What sort of ATC related questions do they ask ?
eg. headings etc.

Whats the best website/info the revise with ?

Stage 1 Nats
 

I read what you wrote about Stage 1, really helpfull. I've got mine next week. Also wondering if they do any one on one interviews or is it just tests that day? I have been sent some test material to learn, a document 24 pages long. I get the impression we will be tested on that, does that need to be thoroughly learnt or is it just for my information?

Seb

RyanEdin

The ATC related questions are almost all from the 24 page document they send you in an email, the couple that aren't are pretty easy and really only require common sense to answer them correctly. Only a couple of questions relating to the information on aircraft at the back of the document, all i'm saying is speed and destinations;). This test also(sneakily) has a couple of D/S/T questions in it, but same format as the mental arithmetic paper you get later, so if you've practiced your maths they shouldn't be a problem!

SebbyK

Read the 24 page document! As i said to RyanEdin this is what the motivation paper is based on. Stage 1 is only the four tests lasting approx 2 hours. No interview. As far as I know there is no interview at stage 2 either, just the FEAST tests and a NATS test, both on computers. Stage 3 is the only stage where you have an interview, along with a group exercise. Oh and best of luck for next week:ok:, put a post up afterwards telling us what you thought of the tests!

The one on one interviews aren't 'til stage 3.

And the 24 page document is tested on, but only a small amount. Some people say not to bother learning all of it, but if you get into college you're going to have to learn it anyway, so may as well get an early start.

Thanks guys, what i thought. So no need to rehearse all those interview questions such as what can you bring to NATS? I look forward to it and will keep you updated.

Seb

Even the one to one interviews don't ask you directly what you can bring to NATS. The interview will be competancy based, meaning they will ask you when you've shown certain skills in the past, or managed difficult situations etc.

Ok thanks.

I take it you made it through. What is you do now?

Seb

Nope, I've got my stage 3 coming up on the 21st and so I've obviously been looking into it.

The way I'd look at it is that if you've got the skills to do it then you should be OK in the tests, I found S1 easy, but S2 was a nightmare, passing it was a huge relief. I've just gotta hope that I'm the sort of person they're looking for, and that I can do myself justice in S3.

Best of luck to you and everyone else applying. Anyone on here going to be taking S3 on the 21st?

Ffaf
 

Firsty, good luck for your S3.

I just found out I passed on Thursday :) :) :), it's a major relief and well worth the hard work!

I just wanted to let you know that I did get asked a very similar question in my interview as to what I could bring to Nats, I doubt all the interviews ask the same questions but just be aware that there is questions like that in the interview.

Hope this helps.

Andy

Online SHL tests
 

Anyone else had problems getting onto the SHL practice tests? it keeps saying i need netscape 6.2x and ie6, they are so old tho

Moravcik25
 

Congratulations on passing S3, hopefully I'll be joining you with that news soon!

Thanks for the heads up on the question, although that does suprise me a bit really having looked into competancy based interviews, I guess it just means that they can spring anything on you, but nothing could suprise me after S2.

To Adam28!
 

Hi there mate,

Pretty interesting info you've got there, thanks.
I sat my stage 1 tests last year in September 2008, unfortunately I failed on the cube test (spatial reasoning) & diagramming which I also believe are the hardest of all. As for the time limits they were quite the same as you've stated, the only difference was that we didn't sit a d/s/t test which obviously has replaced last years basic checking test. By the way, did you sit a basic checking test after all?
About the motivation paper, I've noticed that there is some new info added since last years pdf leaflet provided by NATS. Nothing to worry about if read it well enough.
I have some questions I'd like to ask, since you recently sat your stage 1 tests, & would really appreciate your advise. Can you remember some of the pre-defined operators used with the diagramming test, other than ( swap with top box, copy to bottom box, swap with box above, copy to box below, reverse colors, set colors to white & vice versa, turn shape upside down, remove contents of this box, cancel previous command, present all shapes in the column in reverse order ), there were about 8-12 different ones last year.
Any clues about specific publications or internet sites, relevant to spatial reasoning & diagramming that hepled you prepare for the test? To be honest I've been through several psychometric & IQ books only to find 1-2 examples from each book. You must be aware of this. I've already been through several book stores & on the net with no particular luck finding specific examples. How on earth does NATS expect from it's candidates to perform on subjects which are not available out in the market for practice. I believe they must make this stuff by themselves, & with so many questions in very limited time, guess what... anyone could get..confused:confused:.. unless you've got a CPU attached in your brain with the specific program...:8 duh
I also remember that we didn't sit any personality questionaire at stage 1, that's also new.
Anyway, any kind of help would be greatly appreciated, & please feel free to ask me anything you want.
I'll be applying again sometime towards the end of this year, so, I wish you the best of luck with your results, please let me know if you've got through stage 1. Take care mate, keep posted. :ok:

Congratulations to all who passed their S3.

