Assessment Centre Simulator
Group exercises are the hardest stage to rehearse alone
Five AI candidates. One AC.
The practice you cannot get elsewhere.
The world's only multi-persona AC simulator. Group case studies, in-trays, presentations, with five distinct AI personalities in the room. Calibrated scoring across the competencies firms actually grade against.
Included on Monthly and Premium packs
The group dynamic
The five candidate types in every AC group
Real ACs put you in a room with four other candidates plus assessors watching. Every group, every cycle, ends up with roughly these five behaviour patterns. The simulator runs all five at once so you practise reading and influencing each one.
The analyst
Pushes for data, dislikes hand-waving. Will derail the conversation to stress-test a number nobody else has.
Typical contribution
"What is the profit-margin assumption here? I want to stress-test it before we commit."
Your move: Useful, but slows the group if you do not channel the energy into a usable recommendation.
The talker
Confident, sometimes ahead of the analysis. Will commit to a recommendation before the group has reasoned through the alternatives.
Typical contribution
"I think we should just go with option B - it is obviously the right call."
Your move: Risks the group converging too early. Pushing back politely is the test.
The quiet contributor
Strong ideas but waits to be invited in. If nobody asks, you miss the best contribution in the room.
Typical contribution
"..."
Your move: The assessor notices who invites the quiet contributor into the discussion. They are scoring you on it.
The disrupter
Challenges the frame. Will ask "have we even considered doing nothing?" three minutes from the end.
Typical contribution
"Have we actually questioned the brief? The whole premise might be wrong."
Your move: Sometimes valuable, often a time sink. Knowing when to engage matters.
The consensus-builder
Synthesises. Brings the group back when it splits. If you are not playing this role, someone else will - and that person tends to get the offer.
Typical contribution
"What if we combine A and B - take the upside from one and mitigate the downside of the other?"
Your move: The most coveted role in the room. Practise being this one.
And then you
Scored across Leadership, Analytical Thinking, Communication, Teamwork, Commercial Awareness and Resilience. The assessor watches every minute. Each of the five group types also reports on how they perceived you in the debrief.
Behaviour patterns observed across real assessment centres at the major UK firms.
Firm-calibrated practice
Practise ACs calibrated to
The personas, the scenario, the assessor questions, all adjusted to the firm. Magic-circle vacation schemes look different to bulge-bracket banking ACs. The simulator reflects that.
The basics
What is an assessment centre?
An assessment centre is the penultimate stage of most graduate recruitment processes in the UK. The firm invites you in (either physically or, increasingly, virtually) for a half- or full-day combination of group exercises, individual interviews, written tasks and in-tray simulations. The format gives recruiters a view of behaviours that single interviews cannot see: how you work with peers, how you handle ambiguity, how you communicate under pressure, how you respond when challenged.
Most candidates struggle with ACs not because they lack content but because they have no way to rehearse the group element. You can prep technical questions alone. You can prep behavioural answers alone. You cannot prep a four-person group case discussion alone. Books explain the theory; one-to-one coaches can interview you but cannot become four other candidates with different agendas. Intervyo's simulator solves that. Five AI personas sit around the table with you, each with a distinct contribution pattern, and you practise the exact behaviours assessors grade against.
The shift to virtual ACs since 2020 has made the gap worse. In a Zoom group case, the social cues are weaker, the silences are louder, the talker dominates faster, the quiet contributor disappears entirely. Most candidates have done dozens of Zoom calls but zero Zoom group cases under assessor observation. The simulator runs the virtual format by default, with notes throughout on what changes for the in-person ACs that magic-circle law firms still favour.
The format mirrors what Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Bain, BCG, Linklaters, Freshfields and the Big 4 actually run. The competency rubric matches what their assessors are trained to look for. Three runs through the simulator typically lifts AC performance more than any single hour with a human coach, because the simulator surfaces the behaviours - dominating, missing the quiet contributor, accepting the disrupter's frame - that human coaches cannot stage without four other people.
