Reply
 

Call or email your hr contact person, the one who invited you for the interview and/or PT.

That will be the second time doing that..but oh alright

Unsure of pay
 

Hi, I am going for a unit preview. Is it a suitable time for me to ask about my pay breakdown? The interviewer told me I will be a dxo 6. And estimated how the pay would be like for a dxo6?

lol. please dont ask during unit preview. The guy/gal showing you around wont know anything regarding pay. Please ask the HR person when you sign the contract.

Will it be bad if the contract was not suitable and I reject the offer?

Should be about $2.5k like that. Fresh diploma holder right?

Oic. Yeah fresh grad from diploma finish Ns.

Its like that sometimes
 

One probably has to be persistent. So far for mine, after PT, the HR person is still friendly over email and phone while dealing with other credentials and docket items.

Hopefully that's a positive sign that I am still considered for 1st round of interview. :)

PT
 

For those who took the PT, is it normal to only be able to finish slightly more than half of the verbal reasoning test? I literally shaded the rest of the qns blindly cos I only managed to get thru 35 qns. Anyone who did the same and got called for interview?

Missed my PT cause I was pretty sick. On a scale of 1-10, how screwed am I?

Hi, hope you've gotten a response from HR. Otherwise don't worry too much, just be patient and wait.

For me, I emailed HR to check on my status 3 weeks after the first interview and someone from the unit I was applying to got back to me with a Unit Preview date on the same day. Not sure if it's a coincidence or perhaps HR did try and expedite.

No rejection email means you can still be hopeful! But like someone said in the thread a few pages back, don't stop applying elsewhere :)

-1. God blessed you not to enter the cursed land.

I took my PT last week and HR emailed me if im shortlisted for the interview, they will contact me within 2 weeks. Is this a hint that I did not get shortlisted or am I over thinking?

Posssible to share which position did you applied for?

I took my PT 2 weeks ago but still no email from HR

Applied for Medical position

I applied for paramedical jobs. I went for my PT on 10 June and no updates as for now. I did not manage to complete quite a number of questions for my PT. Sigh.Guess i should start finding another job in the meantime):

Same here. How many questions did you manage to finish for the verbal reasoning? I finished only about half. I guess there's no harm in looking out for other opportunities!

MINDEF daily routine never ever changes.

7.30 - start work
8.30 - breakfast (1 hour)
9.30 - return to office
11.30 - drive out, lunch at Bukit Panjang Plaza, pay bills, buy stuff for home (2 hours)

1.45 - back at office
3.00 - tea break (30 mins)
3.35 - back at office
4.45 - go toilet, clear bladder
4.55 - back at desk
5.00pm - shut down pc, go back home

MINDEF is one place where you can really slack and earn iron rice bowl. Sometimes they'll be unnecessary meetings where people will talk and talk about things but the thing is that decisions have already been made prior to these meetings so you pause and ask yourself why then are we having the meetings in the first place LOL!

I finished only like 1/3 of the paper. I was too slow in the beginning. But well, it is a good learning experience as it is my first time attempting a PT. Do you also have a nursing bg?

Hi, I think you're overthinking! Just give it 2 or even 3 weeks after the PT first. If still no news you can always email/call HR to check on your status. :) MHRD are all really nice people.

The reason why I ask you to wait up till 3 weeks is because I think they are really busy now with degree grads applying/coming into the workforce.. So just give them more time!

DX5 Unit Preview
 

Hey guys, just wondering how long does it take for HR to get back to you after a unit preview ?

Also anyone know how many people get to a unit preview on average? Or is it usually just one or two persons then they judge ?

What is usually done usually during the unit preview and how long does it take?

Verbal reasoning
 

Actually, I myself didn't have much problems with VB reasoning; only 4 questions I had to think really hard. I only completed 7 sudoku puzzles out of 20 as a newbie...that's the only obvious gap that people would have spotted.

DX5 Unit Preview
 

Just had my unit preview today and they told me that they have 2 more persons who are coming in for a unit preview and two more interviewees tomorrow.. Said it will be a long process but how long do they usually take ?

just received a call for the unit preview and wondering what usually goes on during the preview, other than introducing the candidate to where he/she will be working if they are accepted. I have been through two rounds of interview so I'm not sure what else to expect.

Which position did you apply for? It seems (from reading the thread) that different units may have different styles.

For Mindef.
If you get posted to Mindef you'll soon realise that place is largely a wayang show. If you're an engineer. it's unlikely you will find romance with another engineer cos the capable engineers don't join DSTA. DUH!

You will meet loads of admin clerks. They earn about $1600. The smarter ones work in Mindef and then head for evening classes at SIM etc for further studies. After 3 years, they resign once they get their degree. I've seen a few return but in a much higher position. At least $1500 to $2000 pay jump.

If you're posted to Mindef there is transport from your home to there and vice-versa. You pay $80 monthly to the bus driver directly. It's really convenient. The only grievance is that sometimes the driver might drive off so it's good to have his hp number or some of the others who board the same bus as you.