I failed my S3 in December, and its now been 12 months since I first applied, so here we go again..:}

All set for the roller coaster ride of the next 5 months!!!

Does anybody need Air Trafic Control by Graham Duke? have the ninth edition here in pristeen condition.

Happy to let it go at cost + P&P- say £15 all in if anyone wants it.

Cheers

Pugwash

Just to let you know the new one comes out soon for £8

I'm not trying to rip anyone off here Sebby- there is a new one coming out, but some people may have a interview coming up this week and want a copy v quickly. Hence my post.

i don't think £15 is unreasonable as that's P&P included, the book is basically brand new, and i can send it out tomorrow morning.

Hope others will see that i'm trying to help, not take the piss!

I wasn't suggesting that you were going to rip people off. I have mine on the 11th. Your offer is very tempting and i might buy it off you. Could you get it to me for this tue? would you do next day delivery for same price?

Cavokay7
 

Hi,

There is no basic checking involved in the tests any longer. Quick question - you say you failed on the cubes, how many did you complete in the test and did they tell you how many you got right?

As for the operations in the diagramming, I think you just about covered all of them! The ones I remember are:

Reverse shape
flip shape
copy to box below
copy to bottom box
copy to top box
swap with box above
swap with box below (i think)
delete next command
delete previous command
swap colours
set colours to black
set colurs to white (i think)
delete contents of this, next or previous box
present column in reverse order
present column in different order eg, 4,1,3,2 (top shape being 1, bottom being 4).(watch out for these little :mad:, i think they must have asked me to do this for the last 10 questions or so!Hence why i did not have time to complete the last two!)

I can't remember any others if there was any.

As for revision or practice for the tests, I concentrated mainly on the ATC info they give you, although I did try and find books, websites etc for aptitude tests. I wasn't successful with finding books, however I used a website called www.psychometric-success.com.
If you go into 'download practice tests' there is a list of different tests you can do. Personally, i printed off and completed the tests entitled 'Abstract Reasoning', 'Diagrammatic Reasoning' and 'Spatial Ability'.
These tests only have a few questions in them that are like the questions NATS give you, however I recommend giving the whole test a go as it really gets your brain working and is after all testing the same things NATS are testing - diagrammatic reasoning and spatial ability. The abstract reasoning paper isn't anything like any NATS test, but i found it interesting and thought it was worth doing as it involved sequences and spotting things that were out of place etc.

Thanks for wishing me luck, thats 5 working days gone by now, only a possible 10 still to wait, not that i'm counting! Good luck with applying later in the year, keep us posted as i will you!:)

I think that's the point... they are testing aptitude for reading and understanding instructions and then applying those instructions accurately. There is much more of this in stage 2 - many of tests give you a short period to read and learn what is required and then you must apply what you've just learnt.

adam28
 

Hi there,

Thank you very much for the info, I really apreciate it.
About your question, I completed all spatial reasoning & diagramming questions, with the last 5 of them by educated guessing as I didn't have time to figure them out.
NATS company policy does not allow any feedback whatsoever, at least last year they didn't, I don't know if anything has changed.
However, I contacted the HR department & they told me after I'd insisted on some feedback, that the fields in which I need to improve on are Spatial reasoning & Diagramming, which I thought I'd passed.
A controller trainee encouraged us after the tests by saying that, he knew about how difficult these questions were & that we weren't required to answer them all correctly in the time given, he had scored 27-28 out of 50 correct answers & he got through almost all tests with this kind of score. He's now posted at Heathrow Airport Tower.
Anyway, thanks again for the information, & I've got a gut feeling that you'll get through stage 1 mate, fingers crossed:ok:, take care & keep posted.

+1 on what JonhathenB said. At every stage you will struggle to practice anything- they are trying to test your innate abilities here, not your learnt abilities.

I thought i failed at every stage, and now that i'm waiting for my stage 3 results, i still think that i've failed!

No part of the application process is easy and you should not expect it to- alledgedly they had 55,000 applicants last year and they took 160 to college, of which 1/3 will fail, of the remainder 1/5 will fail to validate! So out of 55,000 people about 90 will actually become air traffic controllers.

Sandeep1221
 

Hi,

Thank you very much for the info. I guess I'll have to catch up with some research on the topics you advised me on, I really appreciate your help. Can you remember if you sat a personality questionaire at stage 1?
A previous post says that before starting the tests, some candidates were required to answer a P.Q of about 99 questions.
Thanks again, all the very best with your stage 1 results, take care & keep posted.

