New to the site and seeking interview help!

[Waddo]

Hi everyone My first post on OfficerCadet! I've been browsing the site for a few weeks but have finally registered.

I'll be 19 in May and currently fall under the 'aspiring cadets' category (FD Deck by the way). I have applied to a number of companies including Carnival, Princess, Maersk, BP, Clyde and Viking.

I had a telephone interview with BP Singapore earlier this morning (which I think went very well) and I have assessment days with Princess and Carnival coming up in the next few weeks.

The Princess assessment day is next week and I am doing my best to prepare! I have revisited higher tier GCSE maths and am practising aptitude tests like something demented!

Does anyone have any general interview tips? Any do's and don'ts? What sort of questions should I be preparing for?

Sorry for the lengthy first post, thanks in advance for any help and I look forward to contributing to the forum

[Faust]

Helllo

Great too see you have joined!

Like any other interview really! I'm sure you know the basics, arrive in a suit blah blah. Show an interest and know why you want to work at sea, they will likely ask that one.

Sounds like you are doing all the right things, practicing Maths and Aptitude tests will help for sure.

Best of luck with your interviews!

[IrnBru]

Make sure you truly understand the sacrifice that comes with a life at sea and show the interviewer that you know it isn't going to be a holiday! And don't give all the answers to common questions straight of off Google, I imagine any interviewer can see right through that! Best of luck :-)

[Ducki52]

And when they ask what your greatest weakness is, don't say 'oh, I just don't know when to stop working!' or some such as they'll see it for the crock of **** that it is

[jonnylambert]

Dont's

Say you want to see the world (I did and was told to go to the travel agents and book a worldwide cruise)
Ask if you can go to a certain college because you live around the corner (because your preparing for a life 1000's of miles from home)

Do's

Talk about the cultural mix
If you are good at maths tell them you enjoy it and want to use it a lot but don't want to sit in a banking office

Sure the rest of the boys will help you!

[Steve]

Say you want to see the world (I did and was told to go to the travel agents and book a worldwide cruise)

This kind of attitude on the part of the recruiters is bollocks. Free travel to interesting places is one of the greatest attractions of the job and one of the reasons people will do it despite the lifestyle penalties for working at sea. Unfortunately fewer sectors still give you a real chance to 'see the world', but that's just symptomatic of the decline in fringe benefits of seafaring.

Really, why do the recruiters think people will want to go to sea? The money isn't that spectacular.

[mak]

There's a thread with general interview tips here: http://www.officercadet.com/showthre...ght=interview+ as well as a couple of company specific ones:http://www.officercadet.com/showthre...interview+tips -Maersk
http://www.officercadet.com/showthre...interview+tips -SSTG
http://www.officercadet.com/showthre...interview+tips -Clyde Marine

[Waddo]

Thanks everyone, some really helpful stuff. I have edited my list of possible interview questions in light of your comments and my BP interview yesterday (won't go into specifics) and I have got my suit sorted Verbal reasoning appears to be the most difficult type of aptitude test for me, has anyone else also found this? What is the best way to improve?

[Waddo]

Thought I'd revisit this thread to let you all know that the Princess assessment day was a success! I have accepted an offer of sponsorship and I should have my offer pack in a couple of weeks. Then I guess only the visa, medical and my signature stand between me and Deck Cadet status!

[Chiefy]

congratulations, enjoy the ride :-)

[Faust]

Congratulations!
I have no doubts that you shall be at college in September... will you be a Warsash Princess?

[Waddo]

Thanks!
LOL! I was expecting 'Mummy's little princess' and 'Princess <insert name here' but 'Warsash Princess' is another good one. Joking aside, yes I have been told I will be at Warsash. Looking forward to getting all the bits and bobs done over summer.

[Randomist]

Congratulations waddo! You'll have a great time.

[SierraTango]

Well done Waddo! We'll be doing exactly the same thing (FD deck/Warsash/Princess)

[Waddo]

cheers Randomist!

@SierraTango, well done to you too! I'm glad I've found a fellow Princess look forward to meeting you in September!