NICS G6 and G7 promotion

If you are waiting for a common sense approach from NICSHR, you may be waiting a long time. I would like to think they would extend the deadline for those affected. They will have to take a decision Monday or Tuesday or people may panic and take the test in less than ideal circumstances which may impact their performance.
I think the general approach to online proctoring is somewhat strange. In this day and age, how many people actually have a desktop/laptop in the house, not including a work computer or iPad? I’m lucky that I still have a desktop- if I didn’t, no one in my extended family, or my friends that I could impose myself on, actually have one. A sensible approach would have been IT Assist working with a company doing the tests and proctoring to work out a solution. It’s not beyond the wit of man.
At any rate, I have just done the analysing information test so far. I thought it was really quite difficult and time consuming. I was really flagging by the end. If someone was watching my webcam they’d think I had someone in the room with me for all the santering I was doing to myself talking the questions out. If the dignity at work policies applied, some offensive language may have been used now and again (or regularly). I came through the 2019 DO/SO competition and don’t remember that being as hard.

If you are waiting for a common sense approach from NICSHR, you may be waiting a long time. I would like to think they would extend the deadline for those affected. They will have to take a decision Monday or Tuesday or people may panic and take the test in less than ideal circumstances which may impact their performance.

I think the general approach to online proctoring is somewhat strange. In this day and age, how many people actually have a desktop/laptop in the house, not including a work computer or iPad? I’m lucky that I still have a desktop- if I didn’t, no one in my extended family, or my friends that I could impose myself on, actually have one. A sensible approach would have been IT Assist working with a company doing the tests and proctoring to work out a solution. It’s not beyond the wit of man.

At any rate, I have just done the analysing information test so far. I thought it was really quite difficult and time consuming. I was really flagging by the end. If someone was watching my webcam they’d think I had someone in the room with me for all the santering I was doing to myself talking the questions out. If the dignity at work policies applied, some offensive language may have been used now and again (or regularly). I came through the 2019 DO/SO competition and don’t remember that being as hard.

Was in the top 1% analysing information in DP so considered it a strength and thought would find it the easier one to start with. Found it incredibly difficult and struggled

If you are waiting for a common sense approach from NICSHR, you may be waiting a long time. I would like to think they would extend the deadline for those affected. They will have to take a decision Monday or Tuesday or people may panic and take the test in less than ideal circumstances which may impact their performance.
I think the general approach to online proctoring is somewhat strange. In this day and age, how many people actually have a desktop/laptop in the house, not including a work computer or iPad? I’m lucky that I still have a desktop- if I didn’t, no one in my extended family, or my friends that I could impose myself on, actually have one. A sensible approach would have been IT Assist working with a company doing the tests and proctoring to work out a solution. It’s not beyond the wit of man.
At any rate, I have just done the analysing information test so far. I thought it was really quite difficult and time consuming. I was really flagging by the end. If someone was watching my webcam they’d think I had someone in the room with me for all the santering I was doing to myself talking the questions out. If the dignity at work policies applied, some offensive language may have been used now and again (or regularly). I came through the 2019 DO/SO competition and don’t remember that being as hard.

You can't do them on NiCs laptops I think because of firewalls for the proctor. Going to the office is risky because you will be distracted or interrupted. I feel like the deadline might be extended because of the power. How long I don't know.

I did the Management Decisions and Critical Thinking tests there today as well. They were no joke either. I hate the Management Decisions test- this one felt more pot luck that any I’ve done in the past. With previous ones there usually a clear bad and good one, so very few at opposite ends of the spectrum (in my view anyway, maybe others will think it was straightforward)

This isn’t true. You can do them perfectly fine on NICS laptops, I did mine on my work laptop

Everyone I know who is completing the G7 tests is (and has been) doing them from home on their work laptop - this should not be a problem. The CIB does not say that you cannot use your work laptop, it merely points out that "SOME network firewalls eg on work networks MAY block access". Anyone who is unsure should try accessing the familiarisation material and webcam test via the link that was issued to all candidates. If that works for you, then the live tests should work for you too.
As for those of you have lost power due to the storm, I do sympathise and I would like to think NICSHR would take this into account however, they may just remind everyone that you can attend one of several NICS offices and get access to a private / quiet room or area to do the tests on your laptop.
P.S. I'm also hearing that ppl are finding these tests much longer and harder than the DP/SO tests of recent years. Some ppl have told me they spent at least 1.5 hours on each test, others are saying they've spent more than 2 hours on each test.

One of the questions in the test actually was, “Using only the information in the CIB, candidates cannot use their work laptop:
True
Probably True
Cannot tell
Probably False
False
Stop, I’m already dead”

Agree with you RE the management decisions! There were very few ‘obvious’ answers, definitely a weak one for me!

Absolutely not considering we haven't even had a recruitment since 2016/17 with the exception of a few specialised posts. Totally different processes elsewhere.

Just seems odd graduates applying for G7 and G6 roles in Northern Ireland when in the rest of the UK they apply for EO/HEO roles.

The NICS did their own version of a graduate programme a couple of years back, entering as SO, this G7 trawl and the upcoming G6 trawl are not graduate comps.
(I think using this forum is just an extension from the previous SO and DP comps that a lot of people used this to chat about them, probably quite a few grads at that stage)