how did you pass the interview?
Hey Synx,
As you may or may not know, there is not much information (except for ATARNote Posts) about the interview, so I didn't do any real preparation. When I arrived, I was taken behind the administration room to get my photo was taken and a sticker with my name and an identification number on it. I was sat down and waited for my group to be called up. This group is the group you will work with until the final part of the interview. You start out with an ice-breaker. This is just something to do for 5 minutes so that everyone becomes comfortable talking to each other. I recommend trying to be confident and speaking loudly and clearly. This may or may not have been a crucial part of why I was selected during this process. We had to complete a few problem-solving challenges together, which consisted of:
Small Note - There may or may not be students/young adults with clipboard surrounding the table were you are completing these challenges. Don't panic! They are just there to take notes on how you are working on the problem as well as how you are working with others.
Challenge A - Remote IslandThe challenge was to create an ideal tourism island within a certain budget. We had a range of items to pick from ranging from tourism centres to hotels to basic radio communications. I had to talk with my team and put what we thought we should get on a list in order of importance. For this challenge, I recommend trying to voice your opinions as much as possible without oppressing the others in your group. You should try to be confident but not controlling.
Challenge B - Mystery ItemWe were given a mysterious item, which no one could identify at first. We had a very small amount of help from the staff member with us but the idea was to identify the item. We thought it was something for surgery, which we were sort of correct. The item is a tonsil guilotine, which was used to remove tonsils
This was similar to the item we had
Challenge C - Mathematical Problem SolvingIn this challenge, I was given a piece of paper with two questions on it and a very limited amount of time to work on it. The questions were simply
1. Say a block of chocolate is 100 unit long and 1 unit wide. What is the least amount of cuts you can do to separate them into 1 unit size pieces?
2. Write a formula for this problem using n and x, where n = total number of cuts and x = units long (This is paraphrasing but it was something similar to this)
I totally messed up on this challenge with an answer for the first question that I was not quite sure if it was correct or not and I didn't even have time to attempt the second question
The final boss was the one on one interview.
Final InterviewAfter finishing the mini math test, I was lead through to the next room and sat down. I was called up first. There was a small table with a chair on either side. I recommend introducing yourself to your interviewer in a confident tone, along with a handshake if you feel comfortable. You sit down and hand the interviewer your plastic slip of awards, reports, etc. After passing the entrance exam, you will be told about this slip. You have to put any awards you have, reports for the past few years (I recommend only bring all year 8 reports and any year 9 reports that you have) and anything else that the email may suggest. As I an active member of the AAFC, I also had AAFC exam results and a reference from my squadron commanding officer. This slip is your chance to show the interviewer who you are beyond just academics. I can tell you what questions the interviewer asked me, but take it with a very large grain of salt as they may change a little bit or dramatically when you attend the interview. I was asked about interests I have outside of school, hobbies I have and if I have any idea about what I want to do for a career at the moment. I was then asked two problem-solving questions. These were:
1. What is climate change to the best of your knowledge?
2. We appoint you prime minister for the day, what would you do to combat climate change?
After these questions, I shook hands with the interviewer and was escorted out. I was told that I should hear back from before the end of term 3 and the entrance exam results will be available upon request in term 4.
Key Points To Take Away:1. Be confident! Even if you do badly on the problem-solving challenges (like I did
), your personality and confidence may be the carrying factor
2. Be calm! Not one single person is going to judge what you do. They are mainly looking at the method behind your madness and how you work with others (but the challenges is still gonna play a part in the decision)
3. Speak clearly! There were quite a few people there that could have easily smashed the interview, but they were very shy and nervous, which didn't look great on them. They tended to talk into their hands or mumble. You should try to avoid this and speak clearly.
4. Be yourself! Cliche, but seriously. They wanna see who YOU are. They wanna know if YOU are the best candidate for JMSS, so they need to see who YOU are.
I hope this helps a bit. I urge you to see other posts on ATARNotes (This thread helped me:
https://atarnotes.com/forum/index.php?topic=161275.0) and do practice problem-solving scenarios but most importantly, take all of this with a grain of salt as they can change this dramatically or not at all. Best of luck for next year if you want to attend! A +1 would be appreciated if you found this useful as well as sharing it to anyone who may need help with the interview.
I will post my exam results when I receive them.