For US-based candidates: the closest equivalent is the Superday, but Superdays focus on back-to-back individual interviews rather than group exercises. If you are interviewing in the US, see the Superday Simulator instead.
The four exercise formats
What you'll actually be asked to do
Most UK ACs combine three or four of these. The simulator covers all four; pick whichever matches the format your firm is running.
Group case study
4-5 candidates discuss a business problem, agree a recommendation. Assessor watches behaviour, not the answer itself.
What it tests
Teamwork, leadership, communication, commercial awareness, how you handle disagreement.
In-tray exercise
Inbox full of emails and documents. Prioritise. Respond to two or three urgent items, brief your manager on the rest.
What it tests
Judgement under time pressure, prioritisation, written communication, attention to detail.
Written exercise
Read a pack of documents, write a memo or recommendation. Often a real business decision the firm has actually faced.
What it tests
Structured thinking, commercial awareness, written argument, ability to handle volume.
Competency interview
One-to-one behavioural interview. Similar to HireVue but with live follow-up from the interviewer.
What it tests
Self-awareness, specificity of examples, how you handle being probed.
How the simulator scores you
The six competencies AC assessors actually grade
Different from solo-interview rubrics because ACs grade team-based behaviours that one-to-one interviews can't see. Each is observed minute by minute and scored at the end.
Leadership
How often you stepped up to structure the discussion, how decisively you summarised, how comfortably you took space.
Analytical Thinking
Depth of your contributions. Did you bring data, structured frameworks, or just opinions? Did you stress-test claims?
Communication
Clarity, succinctness, listening before speaking. Most candidates over-talk; the highest scorers are concise.
Teamwork
Inviting quiet contributors in, building on what others said, refusing to talk over peers. Visible to the assessor every minute.
Commercial Awareness
Did your contributions show business judgement? Did you reference relevant context, recent events, real-world parallels?
Resilience
How you handled being challenged, interrupted, or proved wrong mid-discussion. Often the differentiator at top firms.
Compare your options
AC practice: your options
The honest comparison. Group dynamic is the hard part to rehearse, and only one of these options actually does it.
| Feature | Intervyo | Peer mocks | Books | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group dynamic simulated | if 4+ peers free | |||
| Five distinct personas | ||||
| Real AC exercise formats | partial | partial | ||
| Per-competency scoring | partial | |||
| Per-persona debrief | ||||
| Firm-calibrated content | partial | |||
| Repeatable on demand |
How it works
From firm pick to per-persona debrief
Pick firm and exercise
Choose the firm (Goldman, Bain, Linklaters, Deloitte...) and the exercise type (group case, in-tray, presentation). Personas adjust to the firm style.
Run the AC
You sit in the room with five AI personas. Live conversation, real timing, the assessor takes notes throughout. Average run: 35 to 45 minutes.
Read the persona debrief
Each persona reports how they perceived you. Plus a six-competency score and specific notes from the assessor on what to improve.
How to actually use it
The three-run AC playbook
From candidates who used the simulator three or more times and converted ACs into offers.
- 01
Just experience the format
Run 1Goal: get past the strangeness. The multi-persona dynamic, the time pressure, the assessor's silent observation. Most candidates over-talk in run 1 - that is the diagnosis, not a verdict.
- 02
Focus on one weak behaviour
Run 2Pick the lowest competency from run 1. Typically: inviting Sara (the quiet contributor) in, or pushing back on Tom (the talker) without sounding combative. Work on that one thing only.
- 03
Grilling difficulty, full debrief
Run 3Switch to grilling mode (Goldman / MBB pressure). The personas push harder, the assessor questions are sharper. If you hold up here, the real AC will feel softer than the practice.
- 04
Re-read the debriefs morning of
Real AC dayNot a new session. Skim the three previous debriefs to remind yourself of the patterns. Especially the per-persona notes - the people on the day will play similar roles.
Keep going
Related features
FAQ
Assessment centre questions, answered
What is an assessment centre?
