Apparently they have changed the assessment style in 2013, so my experience wouldn't be entirely relevant any more (2011). But still, just in case they do revert back I'll just share the experiences that I can recall.
There are 3 different sections in this one day assessment. Essays, Group activity, Interview+individual presentation.
Essay
I believe this was the first part of the assessment.
30 minutes to write an essay in English and another 30 minutes to write an essay in BM.
I think the English essay was something to do with credit cards. The BM essay was relatively easier, some sort of current issue that we used to write about in our BM essays in spm.
Group activity
Each of us got different roles in the team, and we were to plan some kind of event or activity in Bukit Jalil Stadium. I'm not sure if they gave us the roles or we chose our own roles. Note that you don't have to be the leader to make it through. A lot of my other teammates had various roles and still made it through. You just have to play your part well.
Individual Presentation + Interview
I can't remember whether the topic was about leadership or it was about comparing whether IQ or EQ is more important. After presenting on the topic, I was asked some interview questions.
Undergraduate Level
I can remember this assessment quite clearly as it was pretty recent. It was supposed to be of a new format ie. the 2-3 days camp but since only 16 out of 25 who were short-listed turned up, they decided to do it in one day. So basically, there were 2 parts. If you pass part 1, you get into part 2 which is the interview. If not, you go home after lunch time.
Part 1
a) English Essay
30 minute essay. What is your one greatest strength that can support your application. *so glad no BM Essay* :)))
b) Group Presentation
We were to discuss a plan on how to expand the business of a food company selling western and local food. At the beginning I volunteered to be the Project Manager, but another person wanted it as well. So I stepped down and took up the role as Marketing Agent instead.The assessors did commend me for that, and later they asked for my rationale on that during the interview. Remember that this sort of group presentations are very subjective and you have to put in the effort to stand out in a good way somehow, be it providing good ideas, showing good leadership skills, tolerance, being able to express yourself well, etc. The assessors will be constantly watching every move you make, so it would be difficult to pretend. Try to portray your key strengths as naturally as possible.
Part 2
It was a 5 interviewer to 1 interviewee interview. I emphasized on the things I wanted to highlight and they just asked questions based on my personal experiences and ideologies. My advice is to try to direct the interview in your favour. When they give you the chance to introduce yourself, that's where you begin introducing the main things which is important and you would like to highlight about yourself.(things that can be expanded on and asked questions about) I believe most interviewers prefer this approach as they do not need to ask you the typical questions but rather they can ask your more questions about your personal experiences. For example, I talked about how I introduced the Key Performance Indicator system in my prefect board and they then asked me more about my experiences as Head Prefect, etc. I also believe you really need to know why you chose your course and about Bank Negara as well. They also asked about current economics issue so I talked about the Eurozone and the high youth unemployment and that I thought austerity was not the way to go in the Euro area. If you haven't been reading much, do spend some time reading www.bbc.co.uk or some business magazines like the Economist. You need to be able to understand these issues especially if you intend to study Economics in uni or work in BNM in the future.
*Results out in 1-2 weeks time.
No comments:
Post a Comment