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Stage 2 Interview
 

So I have my stage 2 assessment day on Friday so I've read with interest all the threads especially about the initial training. Seems like life gets popped on hold for a few months! Tricky with a family but hopefully I'll be lucky enough to get though and if I do it sounds like I wont be the only one. I live very near Swanwick so I'm really hoping to be able to do my training there but hey who knows!

Can anyone shed any light on how long the first multiple choice on the document I received will take and also how long the FEAST & DART tests are? I'm presuming a couple of hours for each but that does seem a long time.

Do I need paper pens, calculator? I know I did in the 1st stage.

What type of questions are in the FEAST test, any online examples would be great but I can't locate any.

Any help and advice would be eagerly received.

Can't believe how nervous I am about it, it's just something I've wanted for a long time

Thanks in Advance

Hello all!

Just found out about this thread! I am taking my Stage 3 next week and would be great if somebody could give me some tips or what to expect.
I have seen somebody earlier on posted a step-by-step of their day in Stage 2, but havent seen one for Stage 3, which would really help me!
One key question I have is regarding the document they give you to revise over in Stage 2, they ask you to do so again - Which part of the day would this be used for? Is there another multiple choice type questionnaire about it? Id rather practise for interview questions as thats my weak link, but would like to know if anybody can confirm it is important to thoroughly revise back through that document?

First of all, good luck on Friday! A general tip i received was to not over think things, stay calm, and dont be too afraid of not passing (as you know, its not for everyone).

The multi-choice i think was 20-25questions. If you read the document you should be fine. I remember terrified il be quizzed on the plane statistics, but it wasnt too heavy in that department for myself luckily.
The FEAST and DART are about 2 hours long each. You may finish them early if you are quick, but they are timed questions so most will finish around the same time. You wont need any paper pens etc, they provide everything and tell you not to put anything else on the desk. A calculator was not needed at all.

The FEAST test is mainly spatial reasoning tests. I cant post links here, but go on google and accept the first response to 'spatial reasoning test' by 123test, it is an extremely good example of what you will encounter. My advice will be to also play the games on the NATS website. Whereas they may not be exactly what was used in FEAST of Dart, there reaction timings and how the difficulty level goes up are good examples of what you will encounter.
The DART test, I honestly dont see anything that can prepare you for it. Not in a scary way. I found it the easiest part of the day personally.

Final bit of advice will be, if you make it through the day then look out for the email in your JUNK email inviting you Stage 3. I received it 8 days after my Stage 2 and I had no idea it was in my junk mail (due to all other NATS communications coming to my main inbox).

Keep calm, dont over complicate things. Realize especially when you are doing the FEAST you WILL make mistakes, but dont let it get to you as there are so many questions a few mistakes are okay. Drink lots of water. Go to the bathroom whenever they give you the chance. And in my opinion dont 'guess randomly' to get an answer down, skip it and move on and come back to it at the end.

Eek
 

So I've got through my stage 0 and 1 tests (much to my surprise) and have booked my assessment day for the 5th February! Any tips and tricks for the booklet or any one any experience to give me some pointers, I'm feeling confident, but can always do better and learn from those with experience!

Thanks so much ​​​​​​​that is a real help much appreciated. Funnily enough I've tried the same spatial reasoning tests so thats good to hear.

In the Multiple choice on the document were there lots of questions on the acronyms? Feels like theres hundreds of them.

I dont want to say too much about what was on the tests to make it fair. But i can confirm there were some acronym questions. Id be careful as its likely they use different questions per different groups. In general i would expect some tricky acronym questions though! As an idea of how many passed the sections (so maybe you can consider which test is hardest) - everybody in my group passed the multi choice paper questions regarding the booklet, however only 2/8 managed to get passed FEAST and on to DART. You dont know how many people passed DART as the results came in personal emails approx 8 days after the assessment day.

Thanks again. You've really helped settle my nerves. 2 out of 8 though wow. Well I'll give it my best shot. Good luck with Stage 3

When I did the FEAST at NATS 2,5 years ago I think about 10/12 passed it. But in the end it all comes down to if you have the capabilities or not, and if you're well rested when you start the test. I can imagine the passing rate will be very different each testing day!

Hey Fred congratulations on getting to Stage. When next week do you have it? I’ll be there on the 29th for mine too. Have you had any luck answering your questions as I too would like to know if I need to thoroughly revise the document.

I will also be there on the 29th!
No answer yet. Hopefully somebody can give us some insight into what to expect to cool our nerves!
Hows your preparation going, and what are you doing for it out of interest?

A few people have had questions regarding the booklet for stage 2 and stage 3.

My advice is that you need to make sure you're decently familiar with it for both. The multiple choice paper at stage 2 is mainly there to weed out anyone who has put no effort into preparing for the day. If you have a good grasp of the concepts and could muddle your way roughly through the figures you will be fine.

For stage 3 there is no specific written test on the booklet but familiarity with it will really help during the interview. Once you've learnt it for stage 2 just make sure you're revisiting it periodically until your stage 3 to ensure you haven't forgotten big chunks.

Hope that helps :ok:

Thanks for the information 👍

Ahh ok awesome. Nervous yet? I have to admit the preparation could be going better. I have been busy with work so haven’t dedicated as much time as I could be. My plan is just to familiarise myself with the booklet they provided for stage 2 and make sure I’m happy I can answer your standard interview questions comfortably. Not sure there’s much else we can do really.

How did you get on mate?
Unfortunately I wasnt successful. Quite disappointing they dont tell you which area, although my gut says the first 30 minutes of the interview as the questions were definitely not what I was expecting or what I have experienced before.

Just wondering if anybody here has any ideas of anywhere else you can apply to within the Industry. I am very set on going into the aviation industry, even if it means paying for training (however ideally this would be like NATS and free). Does anybody know of any other possible locations/job titles where I should apply, or know any courses that are likely to boost my chances of progressing in the future in this field?

Hi Fred,

HIAL and Air Navigation Solutions have run ab-intro courses before. Worth keeping an eye out. Further afield Eurocontrol or IAA could be an option?

IIRC, Global ATS do/did a scheme where you work as a sim pilot for 3 years, then get an ADI rating paid for you.

Hey Mate. Sorry to hear you weren’t successful. I had a phone call on Wednesday and was lucky enough to be offered a place with them.

It must be annoying not knowing exactly where things went wrong for you. Are you considering re-applying in 12 Months time? Barry Scott has given some good pointers. You could also think about joining the military as a Controller if that seems appealing to you?

Well done on passing. Did they give you any indication as to when courses were due to start?

Hello,

Does anyone know what tests stage 0 consists of?

Many thanks

Thanks very much 👍 No nothing yet. I’m in a position where I’m required to give 12 Months notice to my current employer anyway. They’re aware of this so I probably won’t hear anything about the upcoming courses.