NATS interview process
Join Date: May 2011
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With the dress code at stage 1 it is really your call. At mine there were people wearing everything from full suits to tracksuits (not that I'd recommend that, you are applying for a job). I would have said that trousers and shirt was the most common.
Join Date: Aug 2012
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I sat stage 1 on the 26th at 2pm, i posted a few pages back, still no word back yet and from reading the above replies, it does seem the later they reply the less likely you pass. Just wish they'd tell us sooner as there is always a part of me that is hopeful yet i know i shouldnt be! 
Join Date: Jun 2006
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I am also out. Pretty gutted really..thought I had nailed the tests but nevermind! Eddy, I went on Monday and found out today so I don't thinks thats always the way it goes..good luck!!
Join Date: Oct 2012
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I'd read and re-read the NATS site several times before doing my application, always reading 15 days between stages.
I had my stage 1 on Monday in Southampton. Echoing the comments of the last few pages - if you read the ATC pack in the invitation email and learn it you give yourself a good chance to get through the first test. There were about 80 in my sitting, and just under half went through to the cubes and diagramming.
For the second part I got the impression that they don't expect you to finish, but it is possible - just do as much as you can as accurately as possible. I managed to complete about 95% of the questions on both tests and felt they both went well.
We were told by the lady leading the course that they were trying to turn around results faster and would hope to get them done within 7 days.
I had my tests on Monday, and got an email Tuesday afternoon inviting me through to stage 2. Now booked in for the 16th which was the first available date when I clicked - seems places are filling up from the messages above.
I had my stage 1 on Monday in Southampton. Echoing the comments of the last few pages - if you read the ATC pack in the invitation email and learn it you give yourself a good chance to get through the first test. There were about 80 in my sitting, and just under half went through to the cubes and diagramming.
For the second part I got the impression that they don't expect you to finish, but it is possible - just do as much as you can as accurately as possible. I managed to complete about 95% of the questions on both tests and felt they both went well.
We were told by the lady leading the course that they were trying to turn around results faster and would hope to get them done within 7 days.
I had my tests on Monday, and got an email Tuesday afternoon inviting me through to stage 2. Now booked in for the 16th which was the first available date when I clicked - seems places are filling up from the messages above.
Join Date: Oct 2012
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Frustrated.
I also took my stage 1 today , didn't get past the first paper.
Paper was not what I expected, I suggest anyone taking it brush up on general knowledge question's. Distance from point A to B etc and also to take a look at working out equations such as Speed into miles per minute and also other control centers in Europe...
I really was disappointed today , having flown down from York. The lady at the counter was very abrupt and didn't offer any sort of answers to the questions I asked her after she told me I hadn't made the cut. Simply saying " Just apply again in a year" .
I'm 90% I did the test paper questions accurately and correctly , and can only put it down to when i altered a few answers , I rubbed out the circle and then re-circled the correct answer, perhaps I was meant to put a line through the incorrect answer but again, this wasn't mentioned to us and when I asked her to double check, she refused.
The whole thing was an utter sham to be honest, I wasn't entirely happy about some of the questions in the test due to some of the answers not being in the booklet at all. Having revised the booklet for over a month now, putting in the revision for at least 2 and a half hours a day I must of gone over the booklet at least 50 times.I would of appreciated if the correct information was given to me in the first place.
It felt like I was given a 2005 revision booklet for a 2012 knowledge test. My father is a controller and has being for over 30 years and even he was telling me the information is completely outdated which brings me to ask why on earth are they testing you on information that is invalid and no longer exists , for example " The ATC college is in Bournemouth" which it clearly isn't and giving me info on FIS,RIS and RAS when that's also outdated and now named something completely different, some of the questions are very vague, asking you adjacent places to a certain area, but not giving you the adjacent direction N,E,S,W. So you merely have to guess. I cant seem to get my head around the whole thing.
The test that I undertook today had at least 12 questions that are not in the revision booklet or even hinted at you to look at if not more, as you can understand I'm really not a happy chappy.
After spending around £200 on flights, £20 on cab's, £15 on train fairs and £60 on a hotel, never mind food and whatever else , to spend 18 minutes in a room and to be told I was not good enough, what a kick to the teeth, when I was getting tested on information that I had not received. I feel like I was tested under false pretense's and I will be fighting to claim my money back due to a massive amount of negligence by NATS recruitment team. I revised what was given to me, yet it still did not give me the answers to the questions in the test, and I was given outdated information.
