NATS interview process
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Cheers salsaboy and AA, I'll go for it then! One more thing, will having a PPL help at all? Doesn't really matter if it doesn't, but I've got one so thought I'd ask!
Thanks guys
Thanks guys
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Pugwash: I took my Stage 1 on the 10th November 2008 and would have been starting this Monday at the college if I wasn't tied to my contract at work until June. Expect 6 months or so - I went through the application process relatively quickly (2 months in total from Stage 1 to Stage 3) as I had other job offers on the table and had to make a decision by a certain point.
Mike172: Since I don't have a PPL I can't say exactly, but it might help in Stage 3 and the learning of the motivation paper stuff, but probably not much else until you get to the college!
Mike172: Since I don't have a PPL I can't say exactly, but it might help in Stage 3 and the learning of the motivation paper stuff, but probably not much else until you get to the college!
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PPL
I think the PPL will show your level of interest and/or 'dedication', give you a good background knowledge of airspace, procedures etc... but if they think you aspire to be a professional pilot in the future that may go against you because of the level of investment in training and the apparant risk if they thought you may move on.
Just my tuppence worth.
Just my tuppence worth.
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Thanks Whitelighter!!
That info is so useful for anyone who's going to be doing stage 2, like myself, in the near future!
I'm sure you'll have done better than you think. Good Luck!!
That info is so useful for anyone who's going to be doing stage 2, like myself, in the near future!
I'm sure you'll have done better than you think. Good Luck!!
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Nope, one of my strengths (or should that be weaknesses - I never know) is that I can be fairly accurate when criticising myself and I am pretty sure I blew it.
The first three felt fine, but it went down hill after that and I know I missed a big element of the final FPS test. I dont suppose it helped that my computer crashed 25 minutes in to the final section and it took 20 minutes to get it back but I think it was lost before then.
The only advice I can offer to people is take your time, try to find some inner calm and focus 100% of you efforts on what you are doing. There is a lot to distract you, and if you let yourself go that way you will make it twice as hard.
Good luck to everyone in the recruiting process. Its something I know I will be good at, and if my feelings are right I will be back to try again.
The first three felt fine, but it went down hill after that and I know I missed a big element of the final FPS test. I dont suppose it helped that my computer crashed 25 minutes in to the final section and it took 20 minutes to get it back but I think it was lost before then.
The only advice I can offer to people is take your time, try to find some inner calm and focus 100% of you efforts on what you are doing. There is a lot to distract you, and if you let yourself go that way you will make it twice as hard.
Good luck to everyone in the recruiting process. Its something I know I will be good at, and if my feelings are right I will be back to try again.
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I dont think its that much harder to be honest. The trade off is there is no weird HR interview (yet.....) until Stage 3.
Its a bit closer to Stage 1 - you can either do it or you cant. I dont think its any harder, it just tests different aspects of your ability. Its shows that they are still trying to whittle out those with the wrong or weak skill set for the job before going through the ardous (and resource intensive) interviews and deciding if they WANT you.
There's no leanrning either, which actually I missed because I know the two motivation documents inside out and upside down. Still, that doesnt hurt because you are going to have to know that stuff sooner or later
Its a bit closer to Stage 1 - you can either do it or you cant. I dont think its any harder, it just tests different aspects of your ability. Its shows that they are still trying to whittle out those with the wrong or weak skill set for the job before going through the ardous (and resource intensive) interviews and deciding if they WANT you.
There's no leanrning either, which actually I missed because I know the two motivation documents inside out and upside down. Still, that doesnt hurt because you are going to have to know that stuff sooner or later
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Hi to everyone, just spent the 3 hrs on this forum, such a great resource tool. I've stage 1 on Tuesday at Whitely at 2pm and wondered if anyone else will be there, be great to hear from anyone .
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Thanks for the detailed rundown of the Stage 2 tests whitelighter. When you say 'get your maths up', does that mean the maths in the tests are quite advanced? This worries me as maths really is NOT my strong point.
I have a month to prepare so I'm just wondering, do I need to get some A-level maths skills absorbed into my brain or some of the simple stuff you find in brain training?
I know probably some of you will say that advanced math won't hurt, but I have a month and I want to use my time wisely rehearsing the correct math skills. I fear if I go too complex i'll miss the fundamentals. I ain't gotta worry too much about reaction time, I pretty much spend most of my free time playing intense video-games!
Another question also, can anyone recommend any books that would be quite relevant for stage 2? I've seen people mention books that help with Stage 1, would they suffice?
Thanks guys
I have a month to prepare so I'm just wondering, do I need to get some A-level maths skills absorbed into my brain or some of the simple stuff you find in brain training?
I know probably some of you will say that advanced math won't hurt, but I have a month and I want to use my time wisely rehearsing the correct math skills. I fear if I go too complex i'll miss the fundamentals. I ain't gotta worry too much about reaction time, I pretty much spend most of my free time playing intense video-games!Another question also, can anyone recommend any books that would be quite relevant for stage 2? I've seen people mention books that help with Stage 1, would they suffice?
Thanks guys
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I have a month to prepare so I'm just wondering, do I need to get some A-level maths skills absorbed into my brain or some of the simple stuff you find in brain training? 
I know probably some of you will say that advanced math won't hurt, but I have a month and I want to use my time wisely rehearsing the correct math skills.
I know probably some of you will say that advanced math won't hurt, but I have a month and I want to use my time wisely rehearsing the correct math skills.
