PSNI Recruitment - Stage 1 - The Initial Selection Test

20-04-2009 2:34pm

Going by what I remember from last year, the questions are basically exactly what they have on the website, except much harder than the examples. The T/F/CT questions were VERY ambiguous and hard to decide upon.

The second section has a lot of information to absorb, and the time constraints are very tight. There's loads of calculations to be done, and one of the hardest things to deal with is the fact that your head starts melting from trying to work out so many things at once.

manaka · 20-04-2009 3:41pm

valetudo wrote: »

Nice one Manaka, my IST is tomorrow and those are just what I need.

Based on the practice test available on the jobpsni website, are those exactly the 2 types of questions to expect ie the true/false/can't tell and the maths question, or will there be other types of questions other than the ones given in the practice test? For example will there be anything like this http://www.psychometric-success.com/practice-papers/Psychometric%20Success%20Numerical%20Ability%20-%20Reasoning%20Practice%20Test%201.pdf

or this http://www.psychometric-success.com/practice-papers/Psychometric%20Success%20Verbal%20Ability%20-%20Word%20Relationship%20Practice%20Test%201.pdf

Thanks.

Hi valetudo, as testarossa said they WILL be harder and are quite ambiguous. There is no test like the link you gave, just verbal reasoning and the data one. Dont dwell on any one question for too long. Take a watch but dont watch it all the time!! Stay calm and focused. Good luck!
Mine aint til near end o May!

valetudo · 20-04-2009 4:00pm

Does the maths part of the test have long multiplication, division or calculating percentages of decimal points? Is it as hard as that? I'm trying to brush up on those tests you put a link for and there is alot of the above in them and am wondering how much I should dwell it.

20-04-2009 4:39pm

valetudo wrote: »

Does the maths part of the test have long multiplication, division or calculating percentages of decimal points? Is it as hard as that? I'm trying to brush up on those tests you put a link for and there is alot of the above in them and am wondering how much I should dwell it.

Nah, nothing like that. The thing that makes it complicated is that you will have about 6 tables of information, and for any given question you will have to check at least three of them for figures. The actual maths itself is very straightforward, the trick is in getting obtaining the info you need to make the right calculation as quickly as possible.

Darren90 · 20-04-2009 5:38pm

I have my IST tomorrow and I have to say I am fairly nervous about it. i did the practise test from the JoinPSNI website which was ok, part B was abit melty.

Ive started to play sudoku to try and improve my concentration and thinking times.

Any other hints or tips on how to improve to get through the IST?

MrsGeneHunt · 20-04-2009 5:58pm

Prepare for the real thing to be MUCH harder. In my humble opinion, all the practice questions provided by Deloitte do is lull you into a false sense of security, they are a doddle.

Mine is soon too and I'm very nervous, even tho I did it last year for the first time. (I failed by 2 but got through when they lowered the pass mark)

Get a good nights sleep tonight, leave yourself plenty of time to get there so you arent panicking and bring your letter and ID.

Best of luck!

Darren90 · 20-04-2009 6:04pm

I agree that the Delottie practise paper is fairly basic. Although I worry quite a bit before big exams, I was like this coming up to my GCSE's and I'm doing it again for the IST and my A-Levels :P

Even though I'm nervous I am looking forward to it.

Good luck to you too!

smyff · 20-04-2009 6:17pm

MrsGeneHunt wrote: »

Prepare for the real thing to be MUCH harder. In my humble opinion, all the practice questions provided by Deloitte do is lull you into a false sense of security, they are a doddle.

Mine is soon too and I'm very nervous, even tho I did it last year for the first time. (I failed by 2 but got through when they lowered the pass mark)

Get a good nights sleep tonight, leave yourself plenty of time to get there so you arent panicking and bring your letter and ID.

Best of luck!

HA! i beat you by 1 last time lol. i really really didnt expect it to be like that. my maths geek of a sister has been testing my sorry ass though. brain training age of 20something, which is great cause a month ago i was 73 or something. ive become far quicker with my maths, so hopefully it helps me in the IST.

im gonna have a practice run tomorrow morning just to make sure im there on time on my date :P

Slave_To_Sound · 20-04-2009 6:18pm

Darren90 wrote: »

I agree that the Delottie practise paper is fairly basic. Although I worry quite a bit before big exams, I was like this coming up to my GCSE's and I'm doing it again for the IST and my A-Levels :P

Even though I'm nervous I am looking forward to it.

Good luck to you too!

Hey Darren mine is really soon too I think the main thing is to turn up in plenty of time and make sure you have your letter and ID as MGH says. If your running late or tired its only going to make you panic more there is only so much prep you can do main thing is being fully alert in my oppinion.
Oh and I would prob remover your D.O.B from profile its best to keep no info on there at all.

Darren90 · 20-04-2009 6:23pm

Yeah I will be there in plently of time even if im there an hour early :P
Well noticed about my D.O.B I have just registered and didn't even check, cheers

Well good luck for your IST, hope you do well.

Che75 · 20-04-2009 8:52pm

I've read on here that no marks are deducted for wrong answers which is a bit of a relief. However, I was also informed that the overall pass mark for the IST is 70%. Can anyone confirm this? I would have thought that the pass mark would be dictated by the overall scoring standard of all candidates as opposed to a set pass mark you must reach. Any takers?

MrsGeneHunt · 21-04-2009 10:58am

There is definitely no negative marking. We were told at the test this morning:D

Glad its over!

Full month to wait for results.

