Online Application
At the first stage of the process I submitted a job application with a cv and cover letter attached, and answered some standard simple questions about myself, education.
How to respond for success
I tailored my CV to make sure it flowed in chronological order, from earliest to latest relevant achievements, make sure it is well presented, using a format from word is beneficial, however don’t pick one which is too busy as the contents is what is most important.
I feel what I included in my cover letter was what counted at this stage, it is important to include all your qualifications and make sure that you have what is required. Regarding your cover letter I included information about me, things that others may not include and also make it personal to you, this gives you talking points later down the application process to which you can use for talking points.
Expect a 2-4 week wait before advancing to the next stage.
Online Tests
At this stage I did a series of tests on an application provided by Arcadis, this was a series of short activities (potentially 8), no more than 5-10 minutes each, these were done in a range of ways and I did enjoy this stage as it was something I had never experienced in a job application process, the aim of this was to analyse your skills and competencies to see what decisions you would make in the scenarios.
Example
The questions were all in a different range of things to test competencies all were interactive, One of the activities was to sell a product against an AI played team, you would then have to make the decisions based on how previous decisions went, you had to decide whether to sell for a high, low, or middle of the road price. And the aim of the task was to make more profit than the AI generated team.
How to respond for success
At this stage there was no way to make your answers stand out as such, however it is important to try your best and put your all into everything that you are doing in the application process, make sure you fully understand before you go into it.
Expect a 2-4 week wait before advancing to the next stage.
Assessment Centre
The next stage was a group teams call with other apprentices across the country who would all be applying for the same cohort as yourself, the apprentices were then split into breakout groups, given a hypothetical scenario and would have to conclude/ give solution whilst displaying how you spent the budget, all whilst curveballs would be mentioned through out to keep you thinking on your toes. As a group you then presented this back to members at Arcadis and give reasoning for the decisions you made and what you chose to do. This was a single call which was between 1-2hr.
I prepared for this by really studying the role I was applying for, I was looking for a project manager apprenticeship so I ensured I know the role well and had a great understanding, it is also important to look at what the business you are applying for do whether that be Arcadis or anywhere, by doing this you can get a good understanding of work they carry out and can benefit you during the call.
Example
There wasn’t really any set questions for this as you were working in groups, but it was important to ask your group about what they thought of the task and what Arcadis were looking for to get a good understanding of it.
How to respond for success
To stand out in this task it is important to get your point across and be heard, as there will be between 8-12 in a group, it is also important to listen to other apprentices ideas, you may be able to challenge these and come up with something better which would make you stand our or you can use the ideas to build yours even further and refer to.
I prepared for them by researching the role I was applying for as well as what Arcadis do as a business unit, by doing this you have a good understanding to both and can apply this during the breakout room, most importantly this activity is something you need to be confident in, you don’t want to sit there quietly as you will fade into the background, Arcadis also offered calls prior to this to get an understanding of what you will be doing and you have the opportunity to ask questions, I would recommend attending these as they are very helpful.
Expect a 3-4 week wait before advancing to the next stage.
Online Tests
At this stage I did a series of tests on an application provided by Arcadis, this was a series of short activities (potentially 8), no more than 5-10 minutes each, these were done in a range of ways and I did enjoy this stage as it was something I had never experienced in a job application process, the aim of this was to analyse your skills and competencies to see what decisions you would make in the scenarios.
Example
The questions were all in a different range of things to test competencies all were interactive, One of the activities was to sell a product against an AI played team, you would then have to make the decisions based on how previous decisions went, you had to decide whether to sell for a high, low, or middle of the road price. And the aim of the task was to make more profit than the AI generated team.
How to respond for success
At this stage there was no way to make your answers stand out as such, however it is important to try your best and put your all into everything that you are doing in the application process, make sure you fully understand before you go into it.
Expect a 2-4 week wait before advancing to the next stage.
Assessment Centre
The next stage was a group teams call with other apprentices across the country who would all be applying for the same cohort as yourself, the apprentices were then split into breakout groups, given a hypothetical scenario and would have to conclude/ give solution whilst displaying how you spent the budget, all whilst curveballs would be mentioned through out to keep you thinking on your toes. As a group you then presented this back to members at Arcadis and give reasoning for the decisions you made and what you chose to do. This was a single call which was between 1-2hr.
I prepared for this by really studying the role I was applying for, I was looking for a project manager apprenticeship so I ensured I know the role well and had a great understanding, it is also important to look at what the business you are applying for do whether that be Arcadis or anywhere, by doing this you can get a good understanding of work they carry out and can benefit you during the call.
Example
There wasn’t really any set questions for this as you were working in groups, but it was important to ask your group about what they thought of the task and what Arcadis were looking for to get a good understanding of it.
How to respond for success
To stand out in this task it is important to get your point across and be heard, as there will be between 8-12 in a group, it is also important to listen to other apprentices ideas, you may be able to challenge these and come up with something better which would make you stand our or you can use the ideas to build yours even further and refer to.
I prepared for them by researching the role I was applying for as well as what Arcadis do as a business unit, by doing this you have a good understanding to both and can apply this during the breakout room, most importantly this activity is something you need to be confident in, you don’t want to sit there quietly as you will fade into the background, Arcadis also offered calls prior to this to get an understanding of what you will be doing and you have the opportunity to ask questions, I would recommend attending these as they are very helpful.
Expect a 3-4 week wait before advancing to the next stage.
Final Interview
This stage was a 1 on 1 interview over teams, this was with a member of Arcadis, the interview lasted around 40-50 minutes, this will vary dependant on how in depth you answer the questions, preparing for this once again researching the company, look for things like mission statements, values, spend time picking information you plan on using as the easier it is to find the higher chance others will be using it too, really research the role that you want to do, make sure the role your applying is something you are genuinely interested in and make sure you know it inside out.
Example
The questions asked were something of a similar nature:
- Previous background for education and work experience
- Why you applied for the role?
- Why you chose Arcadis?
- What do you know about the role?
- What do you know about Arcadis?
- What can you bring to the company?
How to respond for success
I think I stood out in this interview by being confident, having well thought out answers and having a good understanding about Arcadis and Project Management. Make you have stuff memorised you can refer to and build on to give your answers substance. It is important to make sure you say everything you wish, also take the opportunity to ask any questions yourself about the role the company anything appropriate, it is important to ask your own questions to show you are interested. I wore a suit for all the on camera opportunities as you will have to have on your camera and you want to make a good impression.
