Case study
From scratch: grad hiring
TMPW, an award-winning advertising agency with a specialism in recruitment, were launching a graduate programme. Our reciprocal choice model, Gen AI-resilient tools, and bespoke selection stage led to three ideal hires.
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Offer acceptance
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Assessment centre attendance
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Positive candidate feedback
The challenge
TMP Worldwide — a transformative, multi-award-winning advertising agency that dominates UK media buying, employer branding, recruitment marketing, and resourcing — had big plans. They’d created a brand-new two-year graduate development programme designed to cultivate their next generation of leaders.
TMPW had successfully crafted numerous graduate assessment processes for clients, but this was the first time running their own scheme. They needed maximum return on investment and a bespoke, forward‑focused, cost‑efficient process to unearth three brilliant graduates.
With no historical data and an evolving early‑careers landscape, the process had to flex up or down based on unknown application volumes without affecting costs or timelines. And it needed to be Gen-AI aware to prevent candidates misrepresenting their skillset.
The solution
PeopleScoutʼs Assessment Psychologists crafted a bespoke, end-to-end selection process that brought TMPWʼs unique proposition to life.
This wasnʼt about adapting existing frameworks — this was industry-first thinking that gave candidates multiple opportunities to showcase their strengths through an engaging, informative experience.
We applied best practice design principles with a creative twist. We began with research to capture the expertise and perspectives of key Graduate Pathway stakeholders to build a values-led assessment framework that truly embodied TMPWʼs culture.
Reciprocal choice
Instead of one-sided evaluation, we emphasised mutual fit. We prioritised transparent two-way communication between candidate and company. This started with strategically crafted questions based on realistic job previews, helping the right people to identify themselves early.
Gen AI resilient sift
Our Gen AI resilient sift tool assessed priority criteria from the framework, using autoscored situational and preference questions specifically designed to limit Gen AI disruption. This ensured we were evaluating genuine responses and different thinking styles.
Asynchronous video interview
We invited the highest-scoring candidates to pre-record a video interview. Those who gave personalised, unique responses earned their place at our immersive assessment centre at TMPWʼs London headquarters.
Immersive, work-sampling assessment centre
The final stage provided realistic work samples and previews of life at TMPW, testing holistic match and ensuring successful candidates could make fully informed decisions when it came to accepting offers — fulfilling our goal to make the right hires the first time and every time.
Results
Interest in the pathway was huge, and our creative solution delivered exactly what TMPW needed. With automated sifting, asynchronous video interviews, and extensive self-assessment opportunities, we identified candidates who were both exceptionally talented and genuinely motivated to succeed at TMPW.
TMPW were overwhelmingly happy with what we managed to achieve, including:
- Maintaining a highly diverse candidate pool through to the assessment centre.
- Cost-effective use of only bespoke-designed assessments with no cost-per-use or licence costs, as well as the ability to scale up without increasing costs.
- 100% attendance rate for the assessment centre.
- 100% offer acceptance rate.
- Positive feedback on the assessment experience from candidates.
This industry-first approach didn’t just fill three graduate positions—it created a blueprint for identifying and attracting different thinkers who’ll drive competitive advantage for TMPW and their clients for years to come.
I enjoyed how immersive and hand-on the process was. There were lots of different styles of tasks.
– Candidate
