Eva Ran
I would love to share my application experience with everyone. Before I started my application, I had no confidence that I would be accepted by QSB, but thought I would give it a try, so I encourage you to reach out and apply without hesitation. Unless you try, you’ll never know the result. During my application process, I obtained some valuable experiences through some mistakes and hopefully it will be helpful for your application.
I submitted my online application in February of 2014. I did not apply through any agent and I applied from Canada. I was then assigned an application advisor who was very helpful during the whole application process. If you have any questions or concerns, keeping active communication with your application advisor is really important.
The first challenge I had was to do a video essay. I received the video essay requirement in early February and the deadline was set for two weeks out. I spent one week preparing for the video essay and practiced with my friend. We simulated some interview questions several times. I started to do my video essay on the night of February 27th. That was one of the mistakes I made, do not leave it right to the deadline. On that night, my webcam did not function well and I spent 3 three hours trying to get it fixed. I almost gave up. So my advice here is to get your computer ready before the deadline. You may find that it is weird to speak to the computer for the first time. There are some practice questions before you officially start your video essay. You can practice as many times as you want, so make full use of it. If you have professional pictures, you can upload one when you are registering for Kira Talent (video essay website)—same for Skype for the interview. I also recommend you pay attention to the background (such as a white wall) during video essay and interview. Keep in mind to sit in a quite environment and ensure there will be no external disturbances.
I then received notice from my application advisor that I have passed the video essay. The next step is to submit some required documents. Finally, I got the chance to be interviewed by one member from the recruiting team. Unfortunately, the interviewing time was conflicting with my trip to Cuba which has limited internet access. I had to communicate with my application advisor to change the time. If you want to change the interview time or make any other changes, it is better to inform your application advisor as early as possible. I also spent some time preparing for the interview. I think presentation skills are important during the interview process, as well as for the video essay. There was no need to be too nervous for the interview. It was like a normal relaxed conversation, however, professional dress (business formal) is necessary.
Upon completion of my interview in mid-March, I submitted several other documents and received my offer for QSB by the end of March. The QSB recruiting team is really efficient.
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