What about the people who also wish to read the answers? May aswell answer it once then through 20 pms!!!

You could always send a PM to that person. Or is that too difficult?

Forgive us Tidbinbilla but this is a specific thread about the Virgin Pilot Cadet Program and these are specific questions about this topic. I don't see how our questions to the guys who are progressing through the selection process are misplaced when this is the specific information most of us are interested in.

I don't think there is a need for sarcastic remarks.

I put my application through on August 7... hopefully they are contacting ppl in order of application because i havent heard anything yet :( please keep us updated on any more info you get.

+1

That's the whole point of a thread...

Who knows exactly what VA are looking for in their applicants or what their specific selection criteria is. It's all a matter of who reads your application at the time, patiently waiting and a little bit of luck. One thing for certain is that this cadetship will be HIGHLY competitive and i'm sure that they will have had many thousands of applications to choose from.

Good luck to everyone who has applied especially to those who have already heard back. Please keep sharing all the details you can about your experience with the selection process and your background details in aviation, current employment etc. It's all useful and interesting reading for us hopeful candidates.

Has anybody completed the online cognitive test?

We just have to wait and see i guess! i had a quick look at my application again and it says 'under review' so at least its not in a 'rejected' state.... I think a little part of me will die if i dont hear back lol... :sad: anyway i will remain hopeful.... I reckon if we dont hear anything by the end of the week we prob haven't made it through..

Ive done cognitive test. I must admit i struggled with additional test. I guess it now depends on how every other candidate scores in comparison. I just hope the scores dont carry too much weight. Would be interested to know how everyone else think they did

JJfly,
Are you able to shed any light on what the cognitive ability test consisted of?

so did you get an email asking you to do the test or did someone call you? also if it was an email was the email address a virgin australia one? just want to make sure if i get something it doesnt go to spam... :/

Ditto.

You receive an email from Virgin Australia confirming that you will move onto the next staging of the recruiting process; the online cognitive tests.

Hope this helps!

Is anyone involved in this thread able to shed light on what the cognitive ability test consisted of?

Generally its Verbal reasoning and Numerical reasoning, then there may be motivation and personality testing. google it there is miles of info on it.

It was Verbal, Numerical and Abstract reasoning

cheers :)

Thanks for that info JJfly.

Who are Virgin using for their tests? i.e. SHL, COMPASS??

Are you able to give examples of the types of questions that were asked in Abstract reasoning?

You cant study for it
 

Cobra, the whole point of the cognitive test is to test your raw ability. The ADF has been using them for decades and as I was in the ADF for a while I can tell you they are pretty accurate. You cant study for it so to speak. Talking about it on a PPRUNE forum isn't going to give anyone an advantage over you.

These tests will be done by everyone who has the minimum quals set by Virgin on the website. Don't think your special because you made it to this stage because literally hundreds of people will be doing this test. The culling will begin once everyone has tested and face to face interviews begin. I would say that for six cadets they may interview 40 people.

Test tips
 

Cobra, I see you hang around the CX thread a bit so will use this as an example. The questions CX ask for stage one are published on many websites and in a publication you can buy specifically for CX interviews. The answers to the questions asked were easy to find beforehand. This you would think would mean that getting through stage one would be a cake walk. This isn't the case. Most of the culling goes on in stage one.

You mention that having a heads up on questions types gives an advantage. I say that of the questions asked in cognitive reasoning ability tests you should be able to answer without prior study. If you can't answer a question in the test I'm sure no amount of studying before hand would have helped. You either know it or you don't. This is how they are designed.

I have known people to attempt the ADF test 2 or 3 times over a 24 month period and never has anyone made more than a slight improvement due to studying. Everyone who improved dramatically put it down to better time management by skipping questions in one section to progress to another. Using the test time divided by the number of questions is a great way to figure out the time limit per question. This you would think is obvious to most people but seems not to be.

Couldn't that 'slight improvement' give them the edge they need? With so many jockeying for one position, that slight improvement might just make or break you.

Better things to study
 

I would be using my time to study more important things like the Virgin route network and stats on the 737 and 777 etc.

If you have zero flight time try to get your hands on an AGK
(Aircraft General Knowledge) book. Learn the basics of flight and how a piston and jet engine works.

Get your mates/GF/parents to pretend to interview you to polish your skills. You will find standard interview questions online and are generally very similar from company to company. Practice answers to the standard questions like "tell us about a mistake you made at work/footy etc". The next question will be how did you deal with it. They just wanna know that you can think for yourself. Interview practice is essential if you want to make a good impression.

Good luck