After initially applying for this position 8 months earlier and being told that my application had been unsuccessful, I received an email out of the blue informing me that my application had been reconsidered and I was invited to attend an interview (quoted from their email).
The interview turned out to be an assessment day consisting of a Case Study and then, if successful, a panel interview. After eventually finding the location of the assessment centre (the address given in the email was wrong) I had to prove my identity (passport) and then sit with another 30-40 applicants. At a given time, we were then herded to another waiting table until we were once again herded into a very small room, which was extremely warm and humid, in preparation for the Case Study exercise which was supposed to be testing our abilities at Making Effective Decisions & Managing a Quality Service.
Before starting the case study, we were given a strict 5 minutes to read through the criteria for what the case study was to be about and following that, we were given another, very strict, 30 minutes to complete the case study. After completion of the case study, we were then once again herded back to the waiting tables, being able to grab a hot or cold drink which was on offer. Not long after we sat down, a lady came into the room and shouted out various names, asking them to come to the front. These people were then taken back to the “sweat box” just to be told that they had failed and given directions as to how to leave the premises. (no individual feedback at all)
From entering the convention centre to being told that you had failed took less than 50 minutes and the whole experience was completely impersonal bordering on inhuman. During this whole 7 month window there was no human interaction at all.
As for the Case Study itself, this consisted of 14 visa applications which you have to marry up against an approval matrix, deciding on whether or not a visa should be approved. If an application was rejected, it had to be rejected at the earliest possible opportunity during the approval process and a written reason as to how you arrived at each decision.. The approval process was ranked in the following order :
1) Application Form Submitted
2) Proof of residency in a Green country
3) Proof of 5 years consistent residency in the UK
4) Proof of 5 years activity in the UK
Sounds pretty easy however, proof of UK residency and activity each have a their own approval matrix, financial records, employer Letter, Medical Insurance etc, and each had dates that either overlap or are not with the scope of the approval matrix. Of course, this is what you would expect to be doing in a job handling Visa applications however, as there was no indication AT ALL as to what to expect and only 5 minutes to digest the approval matrix then it was understandable that some felt like rabbits in the headlights when the initial 5 minutes were over and the test commenced.
On reflection, I can honestly say that there is no way anyone can/could prepare for the Case Study. Only previous experience, a 'heads up' (or inside knowledge) could anyone be prepared in any capacity.
