Graduate assessment centres: Why, what and how?


In the first of an exclusive three part series on graduate recruitment, consultant Mike Morrison reveals best practice in hiring graduates using assessment centres.


Why
So you have made the decision to recruit graduates. You know that if you place an advert you will get lots of replies, so how do you put systems in to ensure the individuals you offer posts to are right for you?

First things first – not all graduates are the same – some have work experience – some do not. This simple difference makes graduate recruitment much more difficult than for many other posts. In addition to this graduates are not the cheapest of new recruits.

In come recruitment and selection methods. Traditionally assessment centres have been run by larger organisations to recruit onto their graduate development programmes, but now more and more organisations are either revisiting assessment centres they have run for years or are starting out for the first time.

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Editor's Welcome

 

Hello! And welcome back as we enter 2012, with a busy year ahead of us all. With talk of double-dip recessions, a possible partial or even full break-up of the Eurozone and unemployment rates set to hit nearly 9%, topics such as organisational streamlining, staff resilience and talent management are likely to be on many an HR professional's lips over the next 12 months.
 
But to lighten the gloom here in the UK, we also have the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and its attendant public holidays to look forward to at the start of June. Followed by two weeks of Olympic Games from 27 July to 12 August and the Paralympics from 29 August to 9 September, each generating their own excitement, but also issues to work through for hard-pressed HR departments trying to sort out the multifarious staffing issues in advance.
 
So with an interesting but challenging year to come, HRZone promises to be with you, supporting you all the way and providing our usual insightful blend of news, analysis, community blogs and expert comment to help you sort the wheat from the chaff. As ever, we love to hear from you too so feel free to either post your words of wisdom to our blog section yourself or, in the case of longer, more in-depth ‘expert voice’ articles, drop me a line with any ideas to cath.everett@siftmedia.co.uk.....
 
Cath Everett
HRZone Editor 
 
 
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