Top tips for Aon’s assessment centre

Before you apply for a job at Aon , make sure you have a good idea of what the organisation does, and look at the different programmes at Aon to discover where each might take you. In some roles you’ll be expected to study for professional qualifications alongside your work. Some are rotational, so you’ll work in one business area for a set period before moving on to another. Aon’s early careers site also has details of summer internship and placement programmes, which might interest you.

Aon’s application process: a summary

How to apply to Aon: the first step

Once you’ve found a programme that suits you, your strengths and your interests, you can apply by completing an online application form. You will be asked to register your personal information and upload an up-to-date CV. You don’t need to include a covering letter, but there are some questions to complete. Focus beforehand to give the best account of yourself.

Invitation to online tests

Passing the initial screening stage means you’ve met our requirements and criteria. You will receive an email inviting you to do our online tests. Keep a look out for this and don’t forget to check your junk mail as you will only get 48 hours in which to complete the tests. Make sure you get on with them as soon as you can, rather than leaving them to the last minute.

If you have any problems, email graduates@Aon.co.uk and depending on your case we may be able to reset your test.

The video interview – how to prepare and how to impress

You’ll get access to a video interview platform and receive a series of questions that you'll be given a short time to prepare an answer for. Think about these carefully before recording yourself answering. There are one, possibly two, retake opportunities if something goes wrong (eg you lose your connection, or start coughing).

The (virtual) assessment centre

If you pass the video interview we will send you an email confirming your success and inviting you to our virtual assessment centres.

And then…

If you pass the assessment centre, then you will receive a call from one of the early careers team colleagues to offer you a role on the programme that you have applied for, along with congratulations!

Successful candidates will soon hear about:

• arrangements for the first day
• their induction
• starting work at Aon.

If you don’t get through at any stage of the process you’ll receive a feedback report, detailing which areas you've done well in and areas for improvement. You can read about Ayesha’s experience of handling rejection and finding success later in this article.

Want to know more? Here are some inside stories

Insider info: the Aon assessment centre

Heike works in the assessment solutions team, which sits within human capital solutions. Originally from Germany, she studied psychology at university and moved to London to complete a masters in organisational psychology.

Why Aon prefers virtual assessments

‘It may feel as if you have to suffer before you can achieve success, but honestly, what we are doing at Aon is assessing you on the competencies and skills relevant for the role you’ve applied for.’ Says Heike. ‘We have many applications to Aon and use each stage to filter down numbers; some of the assessments are objective measures of ability and some look at whether somebody will be successful in their role. Organisational psychology (my specialist subject) allows us to predict performance through these tasks and online assessments are more objective and fair than a covering letter, for example. Our online assessments may seem daunting but we are focusing on behaviours and your personal preferences, and whether these are a fit for the role and for Aon.’

Heike’s quick tips for acing the assessment centre:

• Prepare ahead of the tests.
• Allow yourself enough time.
• Read the instructions.
• Don’t allow yourself to be disturbed…
• … but pause between assessments to take a break, stand up and focus again before you take the next one.

Insider info: the situational judgement test and personality assessment

Louise is an early careers recruitment business partner at Aon. She graduated from Lancaster University with a degree in management and organisation with human resources.

‘It's really important that you answer our assessment questions honestly,’ she says. ‘Don’t try to give the answer that you think Aon wants to hear. Be yourself because that’s who we want to see and we want you to work in an environment where you will perform at your best. Don’t overthink; answer authentically.’

She adds: I have gone through our assessments several times to test them as we're developing solutions and they are hard to game. Besides, you don’t want end up in a role that doesn’t align with your strengths because you pretended to be someone else.

Louise’s tips for the situational judgement questionnaire

• Read the situation carefully to make sure you understand
• Understand your answering options and the differences between them and take your time to think your answers through. The options might sound similar but visualise what the difference is, and then say what you would do in a professional environment.

Tips for the personality assessment

Louise explains: ‘This assessment requires you to decide between two different options that are equally desirable or undesirable. Both options may make you feel, Oh, I would definitely do both of them. Or you may have the opposite, where you think, I wouldn’t do either of these. Go with the answer that is most you – you can't cheat, and you do have to make seemingly impossible decisions, which really come down to your preference.

Insider info: success after rejection

Graduate recruit Ayesha remembers her job-hunting journey. She studied mathematics at the University of Leicester and did an industrial placement at Aon in 2019 as part of her degree. She was offered a place on the graduate scheme and works in pensions actuarial, based in the Manchester office.

‘When I applied for jobs in 2019 it was a horrible experience!’ she explains. Applying for placements and jobs is challenging and getting to a certain stage and feeling maybe you are going to get through and then you don’t – it’s really difficult.’

She advises: ‘Don’t let the rejections get you down. There are many people applying and many roles out there and the right one will come along that is a good fit for you. That is what happened to me at Aon. I am a good fit for the company and a good fit for my job.’

Practice makes perfect

‘I don’t know that I'd have been successful at Aon’s assessments had I not done several beforehand,’ says Ayesha. ‘Other organisations’ recruitment processes are similar in terms of online tests, video interviews and in-person interviews, and I realised that every one of those I didn’t get through was practice and made me better prepared for Aon’s assessments and success. Some people may get through their very first assessment and first interview, and then get their first job – but most of us don’t.’

Do your research!

‘It is so easy to search for video interviews for graduate jobs – try putting the term into a search engine and you will get back 100 different examples, 100 different skills and many different scenarios. When you read or review them you realise, Yeah, I’d have done that.

‘When you are thinking about your skills,’ Ayesha recommends, ‘don’t discount soft skills that you didn't even realise were helping you plan for your future job, such as Louise’s example of planning a holiday for friends. That kind of example shows off your personality, rather than giving very wooden answers, by the book.’

Head to Aon's top tips webinar to find the answers to the questions students asked on the day about applications, the video interview, giving your presentation, degree subjects sought and what Aon recruiters are looking for.