Assessment centre
Assessment centre practice
E-tray, case study, presentation and group exercise, and how assessors score them.
Choose an exercise
About this test
An assessment centre combines several exercises, each scored by assessors against the same set of competencies. What is in yours depends on the firm: some hold a topic discussion and an interview with no group exercise, others pair a group exercise with an interview, and some run a day of back-to-back interviews. The firm pages list the line-up each firm publishes.
Assessor scoring follows a public standard. Competencies are rated in at least two exercises on the same anchored scale, and ratings are combined arithmetically, not by group discussion. Our exercises use the same shape, so you can see how your evidence from one exercise would count across the matrix.
What we know about this format
Each point carries a badge showing where it comes from. Where only candidates have reported something, the badge says so.
What do the confidence badges mean?
- Vendor-published Stated in the test publisher's own document or practice site.
- Academic From peer-reviewed research.
- Official employer Stated on the employer's own page.
- Near-official Near-official: an employer-run practice portal, or a vendor or employer-quoted press release naming the employer.
- Candidate-reported Reported by candidates. Treat as likely but unconfirmed.
- Third-party From prep sites, press or forums. Not confirmed by the employer or publisher.
- Academic
The British Psychological Society standard (2015) says to design from a competency by exercise matrix, assess each criterion in at least two exercises, use the same rating scale in every exercise, and combine ratings arithmetically, not by consensus.
- Official employer
Published final-stage line-ups differ: Deloitte lists a topic discussion and a skills interview and no group exercise. The Bank of England lists one group exercise and one interview. NatWest lists a full virtual day with, for example, a group discussion, a role play and an interview. KPMG says only that Launch Pad is a half day.
Source · See each firm page for sources.
- Official employer
Civil Service Fast Stream centre (online): three exercises each marked by a different assessor, written exercise 55 minutes (4 tasks), oral briefing with 45 minutes' preparation, then 10 minutes to brief and 15 minutes of questions, and a 30-minute personal development conversation.
Source · A public-sector example of a published line-up.
- Academic
Ratings tend to cluster by exercise more than by competency, so how you do in one exercise matters.
Source · Lievens and Conway 2001.
- Third-party
Assessor rating scales, wash-up rules and employer pass marks are not public.
Written case study
- Third-party
Written case exercises usually last 30 to 60 minutes. Kvanta packs are 45 to 50.
- Official employer
The Fast Stream written exercise gives 55 minutes to review information and complete 4 written tasks, about 20 minutes reading and 35 writing.
Source · Public sector rather than finance.
- Third-party
The output is a written recommendation or report. Some case studies ask for a presentation instead.
- Third-party
No employer or university source states a standard pack length. Kvanta packs have 6 to 9 pages with 5 to 11 tables.
Source · One prep site gives a range of 2 to 20 pages. Treat our page count as our own design.
- Near-official
Case memos are rated against behaviourally anchored descriptors for each competency, which is how structured assessment is designed to work.
Source · BPS 2015 clause 4.31 asks for descriptive anchors on the rating scale.
E-tray exercise
- Third-party
E-tray and in-tray exercises are timed, usually 30 to 80 minutes. Kvanta inboxes run 40 to 60 minutes in Real mode.
Source · A mid-range choice inside a wide reported range.
- Third-party
Full exercises include up to about 15 emails and several documents. Kvanta inboxes have 13 to 18 emails so that every trap type fits.
Source · No employer states an email count.
- Third-party
Emails come with attachments. Tasks include choosing an action from a list, ranking responses and writing a reply.
- Official employer
HSBC describes online assessments that can include mock emails, data tables and graphs, and time-recorded items.
Source · Not a pure e-tray.
- Official employer
The Civil Service Fast Stream used an invigilated e-tray in 2010 and now uses an untimed online case-study assessment of background documents and situations.
- Academic
In-basket exercises have good evidence behind them for predicting job performance (31 studies, 3,958 people).
Source · Whetzel, Rotenberry and McDaniel, 2014.
- Academic
Priority scoring gives partial credit for being near the keyed answer (4 minus the distance), as the NHS Foundation Programme situational judgement test does. Kvanta adapts the idea to four priority levels.
Source · A published method, not any employer's e-tray scoring. No employer publishes that.
Group exercise kit
- Third-party
Group exercises typically give 10 to 15 minutes of reading and 30 to 45 minutes of discussion. Kvanta kits are shorter (5 to 10 and 25 to 30) so a group can finish in one sitting.
- Near-official
Some group exercises assign roles and some do not. More often the group is leaderless.
