Trial by sherry
Featured in the Proactive Interviewee Skills training manual
By Beverley Williams
Category: Recruitment, Selection and Induction
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
‘Trial by sherry’ is a situation that many people will have to deal with as they progress up the career ladder. In those positions that involve a two- or three-day assessment, for example, new graduate appointments, trial by sherry will probably take place right at the beginning of working life. The compulsory dinner invitation is not always issued with the specific intention of assessing how an individual will behave with their guard down. Some department will genuinely have a policy of offering hospitality. However, it would be very naïve to think that anything said or done during an informal evening will be considered to be ‘off the record’ when the ‘real’ interview begins. People also worry about the dress code and other social issues when accepting a ‘trial by sherry’ invitation or, indeed, when they are involved in supplying corporate hospitality. This training resource encourages participants to think about possible problems and then to develop a checklist to deal with them. The training activity can also benefit the organisation by being used to develop the skills of those who need to entertain clients and other guests.
You begin the training activity by introducing the topic and reach agreement on what is meant by the term ‘trial by sherry’. Working in pairs, the participants think about why such an invitation may be issued and if there is a hidden agenda. They then consider what could go wrong during the ‘trial by sherry’ and establish its importance in the assessment process. You summarise the ideas into broad topic headings. Working in groups, the participants devise checklists to address potential problems and worries and give a short presentation of their findings to the other participants. You close the training activity by taking key learning points from the participants before distributing a key learning points handout.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers with participants who will need to entertain as part of their role, and to develop a checklist of dos and don’ts when assessing their social skills.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 10 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:00:00 |
| No of Pages: | 13 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use, as a foundation activity, by trainers with participants who may encounter ‘trial by sherry’ at some stage in their careers and also with those who will entertain on behalf of the organisation at some point.
Download the training activity, Trial by sherry as featured in the Fenman training manual; Proactive Interviewee Skills