Don't get into trouble with the military police and you'll be fine. Smoking points are conveniently located. Toilets are aplenty. Same with water dispensers. You have two floors of canteen food and if you don't like what's on offer then you can always head out to Bukit Panjang Plaza.

If you're posted to camps it's even better. You work alone or you have a partner. You basically eat snake everyday while earning an iron rice bowl. You might need to report to a uniformed officer but most of the time he doesn't bother you unless there's something urgent he needs from you.

DSTA/DXO is the same. The only slight difference can be the pay scale. Just take things easy. There are no jobs outside for local engineers given that so many engineers from 2nd and 3rd world countries are taking up private sector jobs for $2000 so for local engineers to join this sector makes sense.

Keep a low profile, keep your head down and earn the money. Clock your WITS suggestions, be punctual for work, don't take long meal breaks, don't get into trouble with the military police and you'll be fine.

It's all just one big wayang. It really depends on the environment and the culture. if you have a bunch of slackers then just follow suit. if you have one or two indian chiefs then make sure you up your game. after a month or two once these indian chiefs know that you're not the eat snake type then they will never ever bother you.

you will have so much of free time to daydream about that super hot girl you saw at the canteen or in the lift. all you need to do is stare at your monitor and place your hand on the mouse. so people passing by your cubicle will assume that you're busy trying to decipher some engineering code on your computer screen.

if you have people who are sitting beside you on either side of the cubicle then make sure that every now and then you
1) type on the keyboard
2) clicks on the mouse
3) use the telephone to make calls every hour etc so that the people on either side of you know that you're working.

mindef office space are pretty silent so much so that if you let off a fart, the people sitting beside you will know. so be warned! there will also be opportunities for you to be on outstation so you get to kill time by going to other camps for meetings or discussions. Again, these sessions are one big wayang cos important decisions have always already been made beforehand so whatever you guys are doing is just to talk nonsense, justify the reasons why the decision was such and such and then kill time till its 5pm to go home.

you will get to meet a lot of idiot who're basically clueless. and these will normally be people who're your superiors or senior colleagues. put your beliefs and opinions aside. just go with the flow. the civil service doesn't reward people with different mindsets or innovative ideas. the rule is simple. keep your head down, follow instructions, look forward to pay day and bonuses and take holidays with your family.

i guess the sad thing about DSTA/DXO/MDES or whatever silly scheme they will rename it is that if our loved ones such as gf, wife, parents were to be in invisible mode and they can see us in our offices and see the rubbish that we do day in day out, i think they will be sad. but oh well, must bring in the money then only can put food on table. I'm sure loved ones will understand, won't they?

Hey man, unit preview is basically an introduction to what your job scope is. They will show you what to do, how its done and the people you are working with. I kind of find it a little pointless though. However, maybe they have an issue with people pulling out after they start working there. I was introduced to my CO , and co-workers. That's what happened yesterday for me though.

Very true, I've read that an individual went for his/her first interview and wasn't contacted for about three weeks until he/she was called for their unit preview. Whereas I was called in for a unit preview withing three working days.

Only thing that worries me is that they told me they are still interviewing people for the position..

Anyone applied for mapping position?

Did anyone failed the medical or security clearance before?

Anyone went for PT on 23rd June and got called for interview?

DXO Application
 

Hi to all,

May I know anyone took the PT on 29 Jun 2016 receive any reply update from the HR?

Had psychometric test in May. Was scheduled for an interview for a DXO job position 3 weeks later. Had a couple of tests and an interview on that very day. Was told that I will get final confirmation on job position in 2 weeks. Instead they dragged it to 4weeks and rejected me. Back to square one.

Went for PT today, 14/7

test 1: verbal reasoning. 60qns, 30mins. managed to complete all and had a little time to check. kinda tikam a few though

test 2: smth like IQ questions? 57qns, 25mins. all questions were easy except for the last 2. did not manage to shade the last qn as i was still figuring it out.

test 3: personality test. 185qns, done in 25mins. simple personality questions with last 5 questions of simple maths.

unfortunately, there's no sudoku questions which i was looking forward to. (i'm pretty good and fast at it xD) but oh well. i thought the test went pretty well.

----
does anyone know how to check what position you applied for?
i can't remember bec i applied for a few jobs that night..

Hi there, sorry to hear this. ): Is it okay for you to share what position you applied for and what tests did you do on your interview day? Thanks in advance!

I was sent a Personal Particulars form to submit. I need to fill in the home address and NRIC of my referees. Did anyone of you actually ask such info from your referee ?

Yes, but the character referees can be your friends.

theres a job opening on the dxo website now for "operational research manager", what is that ah ? job descp looks interesting..

Will MINDEF HR contact all your character referees?

Anyone here went for expenditure control position?

I didn't encounter them contacting mine, but I think I read before someone did.