How to Prepare for the BT Group Assessment? – Ultimate Study Guide
BT is one of the UK’s major employers. It has a workforce of over 73,000 people throughout its varied range of telecommunications services and departments.
There are several entry routes to employment with BT — internships, graduate schemes and apprenticeships. The application process is likely to be similar for each route but with important differences in interview questions and online tests specific to the role you are applying for.
The main sectors within BT are:
- Business – sales, advertising, legal and business management
- Technology – technological expertise
If you have applied for a job at BT, you may need to undertake several tests and interviews. This usually includes the BT group assessment. And you may be wondering what this is and how to pass it.
Well, don’t worry, this article will take you through the whole application process for BT, dig into the group assessment, and show you how to practise and prepare.
Table of Contents
What is the BT Group Assessment?
The BT group assessment is just one part of the application process for applicants to the company. These will occur at an assessment centre day, usually in groups of four to six. You will be assessed on how you collaborate as a team in a group. You will each be given an imaginary project or service, and you will need to decide with your teammates about which one should receive funding.
How is the BT Group Assessment assessed?
The group assessment is all about teamwork rather than individual ‘winning’. The assessors will be looking out for:
- Participation
- Collaboration
- Influence
- Listening skills
- Rational decision-making
What is BT looking for?
At the very heart of the BT organisation are its core principles. It is important to keep these at the forefront of your mind as you go through the selection process to demonstrate that you are a good ‘fit’ for BT.
Demonstrating that you possess these skills throughout your application will give you a competitive edge.
The core values are:
- Customer – we are here to help our clients
- Team – we work as a team to assist each other and achieve more
- Honesty – we are trustworthy and courteous
- Change – we all work in unison to make things happen
- Pride – we are proud to have made a difference
What are the stages of the BT Application Process?
There are four main stages to the application process:
- Online application
- Online assessment tests
- Interview via video call
- Assessment centre – it is here that you will be expected to participate in the group assessments.
This article will explain the steps of the process in turn. Be prepared for each step of the application process through practice and familiarisation. This is your best chance to ensure that you pass with flying colours and set yourself ahead of your competitors. Resources from Job Test Prep are a great way to help you do this.
BT employs the services of a company called Futureboard to sift through CVs, deliver and analyse online testing and also for the video interview. These are the early phases of the selection process. If you are successful at these stages and are invited to the assessment centre, then BT will regain control of the process.
Online Application
This is the first chance you will have to share your skillset with BT and impress them with your work history and achievements. In this application, you will show your eligibility for the position and how motivated you are to secure the role. You must demonstrate both of these well. If you do not meet the qualifying requirements, your application will be rejected at the first hurdle.
Questions will include why you decided to apply for BT in the first place. Think about what talents and traits you can bring to the role and how you can demonstrate your interest in technology, business or sales. Your answers to these questions will show employers how well you would fit into their organisation and your long-term interest.
The application form will allow you to attach your CV, which of course, you should definitely do. In your CV, you will have the opportunity to share any additional information about your skills, experience or achievements that aren’t included on the form itself.
The online form may also include some aptitude questions. Sample questions from past application forms include:
- Give an example of when you have collaborated with others to overcome a complex problem
- Explain a time when you had a bad customer experience. How did you change it into a good experience?Describe what you did. What feedback did you receive?
- Describe a time when you worked collaboratively to get a better result in terms of efficiency or a method of working. What did you do? How did you persuade others to work with you?
Online Assessment
Like many other large organisations, BT uses psychometric tests to assess the suitability of potential candidates. These tests may include numerical reasoning tests to evaluate an applicant’s ability to understand and use numerical systems.
Job Test Prep can help you prepare for these assessments with practice tests that you can undertake before the official test. Doing practice tests helps you avoid unpleasant surprises, and you will be able to approach your test calmly and with confidence. They help develop the efficiency required to complete questions under timed conditions.
For roles within the technology departments, you will be required to take aptitude tests designed to evaluate your mechanical, spatial and diagrammatic reasoning.
Logiks Assessment
This is a logical reasoning assessment and has three sections to complete within a twelve-minute time frame.
Factors Assessment
This test assesses your work behaviours, interests, and approach to workplace situations and scenarios.
You will be given a series of scenarios that could likely occur whilst working for BT. It will be your job to explain how you would react in each given scenario, demonstrating your professional behaviour and responses. Candidates must complete the assessment in one session. But unlike the numerical assessments, with no time limit.
