Having been through the EK selection process myself I'd have the following comments.
It was done in a very open and friendly atmosphere by the 'facilitators'. I found them to be honest and professional in their approach.
However....
Within the first 1 hour it was already obvious to me which of my fellow candidates was likely to be selected...and more importantly, which ones were utterly doomed to failure.
I took the whole process in the best of spirit...after all, by applying for an F/O job I was already having to swallow some pride...might as well go along with it so and give your best.
But afterward, even though I 'passed' and was offerred the job, I have to say that the stupidity and insulting nature of the process began to bear down on me, and it did play a part in my decision not to join up.
In short, as others have said, the selection process is a sham, and is (I believe) more aimed at discouraging applications from anyone who might 'have an attitude' and give EK some trouble if they are not getting everything their own way.
A traditional interview with any of the candidates in my group would have produced
exactly the same outcome IMHO.
The fact that I got through the 3 day process shows anyone can fool the system!
So you guys in EK who jumped through all the hoops and are now being passed over for your command by DECs, this is exactly what they had in mind for you when they put you through the process and selected you. And, more importantly, this is what you showed you'd be prepared to swallow when the time came...just for that job at EK.
You are going to be good obedient puppies.
Suck it up.