The selection process is a stressful and often tiring undertaking for the candidate. Generally, candidates must complete each step before being scheduled for the next step. Successful applicants may expect to make four to five visits to various testing sites during the process.
Most successful candidates complete the selection process in five months to one year.
The qualifying written test consists of 100 items. The multiple choice questions are to test a series of abilities such as memory, visualization, and reasoning. Both the Communication Sample and the Oral Interview are designed to assess a candidates' verbal skills. The Communication Sample is a short test involving a series of questions to be answered by the candidate. The Oral Interview is a lengthier test in which the candidate will be presented with several situations and asked to respond to a series of questions related to those situations.