Role play in the assessment centre – how to prepare

Are your acting skills called for here? Role play is a popular exercise in assessment centres used to draw applicants out of their shells in a simulated interview situation. This can be challenging, but you'll be able to nail it if you prepare. You can find the most important tips and examples for assessment centre role play exercises in this article.

What can you expect in an assessment centre role play?

Besides the group discussion, the role play is one of the group tasks at an assessment centre. In the role play you'll have to do at the assessment centre, you'll be presented with a fictitious example of a situation from everyday working life which you'll have to navigate a realistic way. You'll often have to play the role of a manager and conduct a mock employee appraisal interview with someone. Depending on the job profile in question, the task may also be a sales pitch, for example. This is because role plays at an assessment centre are often used when you apply for a job that involves customer contact or responsibility for staff. But no matter what position you're applying for, role plays may feature in the hiring assessment, as they're a popular way to test your soft skills. Always prepare as much as possible for the relevant role-play scenario(s) when you're invited to a recruitment assessment centre.

How exactly does role playing during an assessment work?

The role-play exercise usually starts with a detailed task description, which includes instructions about your role in the mock interview and information about the other person in the interview. This position is usually assumed by the assessors. Afterwards, you'll usually be given 15 minutes to prepare for your role. The actual role-play situation generally lasts between 15 and 30 minutes.

Why is role play used so often at assessment centres?

Role plays often reveal more about your personality than, for example, an individual interview can. This is because in role plays, you're in a situation where you have to react spontaneously and where you're not in your usual role. Recruiters pay particular attention to the following skills in role plays:

Examples: what are typical assessment centre role plays?

In a recruitment role play, you find yourself in an unfamiliar and difficult situation. Recruiters use this to challenge your behaviour and reactions. But you don't have to face the task completely unprepared. Basically, you can assume that the role play theme will be relevant to the position you're applying for. The most common interview situations and topics that you may encounter in an assessment centre are as follows:

Employee appraisal interview at an assessment centre: a typical role-play scenario

You'll often encounter the appraisal interview as a role play at a recruitment assessment centre, especially if you're applying for a job in human resources or a management position. That's why we'll take a closer look at the appraisal interview as a role play and give examples and tips on how you can best behave in this situation.

Examples of an appraisal interview role-play scenario

In the appraisal interview, you're in the role of manager. Often you are required to deliver bad news to the employee. The following are typical examples of points that often have to be brought up in the role play appraisal interview exercise:

• Work performance or morale has decreased significantly
• A project has to be put on hold or there are budget cuts
• Unfortunately, you can't give the employee a well-deserved promotion after all
• You need to ask the employee to postpone leave that was promised
• A staff member:
• regularly arrives late for work
• often surfs the Internet during working hours
• works very well and accurately, but unfortunately too slowly
• would like to their reduce hours, but another staff member is on long-term sick leave
• is held responsible for the bad mood in the team

What do recruiters pay particular attention to?

Role play at an assessment centre is not an easy task, but if you know what recruiters look for in particular, you can prepare yourself ahead of time. Essentially, recruiters are concerned with the following questions:

How is the conversation opened?

You are in the leadership role. Maybe offer your co-worker a drink first before you come straight out with the problem.

How is the conversation structured?

This is your chance to show off your excellent communication skills. It is essential to lead the conversation with confidence, because you're in the leadership position. You should first bring up the reason for the conversation and, if possible, not go off-topic. Also state the specific aim of the conversation.

How consistently is the goal of the conversation pursued?

You need to maintain control throughout the conversation. Ask specific questions to get the member of staff to speak as much as possible during the discussion. Try to skilfully get to the bottom of the problem.

How do you respond to the arguments posed by the other person?

Make your points clearly, but also listen carefully to what the other person has to say. Here, it's often important that you find a healthy middle ground. On the one hand, you should be understanding. Perhaps there are personal issues. But of course you mustn't neglect the interests of the company.

How do you react in an emotionally tense situation?

To make the situation even worse, at times in the role play you have to deal with a somewhat unpleasant conversation partner. If possible, don't let this upset you; always remain objective and polite.

How do you solve the problem?

At the end of the conversation, it's particularly important that the situation has been cleared up and possible solutions found. During the discussion, always ask for the member of staff's own suggestions for solutions. Compromise can be a good way forward if there is no concrete agreement in sight.

What was the atmosphere like during the discussion?

It's not what you say, but how you say it. This is also the case when dealing with colleagues and people you manage. Did you display good rhetoric skills during the task? Have you been appreciative and diplomatic in the conversation, without relinquishing control at too many points?

Assessment centre role play: how to prepare

Just reading this article is a big step in your preparation. You know what to expect in an assessment centre role play – and that's half the battle. You're now familiar with the appraisal interview format, which is often chosen as a role-play scenario at assessment centres. Now you can apply what you've learned to other possible role plays.  You can find many more examples of assessment centre role plays with solutions online. Practise the role plays at home with another person who can be your sounding board and give you valuable feedback.

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