Um, excuse me, I didn't go into it half-hearted. I too spent many hours getting ready for it. I had a list of maybe 100questions that they like to ask, and sat down trying to come up with a suitable answer. Don't forget pretty much every question requires an example of a situation when you've- made a good decidion;bad decision; led a team;had to make a hard decision; etc etc etc.
For someone like myself with what could be classed as little experience in the aviation world (1200hrs) I don't have many examples to draw upon - basically because I've not encountered any such situations. I've not had any emergencies (luckily!), and being a FO I don't get to make decisions - that's down to the Captain.
However, I think the fact that I started my commercial training at 18, and getting my first job at 20, with a first time pass in IR, TR, Line Check's, LPC's, OPC's blah blah blah would be proof enough that I'm dedicated, ambitious etc etc etc.
My point is that they're no doubt turning pilots away because in the interview they couldn't come up with a decent answer about an emergency they've had to deal with. Having had another interview recently, from which I've gained a job, the whole interview was about ME. What kind of person I am, my strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, how my training went. A very nice, relaxed interview - and I'd say giving my new employers a much better idea about what kind of person they're employing.
And yes, the Micropat testing - utter bollox. What that showed them I have no idea.