9. Preparing for recruitment assessments

Assessments are common in the legal recruitment process. In this Step we look at what you could be asked to do, and how you should prepare.

Updated Resource Book coming soon

What to expect and what recruiters are looking for

Case study materials

While not a test in itself, case study materials frequently form the basis of other tasks such as group work, presentations or written assessments, and may consist of a set of documents relating to the activities of an imaginary client.

3 things a recruiter looks for in your use of the materials:

• Technical understanding and whether you have understood the contents
• Whether you can apply and use the information constructively
• The ability to extract the most important information using your analytical skills.

Group work

These involve group discussions and/ or decision making, and tend to cover either hypothetical scenarios (e.g. survival scenarios) or business decisions. The recruiter will be looking for:

• Teamwork - whether you contribute to the whole team effort
• Communication skills - whether you listen, acknowledge and speak clearly and confidently - summing up or recapping can be useful
• Interpersonal skills such as using each person’s name
• Leadership - although there is a difference between leading and dominating
• Assertiveness - if the team is going off topic or running over time, can you bring the group back to focus on the task in hand?

Presentations

You may be given advance notice and several weeks to prepare or a presentation may be sprung on you on the day. The recruiter will be assessing:

• Communication skills - be clear, use appropriate language, tone and pace
• Public speaking - be confident, use eye contact, remember to smile
• Logic and structure - keep it focused and easy to follow
• Time management - stick to the time allotted without rushing
• Use of visual aids - use them appropriately, do not turn your back on your audience to look at a screen or bury your head in a script.

Written assessments

Examples of written assessments include being asked to write a letter of advice to a client or a memo for a senior member of staff (often based on a bundle of case study materials).

You will be assessed on:

• How you write - spelling, grammar and clarity of expression
• Your tone - is it appropriate? Are you persuading, advising or informing?
• Detail – you understand who the recipient is and their likely level of knowledge
• Analytical ability – you can identify the relevant issues
• Time management - you complete the task in the allotted time
• Client focus - do you put the client’s best interests first?
• Professional obligations - you have considered and fulfilled them
• Commercial awareness - you give commercially minded advice

E-tray or In-tray exercises

For this exercise you may be given an in-tray or email mailbox, with the objective of dealing with its contents as efficiently and effectively as possible. The recruiter is assessing:

• Analytical skills and the ability to get to the heart of the matter
• Organisation and planning
• Working under pressure
• Business acumen - realising the importance of certain tasks or information
• Common sense which will be demonstrated by your prioritisation and decision making
• Ability to write when responding to an item in the in-tray.

Psychometric tests

The most common psychometric tests in legal recruitment are:

• Verbal reasoning - how you understand written information and make use of it
• Critical thinking - understanding how you think and reason
• Numerical reasoning - does require some mathematical ability, but the focus on whether you can understand and make use of numerical information.

You may encounter other types of assessment:

• Personality tests or questionnaires - insights into your personality traits, motivations and preferred working style.
• Situational judgement tests - how you respond in common sense situations.

Activity – Example Assessment Task

Download this example assessment task to practice for assessment centres.