Northern Trainee Conductor Interview

[Pati]

Hi all, last week I got invited to do an interview for the trainee conductor role at Northern, which I got booked for next week. This is going to be my second interview ever, with my first one being with LNER for station support but didn't get through. I have a few questions regarding the interview:

- Are the questions given able to be answered by someone with barely any work experience? I only did some sales/project work in business at school plus LNER's virtual work experience. I don't have any work experience in a job.
- What does the interactive session involve?
- How many interview questions are you given to answer?

These are all the questions I can think of right now, any useful information regarding interviews would be great!

 

[WF4HA5HE]

Hi, how did the interview go I know it's probably been and gone but I was interviewed for Northern last year and got the job as conductor if you have any questions.

 

[AndyPandy2]

Hi, how did the interview go I know it's probably been and gone but I was interviewed for Northern last year and got the job as conductor if you have any questions.

Hi

I have an interview with Northern Rail in April and wondered what was involved with the interactive session any advice welcome

 

[Pati]

Hi, how did the interview go I know it's probably been and gone but I was interviewed for Northern last year and got the job as conductor if you have any questions.

Hey, my interview was on the 7th March so it was some time ago now and didn't realise i got replies until now. In my opinion the interview went decently (tried my best of course) however wasn't successful. I did receive feedback and it mostly mentioned that I did well however could have had more detail in some of my answers. As a young person who didn't do that much in life so far I did kind of struggle with some answers as I didn't expect such questions at all. I was asked slightly different questions due to my lack of experiences.
Even though I didn't get past the interview stage at Northern, I did have an interview with LNER for the customer solutions representative role and luckily enough I got through. Felt so surreal to me considering it's going to be my first ever job. Passed my medical and other stuff and will be starting on 13th of May.

Hi

I have an interview with Northern Rail in April and wondered what was involved with the interactive session any advice welcome

Hey, not sure if your interview has happened yet or not. I appologise for noticing this just now. The interactive session for me was working within a team to figure out the best way to prioritse a set of different tasks as a conductor. You have some time at the start to think on your own so I suggest making your own list of ideas then discussing them with others around you.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Hey, my interview was on the 7th March so it was some time ago now and didn't realise i got replies until now. In my opinion the interview went decently (tried my best of course) however wasn't successful. I did receive feedback and it mostly mentioned that I did well however could have had more detail in some of my answers. As a young person who didn't do that much in life so far I did kind of struggle with some answers as I didn't expect such questions at all. I was asked slightly different questions due to my lack of experiences.
Even though I didn't get past the interview stage at Northern, I did have an interview with LNER for the customer solutions representative role and luckily enough I got through. Felt so surreal to me considering it's going to be my first ever job. Passed my medical and other stuff and will be starting on 13th of May.

Congratulations on getting the job with LNER!
If it's any consolation, I've got several years experience working as Station Staff, I've never once passed a Conductor interview and have had several attempts (different train companies). If I had a decent knowledge of any other industry, I would have left the Railway as I'm very frustrated at my lack of career development.

 

[scrapy]

The first three questions will be along the lines of. What do you know about Northern, what do you know about the job of conductor, why do you think you would fit the role. These are fairly easy to prepare an answer for.

The rest of the questions will be competency based, along the lines of :- Tell me a time when..... You have dealt with a conflict, you have worked under pressure, dealt with a different situation, you have followed rules and procedures, provided worked as part of a team. If you have any work based examples, that's fine, if not think about examples in education settings or hobbies (for example if you played a part in a team) or even dealing with family members.

Describe examples of what you actually did rather than what you think should be done and explain the reasons you made decisions. Use the STAR method (Google if you don't know what it is).

Good luck

 

[WF4HA5HE]

Congratulations on getting the job with LNER!
If it's any consolation, I've got several years experience working as Station Staff, I've never once passed a Conductor interview and have had several attempts (different train companies). If I had a decent knowledge of any other industry, I would have left the Railway as I'm very frustrated at my lack of career development.

I second this, i know conductors who have 5-10 years of experience who apply to go driving multiple times with the same TOC they work for and don't even get to interview. Now I'm not saying they should get special treatment not at all it should be a fair process of course but back in the day the only way you could progress on the railway was by already being a guard or station staff and working your way up. Abit like how to become a London Underground driver many start as station assistants and work up and I think london Underground alot of the time only hire internally for drivers if I'm right?

 

[Jonners00]

Had my interview for Trainee Conductor for Leeds last Friday and got an email the same day saying I had passed and been put in the talent pool.

Anyone else in the same position or been in the talent pool recently? Just wondering how long it might be before I get an email, I’ve seen that you might not get a job within the 9 months and have to reapply but here’s hoping I get the call.

If anyone wants any advise for the interview let me know.

 

[Jonners00]

Just under 2 weeks I’ve been in the talent pool and been offered a start date of 08/07/2024. Over the moon with this and now just the medical to pass.

 

[mickeymac]

Just under 2 weeks I’ve been in the talent pool and been offered a start date of 08/07/2024. Over the moon with this and now just the medical to pass.

Wow, congratulations!