Hi Alex, how should we best prepare for a transaction diligence assessment day? (advice and how to stand out)

Hi Ankoor,

Thanks for your question! I gave a similar answer in this discussion about how to prepare https://ey-uk.career-inspiration.com/discussion/172414/what-advice-would-you-give-to-the-summer-internship-applicants-for-the-later-stages-of-the-application-process-thanks. I've read through and I think all the points I gave in relation to the assessment centre are still valid.

I'd recommend you read it but at the end of the post I summarised into these key points:
- Be genuine and allow your personality to come across, don't be over rehearsed and unnatural
- Prepare as much as you can so you don't get thrown off on the day
- Listen to others and show you're a team player
- Take the lead where you can show your leadership ability, but don't dominate others
- Don't be afraid to ask questions in the interview

In terms of how to stand out, I think two of these points are specifically important - being genuine and being a team player.

Being genuine just means to be natural as if you are in a real day to day environment. Be relatable and personable so that the assessors and interviewers see you as someone they would like to work with. If you come across as behaving unnaturally, you won't create that impression. For example, if you over rehearse your responses and reel them off from memory to every question, you will end up sounding like a robot rather than a person. It’s natural to be nervous, and assessors understand this, so try to not let that get to you either.

In terms of being a team player, this links in to not dominating others. It can be easy to assume that to stand out in an assessment centre, particularly in group exercises, you need to be the person who talks the most, and therefore end up taking over somewhat. This will definitely make you stand out - but for the wrong reasons. You have to show that you're a team player by letting others participate too. If no one is speaking up or the group lacks direction, then don't hesitate to talk, or take the lead - but always do it in a way that doesn't shut out others when they want to contribute. Ideally, you try to bring the less involved people into the discussion as well as your own contribution.

I hope this helps and do refer to the post I linked for more advice. Good luck!