Video Interview
You will need to pass the online assessment stage of the application process to get an invite to a video interview. These interviews usually take around one hour to complete.
In most cases, you will receive questions about your CV, work history, and experience. You may also be asked some competency questions and questions that may relate specifically to the role for which you are applying.
Questions could include:
General questions:
- What were the influences that led you to attend university?
- What did you learn from your academic education?
- Why do you think you are a good fit for this role/program?
- What abilities or qualities do you have to offer?
- How do you think you will succeed working for BT?
Specific questions:
- Why do you want to work for BT?
- Are you familiar with any BT products and what are they?
- What are the BT core values?
- Who are BT’s competitors?
- Do you have any knowledge of BT’s structure?
- How does BT stand apart from its rivals?
Competency questions:
It is important to be mindful of the core values of BT as a company when you answer these questions in order that you can align your answers with them.
- Describe a time when you were able to overcome a challenge
- Describe an achievement that makes you feel proud such as a project. What did the project involve? What is it that makes you so proud of this achievement?
- What steps would you take to plan or research a new project?
- Describe a scenario where you had to deal with a difficult customer – how did you handle the situations, what was the outcome, and did you rectify the problem?
Technical questions:
These questions may also vary according to the role you seek.
- What brought you to technical/software engineering? (your desired role will determine this question)
- Have you modernised a system or network previously? Did you succeed in bringing the system up to date
- Which recent technological developments do you believe to be most successful or popular?
- How could BT make the most of these trends and how would you implement this?
- Do you keep up to date with technology? How? Why?
- Do you have experience of coding languages? Which ones? How did you acquire this skill?
- Has there been a time when technology has helped you to simplify a process? What did you learn from this experience?
Assessment Centre
Whether for technical or business schemes, the assessment centres are practically identical. The assessment centre process quite often takes an entire day and may involve dozens of individuals.
At the assessment centre, you should remain true to yourself. It is almost impossible to maintain a false persona, especially in pressured situations. You will need to be able to organise your time effectively and look for ways to demonstrate how you share the BT core values throughout the day and during the exercises.
Usually there are four exercises:
Presentation
You will be given four to five days to prepare a ten-minute presentation on a given topic. After your presentation, an examiner will ask you some questions about it. You can use slides for your presentation if appropriate, but you must be fully versed in the content of your presentation to appear competent and confident. Adequate preparation to practise your presentation will be a key element of your success.
Group Assessment
Typically there will be four to six applicants in each group for the activity. Each member will be given a proposed project or service, and then the group must decide which proposal will receive funding for its execution. The team will be expected to make a consensual agreement on the favoured option.
It is important to remember some key points:
- You will be assessed on your ability to collaborate and influence others rather than whether you win the project decision or not.
- Assessors will be looking for ways in which you work well with others and make rational judgements.
- Your skills of communication, negotiation, and the ability to avoid unnecessary confrontations or conflicts will be crucial during the assessment and your ability to take on board the opinions and ideas of others within the group.
Personal Interview
This interview will be similar to the video call. You will be asked further questions about your work history, details from your CV and any core interests. You will almost certainly be asked questions about why you have chosen to apply for this position and what aspects of the role appeal to you the most. While most interview questions are based on your key competencies, you should expect some technical questions for technical roles.
Case Study
In this instance, you will be given some data and asked to write a SWOT analysis based on this data. This is where you identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. You will be expected to make some recommendations and will have 45 minutes to prepare your study. After this, you will have a further ten minutes to share your conclusions with an examiner.
How to Prepare for the BT Assessments?
In summary, a career with BT can carry a certain amount of prestige and security. Therefore, it is understandable that competition for individual roles can carry high levels of competition. As with most things in life, being prepared is the key to your success. Using the resources from Job Test Prep can help you make adequate preparations and familiarise you with the formats and structure of the assessments to be taken.
Preparation can also mean that you can be more confident and relaxed, and showcase the ‘real’ you, especially during group tasks and face to face interviews. It can be difficult to perform at your best if you are highly anxious or nervous. By planning, you can significantly reduce your anxiety levels along with more practical measures such as a good night’s sleep before any assessments and giving yourself plenty of time to make any journeys or arrangements.
Once at the centre, make sure you enter activities with commitment and enthusiasm, immerse yourself in the process and take time to engage with other applicants; this will help you relax and reveal the real you.
And finally, try not to over analyse, just do your best and concentrate on the tasks at hand.
You can be sure that using the resources provided by Job Test Prep will give you everything you need to succeed and secure your new career!
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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.
