Fast Stream 2012

I passed the tests and in a quick 10 minutes tried to select Graduate Scheme as my first option, but it wouldn't let me do it, it stayed on 4th option. Lame. Will try again in a bit, but I may just deselect all other options and just select Grad.

Reply 241

gradjobplease

12

Original post by Bookworm.303

It's the hitting above a certain salary that's an issue! Staying put makes more sense financially and will leave me in a similar role at the end of four years . . . But was ridiculously pleased to get FS on my 3rd attempt and don't know if I should turn away! What's it like to go through the process? Do you feel that the work makes up for financial shortcomings?

That should tell it's own story.

And yes I love what I'm doing, although I'd question how short financially I really am. I guess it's a matter of different perspectives.

Reply 242

Bookworm.303

It's the pay freeze that worries me - now the financials are fine, but not to move up for two years, if not longer? That's some commitment . . . especially as I'm getting a bit long in the tooth!

But your thoughts have been really helpful, thank you. I'd be daft to walk away from something I've worked so hard to get.

Reply 243

Kt.b

12

Original post by modblues

I did my tests for European Fast Stream and the Graduate Stream last Friday, how much longer will it be? I'm confident of my results on the VR and think I'll be in the top 45% for the NR, just hoping my psych profile doesn't filter me out!

Took tests for GFS two weeks ago and still waiting, people are saying beginning of November I think.

Reply 244

Tomlones

Did anyone get rejection and feedback yet?
I was told I failed the online test, even though I had scored in the top 15 percentile in both for trials, and thought I did well in the actual- I think I may even have got 100% on the math. Do they filter candidates based on the questionaire? I remember filling it out and I thought a lot of it was very ambiguous and open to interpretation. I've also read quite a bit on how these questionaires are very inaccurate. Anyway, they say they will give me feedback later. Just wondering if anyone in previous years failed because of the questionaire.

Reply 245

modblues

I'll be gutted if the questionnaire fails me...hope i find out soon

Reply 246

IzzyWizzy

10

Does anyone know of a site with very similar numerical reasoning tests to the ones used for Fast Stream? I just did a practice test and the questions are very different to the ones I've been practising :frown:

Reply 247

Tomlones

Google for some tests- 'assessment centre' does really good ones but you have to pay for it.

Reply 248

Eglantine

@ Tomlones - yes, I failed the online test round last year because of the self-assessment questionnaire. I was in the top 13% for verbal and top 9% for numerical, but the bottom 45% for the questionnaire. :-( Which is really maddening because I do think different people interpret the questions in very different ways, and because it's so difficult to know how to do better. Here's hoping things went better for me this time round...

Reply 249

Dannyboy85

Original post by Bookworm.303

It's the pay freeze that worries me - now the financials are fine, but not to move up for two years, if not longer? That's some commitment . . . especially as I'm getting a bit long in the tooth!

But your thoughts have been really helpful, thank you. I'd be daft to walk away from something I've worked so hard to get.

I guess one thing to remember is that many departments will likely (hopefully) come out of the pay freeze next financial year so it shouldn't affect you too much. (spare a thought for those who started in 2009, who are often still being paid exactly the same wage they started on).

Most departments also pay performance related pay which, while not huge, can bump up your take home (although you'll have to work pretty hard to get it!)

I cannot think of any other job that allows me to work on such interesting things in the private sector so i'll grin and bear the lowish pay until I get promotion, which comes with a considerable salary jump.

Hope this helps,
Dan

Reply 250

Tomlones

@Eglantine: To filter people out because of the personality questionaire is just- oh I guess I'm just very disappointed now- I think it would be better to pick names out of hat- in fact I wouldn't be surprised that there were some academic papers that say the exact same thing. 35 odd questions with statements which are ambiguous and open to many interpretations to determine the suitability and then filter out top performing candidates seems absurd, and not very meritocratic. I don't agree with the other tests as being any real measures of aptitude, but at least one can prepare for them and the selection is based on merit and effort, not on near random responses to random preferences. Everyone knows teamwork/leadership/confidence are important, but who can rank what's more important, etc.?And how can psychologists measure how different patterns of random responces correspond to real time behaviour- I'm a bit skeptical of their claims- given they have been claiming a lot of now disproven things in the past- I read one such personality questionaire used in the states was shown to be inaccurate 95% of the time!
I wonder in the future if they will just take blood tests and filter applicants out on the basis of hormones or genes with rudimentary correlations. Scary.

Reply 251

chrrry

Fuming!!! I sat down to do the practice online assessment this evening, with a view to taking the online tests themselves in the next couple of days.

So, first of all, the practice online numeric reasoning test...oh my god, difficult!!!! But I was feeling very 50/50 about how it had gone for me, felt confident about some of the questions and very shaky about others.

So I got to the end of the test, clicked the last answer and clicked next...and nothing happened! It told me to click next to get my score but nada! So after a couple of minutes and a couple of tries I refreshed the page and I got a message on screen saying 'you have already completed this test'. So I didn't get to find out my score after all that!

