Originally Posted by
Black Pudding
PinkPilot13,
Thank you for your feedback
I'll be more specific for you
Do you as someone who has worked in Talent Acquisition for 15 years including within EK think that meeting up the night before with other candidates in order, and I quote "to get to know each other for the group excercise part of the interview" is a wise thing to do. You call this networking. Would you as a person responsible for recruitment encourage candidates to contact other candidates to do the same thing the night before a selection process involving a group exercise. Do you think it's fair on all candidates to do this. If you knew that some candidates organised to get together the night before in order to get to know each better for the group exercise, would you be happy.
You think Aer Lingus would be happy to know this. I did not think so. They want to see the candidates at the assessment meeting other candidates for the first time. not after an evening together to get to know each other for the group excercise part of the interview
Where did I mention "not social recluses squirreled away in their rooms prior to assessments!"
I always thought a group exercise was to see how you interact with people you have to work with who you have never met before, like when a First Officer meets a Captain for the first time and vice versa. CRM, teamwork, leadership, thinking outside the box etc.
There is only a handful of places on offer and I know for sure, I would be keeping a low profile the night before in a bar socialising with locals, not my competitors. And you may think this is being harsh. Remember, only a handful of positions on offer. You fail, you fail.
Regarding what do I know. I have seen training and test situations where the crew knew each other very well. This lead them to dropping their guard and behaving in a way that was not suitable for the event. I.e. they spoke in a way that was not suitable for the situation and gave the impression of bad CRM. I am guessing that if these Aer Lingus candidates met the night before to get to know each other better for the group exercise, they may drop their guard and behave in a manner that Aer Lingus may take the wrong way. Me, I would not risk it. If I met anyone the night before, yes I would have plenty of beers but under no circumstances would I discuss the selection process at all especially the group exercise. To be honest, I would rather not meet any other candidates until on the day. PinkPilot13, do you get where I'm coming from. So please do let me know your views on my questions to you as you seem to be experienced on this subject.
Yes, networking can only bring success when done in the correct way
Hi,
Group sessions are to asses various social & interactional traits. You do not have to be meeting for the first time...
No assessor is going to have any issues with you meeting the night before, we used to expect people to have I met over breakfast etc. The ultimate aim for an assessment process is for everyone to be as relaxed as possible. Besides, you can’t possibly predict which group you will be placed in to prepare any kind of outcome!
Just go steady on the beers the night before, I’d suggest no more than 1 max 😊