Civil service fast stream 2014/2015

Reply 1940

Hi there-

I was wondering if I can get any general tips for the leadership exercise/mock brief, as that particular one is something that bothers me the most out of the FSAC. Did anyone find themselves in a position where they were truly unable to answer a question given by their 'line manager' in the mock meeting? Any tips for relaxing/keeping nerves at bay during that particular one?

Thanks in advance!

Hey pippit. The leadership exercise sounds a bit strange when you see it written down but I found it very straight forward in the end. You get a fair bit of information relevant to the task and the guidance is thorough, so you don't feel like you have no idea what to do. I've put my experience of it here so you will have an idea of what to expect to reduce your nerves.

The first thing I'd say is just to read the instructions really thoroughly and make sure you're happy that you know what they expect. Then read the source material and remember to make notes on or underline sections that you feel are relevant. There is time pressure for this task too. The first part is a lot like the policy exercise, but instead of presenting your opinion in a document, you are summarising it in a quick talk to a manager. You don't need to remember everything, you are entitled to take your notes with you. I took three pages of notes I made and consulted this regularly during my talk (I passed FSAC so I don't think they mind that at all).

Given the time pressure keep your eye on the clock during the reading time and give yourself some time at the end to think of how you will structure your presentation, I wrote subheadings with key bullet points in my notes to keep me on track during the presentation. In the presentation, you are in a small room with only one person so the environment is not intimidating. My manager gave me a very clear briefing before I started. In the discussion, all of the items addressed are drawn from the source material, so as long as you read the material it is very unlikely there will be questions you won't be able to answer. Also the questions don't really have 'right' answers, they are just looking at the way you would tackle the problem. Hope this helps. Best of luck!

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1941

madl24903

5

OMG! Passed FSAC for commercial stream!!

Reply 1942

PJ07

3

Original post by madl24903

OMG! Passed FSAC for commercial stream!!

Congratulations! :smile:

you just get the results today?

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Reply 1943

madl24903

5

Original post by PJ07

Congratulations! :smile:

you just get the results today?

Posted from TSR Mobile

This morning! I had my FSAC on the 26/01

Reply 1944

jo131278

2

Can anyone from the 26th Jan let me know when they get there results? It will stop me checking if I know I've been amber banded. Thanks so much.

Reply 1945

jo131278

2

Ok, I guess I'm amber banded. Nevermind I'll just have to wait to get my result. Thanks for posting though.

Reply 1946

PJ07

3

Original post by madl24903

This morning! I had my FSAC on the 26/01

Ah congrats again you obviously aced it and got an automatic pass then! :smile:

I'm hoping there's a review of the scores today, F5 button being worn out!

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Reply 1947

FunkyGuy

Hey guys,

So for those who had their assessment centre yesterday (29.01) how long is it supposed to take to change to 'awaiting results'? And how long does it take following that change to actually receive your results (if you've passed or failed already that is)

Reply 1948

d41k57

Original post by FunkyGuy

Hey guys,

So for those who had their assessment centre yesterday (29.01) how long is it supposed to take to change to 'awaiting results'? And how long does it take following that change to actually receive your results (if you've passed or failed already that is)

It usually changes to 'awaiting results' in a week or two, mine was 3 days later. How long after then you get your result is hard to say - if your FSAC score is very high or low then you will hear pretty quickly (with a week or so).

If you have a score close to last year's cut off you enter the Amber Band (basically limbo). They don't know the precise cut-off score for this year until pretty much everyone has done their FSACs - that's why only very high/low scores hear quickly as it is very unlikely the cut-off location will affect their outcome. If you are in the Amber Band it could take several weeks or months to hear (but I imagine most people will know by the end of March in time for FSBs in April). It is also scheme dependent - look into when FSBs for your scheme (if they apply) will be as you should hear at least a few weeks before those. Good luck!

Reply 1949

JimsFortis

Got to love how the Final Selection Board acronym is the same as for the Russian security & intelligence agency.

Reply 1950

madl24903

5

Has anyone had feedback from their FSAC?

Reply 1951

PJ07

3

no news today then for those on amber band?

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Reply 1952

Rick7777

Original post by PJ07

no news today then for those on amber band?

Posted from TSR Mobile

nope

Reply 1953

JimsFortis

Original post by PJ07

no news today then for those on amber band?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Nope. I'm on edge.

Reply 1954

frerejacques

Original post by madl24903

Has anyone had feedback from their FSAC?

No nothing, I had a message on my fast stream page saying for the finance applicants they would be available by the end of January (think this all differs majorly by scheme with the analytical and commercial streams getting feedback reports earlier as the FSACs for them are earlier) However they sneakily removed that a few days ago!

Reply 1955

d41k57

Original post by frerejacques

No nothing, I had a message on my fast stream page saying for the finance applicants they would be available by the end of January (think this all differs majorly by scheme with the analytical and commercial streams getting feedback reports earlier as the FSACs for them are earlier) However they sneakily removed that a few days ago!

I sent parity a message about it and they are having a bit of a delay but they hope for next week sometime.

Reply 1956

pippit

10

Original post by d41k57

Hey pippit. The leadership exercise sounds a bit strange when you see it written down but I found it very straight forward in the end. You get a fair bit of information relevant to the task and the guidance is thorough, so you don't feel like you have no idea what to do. I've put my experience of it here so you will have an idea of what to expect to reduce your nerves.

The first thing I'd say is just to read the instructions really thoroughly and make sure you're happy that you know what they expect. Then read the source material and remember to make notes on or underline sections that you feel are relevant. There is time pressure for this task too. The first part is a lot like the policy exercise, but instead of presenting your opinion in a document, you are summarising it in a quick talk to a manager. You don't need to remember everything, you are entitled to take your notes with you. I took three pages of notes I made and consulted this regularly during my talk (I passed FSAC so I don't think they mind that at all).

Given the time pressure keep your eye on the clock during the reading time and give yourself some time at the end to think of how you will structure your presentation, I wrote subheadings with key bullet points in my notes to keep me on track during the presentation. In the presentation, you are in a small room with only one person so the environment is not intimidating. My manager gave me a very clear briefing before I started. In the discussion, all of the items addressed are drawn from the source material, so as long as you read the material it is very unlikely there will be questions you won't be able to answer. Also the questions don't really have 'right' answers, they are just looking at the way you would tackle the problem. Hope this helps. Best of luck!

Thank you so much for such a detailed answer, I definitely feel somewhat better after reading this and am super grateful for you having put the time into replying me. :smile:

Reply 1957

frerejacques

Original post by d41k57

I sent parity a message about it and they are having a bit of a delay but they hope for next week sometime.