Went back to my online account homepage and although it does say that I have completed the practice assessments it hasn't given me a deadline to complete the real assessments and it won't allow me to click through and do the real assessments now either. I've just fired off a message to the online help desk but they are only open Mon - Fri, 8am-6pm. Grrrr!!!

Which makes me wonder what happens when people have online problems and it's the weekend and their deadline to get a section finished is midnight on a Saturday night?? My laptop is in good nick and my internet connection is fine, so god knows what happened...ghosts in the machine?? Presumably won't hear anything until Monday now and no idea if they'll even be able to give me my score :confused:

I really would have preferred to know how I'd done on the practice test before I have to take the real one...

Reply 252

fleetfox

Well, as I had started to suspect was about to happen, I've been knocked out by the competency questionnaire. It's particularly galling as I came in the 98th and 95th percentiles for the numerical and verbal test!

I'd echo other people's concerns about the efficacy of a 'competency questionnaire'. As it is, I'd have been sacked years ago if I didn't meet the same competency requirements of the faststream...I also wonder why, if they're satisfied the questionnaire produces a reliable result, they let people sit it again the next year!

I really think they're a bit misleading with the information they provide about the questionnaire - while they are clear it's a selection mechanism, the whole process gives the impression that the psychometric tests are what matter and that the questionnaire is a more straightforward pass/fail affair. Except it's not. As I now know, it produces a score which allows all candidates to be ranked against each other in exactly the same way as the psychometric tests. That's a very different proposition.

Maybe this is just sour grapes, but it seems a pointless exercise to remotely assess competencies via a self-selection questionnaire which allows people to lie through their teeth if they wish when the competencies are rigorously assessed at assessment centre...

I'll sit it again next year...

Reply 253

Kt.b

12

Original post by fleetfox

Well, as I had started to suspect was about to happen, I've been knocked out by the competency questionnaire. It's particularly galling as I came in the 98th and 95th percentiles for the numerical and verbal test!

I'd echo other people's concerns about the efficacy of a 'competency questionnaire'. As it is, I'd have been sacked years ago if I didn't meet the same competency requirements of the faststream...I also wonder why, if they're satisfied the questionnaire produces a reliable result, they let people sit it again the next year!

I really think they're a bit misleading with the information they provide about the questionnaire - while they are clear it's a selection mechanism, the whole process gives the impression that the psychometric tests are what matter and that the questionnaire is a more straightforward pass/fail affair. Except it's not. As I now know, it produces a score which allows all candidates to be ranked against each other in exactly the same way as the psychometric tests. That's a very different proposition.

Maybe this is just sour grapes, but it seems a pointless exercise to remotely assess competencies via a self-selection questionnaire which allows people to lie through their teeth if they wish when the competencies are rigorously assessed at assessment centre...

I'll sit it again next year...

This is really unfair :frown:

I'm still waiting but suspect I will be joining you also soon, already failed one "competency questionnaire"...

Reply 254

modblues

I am thinking it's a way to significantly reduce the numbers of applicants. I am also worried if I'll be filtered out by this (the only stage you can't prepare for and which is quite arbitrary).
Even if so then like Arnie, I'll be back.

Reply 255

Muffinz

16

Just out of interest, do you guys have to apply at the start of your penultimate year, or your final year? The person I spoke to at the careers fayre said penultimate but I'm not sure if that's right.

Reply 256

Sirocco11

3

Original post by Muffinz

Just out of interest, do you guys have to apply at the start of your penultimate year, or your final year? The person I spoke to at the careers fayre said penultimate but I'm not sure if that's right.

Final year. If you make it to the Fast Stream you start the following year, which you wouldn't be able to do in your penultimate. Not sure if they have a deferral policy though, but it doesn't make sense to apply in your penultimate.

Reply 257

Muffinz

16

Original post by Sirocco11

Final year. If you make it to the Fast Stream you start the following year, which you wouldn't be able to do in your penultimate. Not sure if they have a deferral policy though, but it doesn't make sense to apply in your penultimate.

Fantastic

I'm really excited about this because it's one of the few career options I've been really enthusiastic about applying for - working in Parliament would be amazing! Do you know what the success rate is, how difficult it is to get a place? I want to know if I shoud be scoping out other options as an insurance at this point (First year English student at Leeds Uni).

Reply 258

modblues

It's very competitive, don't put all your eggs in one basket I say.

Reply 259

chrrry

Original post by Muffinz

Fantastic

I'm really excited about this because it's one of the few career options I've been really enthusiastic about applying for - working in Parliament would be amazing! Do you know what the success rate is, how difficult it is to get a place? I want to know if I shoud be scoping out other options as an insurance at this point (First year English student at Leeds Uni).

They don't do a deferral unless you're doing Teach First so def final year

I did an English degree too! And then I did a PhD lol And got married and had a baby and it's only now I'm starting to feel ready to think about a real life actual career, so I have to admire your enthusiasm and organisation :wink:

Fast Stream 2012

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