SSTG ETO interview

[MitchE94]

Basically, I have an interview on the 27th of feb with SSTG, and I'm kinda nervous as I don't really know what I'm going to be asked. I really wanna nail it because from what I have heard, they are a good company to train with so an offer from them would be good. Also, I'm travelling from Whitby down to Rochester for the interview (nearly 600 miles there and back) and I don't want to go all that way to not have a clue what I'm going to be asked. REPLIES MUCH APPRECIATED!

[ETwhat?]

there will be all the generic stuff for an interview, why do you want to work at sea, do you fully understand what it entails, vague idea of ship types what your interested in and what they can offer. Have a hunt through the interview tips thread http://www.officercadet.com/showthre...ew-Tips-Thread
certainly there was no ETO specific stuff in my interview but then it was a little werid anyway

[MitchE94]

Ok thanks that's great, I just keep having visions of doing really bad on these interviews and it's worrying me because I reaaally want to get in for the september 2012 intake. Thanks for the help, i'm doing my best to prepare for it but it's very nerve racking!

[unstad09]

Basically, I have an interview on the 27th of feb with SSTG, and I'm kinda nervous as I don't really know what I'm going to be asked. I really wanna nail it because from what I have heard, they are a good company to train with so an offer from them would be good. Also, I'm travelling from Whitby down to Rochester for the interview (nearly 600 miles there and back) and I don't want to go all that way to not have a clue what I'm going to be asked. REPLIES MUCH APPRECIATED!

I had my interview with SSTG back in 2010 and had to travel around 1200 miles to get there and back - with no previous interview experience and no idea what to expect! However, it turned out they are really nice people and my advice to you would be to make sure you research their various sponsoring companies beforehand - and have a rough idea of which ones you would be interested in applying for sponsorship with. Also, don't pin your hopes to any particular company as not all companies will be taking on cadets or may be full already - which I discovered at my interview! Good luck

[electrolytic_coffee]

Basically, I have an interview on the 27th of feb with SSTG, and I'm kinda nervous as I don't really know what I'm going to be asked. I really wanna nail it because from what I have heard, they are a good company to train with so an offer from them would be good. Also, I'm travelling from Whitby down to Rochester for the interview (nearly 600 miles there and back) and I don't want to go all that way to not have a clue what I'm going to be asked. REPLIES MUCH APPRECIATED!

Congrats on getting the interview!

During my interview they never really asked technical questions per se. More why i want to do the ETO course as opposed to the Engineers one. Ive had a long personal interest in the subject so thats what I said and they seemed happy enough with it.

If memory serves right I got asked more about how I felt about being away from friends/family both for college and sea time (they emphasised this, alot). I was comming into this from a different career I can only assume previous employment and experience was to my benefit in some respects.

Be honest, be clear and concise, think about why you want to do this because they will ask you that. Why do it at sea, why not do it ashore? How much do you know about it [the course] already? Are you comfortable travelling, working away from home/friends/family etc? All these things I got asked, sorry its a little hazy thinking back to the day now.

Be prepared to answer questions like ive listed above because they will be looking for you to satisfy them that you can do the work and complete the course based on what you give them and especially if this is your first time away from home (specifically parental home)

[MitchE94]

thanks guys, slowly easing my nerves :P so are both of you training with SSTG? what kind of things do they offer?

[electrolytic_coffee]

Im not with SSTG, im with Chiltern Maritime Ltd, well managed by them anyhow. Both SSTG and CML have different companies on their books for ships so you will have a chance to go on different ships throughout your Cadetship. LIke i said in my other post my first ship was a cruiseship and then I was on a lighthouse/buoy tender for my first sea phase.

Just out of interest is SSTG the only company you have applied for or have you looked at anyothers too?

[MitchE94]

ah ok, what was your preferred ship then? I've applied to Princess cruises, SSTG, Carnival UK, Chiltern maritime, Clyde Marine and Viking Recruitment. Only heard back from SSTG atm though. hope to hear from the others soon

[unstad09]

I'm with SSTG, nearly finished phase 3 now. They have been great so far - all accommodation fee's paid, travel to and from college/ships paid, food allowance each week, and of course a monthly salary. The salary can vary greatly depending on your sponsor company, however bearing in mind they pay all your living costs whilst at college - the salary could just been seen as an added bonus really.

