Firefighter Aptitude Tests How To Get The Edge – PODCAST

Fire Recruitment Australia Podcast

 

Firefighter Aptitude Tests: How to get the edge

This episode has some guidelines on how to improve your score rapidly and get into the top percentage of people who get a chance to move through to the next step of the selection process the Fire Service Aptitude & Cognitive Test. In this conversation, Jean, an experienced tutor and coach in fire service aptitude and aptitude in general shares his wisdom on how to be on the path to excellent results.

 

1:40     Common Pitfalls of Those Who Take Aptitude Tests

 

These common pitfalls for those who take aptitude tests can be placed into two categories:

 

No Preparation for the actual Examination Experience:

The actual experience of an exam is what most people are entirely thoughtless about. Jean encourages people to consider the experience and educational experience of doing an exam and the factors that come into play under these conditions. Even if you know all of your stuff, going into an exam situation will bring into play some psychological factors like anxiety and feeling of being put-on-the-spot. As it’s an aptitude test, it’s designed to challenge your thinking and capabilities in a particular situation. Another factor to consider is time management – you need to know how much time to divide into each part of the exam, so it’s best that practice in these conditions is had prior to taking the exam.

 

Preparation of Content:

It’s crucial to do practice tests as it allows you to clearly identify your weaknesses. You won’t do well without this as you will not be alerted to areas that could be your downfall. Put yourself on a timer or anything you can do to replicate the scenario of real-life examination. When you do that, you will perform differently knowing there is a time limit. Once you complete this, you can go over all the mistakes you’ve made and you can and categorise your mistake into the following:

1. Did Not Study – this is easily solved. These are the mistakes made based on lack of knowledge. All you need to do is go back and just study relevant parts.
2. Can Not remember – Common in a pressurised situation and when you’re put on the spot. This is another reason why the practicing component helps.
3. Unable to apply – This is where you know it but can’t apply to context of situation. It may require you learning things in a different way. This just means you need to go back and need to practice variations of that particular question to start thinking differently.
4. Careless Mistakes – These are the mindless mistakes that happen. What helps is confidence, if you know your material inside out, the pressure won’t waiver your confidence. Read the Question properly. That can only come through practice and getting used to the content.

 

Without analysis of your weaknesses, you will waste a lot of your time. Unfortunately, these will appear inevitable so it’s best to address them and bring them into your awareness. Fluking it or Winging it won’t get you to perform your best.

 

9:52           Practice Tests

Before your exam, learn to approach things differently. This can be done by:

1. Practice, with practice tests.
2. Read the Question and re-read it. Read it with your lips if you can, to make sure you’re pronouncing each work
3. Back checking – go back and double check your work.

 

If you don’t have a system to identify these problems before they arise in an actual test situation, you are more than likely to be unsuccessful, especially if you’re not experienced in doing tests. You cannot improve on your own at your own pace. If you’ve been away from the school or testing environment for a number of years and not familiar with the content of the test that you’re going for, this will be a challenge.

 

12:49   Psychological factors: You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

A lot of those who take these tests have been away from the “school,” or examination environment for quite some time. Some even carry that learning anxiety from school – especially those who didn’t do too well. The certainty that you will get with someone there, that in itself makes it so much easier to move forward with confidence which you won’t find on your own. You don’t know what you don’t know. It’s hard to apply everything on your own, but with a mentor and enough time, you’ll have the tools to navigate to your best.

 

16:33   Attitude to approach the test

This is a highly important and somewhat overlooked factor as you’re caught up in the preparation process. Be in a positive mind frame. The greater outcome as a whole won’t occur if your attitude is not in the right direction, because that already applies a hurdle to the process before it’s begun. It’s your content and test questions that are the biggest value proposition, in the exam centre, and offering actual relevant test questions coupled with a system and a coach and mentor – this will mean that you will have an unbeatable set up

 

17:35   Case Study of Aptitude Success

A lot of clients that Jean has worked with has had anxiety built up from school where they didn’t know what to do so they contacted months in advance and over-prepared for their exam. What happened was that by the time thy got to the exam, the months of practice meant that the anxiety had lowered.

This is a key component in the preparation process: start your preparation with plenty of time, as some people come through with a week to go on the test – you are really limiting your options and opportunity if you do this. Think about the stress and becoming familiar with the material – this way you will be able to pass with the best score you’re capable of. This is your livelihood on the line – you can’t apply next week should the exam not go well. If you quantify in monetary terms, for example, in the fire service – if it takes you an extra two years because you didn’t prepare properly this time around. That’s effectively two years of pay rise and possible promotion that you’ve missed out on – if you extrapolate that out, it turns out to a lot of money.

23:00 Action Points & Take Aways

1. Organisation and Preparation: Start Months before your exam and focus on these things:
   a) what do you need to know

b) what reasons do you have for learning it

c) make a schedule in that timeframe for what your’e going to do and when

 

2. Prepare for the exam
3. Do practice exams
4. Do these exams under exam/time restriction conditions

 

Categorise your weakness/mistakes

Notice the patterns in your weakness and find a way to focus on those weaknesses

Regular errors in topic areas – focus on topic areas

1. Did not Study – this is easily solved. These are the mistakes made based on a lack of knowledge. All you need to do is go back and just study this part.
2. Can Not remember – Common in a pressurised situation and when you’re put on the spot. This is another reason why the practicing component helps.
3. Unable to apply – This is where you know it but can’t apply to context of situation. It may require you learning things in a different way. This just means you need to go back and need to practice variations of that particular question to start thinking differently.
4. Careless Mistakes – These are the mindless mistakes that happen. What helps is confidence, if you know your material inside out, the pressure won’t waiver your confidence. Read the Question properly. That can only come through practice and getting used to the content.

 

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