The assessment centre experience

In this article Harry explores the process of attending an assessment centre and what this experience is like for prospective applicants.

Making it through to an assessment centre, whether it’s virtual or in-person, can bring a mix of emotions. From feeling relieved to have made it through to the next stage of the process, to also feeling nervous about what will be involved. To start with, this is completely normal, I remember feeling the exact same way before my assessment centre for the firms solicitor apprenticeship.  

This being said, one factor that reassured me was the support from the People team and existing apprentices at Burges Salmon. As someone with Autism and ADHD, having this support network from such an early stage re-enforced my desire to work at Burges Salmon. I would encourage anyone who is feeling nervous, or if you simply have any additional questions, to reach out to the firm as everyone wants to help as much as possible.

Moving to the day of my assessment centre though, I started by being given a tour of Burges Salmon’s office, followed by a welcome talk from the Managing Partner, Roger Bull. As the day progressed, the assessments themselves consisted of a group exercise where I had to work in a team and we had to agree and plan a new recruitment outreach programme. Following this, I was then given a prioritisation task which involved justifying how I would respond to certain professional scenarios. After lunch with the existing apprentices (the food was, and still is, much nicer than I had ever expected by the way), I concluded the day with an interview with the People team. Throughout my interview, one factor that stuck out to me was how comfortable I felt. In fact, I remember being asked;

‘Where do you see yourself in five years time?’

To me, the obvious answer was;

‘If successful, I will be one year away from qualifying as a solicitor’

Instead, I responded with;

‘I have no idea. Nobody really knows where they are going to be in five years time, as so much can change between now and then. Instead, I am focusing on more realistic goals for myself’

The point I am trying to make here is that I quickly learnt, Burges Salmon aren’t always looking for someone who is the typical high achieving academic candidate. The firm also want someone who is personable, approachable and can work well in a team as these are such important factors when working at Burges Salmon.

In summary, my best piece of advice is that if you do make it through to an assessment centre, just be yourself! Admittedly, be a polished version of yourself, but at the end of the day the firm want to get to know the real you. To anyone attending an assessment centre, either in the near or distant future, at Burges Salmon or not, I wish you the very best of luck!