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Planning Ahead!

All too often, candidates call us at the last minute before their test dates. Frankly, this is counterproductive. You ought to be thinking of preparing yourself well ahead of any test dates. You already know that a test will be coming up soon enough, but by waiting until you find out if you've passed the written, it's really too late to help you much by just attending a class. This is a total reversal of what you've been told about any testing and it takes time to assimilate it into your daily life so you are much more familiar with these issues than if you took a class on a Saturday/Sunday and your assessment center is on Monday! Believe us when we tell you that is truly a risky business as you have not had time to not only absorb what we told you in the class, but you've had no time to practice these skills at all. If you let us know if and when your agencies are planning some tests we'll try to accommodate those who need to go through a course. We've continually found our students doing well in their promotionals, including a few folks who were promoted to Chief.
Keep in mind that if your agency has any interview/panel interviews, you can go for the first day only as our sessions always do interviews the first day!

I have created a $100 PayPal for repeat students if you needed a refresher and had not been promoted since the last class you took.

Remember, it's not about the tests, it's about whether or not you are ready to do the job! Rick

Assessment Centers today: Are you more likely to have to participate in an A/C?

Chances are that if you are going for any type of promotion in public safety, from a first line supervisors role to a mid or upper level manager position, you'll mostly likely have to take an assessment center to promote. The good news is that once you really know what they are and understand what they are designed to do, you should be able to put your fears of the unknown aside, and really start to buckle down to prepare for them. In truth, they are really nothing more than a series of supervisory or management scenarios that simulate your work environment. Much of what you do every day, particularly for those of you who supervise or direct others in some form or another, is part of the same skill sets of a supervisor or manager. For example, just a simple daily in-basket that you go through every day, can be an exercise simulation. Having to run a meeting, give a presentation, or counsel a subordinate, which are all common roles of a supervisor or manager, are often basic assessment center simulations. My focus is on helping you link the job description to your behaviors, so that you can demonstrate that you indeed have those skills, without mystifying the process. We help "demystify" the process, so you feel much more confident and comfortable when you actually have to participate in an assessment center.  Please feel free to ask some questions about those scenarios you may be concerned about, or how to work on developing some new skills if you haven't had these experiences in some form or another. Many folks forget that they really have "transferable" skills from past employment, business, military or even volunteer experiences.  Assessment centers have been around for a long time, and they will likely be more popular in the future since the key to their success is in their predictive value of a candidates performance. We've been conducting workshops since 1990 and have helped probably over a thousand candates throughout the U.S. prepare for their assessment centers,  but more importantly, helped them prepare for the job itself as a new supervisor or manager.  Let us know what you are facing, and I'll wager that we can help. The best experience of course, is "hands on" practice, so take this bit of advice: Everyday at your work now can be turned into free OJT (On the Job Training!) if you really look at the skills you need to develop and start working on practicing those skills every day: running a meeting, counseling/coaching/mentoring/directing others, working on your in basket as though you had to delegate items to others. I wrote an article for Police Chief Magazine for June of '06 on Succession Planning for Public Safety and I outlined many ways that you can work on developing your skill at no "cost" per se, just your willingness to learn new skills and get some true "OJT" for free. Let me know what you think?

Welcome to Assessment Centers Blog!

If you have been looking for information or help on upcoming promotional exam that includes an assessment center, then you've come to the right place!

Hi. I'm Rick Michelson and I have a background in law enforcement and teaching criminal justice and leadership courses for over 30 years.

I've been doing workshops for public safety personnel who have had to compete in assessment centers since 1990.

My webpage has more info on specifics as well as course offerings, classes and text. Since assessment centers are geared towards what you actually do or say, it is a very interactive and dynamic process unlike written exams or interviews.

While we do help with interviews, the assessment process is much more of a hands-on process.
Whether you are going for a first line level supervisor job such as a sergeant or fire captain or a higher level position such as lieutenant captain, commander or even a higher position, this process can help you prepare and improve your own performance.

The exercises typically include the in-basket, the subordinant counseling, leaderless group and some form of an oral presentation. Our classes simulate assessment centers giving you the opportunity to practice some of those new skills without compromising your promotion.

If you have any questions about the assessment center methods or specific exercises, then feel free to ask and post them on this blog. We can help you clarify the issues.

My main focus is on helping you develop those skills needed for the new position. However, you have to take the daily opportunities that are presented at work to practice those skills.
For example, developing your own in-basket exercies with your peers or subordinants to clarify a situation or issue with them and also to manage a unit meeting, staff briefing or citizens meeting to gain more experience in meeting management.

My article on succession planning for public safety was published in police chief magazine and available on my website as well as the IACP website.

This should help you see what some of the opportunities are that you can take advantage of now, well ahead of any promotional process to help you prepare for the job, not the test.

Let me know what your assessment center process will include. The intend is not to gain the system or learn tips and tricks. But to really understand the skills that you need to master if you were to become a successful supervisor or manager.

Right now your best measuring stick is your own personal performance appraisal from your supervisor as to your readiness levels.

So, are you really "ready" for your new promotion?