New Aspiring Deck Cadet

[Tjwoods1992]

Hi Guys!,

Hope everyone is well.

I have signed up to this site for a little help actually. In January I start my HEFC's at College, they are basically adult A-levels. Most of the Shipping companies have said they would accept the Diploma for entry to the Deck Cadet programme.

I was just wanting to ask if any of you have any links for this Aptitude test you have to do. I have had an email from Carnival UK and they said I would need to sit this Test. I took an aptitude test a few years back when I applied for the Royal Navy and It went horribly wrong because I got Numeracy and Mechanical Questions I have never seen in my life.

So I am just trying to get a hold of some practice test that would be very similar so I can get as much practice in as possible before I start applying. So If anyone had any links or practice booklets you could send out to me It would be very much appreciated

Thanks very Much.

Tony.

[Bulman]

Theirs no way to revise for aptitude tests really, not disclosing to much as it's against rules but they are really simple ones, with silly questions (this is not taken from the test) if I drop a ball on a slant which way will it roll multiple choice. Then the maths tests as said in email just revise off bite size bbc website, gcse sorta stuff.

I did try look for aptitude tests when I was having my interviews but no luck really, none like the ones you'll do, the navy have a free one you can do on their site but can't remember how similar it was sorry!

[Mr. B]

Whilst I was looking over aptitude test questions for my first interview, with Carnival, I had a look over the free sample test papers on a website called Psychometric Success. However, on the day, I found that only around 25% were similar to the types of questions that were actually asked at the interview. At least they give you a good idea of what to expect in terms of the layout of the questions and time limits, etc. The actual papers used were a lot easer than the ones on the website above, so I'm sure that you will do fine, so long as you have a little bit of common sense (and basic maths skills)!

[Tjwoods1992]

Hi Mr. B,

Thanks very much for telling me that link its coming in handy. How long does the test you have to do last, like when I did my Aptitude test a few years back when itried to navy (Which went horribly wrong!) they gave you like 10 minutes to do 30 questions and they were ones ive never seen in my life such as work out 7 x 14= 98-c = a + 100 and these mechanical questions which I wouldn't have a clue about?. If its like this I think i'd fail this for sure.

Thanks.

[Abdul.hani]

Can you use a calculator in these exams? Lol theyre a piece of cake with one, without then its a nightmare haha.

[Mr. B]

Hi Mr. B,

Thanks very much for telling me that link its coming in handy. How long does the test you have to do last, like when I did my Aptitude test a few years back when itried to navy (Which went horribly wrong!) they gave you like 10 minutes to do 30 questions and they were ones ive never seen in my life such as work out 7 x 14= 98-c = a + 100 and these mechanical questions which I wouldn't have a clue about?. If its like this I think i'd fail this for sure.

Thanks.

Hi Tjwoods1992. I am an engineer cadet, so the last test that I had to do was different from the deck cadets, which was a test involving mathematics and ratios (I think). You sit four tests in total, the first three of which are the same for both engineer and deck cadets. All of the test are multiple choice. The fist test is called Numerical Computation, which is around 4 minutes long. This test just involves simple maths like division, multiplication, etc. (BODMAS). For example, 12 + 3 ? 4 ? 2 = ... The second test is called Verbal Comprehension (10 minutes). In this you are given a paragraph of text and you have to answer questions on this, similar to the ones on the website. The third test is called Spatial Ability (20 minutes). In this you are given a block with a pattern inside and you have to visually rotate it to find out what the pattern will then look like. As I said, the final test is different for engineers and deck cadets. I don't even know what it is called, I just know that it contains some maths and ratios from listening to after-test discussions!

The most important thing to remember is that you do not have to answer every question. In these tests, you are marked up for each correct answer you give, but marks are taken off for each wrong answer. So my best advice is that if you are even the slightest unsure about a question - move on. This way you are not risking losing any marks, because you will not be able to answer all of the questions in the time given, that's the whole point. They are made to test your skills, obviously, but also to figure out your skills at prioritising tasks, by getting all of the ones you know the answer to out of the way before you have to start working out answers to the ones you do not know the answers to.

I hope this would be useful in the future for you. Best of luck!

Mr. B

[Mr. B]

Can you use a calculator in these exams? Lol theyre a piece of cake with one, without then its a nightmare haha.

Hi Abdul,

Unfortunately, you cannot use a calculator in the aptitude tests (I feel the same way you do!) But, as I said, if you are unsure - move on! The best thing you can do is just take your time. Plus, you can always write out your working on a blank piece of paper!

Mr. B

[Pilot Chris]

I previously put up a link about practice aptitude tests I think it was through kent university (but there are plenty of free ones around)

Mr B has some good points but be aware some tests DO penalise if you skip them.

These aptitude tests are being used more and more by companies especially as you become more senior.