Stage 1A experience
Hey everyone. I just completed my Cathay Stage 1A interview (initial interview). I said before I would keep everyone posted and share any knowledge I had. The day was about four hours long. We all sat in a small waiting room and filled out a questionnaire until about 2pm when everything started. There were a total of 7 applicants (7th April) I think another group of 7 were scheduled for the 8th.
The recruiter came and we started with the english and grammar tests. The test really wasn't too bad until the end. On the recording, people say sentences that correspond to a sentence on your paper. You have to figure out which word is being said in the sentence, but because of the thick british accents, some words sound very similar like 68 or 60A or sneakers and snickers. Just listen carefully and you will be fine.
Next we divided groups 4 went to the aptitude test and 3 of us in the reasoning test. The reasoning test sucked. It started out easy and I was feeling great. By the end of the 40 minutes, all i could see was a blurry set of dots, shapes, squiggle lines, straight lines, stars.....it was really hard by the end. For those who are unsure, the reasoning test is the test where you try to notice a pattern. You will have eight pictures in front, and have to figure out (from eight possible answers) which one completes the pattern.
We all then gave our presentations (one on one) with a recruiter. If you are prepared for the presentation then you will do fine. Some people have written that the presentation is just for them to see your english skills and thats it. That is only part of it. If your presentation is lacking, she will ask you questions about it. Many applicants said they were asked about the aircraft used for training at FTA and what types of planes/sizes/names they were. If you cover your topic completely, they wont ask any more questions about it. Next there is a small HR interview.
I was asked:
Why I wanted to be a Pilot
What my parents think of me becoming a pilot
What my favorite aircraft was (she even asked me model number: B777-300ER very specific)
Why the aircraft I picked was my favorite
What did I do to get ready for today
What will I do if selected for stage 1B to prepare myself
There were a few more questions, but I don't remember
Finally, I did the aptitude test (as I had already done the reasoning test). This was done on computer. 5 games total. You may think your doing horribly on it, but they are not so bad. They were mostly games to test your hand eye coordination and see the error you would have while trying to keep up (everyone has error, it is impossible to be perfect at them). There is quick subtraction game as well.
That was it. When we were done, she informed us that she would let us know in two days how we did and would contact us by email if we were invited for stage 1B. I am very happy to say I got a call the following morning and invited to stage 1B. Wish me luck. I will keep updating. And thanks to everyone who has shared any info they could to help me through my interviews.