A career as a train driver

[Dave999]

100% agree with the above, don't take it personally. Pick yourself up and apply for the next one, determination is key to success.

 

[notadriver]

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.

 

[E&W Lucas]

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.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

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.

Not so much overqualified, more not now an unusual or unexpected level of qualification amongst applicants, for a job that doesn't specifically require it.

 

[455driver]

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.

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!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

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.

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.

 

[spider8]

He is not overqualified. As I said earlier, in my class, the few I've spoken to all did a bit of homework before even applying - we put in, as someone said, 'buzz-words' i.e. 'Customer focussed', 'motivated', 'safety conscious' etc. even to the extent where it would be obvious to anyone reading it that a mental list was being ticked off. I've even had a successful applicant with poor English show me 'The List'!

I've even read someone saying a computer checks the forms, don't know if that's true. I do know the manager doing the job interview had never read my CV or Application.

Still, there are bound to be a lot more people putting the work in than there are job vacancies.

 

[notadriver]

Well I feel slightly better. I don't have a degree and am pretty much looked down on by family for not having one but I do have this job

 

[Johncleesefan]

The only possible thing that can make you"over qualified" for a trainee driver job is to already be a qualified driver

 

[ungreat]

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!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


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.

Spot on brother.

 

[Jydo]

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.

 

[YCDBT]

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?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

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.

Well done. I wish you well, if you interpreted arrogance from my post above, it wasn't intended. All the best.

 

[Jydo]

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?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Well done. I wish you well, if you interpreted arrogance from my post above, it wasn't intended. All the best.

I dont think your arrogant, far from it, I just dont understand people who come on here and post saying that they have this qualification or that qualification for a job that realistically only requires an 'average' standard of education. A few of my friends have degrees but work in (really good) jobs were their degree isnt relevant so, to me, I just see that as 4 years wasted at whatever University they went to, unless that degree comes in useful at a later stage in their lives but Im pretty sure it wont........

 

[TDK]

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.

PM me your application and I will look at it and give some feedback on where you went wrong or if you went wrong. I have sifted literally 1000's of applications so may be able to give you an idea on where to improve if you need to!

You also need to remember that sometimes internal applicants who are already railway SC workers certainly have better applications for a trainee drivers job as they do fit most of the criteria required for the role.

As for a degree it means jack on it's own unless it's in engineering.

Your points above summarised:-

I'm 42 - irrelevant
I'm English - Irrelevant
I'm fit - relevant to a degree but not necessarily a game winner
Degree - Irrelevant
30 minutes from depot - extremely relevant - if it's 30m walking time even more so!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

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?

I can understand your disappointment but you need to join the other 499 people as equally gutted per position. I have a friend applying for a job as trainee driver and he said his wife was an expert in CV building and wrote well. I looked at his failed application and all he talked about was himself when in fact the application asked why he wanted a job with TOC A. Nothing mentioned or any questions answered from the applicant regarding what the company was asking. OK, his application was fine but never good enough to get through the sift, he was as equally stunned and surprised as you probably are.

 

[Goingloco]

This has been my experience which is all that I have to offer. I have applied for two trainee roles and have been successful in both initial sifts. I have the DM interview for a TOC in the New Year and the FOC that I applied for is currently considering their position regarding trainees.

First and foremost, both applications took approximately 20 hours each to write, re-write and re-write again. I ask myself what is the TOC asking for and how can I steer my own experience towards their requirements. I scrutinise the job description/specification, all the clues are there. I have a list of key works that I believe are relevant for the role and I will use where appropriate.

What experience do I have have to meet what they are asking for? Choose the best options that your can draw upon, I feel that I need to capture the 'shifters' eye throughout the application.

Personally, and this is only my opinion, there are no shortcuts when presenting your application. An application is improved over time as does your ability to reflect on what is being asked of you.

I really enjoy the process as it is a game of convincing the reviewer that you hold the necessary skills to benefit the company and that you will fully commit to the training process.

Hope it helps if only a little bit.

 

[Johncleesefan]

The big question is though....are both your lives used up now?

 

[Goingloco]

The big question is though....are both your lives used up now?

Apologies is that aimed at me? I applied for the FOC initially and progressed through all stages successfully. I sat the DM interview but thus far none of us know if we've been successful at interview or if there will be an roles offered. Frustrating but at least all the tests have been passed.

I've now applied for a TOC that interviews after the initial sift and before the tests. As I've passed the tests if I am successful at the DM then I will go to the medical. Fingers very crossed and another 20 hours work to prep for the interview next year, can't wait!!

Therefore, I've not used up any of my 'lives' so to speak.

 

[A-driver]

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.

 

[paepo]

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.

 

[A-driver]

MMI is the Multi Modal Interview and is the structured interview consisting of 6 questions that make up part of the Stage 2 assessments.

In that case failing it twice will rule you out unfortunately.

 

[TDK]

I know I have posted this before but for any new forum members who need information please check the forum first before asking questions on subjects that have been covered a hundred times. I seem to be answering the same questions time and time again.

You need to remember folks that being a train driver you need heaps of self initiative, by this I mean you will need to decipher, react and successfully act on any situation on your own. If you lack this quality you will certain struggle through the sift, tests and certainly the interviews.

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.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Could some locked stickies be added put together by people who are in whatever job: eg a (new) "Becoming A Train Driver" sticky could be put together by existing train drivers explaining the process, any tests/assessments etc, terminology/jargon used

 

[spider8]

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.

 

[TDK]

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.

But if you had found what you were looking for and to be quite frank it is possible you are on the way to becoming a train driver. Seriously though, if I wanted the answer to that question I would do a search for Railway Group Standards eyesight requirements on Google and I bet somewhere you will find the answer you are looking for!

There you go - took me 20 seconds http://insynchealth.com/wp-content/...-DRIVER-MEDICAL-GUIDELINES-GORC3561-Iss-3.pdf

 

[spider8]

Show off!

 

[TDK]

Show off!

But I already have the job so don't need to show off

 

[Hesi Hussein]

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.

 

[TDK]

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.

Simple answer is No, you will of course have a very good chance of landing a role as a trainee driver though but you will not be regarded as a qualified driver as you are not qualified on the British rules and regs.

 

[IanXC]

Heres an account of a recent recruitment journey from a newly appointed driver who wishes to remain anonymous:

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 hadn’t 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 hadn’t 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.

 

[paepo]

Heres an account of a recent recruitment journey from a newly appointed driver who wishes to remain anonymous:

Seems quite a detailed description of the process apart from it missing out the Situational Judgement Exercise and also some TOC's do the test for report writing (not sure which ones use it and it's not mandatory but worth mentioning as it may be presented to an applicant on an assessment day) I believe an example of these exercises are in the RSSB pack that TOC/FOCs issue applicants before assessments so if you practice the material they send you then you shouldn't have any surprises and although not identical to the assessments you sit they're not far off of it.

 

[Headleylemar]

Hello everyone , this is my first post on here so hope it makes sense . I have applied to be a train driver with thameslink , I have had the assesment day and the line manager interview and have now got the multi model interview and was wondering if anyone could give me any information about what to expect . Many thanks

 

[Dave999]

The 6 questions you gave examples to on the assessment day will be asked about in much more detail. Use the STAR method to talk about your answer and try to relate your answers to that of a train drivers role. Good luck I passed the MMI with GTR in December and found it challenging but not as hard as I had imagined.