Stephenson Harwood Amberjack Assessment

What the firm says about its assessment

Stephenson Harwood asks every candidate applying for a training contract or a placement scheme to complete its Amberjack assessment. Its London applying page calls it the online future potential assessment and describes situational judgement questions, which give an insight into the role of a trainee, followed by video interview questions. Its future talent adviser describes an interactive assessment that explores your grit and determination, your willingness to embrace a digital reality and your ability to apply creativity to solve problems. Those are three of the four pillars of Amberjack's model of potential.

The firm also says there is no time limit for the assessment, suggests having a calculator, paper and pen to hand, gives you one week to complete it, and asks four video interview questions immediately after the interactive part. It links a Stephenson Harwood practice test hosted on Amberjack's own platform, which is worth doing first.

Where the assessment sits in the process

• An online application form
• The online future potential assessment, if your application is selected
• An assessment day for training contract applicants, or an interview for the placement scheme
• For placement students, a formal assessment day during the placement, as the firm considers placement students for training contracts automatically

What the interactive part contains

The firm's pages name situational judgement questions. Amberjack's own practice test for the firm includes one item of each type: a workplace scenario where you mark the Most and Least effective of four responses, a verbal email from a colleague with three possible replies, and a numerical email with a table and a chart and four possible answers, plus one video question. The real sitting has more of each; the firm does not publish how many.

Top Tips

Do the firm's practice test first

It runs on the same platform as the real assessment, so it shows you the tick boxes, the inbox and the video recorder exactly as you will meet them.

Use the absence of a clock, but keep moving

Nothing counts down, and Amberjack records how long each answer takes. Read every scenario and email in full, work the numerical emails on paper, and do not stall on one item for many minutes.

Read the scenarios as a trainee

The most effective response is the one a new trainee can take: deal with the problem early, within your own role, and tell the right person. The least effective is usually the one that hides a problem or lets a deadline slip, not the one that sounds rudest.

Prepare four spoken answers

On Amberjack's platform you can think for as long as you like, then have two minutes to record once you press Record, in one take. Have answers ready on why commercial law, why Stephenson Harwood, a time you worked well in a team and a setback you recovered from.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Stephenson Harwood use Amberjack?

Yes. The firm names its Amberjack assessment on its own candidate pages and links a practice test hosted on Amberjack's platform. Confirm the details in your own invitation, as formats change between recruitment years.

Is the Stephenson Harwood assessment timed?

The firm says there is no time limit for the assessment. The video questions are the exception: on Amberjack's platform each answer is limited to two minutes once you start recording.

Can I stop and come back to it?

The firm says you can revisit the assessment later within your week. Within the interactive part you cannot go back to an earlier item, and every item must be answered to continue.