Interview process
Centre interivew-
I was interviewed by the Centre Director and Assistant Director who sat me down and asking some standard interview questions- 'how would you feel being in charge of a team?', 'which of these duties jump out to you as things you'd excel at?'.
We then did a role play where I had to stop the AD and promote a gym and try to get him booked in for a free trial day. The idea was to ask as many questions and get to know them as well as possible to tailor the gym membership to their likes.
Most difficult question
"Give an example of a time you overcame a challenge at work"
Interview tips
Do some prep about the company for the role play- not so much stats or figures but enough to feel confident.
Maybe revisit BBC Bitesize for a little maths refresher if it's been a while.
Show them your personality and passion for the job.
Experiences at the assessment centre
Lovely vibe! A very happy team of about six who introduced themselves.
There were nine candidates who had travelled to Guildford from as far afield as Leicester. We were forewarned that we would have to prepare a presentation about ourselves and do another role play , a numeracy test, a literacy test, another standard interview and a group activity.
Numeracy and literacy tests- After a half an hour welcome presentation from the team, my schedule sent me and one other girl to complete our tests while the others were doing different tasks in different rooms. We weren't supervised and the tests were straightforward. Sort of year 7/8 standard maths- percentages, decimals etc, probability etc. The English was highlighting mistakes on a passage of writing and correcting it. Then a 'where' or 'wear', 'their' or 'they're' selection of questions.
Presentation- referred to as a 'personal compass' : where have you come from; where are you going; what makes you happy; what makes you great. Very straightforward- they just want to see your communication skills in action. I put lots of photos of me mucking around in there as they said they were keen to see some personality! This and the role play were done with just one interviewer present.
Role play- This time you're pretending to stop a mum in a shopping centre and promote Explore Learning as an employee. The idea of this seemed to freak a lot of people out but it's nowhere near as bad as it seems. Just be smiley and friendly and get to know the 'mum'. Also done with just one interviewer present.
I then had a half an hour break while other candidates came and went to their different appointments. We had a chance to chat and have a laugh- it was a relaxed atmosphere where we all agreed it had been a while since we thought about year 8 maths.
I then had another interview with a different member of the Careers team which was your run of the mill interview. I talked about my background, education, what I'd thought of the day so far, what did I think I'd excel at in the job or find difficult, and some scenario questions- whatever it is, customer/families/kids come first!
Lastly the nine of us were split in to two groups and asked to create a presentation together about how to bump membership in an Explore centre. They just want to see how you cooperate as a team and what role you play in a group dynamic.
During the breaks I imagine they continue to assess subtly and keep an eye on what you're like while 'off duty'. As long as you are a confident speaker and enthusiastic- they'll like you.