Yom Hameah – יום המאה

Tamar F.

Sydney, Australia

Draft: May, 2021

Magav – מגב

Yom Hameah is a day of testing various skills and leadership evaluation for females only. You will automatically get a date to do Yom Hameah if you get a 6 for your Hebrew in your tzav rishon. If you’re in michve and don’t have a 6, you’ll have the chance to do Yom Hameah if your Hebrew improves to a 6 at the end.

It’s an important day for everyone, but especially if you’re interested in a job to do with education (chinuch – חינוך) in the army – such as a madricha (instructor – מדריכה), and they also recruit for intelligence (modiin – מודעין) roles here.

Structure:
NOTE: Since corona started, the day has been changed so everything is on zoom and computers.

The day is comprised of various stations which each test different criteria.

1. Group Discussions:

You’ll be with a few other girls on zoom and have to complete a few activities and discuss topics. For example, you could be given a topic to discuss and come to an agreement on at the end – i.e for or against public transport on Shabbat. You could also be asked to do things like create educational programs for high school students and explain your decisions, sometimes using illustrations. This will assess many criterion such as – How well do you work in a group environment? Do you take control? Do you listen to others? What is your tone like when you’re addressing someone? Do you make others feel included? These are all things they’ll be looking for, so remember to be well balanced, polite and most importantly, yourself!

2. Individual Presentations

You’ll be given a topic which you have around 7 minutes to prepare a 4 minute presentation to the other girls in your group. For example: Facebook – about it, advantages and disadvantages, dangers, etc.
Tips: Make it interactive by asking your audience a question or use a personal example or anecdote, remember an introduction and conclusion (sikkum – סיכום,) fill the whole time you have to speak – don’t finish early.

3. Simulations

You’ll be given two simulations of difficult situations that you have to respond to one-on-one and afterwards answer questions on how you think it went. For example, you’re a boss at a restaurant and someone is upset that she got passed up for a promotion or you work at a store and are stuck with a difficult customer. There might not always be such a simple solution. For example, you’re a sales assistant in a clothing store and an upset customer comes to return a dress because she found a stain in it – you’re not allowed to give her a refund, you can’t give her store credit or swap the dress and to make matters worse, she needs to wear it for a wedding tomorrow. It’s your job to console her and solve the issue.
Not easy, right? In any event, the most important thing is to be calm, super empathetic and a good listener. Tell them you understand and you’re sorry about the situation and reassure them that the store values it’s customers. Try your best to think of a creative solution or a compromise. They’ll be looking for things such as: Do you cope well in stressful situations? Do you tend to lash out or do you remain calm and level-headed? How well are you able to improvise on the spot when something goes wrong?

4. Computer Testing

This part is done individually and will test your focus, reaction times, critical thinking, data analysis. It’s super long – so take breaks in between sections if you need to.

Tips:
⁃ Smile and be polite, always! They’re not just watching you in the middle of an activity, but also before and after too.
⁃ Bring water, snacks and come well rested.
⁃ Eye contact, posture, body language – all super hard over zoom but super important, so try your best.
⁃ It’s a long, tiring day, but try to concentrate and stay alert – this is something they’ll be looking out for.
⁃ Don’t stress too much about your Hebrew if you’re not fluent. They don’t care if you make mistakes.. it’s about you’re presentation skills.
⁃ Ask questions if anything is unclear, you won’t get points taken off, and it’s definitely more important to make sure you understand everything you are expected to do.

⁃ Be yourself, try your best and good luck!