3 Reasons Companies are Dumping Interview for Assessment Center
Years back, interview used to be the sole criteria used by employers to assess candidates’ suitability for employment. Today, more and more companies are using Assessment Center. Shell was arguably the first to start using it in Nigeria through their globally famous Shell Recruitment Day (SRD – which has now been dropped by them too). Organizations like KPMG, PwC, First Bank, Oando, NLNG amongst others have also joined the fray of Assessment Center as a tool to test candidate.
Now, why are companies no longer relying on interview only?
1, Talk is cheap: Some candidates can talk very well but when it comes to real work, it is a different ball game. Oral communication ability, while it is very good, doesn’t necessarily make one a star performer. Candidates with privileged background that attended good schools are usually good talkers, and may easily bamboozle (or bobo) the interviewer to awe. Interview is just one of the tools of assessment center. It sees how they perform in other areas too.
2, Multiple Tools Can’t Be Wrong: Assessment center involves in addition to interview other tools like group discussion or group task, case study, oral presentation, role play (in others) or simulation assessment, and sometimes written essay. Interview only tests your oral communication, it doesn’t test your presentational skills, it doesn’t test your written communication skills, it doesn’t test team work or leadership skill. So, for you to have passed an assessment center, you must have done well in these multiple assessment tools. They can’t be wrong
3, Interview Can Be Too Mechanical: Interview is becoming too boring and predictable these days that companies don’t think it is sufficient to test a candidate’s ability. There are millions of articles on the internet on interview, hundred of thousands of standard questions with standard answers. Candidates have access to so much information on interview that companies now think performance at interview should be taken with a pinch of salt. Assessment center is relatively new, with questions not so structured and predictable, or at least much room for nuances.
Although most companies in Nigeria still use interview-only approach to testing candidates, Assessment center will continue to gain momentum.
Whether interview or Assessment center, you are home and dry with JarusHub Coaching Service, which has helped over 200 candidates from Nigeria and abroad smash the selection hurdles.
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