Training Contract - Invited to an Assessment Centre at Howard Kennedy - What do I do

[Raven_111]

As per the title I have been invited to a AC for a direct TC for Howard Kennedys. What worries me is that i have no idea what to do or practice. I started to just practice general interview questions etc but when it comes to commercial awareness i am completely stuck. I have the basic knowledge and have no idea how to go about it all. Anyone have any insight or has done an AC at HK that can help me please. This is my 4th Cycle and this is my 2nd AC over the 4 years. I really want this to be my last!

Thank you!

 

[Amma Usman]

Hi there @Raven_111. It’s such a pleasure to hear that you’ve gotten to that stage. Huge congratulations! While I am unsure about the process at Kennedys, I think your approach in preparing for the full spectrum is solid. However, I recommend reaching out to GR to see if they can provide you with more specific details of the assessment centre, to enable you to better prepare. Sometimes, this is sent out nearer the date of your AC.

Have they included any other sort of information in the invite email? Perhaps I’ll be able to advise better from there.

 

[sibs23]

As per the title I have been invited to a AC for a direct TC for Howard Kennedys. What worries me is that i have no idea what to do or practice. I started to just practice general interview questions etc but when it comes to commercial awareness i am completely stuck. I have the basic knowledge and have no idea how to go about it all. Anyone have any insight or has done an AC at HK that can help me please. This is my 4th Cycle and this is my 2nd AC over the 4 years. I really want this to be my last!

Thank you!

Further to Amma's super helpful advice above, I would also add that you should look at how commercial news / events/ themes apply to the practice areas that HK does. It's impossible to know everything but my advice would be to make notes on a handful of key stories and use the PESTLE structure. You don't need to learn them off by heart but it helps you get into thinking about how these issues would impact the firm and other stakeholders. Commercial awareness is definitely something to build up over time but you might be surprised at what you already know!