AECOM Assessment – Ultimate Career Guide
Last Updated on February 16, 2022
Have you applied for a job with AECOM? If so, you will need to prepare for a demanding recruitment process, pre-employment testing and a day at an assessment centre or part of a day doing technical assessments at an office.
AECOM is a trusted infrastructure consulting firm with global recognition delivering projects from the planning stage to overseeing their construction. It will have a great many other applicants like yourself coveting the job you may have applied for.
Not alone will you have to deal with the assessments they ask you to do but you will have to outshine many other candidates for the job.
To get that job, thorough preparation is required.
How do I prepare for the AECOM Assessments?
The best approach to preparation for pre-employment testing is to use the services of a job test preparation company.
For this, we recommend using the services of Job Test Prep, leaders in preparing candidates for all aspects of the recruitment process.
Using their services, you are guaranteed accurate information about the process and the resources you need for preparation.
They can provide you with a test prep pack containing sample test papers modelled on the real tests, a means of checking your scores as you do the papers and detailed explanations of questions and answers.
Working on the sample papers, you become familiar with the tests before doing the real ones and ensure that nothing on the real assessments will take you by surprise. You also learn to do the tests within the restricted time span imposed.
To get a feel for the types of tests they provide you with, try your hand at a free sample test here.
What format does the testing take?
The process begins with an online application and submission of your CV. Bear in mind you are allowed to apply for three teams in your application, so consider your options carefully.
Following on from this, you will be asked to do a phone interview and online reasoning tests.
If you get successfully through these stages, you will be invited to an assessment centre to engage in group exercises followed by an interview with an AECOM partner.
Your AECOM test prep pack will provide you with the resources to prepare for all of these stages.
Online Reasoning Tests
AECOM states they are looking for employees with solid technical grounding in their field. It also looks for people with the ability to analyse information and make informed decisions based on that information.
Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs)
The SJT will present you with a number of scenarios you are likely to encounter if working with them. In these scenarios, you will be expected to decide on the least and the most likely action to take.
Your answers will give the recruiter an indication if you are likely to be a suitable company employee.
Practising SJTs will enable you to pinpoint the answers that are most likely to align with AECOM’s values. Use the following free SJT questions to kick start your preparation.
Numerical Reasoning
For some positions, you may be asked to do an online numerical reasoning test. Try the following free sample numerical reasoning test and see how you score.
You can expect to do an AECOM personality test at the assessment centre.
In personality testing, the company will be looking at your teamwork skills, your communication abilities, your ability to prioritise tasks and your willingness to challenge and ask questions.
Given the part AECOM play in putting forward modern approaches to infrastructure, it is not surprising that the company also likes their employees to be confident, creative and innovative.
AECOM Assessment Centre
AECOM, on their graduate website, announce they are looking for disruptors and innovators to join with them in their mission to deliver a better world.
Take this statement as your guide on how you should behave on your visit to the assessment centre and remember that a day at the assessment centre is a two-way process.
What happens at the AECOM Assessment Centre?
You will be getting a feel for the company. Company assessors will also be studying you, checking if you have the qualities necessary in an AECOM employee.
At the assessment centre, you will be asked to do technical assessments with the team you are being considered for.
The tests you will be asked to do will depend on the roles you have applied for. You can get all-inclusive test prep packs covering a range of tests.
You may also be asked to do verbal reasoning tests, mechanical reasoning and logical reasoning assessments.
Example question
Try your skills at the following logical reasoning question.
If there are no dancers that aren’t slim and no singers that aren’t dancers, then which statements are always true?
- There is not one slim person that isn’t a dancer
- All singers are slim
- Anybody slim is also a singer
- None of the above
Answer:
The tricky part here is that the question is phrased negatively. This means that we first of all need to identify the nature of each group. Then, we establish the relationship between the groups. If we draw ourselves a diagram (as in the example above), the relationship between the groups becomes clearer. The only true statement is that all singers are slim.
The answer is ‘All singers are slim’.
Preparing for assessment day testing
The tests you will be asked to do depend on the roles you have applied for but you can get all-inclusive test prep packs covering a range of assessments from Job Test Prep.
Personality testing may also apply for some roles. Bear in mind that the company will be looking at a candidate’s abilities to deal with information and make informed decisions, and their teamwork skills as much as their technical know-how.
Try your hand at a free sample general ability test here.
And discover the type of personality you present here in this free sample test. Having completed both exercises, it is a good idea to look at your answers and assess if you could do better by tweaking some of your answers.
Working on sample tests will hone your skills in delivering the answers that will help you ace the assessments.
You may be asked to take part in group exercises where your ability to work with members of a team will be studied. Group exercises can be challenging.
You need to:
- Show what you are capable of
- Avoid being too dominant or too passive
- Show you are a good listener as well as a good talker
- Show respect for others’ opinions while getting your point across clearly and logically
Final Interview
Prior to the assessment day, the company advise you to prepare for your interview by gathering all the information you can about them. They like to see enthusiastic interviewees and advise applicants to ask questions at the interview.
You can expect competency-based questions from the interviewer, but the interview will also focus on how suited to the company’s culture and value system you are.
Showing a good understanding of how the company approaches its projects is essential if you are to ace the interview. Being self-confident is high on the company’s values, so be prepared to actively participate in the interview.
And remember, they want employees who are ready to make a difference.
If you have an AECOM assessment in the offing, you will find all the resources you need to ace it here.
Written by Elizabeth O Mahony
With 25+ years’ experience as a teacher and state examinations corrector, Elizabeth now writes for the education and careers industry. Her experience preparing students for examinations and running an academy for supplementary education give her invaluable insights into what it takes for job seekers and graduates to succeed in assessments.
