Martin-Baker Aircraft interview questions

TLDR It's not really a sheet metal job. The sheet metal is outsourced and you're mostly fitting solid rivets. It seems to be a polite workplace, but it might be so polite that you don't know where you stand. You'll have to read the air. Interview They were friendly and polite. They went over my CV in great detail. Which gently forced be to say bad things about my previous employers I would rather not say in a job interview, like dealing with racism, places that managed me out of the company ect. Given how the rest of the interview went, they might expect you to refuse to say anything bad (because that's what they do) That's why I say the interview process is difficult. Also, being a military manufacturer they'll need five years worth of references. There was a trade test. Which I failed. They use a type of rivet I only saw in text books over 20 years ago! I think they're called solid head rivets. They're solid metal, not the pop rivets most people use. I wasn't familiar with the tools so I struggled in the trade test. Especially the hand clamp thingy. For some reason they don't use vices in that section. It might be because the metal is very thin. Also hammering things isn't my greatest talent. But I'm sure anyone can use a press if they line the bits up properly. There was a bit of measuring and marking out. It might not be fair saying this, but I was nervous and looked for a pen to mark out where to stick the velcro. Forgetting that I should have been using a scriber (habbit from a previous job). The assembler talking me through the trade test quickly asked his colleagues for a pen and said it went missing. So I went rummaging through the box of bits to find something to mark the metal with and the assembler talking me through it started to rush me, so I improvised and used a pencil. As a result I could barely see the markings. When I handed the work piece to the manager I could almost hear him thinking "That's shocking!". So I asked repeatedly what he thought and he literally smiled and said "I couldn't possibly say". Then the recruitment agent gave me their feedback. They said I was unfamiliar with the tooling so I struggled (which is fair enough). But they also said I didn't mark out where to put the velcro. Obviously he couldn't see the pencil markings, and I remember my finger smudged some of it. I thought he saw me mark it (with incorrect tooling) but apparently not. I doubt I would have gotten the job anyway, just on account of being unfamiliar with those rivets. It's an aerospace company after all they can't mess about. I think it would suit most English people, as they embrace being indirect. Despite being born in England I've always preferred direct communication as long as it isn't overly rude. So I personally wouldn't have liked it there.

Assessment day consisting of group exercises (one technical and one non-technical) and a tour of the factory. In the afternoon there were 4 technical interviews and an exam brushing up on fundamental engineering concepts.