I'm not sure if the tests are different for each group, but mine today was a load of ...
This was my opinion of the whole 18 minute ordeal at Novotel.
Around half my group also left at the same time as me, after a quick discussion in the lobby we all were asking the same questions, "Why are we being asked that, when we are given the outdated versions to revise" and "That wasn't even incorporated or mentioned in the booklet".
As for the rest of my afternoon was spent in Southampton Airport waiting for my flight , but hey-ho it could of being worse, one of the girls had a 9 hour train journey back to Glasgow.
As for the rest of you I wish you the best of luck,
The one thing I would suggest , brush up on all the nitty gritty details that you think you wont get tested on, because you will.
Ill let you all know how I get on.
Bainzy
Paper was not what I expected, I suggest anyone taking it brush up on general knowledge question's. Distance from point A to B etc and also to take a look at working out equations such as Speed into miles per minute and also other control centers in Europe...
I really was disappointed today , having flown down from York. The lady at the counter was very abrupt and didn't offer any sort of answers to the questions I asked her after she told me I hadn't made the cut. Simply saying " Just apply again in a year" .
I'm 90% I did the test paper questions accurately and correctly , and can only put it down to when i altered a few answers , I rubbed out the circle and then re-circled the correct answer, perhaps I was meant to put a line through the incorrect answer but again, this wasn't mentioned to us and when I asked her to double check, she refused.
The whole thing was an utter sham to be honest, I wasn't entirely happy about some of the questions in the test due to some of the answers not being in the booklet at all. Having revised the booklet for over a month now, putting in the revision for at least 2 and a half hours a day I must of gone over the booklet at least 50 times.I would of appreciated if the correct information was given to me in the first place.
It felt like I was given a 2005 revision booklet for a 2012 knowledge test. My father is a controller and has being for over 30 years and even he was telling me the information is completely outdated which brings me to ask why on earth are they testing you on information that is invalid and no longer exists , for example " The ATC college is in Bournemouth" which it clearly isn't and giving me info on FIS,RIS and RAS when that's also outdated and now named something completely different, some of the questions are very vague, asking you adjacent places to a certain area, but not giving you the adjacent direction N,E,S,W. So you merely have to guess. I cant seem to get my head around the whole thing.
The test that I undertook today had at least 12 questions that are not in the revision booklet or even hinted at you to look at if not more, as you can understand I'm really not a happy chappy.
After spending around £200 on flights, £20 on cab's, £15 on train fairs and £60 on a hotel, never mind food and whatever else , to spend 18 minutes in a room and to be told I was not good enough, what a kick to the teeth, when I was getting tested on information that I had not received. I feel like I was tested under false pretense's and I will be fighting to claim my money back due to a massive amount of negligence by NATS recruitment team. I revised what was given to me, yet it still did not give me the answers to the questions in the test, and I was given outdated information.
I'm not sure if the tests are different for each group, but mine today was a load of ...
This was my opinion of the whole 18 minute ordeal at Novotel.
Around half my group also left at the same time as me, after a quick discussion in the lobby we all were asking the same questions, "Why are we being asked that, when we are given the outdated versions to revise" and "That wasn't even incorporated or mentioned in the booklet".
As for the rest of my afternoon was spent in Southampton Airport waiting for my flight , but hey-ho it could of being worse, one of the girls had a 9 hour train journey back to Glasgow.
As for the rest of you I wish you the best of luck,
The one thing I would suggest , brush up on all the nitty gritty details that you think you wont get tested on, because you will.
Ill let you all know how I get on.
Bainzy
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the only thing to expect (i'm talking only about this session of stage 1 sept oct ), if you don't get an e-mail in 48 hours , is that you failed . all the people who passed got their e-mail in max 2 days . there is no one who passed and got it after 10 working days let's say ... from all the data i've collected from posts of people who passed is they've done 90% or more in both diags and cubes ... lowest who passed was with 42 diags and 38 cubes ( meaning 90% and 95% ) and i suppose he got them ALL correct ... i know i did 40 diags and 37 cubes and i can vouch for every single answer besides 2 cubes ... i'm still waiting for my YOU FAILED e-mail .. nice experience anyways and I will defenetly go again .. and no I'm not rushing into making stupid assumptions ... It's all pure statistics .. Numbers don't lie ! C ya ( most score gathering of people who passed was from PM's )
Last edited by malakajin; 5th Oct 2012 at 00:31.
