Exams vs Interviews - A Placement Dilemna

I will start this article by saying that I have not worked in recruitment at a blue chip company. I am not versed in the logistics of processing thousands of placement applications or been involved in the organisation of large assessment centres. I don’t doubt that it is a difficult task to co-ordinate hiring managers being in one place on the same day. I have great respect for the individuals at placement providers who complete this vital recruitment function, and the vast majority of recruiters I work with are fantastic.

With that disclaimer out of the way, I am going to have a whinge about employers. I don’t wish to tar all recruiters with one brush, but one very well known organisation has got me rather annoyed today. One of my students had been invited to attend the second stage of the assessment process by the company, but the date clashed with an end of year exam. The student begged and pleaded for an alternative date, but was more or less told to pick between the company or the examination. Clearly this is a no brainer and the student has wisely opted to sit their exam. Failure to do so would result in not passing the module, possibly needing to repeat the year and making themselves unattractive to placement providers.

My student is quite rightly feeling a little aggrieved, and I can’t say that I blame them. The Placement was advertised throughout the autumn. A lengthy application was made that passed the initial filtering stages. An online test was completed. The student has been to see the company for a 1^st round assessment centre which has been sailed through. And yet here we are in early May, when the majority of students around the country will be taking exams, and the employer chooses this week as a good time to have the next round of interviews.

I don’t expect companies to organise themselves around students. If they invite students from a broad range of universities it would be a logistical nightmare to find an agreeable date for all parties. But a little bit of foresight in planning would be useful, and students will inevitably have exams soon after Easter. My student in this instance is not going to be able to prove to the employer that they are the best candidate for the placement. Having invested so much time and effort to this point, it is extremely disappointing that they will miss out on a placement at the company, not because their skills and abilities have failed to meet the required standards but because they are unable to be in two places at once.