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There are many different assessment styles. But one thing is for sure – people are always scared of failing their assessment. When it comes to assessments there are just so many questions and unknown variables. Who is going to assess you? What kind of person will they be? What are their expectations? And most importantly, what will he or she ask? Well, at least when it comes to the types of questions they will ask, you can prepare yourself better than you think. Here are a few questions that will help a lot!

How would you best describe yourself?
Tell them something about your personality. Are you spontaneous, confident or creative for instance? What do you like? Also, think about the behaviours or situations can you describe to best showcase your personality and how you deal with challenges in your daily life.

What are your 3 strongest points?
Give them some positive points, for instance what friends like about you and even better what colleagues complemented you on. Try to be concise – think of 3 words or phrases that would best “sell” yourself. Things like “hard-working”, “team player”, “strong communication skills”, “willing to learn”, “enthusiastic”, “good time management skills”, “fast-learner”, etc.

What are you 3 weakest points?
Make sure this answer is not too negative. This question is more than likely to come up so be prepared! When telling the assessor about each weakness always back it up with how you plan to improve this weakness. And by all means never go with the cliché “I’m a perfectionist”… this is not a real “weakness” and will not present you in the best light with the assessor.

What kind of student are/were you?
Do you learn things quickly? Do you like things to be explained to you in detail or do you like to work some things out for yourself after a little guidance?

What do you know about the industry?
Do some research and find out about the industry you’re about to enter. If you’ve had some work experience in that industry, even better; explain what you understand about the industry and why you like it.

What do you think is important while working together with colleagues?
Point out some stuff that will make your work easier when working with that kind of people. Pretty much 99.9% of the time it’s best to present yourself as a team player. When it comes to questions like these always talk about how you communicate well with other people you work with  – if you can think of an example from your past work experience then tell them.

What do you find attractive about this job?
Tell them what benefits are in it for you. Explain, as well as possible, what competence you would like to develop through this job. Explain what motivates you and what you like about this job. Make clear how your personality fits this job.

Where do you see your career going?
Explain  your future plans, how you would like it and what you think is best for you. Every employer wants to know that you’re in the job for the long-haul. It is always important to be secure and to have an idea about your future. If you don’t have you’re entire future mapped out that’s fine, just point out possibilities and where you would like to see yourself in a few years time.

With what kinds of people do you have problems working with?
Tell them what kind of personalities you can learn from and which ones have made you function more difficult in the past. However, when you tell them about personalities you have had problems with in the past, always back this up with how you dealt with this conflict and ended up working well together.

Do you adjust easily to new situations?
Answer honestly.  If you find it difficult to adjust, tell them but also tell that you have found an solution for that problem. Always combine a negative quality with a positive one, in this way they see that you have thought about it and that you are working on it.

What is one thing about yourself that you are proud of?
Never brag, but be honest. Explain why people mention it as a positive quality, explain why you are proud of that thing and how it helped you in the past.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
This is a tricky one, because you don’t want to show too much of your personal life.  Be conservative with your answer; tell them the thing you really like to do, such as sports, gaming, music, reading and fun stuff with friends. You can tell more about the parts that are really positive like playing sports, music or reading. Tell them what kind of sport or maybe instrument you play, how long you play and why.