Join Date: Aug 2012
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Hi all,
I took the test on thursday 4th (10 am).
Almost half failed the test 1, I got through.
Diagramming was very hard, I only answered 33 so I'm pretty sure I won't see the stage 2. Cube was not so hard for me, although I didn't answer all but only 31.
So I don't expect to pass at all.
Regarding previous assumption,I think you can have done only 35 for diagramming and 30 for cubes and pass if they are all correct.
Like for other ATCO testing (eurocontrol (feast), skyguide) I think you must score at least 60 % at each test. ( good answer percentage x total answer percentage).
At eurocontrol testing is scored on 9. If you have at least 5/9, it's good.
For information, I'm sure to have a maximum of 2 wrong answers at test 1 so that won't be useful to get an idea of a minimum scored required.
There is no secret if you read it carrefully and retained important information it's good.
Math question are very basic.
I will tell you when I get the result.
Good luck every one
I took the test on thursday 4th (10 am).
Almost half failed the test 1, I got through.
Diagramming was very hard, I only answered 33 so I'm pretty sure I won't see the stage 2. Cube was not so hard for me, although I didn't answer all but only 31.
So I don't expect to pass at all.
Regarding previous assumption,I think you can have done only 35 for diagramming and 30 for cubes and pass if they are all correct.
Like for other ATCO testing (eurocontrol (feast), skyguide) I think you must score at least 60 % at each test. ( good answer percentage x total answer percentage).
At eurocontrol testing is scored on 9. If you have at least 5/9, it's good.
For information, I'm sure to have a maximum of 2 wrong answers at test 1 so that won't be useful to get an idea of a minimum scored required.
There is no secret if you read it carrefully and retained important information it's good.
Math question are very basic.
I will tell you when I get the result.
Good luck every one
Last edited by Frenchmax; 5th Oct 2012 at 08:48.
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I took the test on thursday 4th (10 am).
The 2nd and 3rd tests where different. I thought the cubes where harder than the diagramming, but didn't manage to finish either.
I doubt i will have got through, but just have to wait and see.
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You were certainly not the only one to notice that. I sat next to the same person in the ATC and cubes tests, but after the final test we both spoke to the NATS examiner who said the document was in the process of being reviewed and updated - but it did come with a sense of - you don't need to worry about that as you've already passed it.
Join Date: Sep 2012
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@bainzy
bro you sound like draco malfoy or something. 'my father has been an atco for 30 years.' etc.
it's unfortunate that you've had to spend so much money getting down to the tests, but the reality is that it's the same for everyone if they live a considerable distance away.
regarding the test paper...mate it was so easy, you clearly can't be all you make yourself out to be if you failed that. i suggest you take the chip off your shoulder, forget about blaming the people running the test for your shortcomings.
i took the test about 10 days ago, and don't remember a great deal of questions that weren't in the document we were given. the distance from london to glasgow and brussels are two examples, but given the nature of the multiple choice answers, they weren't exactly difficult, were they?
i understand feeling disappointed at not getting past that test, i'd have felt the same, but instead of feeling sorry for yourself, take a year to become more accustomed with the trade, learn what's in the document instead of just reading words, and smash it next year.
and don't moan, i doubt you'll get sympathy on here.
it's unfortunate that you've had to spend so much money getting down to the tests, but the reality is that it's the same for everyone if they live a considerable distance away.
regarding the test paper...mate it was so easy, you clearly can't be all you make yourself out to be if you failed that. i suggest you take the chip off your shoulder, forget about blaming the people running the test for your shortcomings.
i took the test about 10 days ago, and don't remember a great deal of questions that weren't in the document we were given. the distance from london to glasgow and brussels are two examples, but given the nature of the multiple choice answers, they weren't exactly difficult, were they?
i understand feeling disappointed at not getting past that test, i'd have felt the same, but instead of feeling sorry for yourself, take a year to become more accustomed with the trade, learn what's in the document instead of just reading words, and smash it next year.
and don't moan, i doubt you'll get sympathy on here.
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@Bainzy
You could always put a chip on the other shoulder and balance things out.
If whinging is your first recourse then you will struggle if you make it through. Will you get annoyed if the planes don't tell you exactly what they're going to do?
And he's right about the lack of sympathy
You could always put a chip on the other shoulder and balance things out.
If whinging is your first recourse then you will struggle if you make it through. Will you get annoyed if the planes don't tell you exactly what they're going to do?
And he's right about the lack of sympathy