Source · University of York careers service; Salford and AssessmentDay say the same.
- Near-official
The assessor standard asks for a competency by exercise matrix and for each criterion to be assessed by at least two methods, ideally two exercises.
Source · British Psychological Society, Design and Delivery of Assessment Centres (2015), clause 4.15.
- Near-official
The same rating scale is used for every exercise, with descriptive anchors on at least two points.
Source · Clauses 4.30 and 4.31.
- Near-official
Ratings are combined by arithmetic, not by consensus discussion, whenever the centre supports selection decisions.
Source · Clause 7.4 and note 7.4.1.1.
- Official employer
Deloitte UK's final stage is a topic discussion with an assessor plus a skills and motivation interview. No group exercise is listed.
Source · The absence is inferred from the page.
- Official employer
The Bank of England's assessment centre consists of one group exercise and one interview.
- Official employer
Goldman Sachs campus hiring typically involves between two and five interviews, depending on the division.
Source · Global campus page, not UK specific.
- Academic
International guidelines exist for running assessment centres fairly.
Source · Rupp et al., 2015.
- Academic
Assessor ratings tend to vary by exercise at least as much as by competency, which is why Kvanta treats each exercise as fresh.
Source · Lievens and Conway, 2001: dimension and exercise variance were about equal.
Presentation exercise
- Third-party
Presentation exercises give about 20 to 30 minutes to prepare from the materials. Kvanta uses 25.
Source · One prep site reports as little as 15 minutes. The Fast Stream oral briefing allows 45.
- Third-party
The talk is usually 5 to 10 minutes. Kvanta tasks set 7 or 8.
- Third-party
A question session follows. Kvanta asks 3 or 4 challenge questions.
Source · The only source for a 5 to 15 minute question range.
- Official employer
Fast Stream oral briefing: 45 minutes to review the documents, 10 minutes to brief the assessor and 15 minutes of questions.
Questions people ask
What happens at an assessment centre?
You complete several exercises, such as an e-tray, written case, presentation, group exercise and interview, scored by assessors against a fixed competency framework. The exact mix is the employer's choice.
Does every firm use a group exercise?
No. Deloitte lists a topic discussion and an interview and no group exercise. The Bank of England, NatWest and Lloyds list a group exercise or discussion. KPMG does not publish its exercises. See the firm pages for the stated line-up and its source.
How are exercises scored?
A public standard says each competency should be rated in at least two exercises on the same anchored scale, and ratings combined arithmetically. Employer scales and pass marks are not public.
Can I prepare for an e-tray?
Yes. Practise prioritising, writing short professional replies and doing quick calculations. Our e-tray exercise has a mock inbox. Scoring of real e-trays is not public.
What do assessors look for in a group exercise?
They observe, record, classify and evaluate behaviour against the competencies, not who talks most. Our guide shows the standard categories.
How long does it last?
It varies. HSBC says usually about three hours, NatWest runs a full virtual day, and KPMG says Launch Pad is a half day. Deloitte's two exercises run about 30 to 40 minutes and about 50 minutes. See the firm pages.
Is this the real thing?
No. It is original practice material for rehearsal.
Where this appears in firm processes
- PwC UK Official employer
- Deloitte UK Official employer
- EY UK Official employer
- KPMG UK Official employer
- Goldman Sachs Official employer
- J.P. Morgan Official employer
- Morgan Stanley Official employer
- Barclays Official employer
- HSBC Near-official
- Citi Official employer
- NatWest Group Official employer
- Lloyds Banking Group Official employer
- UBS Official employer
- Standard Chartered Official employer
- Bank of England Official employer
- Aviva Official employer
- Bank of America Official employer
- BDO UK Official employer
- BlackRock Official employer
- Deutsche Bank Official employer
- Forvis Mazars (UK) Official employer
- Grant Thornton UK Official employer
- Jefferies Official employer
- Lazard Official employer
- Legal & General (L&G) Official employer
- M&G Official employer
- Macquarie Group Official employer
- Nationwide Building Society Official employer
- Nomura Official employer
- Rothschild & Co Official employer
- RSM UK Official employer
- Santander UK Official employer
- Schroders Official employer
See all firm pages. Check your own invitation, because processes change each cycle.
Independent practice. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any test publisher or employer.
Practice builds familiarity. Assessment centres vary a lot between firms, and assessors score against criteria we cannot see, so treat this as rehearsal, not prediction.
Use Kvanta to practise and learn. In a live assessment, do not use AI tools, notes or another person unless the employer says you may. Read our approach to integrity.