What do they test?

These exercises show you the types of decisions and dilemmas which would crop up in a typical day at work. Your hypothetical in-tray will consist of a mixture of

• phone messages
• emails
• internal memos
• letters and so on

An E-tray exercise would present almost identical content but in the form of an email inbox.

Usually, you will be given a time limit during which you have to put all the tasks in an order of priority, indicating the most important ones as well as an indication of what type of action is required, whether you need to delegate and to whom. Finally, you may also need to give an indication of how you would tackle each one.

Do you have any tips?

Remember that you’re being tested for your ability to prioritise and delegate, so give some thought to:

• Which request needs to be dealt with immediately?
• Which should you delegate?
• Which should you postpone?
• What urgent action will you take?
• How will you eventually tackle the tasks that you decide to postpone?

The selectors want to know whether you can grasp the essentials of an issue quickly so:

• Make sure you have time to finish commenting on all the items.
• Clearly indicate the reasons for your prioritisations
• Remember that the items may reveal other staff to whom you could delegate.
• Don’t let the urgent-but-trivial outweigh longer-term but more important issues.
• Look out for inbuilt contradictions in the materials. Saying ‘yes’ to one request might conflict with another item elsewhere in the in-tray.