I'm 42, English, fit, degree educated and located 30 mins from principle location.
Didn't even get past the sift.
2 months on, I'm still finding it hard to digest.
It's all about transferable skills. You either don't have those that are required, or you've failed to properly demonstrate them on your application.I'm 42, English, fit, degree educated and located 30 mins from principle location.
Didn't even get past the sift.
2 months on, I'm still finding it hard to digest.
Then simply apply for other driving positions. There must be other jobs where overqualified people apply and get knocked back straightaway for whatever reason. This is no different.
Yeah and?I'm 42, English, fit, degree educated and located 30 mins from principle location.
Didn't even get past the sift.
2 months on, I'm still finding it hard to digest.
Then simply apply for other driving positions. There must be other jobs where overqualified people apply and get knocked back straightaway for whatever reason. This is no different.
Spot on brother.Yeah and?
Have you got all the other things they are looking for?
Does your CV read well?
Are you a 'I got a degree give me a job' type of person, a degree on its own proves very little unless it is something specific to the job you are applying for!
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How the eff is he overqualified?
He has got a degree, big deal, that doesn't make him a rocket scientist!
It is all about getting the relevant information on the CV, if the CV doesn't contain the info they need then its bin time.
There are hundreds of people applying for every trainee driver job and if you don't stand out as an exceptional candidate with the things they are looking for then you wont get it.
There are far too many people who think a degree, any degree will secure them any job they want as if it their God given right, unfortunately the relevance of a degree has been watered down by all the Mickey Mouse courses you can now do, plus most degrees have no relevance to train driving either!
People need to find out what let them down (not bothering to tick all the boxes is one way of failing) and then work on fixing the problem areas.
At the end of my MMI last week the interviewer was kind enough to tell me a few of my assessment scores and she also mentioned that she was very impressed with my application form, she said it stood out. I was extremely flattered when she said that. I dont have a degree.
Hello fellas, not arrogance in what I wrote above. I may not have had the list mentioned, but had loads of prompts from pal who is inspector of drivers, or whatever that job is titled. Anyhow, one thing I can do well, is write. I wish everyone who got on all the best. Just gutted, stunned and, well, gutted, did I mention that?
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Well done. I wish you well, if you interpreted arrogance from my post above, it wasn't intended. All the best.
I'm 42, English, fit, degree educated and located 30 mins from principle location.
Didn't even get past the sift.
2 months on, I'm still finding it hard to digest.
Hello fellas, not arrogance in what I wrote above. I may not have had the list mentioned, but had loads of prompts from pal who is inspector of drivers, or whatever that job is titled. Anyhow, one thing I can do well, is write. I wish everyone who got on all the best. Just gutted, stunned and, well, gutted, did I mention that?
The big question is though....are both your lives used up now?
The big question is though....are both your lives used up now?
Depends what the MMI is that he refers to...is it what used to be called the structured interview? If it is then chances are that his lives are up as they are part of the psychometric group standard assessments. If the MMI is the driver manager interview then it's not using up lives-although it may be with that specific TOC. But that's not an industry wide standard but more a regular job interview.
MMI is the Multi Modal Interview and is the structured interview consisting of 6 questions that make up part of the Stage 2 assessments.
Of course they want a quick answer. BUT!...I know people want a quick answer but hey, it doesn't hurt to research for yourself and then if you don't understand the terminology or the answers already give then ask the experience folk on the forum questions.
This isn't a dig ant anyone in particular but really guys and girls it is good practice to research for yourself as this in turn help you in the most difficult part of the recruitment process, the interviews.
Of course they want a quick answer. BUT!...
...I just put a couple of things in the search facility because of the first post on this thread: (eyesight/driver) and (how good does your eyesight need to be to become a train driver) and it didn't seem to make a difference - it took me to threads, the start of which had nothing to do with my search. Sure, perhaps what someone is looking for is in there but without knowing exactly what to put in the search facility it looks hard to find.
