Hey everyone! I've had a lot of messages asking about the CMS assessment centre over the past month so I figured I'd make a thread and put all the information in one place so everyone can have access to it since more AC invites seem to be going out at the moment. For reference, I had my AC in mid-December (I was fast-tracked after their First Steps programme) and got the vac scheme offer about a day later.
The assessment centre consisted of a case study, a partner interview, and a group exercise. Here's a run-through of how the day went and any tips I have on how to approach each exercise:
For the case study exercise, I had 45 minutes to prepare a presentation answering a question set out in the instructions. All the information you need is in the document they give you (you don't need any prior knowledge), so you just need to read/skim through it all carefully and make sure you pick up on all the key points (most of these will be quite obvious in the document so don't worry too much about missing anything major). My advice is just to make sure you leave enough time to structure your presentation in a clear and concise manner so you can be sure that you're answering all parts of the question (and so you don't end up rambling or jumping from one point to another during your presentation). One way you could do this is to have a cutoff point for yourself to finish reading so you don't run out of time trying to analyse every single sentence (which is probably what I would have done).
After the case study, I had a partner interview where I presented my case study findings in the first 10 minutes, then the partner asked me some questions about my presentation. For this stage, my advice is just to make sure that if you mention something in your presentation, you know enough about it to answer any follow-up questions about it. For example, if you briefly mention Brexit, be prepared to answer any question about other impacts it may have or what might happen in the event of a no-deal Brexit in this case study (obviously the no-deal part doesn't apply anymore, but you get the point). The questions didn't seem designed to trip me up and seemed more geared towards giving me an opportunity to expand on some of my earlier points and show my knowledge.
The rest of the interview was mostly competency questions (I didn't get any why CMS questions but can't speak for other people's interviews) and one or two basic situational judgment questions. The interview was quite relaxed and flowed more like a natural conversation, so I wasn't asked any difficult follow-up questions or specific commercial questions at any point.
For the group exercise, your group is given a task/question at the beginning of the exercise and then you have 30 minutes to prepare a 10-minute presentation with your group answering that question. The task itself was quite simple and didn't require much prior knowledge, since the point of the exercise is mainly to see how you work with others rather than to test your knowledge. This part of the AC was pretty straightforward, my only advice (even though it's super basic) is to just remember that the assessors are in the breakout room with you to watch how you interact with others, so make sure you're being a positive influence and encouraging others throughout the exercise, while still contributing some of your own ideas/thoughts. I'd also say keep an eye on the time because it can be very easy to get carried away with your discussion and not leave enough time to prepare your parts for the presentation.
That's pretty much it! This was my first assessment centre so I was very nervous and intimidated going into it, but it went by really quickly and I actually ended up enjoying it, so try not to stress over it too much (although I know that's easier said than done)!
I hope this is helpful, let me know if you have any questions!