[MitchE94]

I'm with SSTG, nearly finished phase 3 now. They have been great so far - all accommodation fee's paid, travel to and from college/ships paid, food allowance each week, and of course a monthly salary. The salary can vary greatly depending on your sponsor company, however bearing in mind they pay all your living costs whilst at college - the salary could just been seen as an added bonus really.

sounds better than a lot of others! does the company that you are with give you a chance of a job after your cadetship?

[unstad09]

I'm not entirely sure about the guaranteed job but after sailing with a number of newly qualified officers - I think the chances are pretty high. So have you looked into the sponsoring companies yet? Any idea which you would like to apply to?

[MitchE94]

well, I would like to work on a cruise ship (not just because it is a cruise ship) but because they seem to have a broader range of things for ETO's to maintain. But I have looked in the website and there only seems to be Saga, which doesn't leave me much chance of getting on a cruise ship.
I don't know why but I am also interested in getting on container ships, as I say I don't know why, they just appeal to me more than tankers, so this leaves my options a bit more open with companies such as evergreen.
But really, as long as I get to sea and successfully complete my cadetship, it isnt overly important to me what kind of ship I am on, once I am qualified, I'll have to opportunity to change!

[ETwhat?]

Whilst a cruise ship will have some more electrical stuff than a ferry, there isnt that much difference probably the most noticable being electric propulsion. what there is is a lot more replication so 4 galleys instead of one(enough to feed 4000), bigger laundrys and a multitude of lifts. tankers will maybe have a service lift, a galley to feed 30 people and then all the cargo monitoring instruments, hazardous area electrics, and box boats will have a good chance of lots of refeer containers to look at.
they all have bridge instruemnts and generators, etc
if you are able to pick a company to be sponsored by then work out what particularly interests you so that you can ask questions about it to see if your ship will actually have those features.

[electrolytic_coffee]

ah ok, what was your preferred ship then? I've applied to Princess cruises, SSTG, Carnival UK, Chiltern maritime, Clyde Marine and Viking Recruitment. Only heard back from SSTG atm though. hope to hear from the others soon

Different ships, different possibilities. The cruise ship was great as my first ship away as it gets you used to the whole thing. Lots of stuff to work on for sure but generally very repetitive so you can get well practised lol. The buoy tender was good because it was a very new ship and very technical, it was a Dynamic Positioning (DP) ship so lots of interesting stuff to learn about.

I'm with SSTG, nearly finished phase 3 now. They have been great so far - all accommodation fee's paid, travel to and from college/ships paid, food allowance each week, and of course a monthly salary. The salary can vary greatly depending on your sponsor company, however bearing in mind they pay all your living costs whilst at college - the salary could just been seen as an added bonus really.

Yeah the main difference is that comapies will differ in what they pay you. My pay isnt bad for a cadet but i have to pay all of my accomodation and living costs out of it, something that this month is causing considerable pain as Ive had a ?350 bill for my car....bleh. So if you can drive and have a car, consider this and budget now to give yourself some emergency cash after you have started, you know just in case.

well, I would like to work on a cruise ship (not just because it is a cruise ship) but because they seem to have a broader range of things for ETO's to maintain. But I have looked in the website and there only seems to be Saga, which doesn't leave me much chance of getting on a cruise ship.
I don't know why but I am also interested in getting on container ships, as I say I don't know why, they just appeal to me more than tankers, so this leaves my options a bit more open with companies such as evergreen.
But really, as long as I get to sea and successfully complete my cadetship, it isnt overly important to me what kind of ship I am on, once I am qualified, I'll have to opportunity to change!

Yep you can always change. For the newly qualified ETO, companies that wholly embrace the qualifications are cruise companies like Carnival (other companies are available) who have structured progression and ranks etc.. So chances are after qualifying you, me and a fair few of us who have to find out own employment after our cadetships will probably end up working for them to get that all important experience on your CV.

[MitchE94]

I'm planning on getting rid of my car before I start, because I will only be 18 and insurance will still be sky high! I was talking to a guy from Carnival at the STC open day, he was called Glyn Barker I think, and he said because I am studying A-level Electronics I should get in with Carnival. I hope this is true because he also mentioned that cadets have to sign a contract saying that they will stay with the company for a number of years after the cadetship (I think it was 2 or 3) which is at least a bit of job security! do many people apply for the ETO course?