I was writing an article earlier today for an engineering institute and I had a “mini - revelation”. In the article I identified the major steps in the graduate recruitment process. If you haven’t got there yet, the process looks something like this:-
1) Application
2) First interview (normally on the phone) together with numerical and verbal reasoning psychometric tests. These are used to see whether you have the base level intellect to be considered. So the focus of these tests is mainly IQ (what we generally see as intelligence).
3) Face to face interview
4) Assessment centre. These mainly aim to get a better feel for your EI (emotional intelligence) and will test your softer skills e.g. listening, questioning, teamwork, leadership and others.
5) Offer - for the fortunate few.
What struck me was the fact that different skills are required at each of the key steps. The application stage doesn’t require particular skills, but does mean that you are spotting opportunities, networking and completing applications well. The psychometric tests are generally looking to see whether you have the necessary numerical ability together with the ability to process and analyse written information. Normally, you will need to do some practice tests to make sure you know what you’re letting yourself in for. Interviews are a test of your ability to communicate face to face as well as your ability to research prospective employers and to market yourself as a personal brand. Assessment centres call for different skills and these are more group oriented as you’ll often be asked to solve problems and work on tasks with a group of candidates.
So, in thinking about it, a well implemented graduate recruitment process will test a very wide range of skills and aptitudes. By focussing on the relevant ones at each stage, you’re likely to have a better chance of being successful.
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