Role plays and simulation exercises

Role plays and simulation exercises help the assessors accurately assess how candidates would perform in everyday business activities. These exercises simulate work-related tasks in a business environment, allowing the candidates to demonstrate their aptitude related to the requirements of the job.

Graduate recruiters commonly use the role play exercise at assessment centers. There are many different types of role play exercises, and they are tailored to specific jobs. These exercises are particularly useful when assessing candidates for client facing positions such as banking, law, marketing, sales and consulting. As part of your preparation, it is recommended to study the job specifications and the key competencies the role and organization requires. Based on this knowledge you can figure out what type of behavior recruiters will most likely be looking for.

What sort of role play can you expect?

The scenarios you can expect are based on situations that are very difficult to emulate in other tests of interviews. Usually, the role play exercise will take on a one-to-one format with an assessor observing the interactions. However, role plays can also be used in a group setting where aspects of simulation are incorporated. You may be given a script to read and improvise from. A common scenario is for an interviewer to play an unhappy customer, with your role being to deal with their complaint. Other common scenarios are criticizing or appraising a member of staff and/or negotiating a contract or project delivery. Your performance will be observed by the assessor, who’s noting the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.