I applied for the job, got an invite to come to recruitment / testing session approx. 5-6 weeks after the day I applied. At first I thought I didn't make the cut but the ad did mention they were collecting for a pool of candidates.
There were 4 particular sessions that day doing the same thing. Consisted of object identification test (x-ray). They advise exactly what to look for - gun, grenade or knife. They show you exactly what they look like. Between the 3 categories, there are probably about 12-14 different shapes. You are shown a slide show with x-ray images and the slide advances after 20 seconds. There is no going back. You need to quickly decipher if the image contains a gun, grenade, knife or....none of the above. They do not put multiple items in the image. It is one of the 4 choices. The slides move fast, I found some were easier to detect than others but some stretched me to the 20 sec. limit as the object may be upside down and under something else. I looked online and did some research via everyone's friend Google before I took this test and it did help a little.
There is a quick break where you stay in the room after the test. Recruiter advised that the test is made to be hard and usually 60-70% of the candidate do not pass this test. They score your test (you are not told the score if you pass) and then announce names of successful candidates. Those individuals stay in the room, the others are asked to leave and can reapply in 6 months time if they so wish.
I passed the first test, but half the room was disqualified. We then had a one hour break where the next session did the same thing. Once the other group was finished we came back in with their successful group.
The next test is a timed 100 question - 60 min test. You are given a workbook and answer sheet. The first 30-40 questions are simply which is spelled correctly and which is spelled incorrectly out of groups of words. 4-5 questions on repeating patterns. 10 on grammar, 10 or so on logic, 10 reading comprehension, 10 math (I am not a math wizard nut they are basic). You get the idea. If you have an excellent grasp on English you should have not problem. I finished this part in 30 min. If English is not your native language you may find it harder.
So out of the 2 groups that qualified in the afternoon, over 20 did the second test and only 6 remained after the names were announced after the 2nd test was scored.
I managed to make the cut again. All 6 of us had a small 10 min interview, questions like - do you have reliable vehicle, are you available 24/7 (always say yes), what skills do you have to be a screening officer, tell me about a time where you provided excellent customer service etc.
Based on those answers, I was told I was moving forward to an interview the next day.
The next day the interview was about 30 mins long. I will provide some questions below. At the end, she tabulated my test scores plus interview score and offered me a position with GardaWorld.
SOME THINGS TO NOTE -
This position relies heavily on your ability to get the security clearance necessary for aviation. (access restricted areas of the airport). No where on the job ad did it mention this, but the security clearance can take 2-6 MONTHS to get. Be forewarned if you are looking to start immediately it will not happen...they won't even start the training until you have the clearance)
On top of this, there was mention of having to bid on shifts (assuming you will work a bunch of bad shifts until you get enough seniority to bid on better shifts which the recruiter mentioned can be around the 2 year marker)
You need to have a medical done to CATSA standards. As well, I am told the training is very intensive and fast paced. There is still a chance after all of this you could fail the training (certifcation) part and not make it.
