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Here are a few tips for anyone attending an Assessment day, i stuck by them and i was fortunate enough to be successful.

Make sure you really want to be a soldier. I had a bit of a hard think before i went in as to whether i really want this. Am i the right sort of person to be a soldier, can i hack Kapooka, can I hack being away from my family. Am i tough enough to last out an environment completely opposite to what i am used to.

Seeing as I went through with the assessment day and sent back the yes to the job offer i think i can make it. the fact i lost over 20kgs to be eligible for entry and turned from a Nintendo slug into a reasonably fit guy helped a bit with my decision making process.

Wear some decent clothes. If you dont own appropriate clothing buy a business shirt, tie, long pants and belt. If you already own leather shoes make sure they are polished. Oh, and try not to wear white socks under your clothes it looks really tacky.

Be prepared to wait. It is a very long day, my assessment day started at 0745 and didn’t finish until 1530. Take their advice and bring a book. I know you will be nervous, but you will be surprised how quickly your nerves dissipate and turn into boredom. If you still don’t take a book, be prepared to sit through Good Morning Australia.

Take the necessary documentation, if you do not bring the appropriate documentation it makes it harder to process your application and presents you in a negative light to your DFR.

Know your information. I cant stress this enough, i learned all the stuff i need to know off by heart. For me the easiest way to do this was to go through all the information and write down the important stuff and read through it 3-4 times a night a fortnight before your big day.

Below is some of the stuff i learned:



Be prepared to be uncomfortable the doctors examination is reasonably invasive, it didnt really bother me but for some it might.

The process for the medical goes as follows. The nurse takes you for a piss test, weighs you (take the stuff out of your pockets and your shoes) don’t worry about the clothes they take 900gms off weight. You then do a quick eye check, and a simple colour blindness test. Lastly you do a hearing test which is kind of tricky. You sit in a soundproof booth, which isn’t actually sound proof, and have a clicker everytime you hear a beep click it. The trick is sometimes you hear phantom beeps, it doesn’t matter if you click and theres no beep this is expected. As long as you don’t miss the important ones You then go and sit and wait for the doc.

The doctor checks your nuts and does the old cough trick, checks your knob for deformities and if applicable checks your foreskin etc. He also checks your arse area but doesnt delve deeper, pun intended. The majority of the assessment is done in your jocks. The doc makes you hop, jump, stand on one leg do a few push ups sit ups, checks the blood pressure, pulse, ears, nose mouth and checks the joints for problems. You then get dressed and he informs you of your Class, I was class 1.

There are several classes though these include:

CLASS I - Medically fit for all duties within any service, subject to any particular requirements laid down in the chapters relating to aircrew, divers and submariners.
CLASS 2 - Medically fit for employment, subject to single service waiver action.
CLASS 3 - Temporarily medically unfit for enlistment. This is for candidates with a medical condition which is remediable and likely to be resolved within 12 months rendering the applicant suitable for service.
CLASS 4 - Permanently medically unfit. This is for candidates with a disqualifying medical condition which is permanent or unlikely to resolve within 12 months

Be prepared for the psych, overall its not too bad you get asked a few dodgy questions like “how do you feel about potentially killing people” Mostly we just discussed my family, my job and just me in general. Nothing too bad, just answer honestly or in place of that answer correctly. Remember if you fail the psych chances are there is a reason for it!

Remember the names of the people you are introduced too, I kind of forgot the psychs name until she repeated it again to another person in the room. (Someone was assessing her job competence, while she was assessing my mental competence)

The recruiters want to see that you understand what you’re applying for and have a passion for it as a career. Secondly, don’t be sucked into the thinking of telling them what they want to hear they aren’t idiots, and don’t just be aware of the stuff in the information sheets but a general understanding of the world in which we live and the military in which we wish to serve in.

when you did the psych, for your assessment day.when you were asked,"would you have a problem with potentially killing people".what is an educated approach to answer this question yeah no worries....... lol.....nah really. what do i say. thanks

I dare say you would answer truthfully.

i said something along the lines of "in an appropriate situation i would not hesitate in firing a rifle with the intention of killing an enemy" something like that anyway.

What I would say.....

"If I was ordered to, was in the best interests of my country & the situation fell in line with the ROE I would not have a problem"

or

"If there was a clearly defined enemy I would have no problem in killing him/her to protect my fellow allies"

Constructive criticism welcome.

The answer to this question is yes !

It is normally phrased "do you feel you would be able to kill in combat"

As much pussy footing around the topic you want to add you can but at the end of the day the answer is a resounding YES. Especially for those of you applying as riflemen.

In my interview I was ask the very same question and I replied yes I felt I could take a life in combat !

Just be prepared to back up your answer with a reason, as with all the questions asked of you in the Assesment Interview be prepared to back up your statements with reasoning, not just telling what you feel they want to hear.

That just reminded me on my Assessment day I said yes to the above question
but then me and my recruiter got into a discussion about it and it turns a lot of people say no they would never take a life and that’s the end of the interview apparently allot of the people that say no are the ones applying for medical jobs (I guess it’s the I want to save lives not take them mentality)
The main point is to say Yes and try too sound mature about it don’t say
Yeah ill waste anybody you want
That is a sure way too get referred for six months and have immature or nut case written on your file.

lol

Well I said yes but my answer was something alongs the lines of "I don't like the idea of killing someone but if I had to to protect my self or others then I would do what I had been trained for." The pshyc seemed to like that answer. I

This is worth reading.