One Day OASC 2019

(edited 4 years ago)

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I know there have been numerous threads about OASC but as the one day assessment has only been going for two weeks, I thought I’d offer up my services.

As per the sticky posts, please be aware of personal security and DO NOT post attendance dates!

I took part in a one day OASC this week so if anyone has any questions about the day itself, then please ask and I will reply as and when I can. When you receive your OASC invitation though your application dashboard you will be sent to the following link:

https://www.raf.mod.uk/recruitment/information/oasc/oasc-candidate-summary

This will provide you with a lot of the information you require.

Hi

Can I recommend you don't give out links that you're sent as part of your application process to a public forum? Perhaps not the best idea??

Adam
RAF Recruitment

Reply 2

RickyB731

Original post by RAF_Adam

Hi

Can I recommend you don't give out links that you're sent as part of your application process to a public forum? Perhaps not the best idea??

Adam
RAF Recruitment

Adam, I copied it from another thread that someone else had shared on the recent OASC 2019 thread. I’m more than happy to remove it but it was previously found searching the internet so didn’t think it would be issue.

Reply 3

WedgeAnt

What would be the one piece of advice you'd give to past you for OASC i.e what do you wish you'd prepared/practiced more?

Reply 4

SmutsReport

Is OASC usually on a specific day of the week? Waiting for my date now and could do with knowing for booking it off work / rearranging my shifts etc. For peace of mind as much as anything.

Reply 5

RAF_Adam

Original post by SmutsReport

Is OASC usually on a specific day of the week? Waiting for my date now and could do with knowing for booking it off work / rearranging my shifts etc. For peace of mind as much as anything.

Hi

There are usually certain days of the week, but your own date will be set by OASC. You should be given it in plenty of time. If you want to try and get it earlier for booking time off etc then contact your AFCO and they'll see if they can get it for you early.

Kind regards
Adam
RAF Recruitment

Reply 6

RickyB731

Original post by WedgeAnt

What would be the one piece of advice you'd give to past you for OASC i.e what do you wish you'd prepared/practiced more?

I wish I practised more for the group planning exercise in the morning. I found these online but didn’t get time to do many of them.
https://myarmyreservejourney.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/army_planning_exercises.pdf
My advice would be to make sure you read it thoroughly, but quickly, to get all the pertinent points. I missed a couple, like what day it was, but it didn’t stop me getting through to the interview stage. That might have been a different story if I was going for a role like Pilot.

For the interview itself, make sure that you know all about what to expect through training, both at Cranwell and beyond based on what role you are applying for. The interview is now only 12 minutes so you have to keep your answers short but with the relevant answer.

Good luck for your OASC.

Reply 7

jm_13

How did you find the discussion topics?

Reply 8

Moonshine83

What sort of questions were you asked in the interview? To what depth did they want to know your knowledge of IOT? What branch are you going for?

Reply 9

RickyB731

Original post by jm_13

How did you find the discussion topics?

You get asked three topics to discuss in your syndicate, 5 mins on each and the assessing officer will stop you to give you the next. The topics can be on anything and fairly generic. As an example, one of our topics was on CCTV and whether it’s a good or bad thing.

There’s not really anything you can do to prepare for it, apart from many having group conversation as that’s pretty much what it is!

cheers mate

Original post by Moonshine83

What sort of questions were you asked in the interview? To what depth did they want to know your knowledge of IOT? What branch are you going for?

I’m applying for Air Operations (Control) Officer.
The first piece of advice I will give you is to not take everything I say as gospel; the way things run there can change at the drop of a hat, especially after the recent reduction to one day.

The interview itself is only 12 mins long so is conducted at a brisk pace so keep your answers short and concise. You’ll be asked about your motivation for the role you’re applying for and also why you want to be an officer/SNCO in the RAF. Read up on what happens during IOT including what each term entails, what the exercises are etc. (I had a bit of a brain fart during the IOT questions so hope that hasn’t blown it for me!)