That would be pretty discriminatory to say the least! Considering the entry requirements for trainee ATCO at present.And also, from 'whitelighters' previous post I don't think he or she mentions a maths test of any description, aside from the sums that crop up in the NATS computer tests but those sums are basic arithmatic I am told, I really hope I don't come up against an A-level maths equation, as such a calculation would be entirely relevant to the actual job!
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I haven't done any of the FEAST tests so can't comment on any possible mathematical comment in those, but the only time maths comes up in the NATS tests is the 'collision and concentration' task. The maths there is a distraction - if you can answer some of the questions thrown at you while completing the main test, good on you, but it's not absolutely necessary.
I have A-level Maths (and quite a bit beyond that) and didn't need any of it for the NATS tests (it also wouldn't have helped me in the slightest). The maths asked of you is something like:
3119472
9628 x 324 = A. 31984 B. 2708851 C. 3119472 D. 4563785
You have approximately 2 seconds to answer this(!). A tip I got from a current ATCO is if you're given a multiplication, just multiply the last digit of each number, as the answer must be the last digit of the sum (in this case, 8 x 4 = 32, so you're looking for answers ending in 2). Same tip goes for addition/subtractions.
I have A-level Maths (and quite a bit beyond that) and didn't need any of it for the NATS tests (it also wouldn't have helped me in the slightest). The maths asked of you is something like:
3119472
9628 x 324 = A. 31984 B. 2708851 C. 3119472 D. 4563785
You have approximately 2 seconds to answer this(!). A tip I got from a current ATCO is if you're given a multiplication, just multiply the last digit of each number, as the answer must be the last digit of the sum (in this case, 8 x 4 = 32, so you're looking for answers ending in 2). Same tip goes for addition/subtractions.
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sorry,
There is no A level (or GCSE for that matter) maths at S2. All I meant was get used to looking at numbers, sorting them in your head and doing very quick but basic mental maths.
If you have been out of school for a while you might find this a bit rusty. As paperclip says, the maths in the collisions task is ( I hope) just a distraction, but there is an element of maths in the sort task. Not very hard in principle, but when you have sub to seconds to process all the info and make a descision a certain degree of comfort with number would, imho, be useful.
Sorry again if I alarmed anyone - wasnt my intention.
There is no A level (or GCSE for that matter) maths at S2. All I meant was get used to looking at numbers, sorting them in your head and doing very quick but basic mental maths.
If you have been out of school for a while you might find this a bit rusty. As paperclip says, the maths in the collisions task is ( I hope) just a distraction, but there is an element of maths in the sort task. Not very hard in principle, but when you have sub to seconds to process all the info and make a descision a certain degree of comfort with number would, imho, be useful.
Sorry again if I alarmed anyone - wasnt my intention.
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la de da getting really annoyed with the application for stage 2 at the moment- some of the questions sem nonsensical- ie list all your work work experience and write 500 words max about them- huh that's going to take me hours and hours and hours.
describe any responsibilities you had at school? what? i'm 29 FFS not 12!
sorry-just having a mini rant as i hate these types of questions- give me computer tests any day!
describe any responsibilities you had at school? what? i'm 29 FFS not 12!
sorry-just having a mini rant as i hate these types of questions- give me computer tests any day!
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pugwash - I didn't write anything like 500 words for each - more like 150-200 I think.
The responsibilities thing is certainly a bit daft, but I suppose it's looking for non-work related things (i.e. things you weren't paid for!) I stretched it a little and put in a Uni Society post I held (well, Uni is sometimes called college!).
Can't say that I found the form particularly problematical, it's fairly standard for any type of job application I thought! Maybe at 28 I've had fewer jobs than most - I put down 5 jobs, 2 were part time while at Uni and one was a summer internship. The other 2 are the ones I've been in for the last 8 years. I missed off my part time job when I was at school as it seems a little far back now and was only 1 half day and one evening a week.
The responsibilities thing is certainly a bit daft, but I suppose it's looking for non-work related things (i.e. things you weren't paid for!) I stretched it a little and put in a Uni Society post I held (well, Uni is sometimes called college!).
Can't say that I found the form particularly problematical, it's fairly standard for any type of job application I thought! Maybe at 28 I've had fewer jobs than most - I put down 5 jobs, 2 were part time while at Uni and one was a summer internship. The other 2 are the ones I've been in for the last 8 years. I missed off my part time job when I was at school as it seems a little far back now and was only 1 half day and one evening a week.
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its not difficult really- its just a ball ache- don't know why they can't invite you to stage 2 and ask for the application at the same time!
Think my problem is that i have had quite a few jobs in the past decade (changes were all positive- ie looking for new challenges), and i've also been self employed which makes describing responsibilities kind of hard!
anyway i'll get it sent away today- i'm only annoyed because i've already spent 2 days working on it, and i STILL haven't finished.
Oh and hello from Chertsey, can only be a few miles away from you
Think my problem is that i have had quite a few jobs in the past decade (changes were all positive- ie looking for new challenges), and i've also been self employed which makes describing responsibilities kind of hard!
anyway i'll get it sent away today- i'm only annoyed because i've already spent 2 days working on it, and i STILL haven't finished.
Oh and hello from Chertsey, can only be a few miles away from you
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I submitted it on Tuesday night last week, and it was accepted on Wednesday. However because I wear glasses it's been referred to the medical department and I'm still waiting for their sign-off before being offered a Stage 2 date... Should be no issue though as I already hold a JAA Class One medical! 