How to be Effective at Role Play

Make sure you read the materials three times as a minimum so that you understand what you are being asked to do. Role plays are about finding out how you would react in a situation – not whether you are a potential Oscar winner Be yourself: don’t invent a new dimension to your character on the day – it is you that was selected for the assessment Make good use of the preparation time – if you can, work out a plan on paper on how you intend to approach the situation Make sure you are familiar with the type of scenarios most frequently used in role play situations.  Read Typical Scenarios for a sales role or graduate management trainee. Ask yourself: why am I being asked to undertake this role play? Usually it is because the role play scenario is a situation you are likely to find yourself in – if you get the job. Ask yourself: why are the company asking me to do this? Because it is the most realistic way of seeing whether you would be good in the job. Don’t drop out of your role play character: stay with your role until the time is up. If you do have a question and the role play has started – the assessor will not be permitted to answer it. Once the role play is finished, a good assessor will ask you how you think it went. End this on a positive note: if you have made mistakes – let the assessor know that you recognised this and give a brief explanation as to why you think this happened. Let the assessor know that you fully understood what was expected.