Know the different aircraft the RAF use, what their roles are and where they are based. Read up on current operations the RAF are involved in, eg Toral, Shader, Azotize etc. You should be able to find a lot of the information on the RAF website, news sites and good old Wikipedia! The interviewing officer will probably probe to test the depth of your knowledge, but if you get to the point where you don’t know any more, be honest and say that you don’t know. Expect other questions I just can’t remember what else I was asked, it was a bit of a blur!

I hope that helps and good luck for OASC.

Reply 12

Moonshine83

Thanks Ricky, I am too going for the same role as you. Coincidentally I had almost the same advice from another person going for the same role, who did their OASC recently too.

Reply 13

jm_13

Original post by RickyB731

Did you get asked anything about NATO?

Reply 14

RickyB731

Original post by jm_13

Did you get asked anything about NATO?

At OASC, no. The shortened interview time means that they will look more into the filter interview if it’s a competitive role and can’t decide from your OASC performance. If you haven’t done your filter interview yet then expect to get asked about NATO then.

Reply 15

Biscuit123456

Original post by RickyB731

Ricky,
Please could you provide a bit of colour on how the planning exercise works now the group and individual planning exercises have been combined? Do you get an individual grilling first on your own plan before working together on a group plan? How does the planning exercise compare to those in the link above, easier, harder or just different? How much time did you have to come up with an individual plan? And then how long to come up with a group plan?
Any advice that you can give would be hugely appreciated! Many thanks

Reply 16

RickyB731

Original post by Biscuit123456

We were given a map & a task description and then given either 20 or 30 mins (sorry, I can’t remember the exact time!) to read it and individually come up with a plan. Make sure you read it carefully, try to pick out the pertinent points, and make notes on the blank paper provided. After that we had to turn the task sheet over and we were given a question sheet. We had to answer 10 questions about the event, along the lines of what’s the aim, what’s available and what your plan would be. Answer these fairly swiftly as it feels like the time goes fast. The question sheets are collected up and then we were allowed to turn the task sheet back over.

We had another 20 mins (again, I’m afraid I can’t remember the exact time, but it was less than the individual timings) to discuss the options and come up with a group plan. Use the time fully and come up with contingencies if you can.
Once that time is up, the assessing officers will go around the syndicate and ask questions on the plan and test you with some “what ifs”. Key thing from the group is to make sure that everyone knows what the plan is and reasons behind the solution.

With regards to the exercise itself, it wasn’t that dissimilar from some in the link above but what I took from doing the OASC one compared to these is that there isn’t always a definitive solution like there is on the pdf. The linked exercises, and in fact any that you find online, are a good way to get you thinking about problems with a plethora of inputs and options but your are demonstrating the ability to come up with a plan of some, irrelevant of whether it’s the quickest or most efficient one a available to you.

Out of the whole day, I was probably more worried about the planning exercise than anything. I repeatedly felt like I was making mistakes when I was practising to the point I was overthinking it and really starting to stress myself out. My personal plan was nothing like what we came up with as a group, but I made sure that I got myself involved in the discussion and we all came to a better solution. 6 heads are better than 1 after all!

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Reply 17

Biscuit123456

Thanks Ricky, great help, really appreciated! On the individual part can you use your notes to answer the questions when the task sheet is turned over?

Reply 18

RickyB731

Original post by Biscuit123456

Thanks Ricky, great help, really appreciated! On the individual part can you use your notes to answer the questions when the task sheet is turned over?

We were allowed to keep our notes, so the more information you can write down, the easier it will be! Obviously don’t try to copy the whole task sheet, but if you get the pertinent points then you should have most of the answers.

Reply 19

Bjdfdjnlodcb

Hi mate, well done on getting to OASC. Just wondering, what you done to prepare for it and how much time you would advise to spend researching etc? Also, how many people attended your OASC? Cheers