So, two months in and I haven’t killed anyone, and more importantly, not embarrassed myself to any greater extent than is normal. The desk has been toiling away in their busiest time of the year, wading through an influx of proposed Business Plans for 2010 from every Syndicate in the market, and I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to get involved in the approval process.

But enough about that… I’ll tell you more about it next time. The whole point of thisblog was to say that I and my fellow grads have been touring the country, to pop in to a university careers fair near you!

It was good to chat to you all about life at Lloyd’s as well as a good excuse to catch up with friends who couldn’t bear to leave further education, but I was aware that the most frequently asked question was something along the lines of -

“What is the application process like?”

Or the slightly more direct line of questioning -

“Tell me how to get the job!?”

So, with the first assessment centre on the horizon in early December I thought I’d write a bit of info, based on my experience:

Very briefly, as a quick introduction, the process is an Online Application and Online Tests followed by a Telephone Interview and lastly the Assessment Centre –check this out in more detail on the Lloyd’s Graduate Site.

I thought I’d let you know how I found the assessment centre last year, as I think a little information about the day would have calmed me down a lot! Jennifer Crane, who is the Graduate Recruitment and Development Adviser, has said that they are moving things around for this intake’s assessment centre, but I think the bones of it still are as follows:

Group Exercise – We were given a written, hypothetical ‘non-insurance’ problem to solve as a group.

Written Exercise – Again, a hypothetical situation where some analysis needed to be done and then communicated in writing. I found this one the hardest mainly due to time pressure as there is a lot of information to take in.

Role Play – You get a few minutes to read a brief about a situation involving a work colleague in the work place, and then have to solve it, with one assessor acting as the work colleague in question.

Presentation – I had to present on ‘Myself’, which I didn’t like very much, but it was fairly straightforward. Preparation time, followed by the presentation to a couple of assessors.

One on One Interview – Does exactly what it says on the tin. I had Vinay as my interviewer, who had just come back from a surfing holiday in Hawaii… So basically I lucked out! He was in a very good mood!

Guided Tour – You get a good little break from the assessments with a guided tour of the building – which is pretty impressive, especially the trading floor!

My ‘Top Tip’ to you, as someone who filled out a hideous number of applications in the last couple of years, is to check out the Lloyd’s Core Competencies, because this is the benchmark you will be compared against at each and every stage of the process. If you can display the characteristics the assessors are looking for, with good examples for these competencies, then you are in with a shout, so make sure answers to the more obvious questions are thought out and can be used to display your best qualities – pretty basic, I hear you say, but it took me a couple of speedy rejections to work it out!

Lastly, and I don’t want to sound like your mum, but – do your homework! A working knowledge of where you have applied is always going to play well and can help identify you as a frontrunner… to be honest, just knowing it’s nothing to do with the bank would be a good start!

The Lloyd’s Site is a great resource to use, with a Glossary of Terms to help you wade through the slightly more technical areas, but on the whole, it’s in pretty straightforward English. Fill your boots, the more you can talk about the better!

For more general hints and tips follow the link to the section on the Grad Website.

Right. That’s enough for now, but I am very happy to answer questions, so please feel free to post a comment.