Canuck4PSNI · 21-04-2009 11:19am

What MrsGeneHunt Said..... I felt much more relaxed this time around. I was talking to a girl after teh testing and i thought 7 tries was the magic number but aparently her 8 tries strikes out that belief. Good luck to all those waiting for your results and all those with the IST upcoming!

bc84 · 21-04-2009 11:49am

yeah i clearly didnt listen to the part about negative marking this morning ffs, still left 5 questions at the end of the second part. i usually find part a ok as i was good at that sort of thign at school, the second part does my head in everytime though. so many things to consider grrrr not getting my hopes up on this one i wouldnt think

Chance? · 21-04-2009 12:39pm

I was there this morning too! anyone else who did it last year find that it was quite similar this year? I thought I maybe recognised some of the questions! might be wrong though.
Overall I found it very tough again. Got it finished but quite a few complete guesses, so you never know, fingers crossed. Good to get the ball rolling on another campaign though!
It felt like the guy made an extra point on emphasising that they will be dealing with a LARGE amount of applicants so to expect the full months wait. I think this will be one of the largest campaigns in terms of applicants what with the number of redundancies etc etc

Bifbert · 21-04-2009 1:19pm

Have mine very soon. Really looking forward to getting the first stage out of the way, then the long wait will be nail biting!!! Have prepared as much as possible so all I can do is give it my best shot. Will let you's know how I found it soon. Take care, wish me luck and good luck to everyone!!!

MsTys · 21-04-2009 2:57pm

Glad to have it over with now but a month for waiting isnt gonna be fun! I had the first one finished before the time was up but the second one i had to just guess the last couple at the end bit worried now.. lol

Slave_To_Sound · 21-04-2009 4:03pm

I have mine very soon too im more worried about parking ha ha. Its too far from my house to drive to check out the surrounding carparks ill just have to arrive extra early and hope for the best

MrsGeneHunt · 21-04-2009 4:09pm

Canuck4PSNI wrote: »

What MrsGeneHunt Said..... I felt much more relaxed this time around. I was talking to a girl after teh testing and i thought 7 tries was the magic number but aparently her 8 tries strikes out that belief. Good luck to all those waiting for your results and all those with the IST upcoming!

LOL

You were right behind me on the way out, I was earwiggin' in on that conversation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

emz2009 · 21-04-2009 4:56pm

good luck to everyone for ths ist's and the rest of c15!!

bc84 · 21-04-2009 6:52pm

Chance? wrote: »

I was there this morning too! anyone else who did it last year find that it was quite similar this year? I thought I maybe recognised some of the questions! might be wrong though.
Overall I found it very tough again. Got it finished but quite a few complete guesses, so you never know, fingers crossed. Good to get the ball rolling on another campaign though!
It felt like the guy made an extra point on emphasising that they will be dealing with a LARGE amount of applicants so to expect the full months wait. I think this will be one of the largest campaigns in terms of applicants what with the number of redundancies etc etc

yeah i think it was identical to the one i did last year, obviously the questions would probably be different but im fairly certain the situations were the same

the uid numbers in the reg room went up to 9375 or somethign like that so id say that must be an indication of the applicant levels

MrsGeneHunt · 21-04-2009 6:53pm

bc84 wrote: »

the uid numbers in the reg room went up to 9375 or somethign like that so id say that must be an indication of the applicant levels

9850, give or take a few.:(

bc84 · 21-04-2009 7:04pm

thats a lot of people lol

itl hardly matter for me, fairly sure i made a horlix of it

PapaYankeeGirl · 21-04-2009 7:08pm

I sat the IST for C13 and when I sat it again last year for C14 the verbal reasoning and maths parts were the exact same. Hope C15s are the same again. Mine isnt for another 3-4 weeks

bc84 · 21-04-2009 8:05pm

in that case your probably correct, the comprehension part and the analytical reasoning were identical to last year as far as i remember

neoruss · 21-04-2009 8:10pm

I agree. Had ist this morning and i think it was exactly same as last year.
Passed last year but think i done worse this time. passed everything last year but not good enough merit number at A/C.
God i hope i passed ist. This waiting does my head in.

MrsGeneHunt · 21-04-2009 8:55pm

neoruss wrote: »

I agree. Had ist this morning and i think it was exactly same as last year.
Passed last year but think i done worse this time. passed everything last year but not good enough merit number at A/C.
God i hope i passed ist. This waiting does my head in.

Howdy you havent been on in a while!
What was your merit number and background? If you havent had a dear John yet then theres always hope?
I'm sure you did okay this morning!
And yup, the waiting is a killer. A month for results?!! Fook!

1979SD · 21-04-2009 9:44pm

MrsGeneHunt wrote: »

Howdy you havent been on in a while!
What was your merit number and background? If you havent had a dear John yet then theres always hope?
I'm sure you did okay this morning!
And yup, the waiting is a killer. A month for results?!! Fook!

The waiting's the best part! I was so tempted to apply again just to go through the waiting game!

RoscoPColtrane · 21-04-2009 9:50pm

1979SD wrote: »

The waiting's the best part! I was so tempted to apply again just to go through the waiting game!

Eh? Im no stranger to the concept of sarcasm. Are you a masochist er what? Did you apply again?

bigandy1983 · 21-04-2009 9:56pm

evening all. just joined so hope you don't mind my gate crashing!

how long does the test last & how many questions are there (i.e how long do you have per question?)

have mine in two weeks...

good luck everyone!

PSNI Recruitment - Stage 1 - The Initial Selection Test

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