i'm sorry to hear that. but, at least you know what you need to do to pass next time, and it sounds like you were very close so should be ok the next time round. sometimes it's just comes down to luck on the day. do you remember roughly how far you got down the page for the group bourdon?
Finishing the page on the group bourdon is irelevant, where somebody finishes on the page isn’t relevant either unless it’s very slow. A good indicator speed is making a strike every two seconds.
Several years after I qualified our company took part in a workshop with the OPC back in 2012 to talk about non-technical skills where we were able to look over our results and identify strengths and weaknesses. These tests get rid of so many applicants and the issues are always usually the following.
1. Being accurate but not being fast enough.
At the end of the day you are being timed for the vast majority of exercises. Don’t get hung up on making mistakes by trying to be overly careful. Move as briskly as you feel comfortable doing. If you’ve got time to rethink something you’re putting down then you’re probably going too slow.
2. Being too fast and making mistakes
The opposite of the above. Don’t get hung up on trying to finish the exercise. Fore most where are you are left to your own devices and being timed rarely anyone ever does unless they are a NASA super computer
3. spending too much time on an individual mark
This is the most common I think. People get thinking about an individual mark and waste a lot of time trying to put an answer down when in that time they could’ve answered another 3. That’s three marks lost overall. You don’t lose marks for not being able to answer a question. if you feel that is taking too much time move onto the next one to leave it blank.
4. Not understanding what is required in the first place
Don’t be afraid to ask the examiner if you don’t understand what is required from you. Ask them five times if you have to. Nobody is going to think you’re stupid. Seen it enough times where people feel embarrassed to say something.
5. Going back to correct things.
Goes back to spending time. If you have finished the exercise and have time to do this then fine. If you get three questions down and then have doubt that you’ve messed one up don’t even think about it, keep moving. Because if you go back and correct it and still get it wrong not only have you lost the mark of the question you’re trying to correct but you also lose potentially another two marks you spent in the time trying to correct your error.
Remember time versus accuracy. A strong pass is somebody who understands how to balance these perfectly and is efficient in how they utilise the time given to them to complete a task within a margin of accuracy.
Hopefully to those of you that haven’t done the tests or are in the process of taking the tests this information is useful. Obviously not everything is timed but generally stay away from these errors and you have a good chance. Now I wanna see a thread of everybody saying they’ve passed!
gtrailwaycareers.com
