OXFORD

D
APPLICATION ESSENTIALS
PRESENTATIONS AND WRITTEN REPORTS
You may be asked to prepare some materials in advance
of the assessment centre, or be given some time to prepare
on the day based on a case study. You will present to the
assessors, and possibly other candidates. When preparing
your presentation:
] Make sure that you understand what is required and the
time you have.
] Consider your audience – this will influence the content,
level and tone of your presentation.
] Timing is important as you will be stopped when your
time is up.
] Keep the structure simple:
(A) tell them who you are and what you are going to
tell them;
(B) tell them;
Because time will be short, it is best to start with the key
issue and your main conclusion or key recommendation. The
rest of the presentation should support that conclusion.
] Structure your arguments and limit complexity: restrict
yourself to three to six main messages;
] Support your ideas and themes with (brief) anecdotes,
examples, statistics and facts – but keep it moving to
reach the end of your presentation.
Consider whether an interactive element would be
appropriate given the context – in a teaching or training type
role play, this could certainly work. And consider pausing for
or inviting questions at the end if this feels appropriate.
(C) tell them what you have told them.
GROUP EXERCISES
This really is not about winning or losing! Group exercises
are about how you contribute in helping the groups deliver
against the given brief. Assessors can only judge you on
what the contributions they see, however, so make sure
you get involved and contribute: e.g. leading, facilitating,
generating ideas, encouraging, monitoring progress,
questioning, or analysing.
Remember, good team-work involves listening to,
acknowledging and following through on the ideas of others
in the group as much as making your contribution and being
heard: it’s about building on one another’s strengths and
contributions, not necessarily about getting your ideas taken
forward.
] Get a good grasp of any information you are given, but
don’t waste time on minute details.
] In the light of the information given, help the group
decide on your objectives and priorities, make a plan, and
follow it.
] Be assertive and persuasive, but also diplomatic.
] Listen to what everyone else has to say, and try to get the
best contribution from each person.
] Don’t assume that shy or quiet members have nothing to
contribute – ask for their thoughts.
] Find the balance between taking your ideas forward and
helping the group to complete the task.
] Keep an eye on the time and overall objective of the
exercise, and help ensure that the group keeps on track
and delivers against the brief.
IN-TRAY EXERCISES
In-tray or ‘e-tray’ exercises are a test of your ability to deal
with a real work scenario. You may be given a simulated inbox
full of emails, reports and other correspondence. Employers
are usually looking for you to prioritise your workload, draft
replies, delegate tasks and recommend actions.
Keep focused – time is often short, so work quickly and avoid
getting too absorbed in any single aspect of this task.
Take care to:
] Read the instructions carefully and thoroughly.
] Prioritise what is most important or urgent by scanning the
information.
] Identify which items you need to complete during the
exercise, handling tasks that are both ‘urgent & important’
as a priority.
] Select which items could be delegated/referred to
someone else and those that can be noted for completion
‘later’.
] Highlight any resource constraints, conflicts between tasks,
or implications for the organization.
] If asked to draft a written response to any item, identify the
main points of your response quickly and expand concisely
on them.
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