An assessment centre is the penultimate stage of most graduate recruitment processes in the UK. The firm invites you in for a half- or full-day combination of group exercises, individual interviews, written tasks and in-tray simulations. The format gives recruiters a view of behaviours that single interviews cannot see: how you work with peers, how you handle ambiguity, how you communicate under pressure, how you respond when challenged. Most UK bulge brackets, MBB, magic-circle law firms and Big 4 firms run one. Most US equivalents are Superdays, which are structured differently (back-to-back individual interviews, less group work).
What is the multi-persona simulation - and why is it different?
Most AI prep tools simulate one assessor in front of you. Real assessment centres put you in a room with four other candidates plus assessors watching. Intervyo is the only platform that simulates the group setting: five distinct AI candidates with different personalities (the analyst who wants data, the talker who's ahead of the analysis, the quiet contributor with strong ideas who needs inviting in, the disrupter who challenges the frame, the consensus-builder who synthesises) so you practise reading and influencing a real group dynamic. You cannot rehearse group behaviour against a single person; you can rehearse it against the simulator.
Which firms run assessment centres?
Most UK graduate employers across investment banking (Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds), consulting (Bain, BCG, McKinsey, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC, Strategy&), magic-circle and silver-circle law (Linklaters, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, A&O Shearman, Slaughter and May, Hogan Lovells, Herbert Smith Freehills) and the Big 4 broadly. The format varies: banks typically run half-day virtual ACs, magic-circle law firms run multi-day vacation schemes that function as extended assessment centres, consultancies often combine an AC with case interviews.
What exercises do assessment centres include?
Most ACs combine four to five exercise formats. The Group Case Study (4-5 candidates discuss a business problem, an assessor watches behaviour) is the centrepiece - around 80% of UK ACs include one. The In-Tray Exercise (45-60 minutes prioritising emails and documents, writing a brief) tests judgment under time pressure. The Written Exercise (analyse documents, produce a memo or recommendation) tests structured thinking. The Competency Interview (30-45 minute one-to-one) covers behavioural questions similar to HireVue but with live follow-up. Many ACs now also include a Presentation (10 minutes prep, 5-10 minutes present).
How does Intervyo score the simulation?
Each AC run produces a per-competency report calibrated to the firm: Leadership (how often you stepped up, how you handled it), Analytical Thinking (depth of your contributions, structured reasoning), Communication (clarity, succinctness, listening), Teamwork (inviting others in, building on contributions), Commercial Awareness (business judgement and context), and Resilience (how you handled being challenged or interrupted). On top of that, you see how each of the five AI personas perceived you - what they noted as your strengths, where you missed an opportunity to contribute.
How realistic is the simulation?
The personas are calibrated against patterns observed across real assessment centres at Goldman, Bain, Clifford Chance and Deloitte. The exercises mirror actual firm prompts (recombined to avoid IP issues). The scoring rubric matches the competencies firms' assessors are trained to grade against. Most candidates who try the simulator say it surfaced behaviours they would not have noticed in a one-on-one mock - dominating the discussion, talking over the quiet contributor, accepting the disrupter's frame too easily.
Are virtual ACs different from in-person ACs?
Yes, in three ways that matter. (1) Camera presence: how you appear on Zoom, lighting, eye contact through the lens. (2) Group dynamics: harder to read the room, harder to invite quiet contributors in, harder to know when to interject. (3) Tech logistics: a stable connection, working camera, no domestic interruptions. Intervyo simulates the virtual format by default (because it is now the majority), with notes throughout on what changes for in-person ACs.
What's the best way to use the AC simulator?
Three runs minimum. First run: just experience the format - the multi-persona dynamic, the time pressure, the assessor's silent observation. Second run: focus on one weak area from run one (typically inviting quiet contributors, or pushing back on the disrupter). Third run: at grilling difficulty to mirror Goldman / MBB AC pressure. Most candidates plateau without the third run; the ones who push through get the offer.
Assessment Centre Simulator
You cannot rehearse a group exercise
with a stack of flashcards.
Five AI candidates in the room with you. Real group dynamics. Real-time feedback. The simulator no other prep platform has built.
Start practising ACsIncluded with Monthly and every Premium firm pack