but don’t bend over backwards – just make sure you can reasonably justify any sacrifices you make. Be confident and aware Listen without interrupting. Be aware of what others in your group are contributing and make it a point to invite the quieter ones to the discussion. Assessors notice and appreciate attentive candidates.