This thread is now 68 pages long. If you wanna spend a few hours searching the site I would suggest save your time and pop it into an ongoing thread like this one.
Perhaps I'm not computer-literate enough.
Dear Drivers,
I would like to know if i would be considerd as a qualified train driver in the uk when i did a train driver course in the Netherlands. Currently im doing my course for the dutch railways but wanna come to the UK for family reasons.
First Stage Application Form This is all done on the internet. It starts off asking all the obvious stuff, name, address etc. It then asks for education and qualifications. Then it asks a series of competency based questions.
After the application stage you will get sent a complete pack of information on what tests you will be undertaking and what is involved. This pack is excellent and although slightly different to the actual tests will give you some idea of what to expect on the day.
Second Stage Assessment Day 1
The first test undertaken was the Group Bourdon (or Dots Test). There is a good program on this forum here: http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=79923 that you can use to practice these. It was a paper and pencil test. Do a few on the computer and print some off and do them with a pencil, it feels a lot different to the computer test.
The second test undertaken was the TEA-Occ test. This consisted of 3 parts. The first part was listening to an audio CD where you have to count the low tones ignoring the higher pitched tones. The second part involved searching a piece of paper, which looked similar to a telephone directory, for matching symbols. The third part was a combination of the first 2, searching for matching pairs of symbols while counting low tones from the CD.
The third test undertaken was the TRP test. This consisted of 2 parts. The first part was listening to instructions being read out, while also reading the same instructions on paper. You have to study the information (you can make notes too) and answer questions based on the information you have heard and read. The written information and your notes are collected before you answer the questions. The second part is the Dials and cables test. There are dials; each dial has an arrow indicator on it which is positioned on one of 4 different shaded segments. You have to decide which order the dials are checked in depending on where each arrow is. Make sure you listen to the instructions carefully.
That was it for Day 1! All the tests were paper and pencil/pen tests. After each test they marked everything and people that hadnt got the required score were sent home.
Second Stage Assessment Day 2
These tests were all the computer based tests.
Before the computer tests, we were asked to fill in a form that would be used in the MMI later in the afternoon. They asked for examples of competency based questions.
After filling in the MMI form we proceeded straight to the computer tests. The first test undertaken was the WAFV vigilance test. This consisted of staring at a white computer screen, where a light grey box would flash up in the middle at a consistent speed. Randomly it would change to a dark grey square; you have to press a green button on a special keyboard as quickly as possible. This carried on for 30mins! To help practice the WAFV Vigilance test download an app called Vigilance Test (by hsapps.com) from the play store.
The second test was the ATAVT perception test. This consisted of images of traffic scenes that were flashed up on screen for 1 second. After the image had gone you have to indicate which of the 5 objects listed (pedestrian, motor vehicle, bikes/motorbikes, road signs and traffic lights) you saw in that image.
The third test was the 2Hand Co-ordination test. You have to move a ball around a shape on the screen using a special keyboard with 2 joysticks. The right hand one only moved the ball up and down and the left hand one only moved the ball left and right. You have to trace the same shape 10 times.
After these 3 computer tests they marked everything and people that hadnt got the required score were sent home again. After this it was straight on to the MMI.
The MMI was a formal and structured interview where you are asked to go into more detail about each example given earlier. It lasted just under an hour.
Third Stage DMI This was a formal and structured interview with 2 driver managers. This interview lasted just over an hour and although it was structured and formal it was also far more relaxed than the MMI.
Final Stage Medical This consisted of standard stuff: Hearing test, height, weight, urine sample for drugs screening, breathalyser, ECG, eye sight, colour-blindness, questions about an medication and finally a chat with the Doctor who also went through flexibility test and grip strength.
For all of the tests and interviews wear a suit and tie. Make sure you pay attention to any instructions given while carrying out the tests. Assume you are being assessed all the time, even before and after the tests are actually taking place.
Heres an account of a recent recruitment journey from a newly appointed driver who wishes to remain anonymous: