Acing the British Gas Assessment: Your Ultimate Preparation Guide
British Gas is one of the largest gas and energy supply companies in the UK, providing energy to millions of homes and employing around thousands of people.
British Gas can be a great place to work. It offers benefits and professional development opportunities to the right applicant. Understandably, the hiring process can be quite rigorous and competition is high, so make sure you are well-prepared to have the best chance of success.
The hiring process is divided into several parts and comprises application forms and aptitude tests along with telephone and face-to-face interviews. We will outline all of these in this article. The comprehensive resources provided by Job Test Prep will help you to make the best preparations for the best results.
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British Gas Application Form
The application form is a crucial part of the hiring process for British Gas. This will be your first chance to showcase your qualifications and any relevant skills you may have and so it is important to answer truthfully and carefully.
There will be a section for you to enter all of your personal details followed by some competency questions that will enable you to demonstrate the abilities you have in regular everyday settings and how these relate back to the key competencies favoured by British Gas.
It is worth noting that British Gas and Centrica share the same application form.
What are the characteristics British Gas looking for in a candidate?
The key competencies that you will be asked to demonstrate are:
- Being one team – building and maintaining effective working relationships
- Creating a positive environment – having social skills and self-awareness
- Putting customers first and delivering excellent customer service
- Seizing responsibility – taking the initiative and setting high personal standards
- Being able to look at the bigger picture – seeing beyond your own goals and recognising the impact of your actions
- Learning agility – learning from experience and performing through change
- Drive – focused energy on things that will make a difference and deliver exceptional results
- Managing relationships – having good communication and collaboration skills to get the best from people
You will be expected to demonstrate the ways in which you possess these qualities and your answers should reflect this. Using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result), explain how and where you showcased these competencies in real-life situations. This will give you an advantage in the application stage.
British Gas Online Aptitude Tests
As part of the application process you will be asked to sit a number of ability tests and you must be successful in these tests in order to progress to the next stage of the process.
The tests comprise four possible tests which are provided by the Criterion Partnership Test Company. They are as follows:
British Gas Numerical Reasoning Test
This test is designed to assess your competence in maths and numeracy. The questions for this test will be presented in the form of a range of tables and graphs in a multiple-choice style.
You need to identify trends across a range of data sets and combine statistics from several different sources to create new information patterns. British Gas places significant importance on numeracy skills and, therefore, it is important that you are well-prepared for your assessment.
If you do not pass this stage of the process, then your application will not be processed any further. Within the Job Test Prep pack for British Gas, there are eight numerical reasoning practice tests that will ensure that you are well-prepared and understand the test format of your upcoming assessment. Preparation for such a test will provide the key to success.
British Gas Verbal Reasoning Test
Many companies now use verbal reasoning tests as an assessment tool in order to measure a candidate’s critical thinking and reasoning skills.
The test will contain a series of paragraphs of information on various subjects. Then, you will be provided with a statement or statements about that text. You will be required to say whether the statements are true, false, or cannot say. As with many aptitude assessments, being familiar with the format of the test will help you to answer accurately and efficiently on the day.
British Gas Personality Questionnaire
Personality tests hold much weight with future employers in that they are trusted to give an accurate picture of a candidate’s personality and the way in which they might react to stressful situations. These tests also show the values an applicant possesses in relation to their job and career.
As with the verbal reasoning test, the personality test will present a number of statements that you must rate from ‘highly agree’ to ‘highly disagree.’ There are no right or wrong answers. But, it is crucial to understand how these tests work and how your answers will appear to your future employer. Be truthful. However, always consider that the type of responses you may make in a work situation may differ significantly from a home or social situation.
British Gas Situational Judgement Test (SJT)
Situational Judgement Tests are designed to measure how you might handle a range of hypothetical but real-life work situations, particularly in regard to conflict management or dealing with a disgruntled customer for example.
You will be given a range of scenarios and asked to choose the action that you would take in such a situation. Again, familiarity with the test format and the types of questions you might be asked will greatly enhance your chances. Job Test Prep provides practice tests for SJTs to make sure that you eliminate any unpleasant surprises on the day of your test.
British Gas Mechanical Reasoning Test
These tests will mainly apply to those candidates seeking an apprenticeship. The test is multiple choice and, as its name suggests, will test your basic mechanical knowledge.
The test takes around 20 minutes and may ask you to predict how a cog in a diagram might move if another cog moves in a particular way for example. British Gas will be looking for these specific skills for apprenticeship roles and it is important that you showcase your knowledge in this area. Using the practice resources from the Job Test Prep practice pack will help you to present a capable image.
British Gas Telephone Interview
For many of the roles at British Gas, you will be invited to take part in a telephone interview which can focus on general competencies and may also include role-play scenarios. The format of your telephone interview will be dictated by the role for which you have applied. You will be given an indication of the types of questions you can expect prior to the interview and these will relate to the competencies listed on your particular application form and job role specification.
Use the Job Test Prep interview pack to prepare yourself for your interview and to have a bank of real-life examples from which you can draw when being interviewed.
If you pass the telephone interview process, you will be invited to attend a British Gas Assessment Centre.
Interview Questions
Interview questions will differ according to the job you are applying for. The questions will generally be made up of three categories across all departments:
- Whether you match the company and your core values are in line with those of the company
- Questions about your CV and experience
- Competency questions pertaining to the applied position
It is good practice to find someone to take part in a dummy interview with you so that you are well-rehearsed in your possible answers and in any examples that you will give to back up your answers. You may also be asked about the answers you gave in your application or on your CV, so it is vital that you are truthful and that you have fully reminded yourself of the answers you gave.
Examples of interview questions could include:
- Give details of when and how you have delivered excellent customer service
- Why do you want to work for British Gas?
- Explain how you have made a good first impression during your career
- Discuss the ways in which you have learned from an unsuccessful project
Finally, you will be asked to take part in the British Gas Assessment Centre. You will be required to give a short presentation and then take part in one or more of the following activities:
Verification of British Gas Online Tests
In order to verify your scores you will be asked to repeat the online ability tests that you have already taken. The earlier tests would have taken around 15 minutes, but the verification tests may be slightly longer.
British Gas Role-Play
This will be your chance to demonstrate important skills to your assessors. Therefore, it is crucial that you perform well at this stage. You will be asked to take part in a role-play exercise that is relevant to your new role and will take around 10 minutes.
Scenarios could include dealing with an unhappy customer or resolving a conflict.
A career with British Gas can provide excellent job prospects and opportunities. As such, competition for vacancies is often fierce. Preparation is key to giving the best chance to secure your perfect job and Job Test Prep has the resources designed specifically to help you achieve this!
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Written by Karen Stanley
Karen is a former teacher of 20 years and ten times published author. She writes content for educational organisations and businesses, nationally and internationally. She coaches new and budding writers through to publication and is passionate about creativity; she runs creative writing workshops in schools and fostering agencies.
Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
