National Grid Assessment Centre
This National Grid assessment centre guide includes practice tests, top tips and insider secrets for success. We’ll walk you through each part of the day and show you how to prepare. Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
A Useful Starting-Point Resource
- You can practice the National Grid tests & assessment centre activities here.
Download our Ultimate Assessment Day & Interview Guide 2022 here. (It's packed with tips, tricks and insider-secrets to help you succeed.)
National Grid Assessment Centre – Day 1
To reach the National Grid assessment centre you must complete an online application, a situational judgement test and a preliminary interview.
The National Grid assessment centre is based at the Warwick conference centre and lasts for two days.
The first day will be relaxed and will not feature many exercises. Firstly, you’ll attend a welcome presentation where you will get to know the other candidates and mix with the staff.
- Remember that you will still be assessed during this time. You will need to remain professional and courteous at all times, as well as being positive and enthusiastic.
If you’re applying for the graduate scheme, you will also be given 90 minutes to prepare your presentation for the next day.
National Grid Assessment Centre – Day 2
Day two features the following exercises:
- Presentation
- Group exercise
- Interview
National Grid Assessment Centre – Presentation
One of the key elements of the National Grid assessment centre is the candidate presentation. (If you are a graduate candidate, you can prepare your presentation on the first day.)
One of the unusual aspects of this part of the National Grid assessment centre is that the presentation is based around a case study which relates to the role you have applied for. With this in mind, it’s essential that you know the full details of your role.
- Pro Tip: You can request a copy of the full job description from HR.
During this part of the National Grid assessment centre you will be assessed on your delivery and style. This is an excellent opportunity to show off your skills and personality.
You will need to present for 10 minutes. (Make sure you stick to this time-scale.)
Want to learn how to create, display and deliver a world-class presentation? Read our guide: How To Deliver A Killer Presentation At Your Assessment Centre
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Stop worrying! Download a 12-step assessment day cheatsheet & be perfectly prepared.
Click here to download your copy
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National Grid Assessment Centre: Group Exercise
This exercise is usually dreaded by candidates, but we’re going to teach you how to succeed!
- You will join a group of candidates and within this group you will need to work together as team.
- You will be given some information to discuss with your fellow candidates and this information will help you complete the group task successfully.
- The main thing to remember about group exercises is that the result or conclusion of the task is not important. It’s the process that matters here, not the outcome.
This assessors are watching to see how you interact in a group environment. They are asking themselves the following questions while watching you:
- Is this candidate a leader?
- Is this candidate able to influence others without dominating them?
- Is this candidate listening to others or just waiting for an opening to speak?
- Is this candidate contributing to the discussion? (It’s amazing how many people sit silently during group exercises.)
A must-read piece of preparation for your National Grid assessment centre
This is one of our most popular guides and it will help you enormously: ‘How To Shine In Your Assessment Centre Group Exercise‘
National Grid Assessment Centre: Interview
This interview will be competency-based. This means that the assessor will be looking for you to demonstrate whether you are a good fit for the company.
The National Grid’s company-wide values and competencies are listed below:
- Commercial awareness
- Teamwork and relationship building
- Planning and organising
- Problem solving and decision making
- Communication and customer service
You must show that you possess these qualities in your interview.
The question is how?
The best way to do this, is to look at each competency and think about when you have demonstrated each of them.
If you do only one piece of prep for your National Grid assessment centre this should be it.
- Write down a list of examples for each of the above competencies. Pick carefully. Make each example detailed and memorable. Embellish the story as much as you can get away with.
- Memorize the examples.
You will return to this list of examples again and again during your National Grid assessment centre.
The all-conquering importance of practice
If you’re serious about succeeding at your National Grid assessment centre you must take the time to practice each of the assessment exercises you will face at the event.
We can give you great tips and advice, sure, but it’s down to you to put the preparation hours in.
- If there’s one thing we’ve learned from long experience it’s that preparation is the difference between success and failure. Successful candidates are consistently better-prepared than unsuccessful ones.
You can practice the National Grid tests & assessment centre activities here.
Research the company & market
Make sure you are up to date with what is happening for National Grid presently and what they have planned for the future.
- What do their operations look like?
- What’s their company ethos?
- Who are their competitors? What are the threats to their business?
- What’s happening in the next 1-3 years? What’s the company vision?
- What big projects are underway?
- Who are the key stakeholders?
If you had to give an executive summary of the company’s commercial performance, could you? (Revenue, profits, level of debt?)
Pro Tip: Most candidates won’t know this. If you spend an hour looking through their annual report you can get all this information and look like the best prepared, smartest and most hungry candidate of all.
You can access National Grid’s annual reports (a treasure trove for a job applicant) here.
Interview resources
If you want to learn more about how to prepare for your National Grid interview, read these articles of ours:
Practice. Practice. Practice.
Nothing will improve your confidence and competence more than practice. So make sure you invest the time to prepare for your National Grid assessment centre and you will reap the rewards during the event itself.
- You can practice the National Grid tests & assessment centre activities here.
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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.
