Last chance please help!

[All aboard]

Hi there,
I need some much needed help. I have one chance left at the chance of going driving, and like many failed the structured interview. Having contacted the opc for feedback was informed it was for 1 question! Working on my own for long periods of time! So would only have to readjust this answer before making it to the managers interview as I was lucky enough to pass the personality test first time. Thinking through my work experience I have two examples I think are ok. One was working in a care home doing night shifts based on one floor on my own whilst the manager would be on a sleep in shift ( so there but sleeping) and another member of staff based upstairs, and the other example is when working in retail doing shifts in the stockroom. Not sure if that's enough as my original example was working in the office on my own in retail, completing paperwork and having to maintain high concentration, for about an hour and a half at a time. Wasn't a good enough answer! What am I missing???
Any help much appreciated.

 

[TDK]

Hi there,
I need some much needed help. I have one chance left at the chance of going driving, and like many failed the structured interview. Having contacted the opc for feedback was informed it was for 1 question! Working on my own for long periods of time! So would only have to readjust this answer before making it to the managers interview as I was lucky enough to pass the personality test first time. Thinking through my work experience I have two examples I think are ok. One was working in a care home doing night shifts based on one floor on my own whilst the manager would be on a sleep in shift ( so there but sleeping) and another member of staff based upstairs, and the other example is when working in retail doing shifts in the stockroom. Not sure if that's enough as my original example was working in the office on my own in retail, completing paperwork and having to maintain high concentration, for about an hour and a half at a time. Wasn't a good enough answer! What am I missing???
Any help much appreciated.

I don't want to dissapoint you but I am certain that this was not the only reason, it may have been the reason you was given but this alone will not fail you an interview

 

[All aboard]

It's ok. I guess I can only hope for the best next time. I took the test last year summer and got feedback straight away, then called up this month just to verify I got the same reason (which I did) the lady from opc made it seem as though all parts of the structured interview are individually marked. I'm going to just give it another go when a vacancy comes up, because if they said all other areas was a pass grade they could only give me feedback on how i answer working on my own for long periods of time, if I answer all other parts the same as I originally did.

 

[TDK]

It's ok. I guess I can only hope for the best next time. I took the test last year summer and got feedback straight away, then called up this month just to verify I got the same reason (which I did) the lady from opc made it seem as though all parts of the structured interview are individually marked. I'm going to just give it another go when a vacancy comes up, because if they said all other areas was a pass grade they could only give me feedback on how i answer working on my own for long periods of time, if I answer all other parts the same as I originally did.

It's not working on your own it's spending long periods of time on your own for example, fishing is one, walking the dog is another expand your answer to include these factors as well as when working. The longest you are going to be alone is a maximum of 2 to 3 hours anyway - this question has a very low rating when being interviewed. For example if you get say 30 points for an interview the spending time alone will be weighted at about 2 to 3 tops.

 

[Asian Demon]

Ok so let me get this straight. You have passed all the assessments and failed on the final interview? If I'm wrong I apologise. If I'm right then I'm sure if you have an assessment pass, the interview failure wouldn't matter.

Saying that, I've never gone for driver as it seems a boring job however I thought it was similar logic to that of a guards position when going for these assessments/interviews.

 

[All aboard]

Thanks TDK, I have failed the final stage of the assessment process at the opc. The thing is I actually enjoy my own company so wouldn't find it boring at all. I can socialise around people, but having revised for many an exam, and written loads of assignments at uni I'm good on my own.

 

[TDK]

Thanks TDK, I have failed the final stage of the assessment process at the opc. The thing is I actually enjoy my own company so wouldn't find it boring at all. I can socialise around people, but having revised for many an exam, and written loads of assignments at uni I'm good on my own.

You need to express that in the way the interview panel are looking for, there is a fine balance between like being alone and a loner, hit the middle and you will have no problems

 

[W230]

Thanks TDK, I have failed the final stage of the assessment process at the opc. The thing is I actually enjoy my own company so wouldn't find it boring at all. I can socialise around people, but having revised for many an exam, and written loads of assignments at uni I'm good on my own.

I was concerned that I would have the same problem when answering this question as my current job is incredibly sociable and I spend most of the day talking to people. However, there is part of my current job where I will routinely have to be on my own for several hours at a time (although not a common occurrence). The assessor seemed happy enough with my example (well I passed the assessment anyway!) and moved on to the next question with only a little probing of how it affected my performance working on my own for long periods.

Have a good think about your examples - i'm sure you could elaborate on them if required. Just make sure they're legit because they did seem to probe some of those answers - and if they are made up i'm sure they could tell!

 

[driver9000]

Ok so let me get this straight. You have passed all the assessments and failed on the final interview? If I'm wrong I apologise. If I'm right then I'm sure if you have an assessment pass, the interview failure wouldn't matter.

Saying that, I've never gone for driver as it seems a boring job however I thought it was similar logic to that of a guards position when going for these assessments/interviews.

The OP has been told by the test centre they failed the interview section of the assessments then it does count as a fail.

 

[Asian Demon]

The OP has been told by the test centre they failed the interview section of the assessments then it does count as a fail.

Ah I see. That's a shame indeed.

 

[Beveridges]

Not sure if that's enough as my original example was working in the office on my own in retail, completing paperwork and having to maintain high concentration, for about an hour and a half at a time. Wasn't a good enough answer! What am I missing???

Not entirely sure (and I could be completely wrong here!) but your example was only working alone for 1 and a half hours. A Driver can be working alone for over 4 hours at a time. Even myself as a Maintenance Depot Driver has often worked from 19:30 to 02:30 entirely on my own, before even having a proper break.
What you will need to do is come up with an example of where you have worked alone for 5+ hours or more on a regular basis. It is not just the example, you need good answers to the probing questions that follow, such as "Do you like working alone and why", "How did you manage to maintain concentration while working alone".
Thats what I remember when I did my Structured Interview.
Basically in the OPC Structured Interview they have a checklist of criteria and if you do not meet all of it then its a fail.