Cv

[Steam Man]

Do train companies pay much attention to a cv because I do feel at a bit of a disadvantage with it,I’ve been going to college and evening school for a number of years to build it up, and I’ve also been working on a steam railway as well.

 

[GG96LFC]

Depends which company you apply to. When it comes to driver jobs, I’ve applied to some companies that don’t even take CV’s, everything is on the online application form. But you’ll find with most companies, you’ll submit a CV along with the application form. I’ve had most success by making my CV as an overview of my career, talk about qualifications, achievements, and summaries of job duties. I tend to save the bulk of the details for the application form. I find with the companies I apply to, for driver jobs, in the application form they ask questions similar to interview questions, stuff like ‘name a time you’ve given great customer service’, or ‘name a time you dealt with a difficult customer.’ So try to save as much detail as possible for these questions, and relate it to the work experience that you mention in your CV. Don’t worry too much about trying to build up your CV as such, if possible try and insert some of those railway keywords into parts of tour CV, such as ‘safety, customer service, difficult tasks, high concentration’ etc.

 

[Trainguy90]

They pretty much ask for everything that’s on the CV in an application form, but I think they probably have a proper look at them at the interview stage, a few ask for cover letters too
Either way they will ask for the same information

 

[ChrisRS]

When it comes down to the sift of course they pay attention. Any customer service experience make sure to highlight it in your CV.

 

[43066]

Do train companies pay much attention to a cv because I do feel at a bit of a disadvantage with it,I’ve been going to college and evening school for a number of years to build it up, and I’ve also been working on a steam railway as well.

As others have said, depending on company and role, you will most likely need to fill in an online application form and may or may not also require a traditional CV.

Be a little bit careful about how you talk about your preserved railway experience.

Depending on what you’ve done it’s likely good safety critical experience, and worth including. However, rightly or wrongly, there is sometimes a bias against enthusiasts on the mainline on the basis they might think they “know it all” and present a trainability risk.

Not suggesting that’s the case with you - but just something to be aware of.

 

[Red1980]

Best way to be sure is to cover all angles and make sure everything including your CV is tip top. It's hard enough as it is without worrying about them paying more attention to one part of an application than another.

Best advice I can give is don't give them a decision to make....try and make it impossible for them to say no.

Lots of people have small CV's. The key is making what's in there as relative as possible. Doesn't matter if you've just flipped burgers at maccies for the past 15 years....if you can demonstrate how you've worked to rules and regulations, shown excellent customer service etc etc etc you've as much chance as anybody.

 

[Stigy]

If they ask for a CV and just your personal details, then naturally they will pay a lot of attention to it, is this is basically what they’re using to sift applications. If there’s a competency based application form too, this should be used to sell yourself equally as much, if not more so than your CV.

It’s often easier to create a CV with limited experiences, as these typically should be no more than a couple of sheets of A4. I have read CVs of several pages and to be honest, after page two it gets boring. That’s just the way it is unfortunately. Spend time in making sure your CV looks the part too, and that all the fonts and grammar etc are spot on. Also, if you submit a CV you’ll likely have to submit a cover letter. This should also be used to sell yourself and include those all important buzz words such as ‘safety’, ‘concentration’ etc. Also put a lot of emphasis on non-technical skills or drop the term in there if you can, as the railway, specifically for driving grades, love non-technical skills!

Good luck with it.

 

[Steam Man]

As others have said, depending on company and role, you will most likely need to fill in an online application form and may or may not also require a traditional CV.

Be a little bit careful about how you talk about your preserved railway experience.

Depending on what you’ve done it’s likely good safety critical experience, and worth including. However, rightly or wrongly, there is sometimes a bias against enthusiasts on the mainline on the basis they might think they “know it all” and present a trainability risk.

Not suggesting that’s the case with you - but just something to be aware of.

is it just rail enthusiasts they’re against or transport enthusiasts in general

 

[Red1980]

is it just rail enthusiasts they’re against or transport enthusiasts in general

They're not against anything per say.....they just want to be sure the person they employ to do things such as despatch trains are doing just that and not taking pictures/concentrating on the steam train on the opposite platform.

And to be honest who would blame them for having these concerns.....The lengths a minority of "spotters" have gone to in recent times for nothing more than a photo hasn't helped matters either.