In person assessment audio section

[elsalado]

Hello All,

I have an in assessment coming up, and through the threads I read it seems that the audio section of the test is generally the most difficult section. For those who have done the an assessment already, is there anything I can do to practice or prepare for this?

[TheSteamingPile]

Not really. Maybe practice shorthand? I don't know how well I did on that particular section but only writing the pertinent info will help. Maybe play some online games/excercises that test or stress your memory.

[bobbert]

It really depends what system works better for you.

For this part of the assessment, you are played a 5-7 min audio clip, then you have 5 mins to answer as many questions as you can.

I myself wrote shorthand and it seemed to work not bad. At the same time I can say it was a little distracting and unless it was written down, i didnt really remember too much of it once it was question time.

This section is a negative marking scheme, So unless you are 90% sure about an answer, maybe it is better to not answer the question (thats up to you to decide). I think there were 20-25 question. I myself read up to question 16ish and only answered 8-9 questions.

You are given 5 minutes to answer as many as you can but trust me, those 5 mins goes REALLY fast.

As for practice, I would try to see if there are any audio test online to try out.

Apart from that, I say have fun with the test and good luck

[elsalado]

Another question, is the audio section multiple choice? Or do we have to write out the answers in sentences?

[bobbert]

multiple choice

[KHills]

I have heard it said that this portion of the test is also a risk taking assessment. If you are willing to take a chance and risk a lot of guesses, it will not look good

[ProfessionalATC]

Forgive me if I'm asking too many questions about this but, is the audio section of the in person assessment the only section with a negative marking scheme? If so would it be safe to just randomly guess on questions you didn't get the time to answer in the possibility of improving your score on the other sections?

[navcanhopeful]

Yes, I asked before every test given "Are we penalized for wron answers" and this was the only one where this was the case. The people who were running the exam were quite clear saying youd be penalized for wrong answers. I got 11 of the 25 down with 10 I was 100% sure about and the other confident. The second the test ends everyone in the room looked around with the "what the @#$! just happened" look. I was upset I only got 11 but the guy beside me only had 2 answers down so that calmed me. The section is impossible to complete fully. And even with the notes you can take only have 5 mins to answer the questions is tough.


If you have anything other than great hearing try sitting close to the speakers when you enter the room. Also be prepared for how fast the audio sections moves, for me we listened to voice mails that had no time in between each other and once finished we had to open our booklet and begin questions immediately. Have a game plan and trust yourself. IMO this is the easiest section because they give you every answer. The difficulty comes in retaining the answers and trusting your judgement.

As far as every other test I would guess for any questions I couldnt get to. This was no more than 4 for any test

[s1yx]

Also don't stress out if you don't answer many of the questions. I answered 4-5 of them in the allotted time and passed the assessment.

[jc1428]

My opinion is definitely a bit different. I'd say don't stress about it. I didn't even know this forum existed before I wrote the in-person assessment, so I went into it completely blind without a minute or pre-test "studying" and I managed to be successful. It's important to remember it's only one part of a huge test.

The exercise itself is extremely tough. I consider myself to have pretty good memory skills, but I still finished with the same look of "WTF" as everyone else. Pretty sure I only completed 6 questions - out of those, who knows how many were even correct. The hardest part is that the questions aren't in order of the voicemails you listen to. Question 1 will be about voicemail 4, question 2 will be about voicemail 1, etc. Basically you'll spend the majority of time trying to decipher your chicken scratch notes and just when you think you're on a roll you'll hear the instructor say TIME!

Definitely take the test seriously but remember to look at it as a whole. There's portions you're going to do poorly in and others you'll excel in. Nobody ace's this test, and you'll likely leave with a "well... there's 200$ down the drain" feeling. I know I did; and now here I am waiting for a course offer!

Best of luck!

[poseidon]

I definitely have to agree with you JC1428... when i left that room i thought there was no way i had passed, but somehow i did and am waiting for a second interview

[chobs]

I was upset I only got 11 but the guy beside me only had 2 answers down so that calmed me. The section is impossible to complete fully. And even with the notes you can take only have 5 mins to answer the questions is tough.

11 really sounds pretty great for that test!

I only answered I think 7 or 8 and I also made it through successfully.

If I had to do it again I think I might instead of trying to write down every single piece of information, be 100% sure I write down 3 or 4 things from each section that I know are right, and then go find questions that deal with that specific part...

It was a bit flustering to start reading question 1, 2, 3, etc and not instantly know the answers and not want to guess. But searching out questions I knew I had the detail on might have been better.. But who knows... That might not work that well either and I guess however I did it was good enough to get through, but it's a thought.

[rspencer38]

I thought I bombed that section as I only managed to answer 4-6 questions. I was successful in the testing and the subsequent two interviews.

[Zuludog]

I think I answered 10? questions. I passed the assessment and so far my first interview.

[Axial Flow]

First tip....get to the session early so you can rush to the front to get a seat beside the speakers. I was polite and let people go ahead of me and I ended up at the very back. It wasn't that I couldn't hear well enough but there was sometimes I had a hard time listening and easily writing down the information.

Second tip...figure out before hand how you are going to take the information down. I couldn't read my writing in the end and when I opened the question book I felt pretty dumb and think that's what poo pooed me.

Apparently they are going to a referral system now for the aptitude testing and though you have to still do well the interview is now held as more important? I am hoping so for my second try, plus if you are old.... A good idea would be to get some of these tests and try doing each in 7 minutes because when you haven't used your brain in 20+ years for abstract thought you will not be as sharp as all the young-ins writing with you. Never thought I would be that "guy" in the room with people wondering, "what the hell is he doing here, he's old". Also there is talk of paying from day one of training? That is definitely make the transition much much easier for more mature folks with kids to feed.

Best of luck.

[ProfessionalATC]

A training specialist told me that the new referral system will allow you to bypass the online test and go straight to the in person assessment but he doesn't know when this new method will become formal.

[TheSteamingPile]

A training specialist told me that the new referral system will allow you to bypass the online test and go straight to the in person assessment but he doesn't know when this new method will become formal.

This is the ERP or Employee Referral Program and only applies to those who have some kind of connection to Nav Canada. The 'regular joes' still have to go through the entire process.