Pugwash, out of interest where did you hear the number 55,000?

from HR bods, but i think that was initial Stage 1 applicants. Sounded quite high, but not impossible looking at the hundreds of people who attend stage 1 every week. Is it unreasonable to think that one thousand people per week are tested? i woudln't have thought so.

JonathanB
 

Hi,

Well, I guess you've got a point there mate, but what I mean is that, we are human aren't we, we're not machines to proccess all this info in such little time. Anyway, I'll work harder this time in order to be within their requirements. How about you mate, did you sit any tests recently?
Thanks for your reply.

Stage 3
 

Tim91
 

Hi,

I'd just like to ask if the Graham Duke ATC book you're talking about is of any help at stage 1,2,3 if yes, I'd like to have a copy too mate,
Thanks in advance!

The book used to be essential reading to get past stage 3 interviews, but stage 3 is entirely competency based now so you don't need to know anything about ATC.

It may help in general with stage 1 and stage 2, and will certainly give you a better depth of knowledge, which is extremely helpful when you tour units as you know what you are doing, and come to realise whether or not being an ATC is a job you REALLY want or not. Also very good to have a general knowledge of the job when you talk to other ATCOs as you never know when one of them might be interviewing you or training you!

Jochi
 

I know exactly what you're saying, I was trying to think the same before my S3.

I can't remember any out of the ordinary questions that I hadn't heard before or at least heard very similar, so I wouldn't worry too much about those 2 competencies.

The main advice I could give is to be prepared for the amount of questions, there was 16 competency questions in total which is a lot of examples to think of, I would just ensure you have answers regarding resolving errors, learning from errors etc.

Hope this helps and good luck.

I have my stage 1 next week and i did a practice spatial awarness test

http://www.psychometric-success.com/...20Test%201.pdf

Answered 44/45 before running out of time and got 80% in the test. Is this a good mark or are they expecting higher like 90%?

Seb

Nobody really knows what the pass marks are, but if you get a result such as that I think you will be fine.

Check out the first post on page 131 of this thread for links to several other places to get some practice in for stage one and two

I arrived at CTC at approx. 1300 where I introduced myself at the reception. I was given a thinking styles questionnaire consisting of 99 questions. I was required to complete this before registering for the tests, if not, then stay behind after the four tests to complete. I eagerly await the results from my performance.

when did you do that? today?

Can you remind me what the 4 tests are again please..

Is it:

Checking
Spatial awareness (is it just cubes, or other stuff like putting shapes together to make one big one)
Motivation paper
Mathematical?

CAVOKAY, they do give you a small sample of the stage 1 tests - well they did when I did them back in March (in fact, this document) so it's not completely unknown. However, you get nothing to prepare for stage 2 - you really do have to read and understand what is required there and then. They obviously get enough of the "right sort" (whatever that may be) of person through the current process without needing to give any more info than they do.

Just read, digest and think logically! :)

STAGE 2
 

Hey guys, sat my stage 2 yesterday, it was really tough!

All I can advise anyone is practice cubes, as there is another test, but other than that just make sure you are really awake! The whole day consisted of lots of computer tests,which were quite difficult and really put you under pressure, but I met some really nice people who I hope all make it through.

I can't really advise anyone on what comes up as you cant really practice them, they are just general aviation aptitude tests, but from 8.45 till 4, you are sat at the same computer, with a few 10 minute comfort breaks and an hour for lunch.
So a good nights sleep prior is a must!

Good Luck to anyone going for stage 2 soon!

JonathanB
 

Thank you JonathanB,

I'm aware of the doc you're talking about, as I've received it last year when I had applied for the first time. Anyway, thanks for your reply. I hope I get through this time, all the best of luck for you too in whatever you're doing.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
 

its been a week since my stage 3 interview and i'm so nervous (which is exceedingly rare for me) that i can't stand it anymore.

PLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE put me out of my misery- i'm certain i've failed so they might as well phone up to confirm.

i thought waiting for stage 2 was bad, but the tensions is killing me- i'm not getting anything done!

Stage 3
 

I had my Stage 3 on the 31st July (David) and found out straight away (failed) so its prob a good sign if you haven't heard.

Pugwash4x4
 

I know the wait is horrible, im sure you've done well. I couldnt concentrate on work or anything for 2 weeks until i found out, but unfortunately it was a no.
To those doing stage 3 soon, one thing to keep in mind, read up on Body Language, apparently mine was saying something different to what i felt. Bit miffed by this but it cant be changed.
Good luck everyone