Talent Pools

PoppyPoodle · 2 Oct 2019

Hi

I have been in a talent pool for a Customer Host position based at Penzance depot since the end of April. Despite various approaches I have not been able to get any information on if/when an opening may become available. I appreciate that being in a talent pool is not a guarantee of a job - but I am beginning to lose all hope that the effort of getting accepted has been wasted and I've been pinning my hopes on something that isn't going to happen. I really wanted to know what is the longest time that someone waited in a talent pool before they were offered a post or were told that the pool was closed and no job was forthcoming?

Thanks
Amy

RailUK Forums

ComUtoR · 2 Oct 2019

2+ yrs isn't unheard of. That is for Driver but Talent pools are the bane of recruitment and they are spreading.

PoppyPoodle · 2 Oct 2019

ComUtoR said:
2+ yrs isn't unheard of. That is for Driver but Talent pools are the bane of recruitment and they are spreading.

Wow - that would be quite some wait... kind of makes any sort of planning rather difficult?

ComUtoR · 2 Oct 2019

They aren't there for the candidates. They are there for the employee to have better availability should a vacancy come up. They can get all of the pre-requisites done and save time and money on another recruitment campaign. They are also a very good way to say 'don't call us, we'll call you'. I really don't like them.

Get on with life, check in once a month.

Lmc1976 · 3 Oct 2019

ComUtoR said:
They aren't there for the candidates. They are there for the employee to have better availability should a vacancy come up. They can get all of the pre-requisites done and save time and money on another recruitment campaign. They are also a very good way to say 'don't call us, we'll call you'. I really don't like them.

Get on with life, check in once a month.

I’ve been sat in a conductor talent pool for 3 months. During the early stages of being sat in that pool I turned down an interview for Service Delivery Assistant And also stage 1 assessments for driver purely because I believed that trying to secure a different job with the same TOC at the same depot really would not look like I was that interested in the job I had been successful for.

In hindsight I’m thinking this may have been a mistake, as it stands I may have passed all the assessments/interviews but I have no cast iron guarantee of a job.

Would be interested in your thoughts?

ComUtoR · 3 Oct 2019

Call them.

There are a few people that believe that getting a foot in the door is a good option. You might not get Conductor but your employed by the TOC and can go the internal route. Driver is a strange option as there are many who aspire to be a Driver and many who don't. It is also a stressful process to go through. Doing the assessments costs you nothing and if you pass then great, if not, then stay in the pool.

I would call them and ask if the opportunities are still available and that you would like to be considered for them in the future. The talent pool is there to provide the TOC with potential employees so why not take advantage where possible.

Talent pools stress people out because they think they are guaranteed a job and the TOCs don't help because that's how they sell it. Be prepared to wait but if an opportunity arises then go for it, as long as it's financially beneficial of course

Red1980 · 3 Oct 2019

The best approach for sitting in a talent pool is to just hope for the best but prepare for the worst unfortunately. There are no guarantees with it and as someone said earlier it's to benefit the TOC not the candidate.

Me personally, I'd rather (and I did) the foot in the door approach and work my way towards the role in another grade first. That way you're gaining experience and knowledge and you're not sat there surrounded with uncertainty waiting for a phone call that may not arrive.

Yes on the other hand in a talent pool at least you're sat there with test passes etc but what's the point in having those if they can't be used etc? Granted that's horses for courses as some people use those passes proactively elsewhere whilst waiting but I suppose it depends on the level of your drive and it even depends on whether other TOCs make you retake them anyway.

How it feels in a talent pool I suppose depends on your desperation for the job....if I was that desperate to start I wanted it ASAP I wouldn't go near an advertisement for people to sit in Talent pools personally A- because I'd be checking my email every 2 minutes hoping for something to happen quickly and B- there's a high chance I'd get my hopes up for nothing.

Starting in other grades first gets a bad rap on here especially from candidates that desperate to go straight to driver for example.....but I tell you what....you can't buy experience and like I said earlier being in a grade which you see as a stepping stone isn't half as bad as being in a talent pool with all the uncertainty. At least whilst working in the industry already you'll get a feel you're working towards something.

My advice to you Amy is to plod on with every day life (tricky I know in this situation) and put this to the back of your mind for now....to answer your question and I'm sorry if this isn't what you want to hear but I've known people wait 2+ years before they get the job and I've known people that never hear.

The alternative is in the mean time look at other vacancies either with that company or with other TOCs. The best way to deal with Railway recruitment is to be as flexible as possible....if you have to drive 20 miles extra to get in the grade/industry do it.....if you have to relocate do it worry about the logistics and the long term later. Not as simple as that obviously but that flexibility sometimes is the only way to speed up recruitment to the railway.

I wish you the best of luck.

Red.

PoppyPoodle · 3 Oct 2019

ComUtoR said:
Call them.

There are a few people that believe that getting a foot in the door is a good option. You might not get Conductor but your employed by the TOC and can go the internal route. Driver is a strange option as there are many who aspire to be a Driver and many who don't. It is also a stressful process to go through. Doing the assessments costs you nothing and if you pass then great, if not, then stay in the pool.

I would call them and ask if the opportunities are still available and that you would like to be considered for them in the future. The talent pool is there to provide the TOC with potential employees so why not take advantage where possible.

Talent pools stress people out because they think they are guaranteed a job and the TOCs don't help because that's how they sell it. Be prepared to wait but if an opportunity arises then go for it, as long as it's financially beneficial of course

I've tried contacting HR several times and get the same stock response 'you are still in the pool we'll contact you etc..' I've shied away from trying to contact the depot directly as I didn't want to come across as pushy and/or desperate... but maybe this will be worth a try at this stage.

PoppyPoodle · 3 Oct 2019

Red1980 said:
The best approach for sitting in a talent pool is to just hope for the best but prepare for the worst unfortunately. There are no guarantees with it and as someone said earlier it's to benefit the TOC not the candidate.

Me personally, I'd rather (and I did) the foot in the door approach and work my way towards the role in another grade first. That way you're gaining experience and knowledge and you're not sat there surrounded with uncertainty waiting for a phone call that may not arrive.

Yes on the other hand in a talent pool at least you're sat there with test passes etc but what's the point in having those if they can't be used etc? Granted that's horses for courses as some people use those passes proactively elsewhere whilst waiting but I suppose it depends on the level of your drive and it even depends on whether other TOCs make you retake them anyway.

How it feels in a talent pool I suppose depends on your desperation for the job....if I was that desperate to start I wanted it ASAP I wouldn't go near an advertisement for people to sit in Talent pools personally A- because I'd be checking my email every 2 minutes hoping for something to happen quickly and B- there's a high chance I'd get my hopes up for nothing.

Starting in other grades first gets a bad rap on here especially from candidates that desperate to go straight to driver for example.....but I tell you what....you can't buy experience and like I said earlier being in a grade which you see as a stepping stone isn't half as bad as being in a talent pool with all the uncertainty. At least whilst working in the industry already you'll get a feel you're working towards something.

My advice to you Amy is to plod on with every day life (tricky I know in this situation) and put this to the back of your mind for now....to answer your question and I'm sorry if this isn't what you want to hear but I've known people wait 2+ years before they get the job and I've known people that never hear.

The alternative is in the mean time look at other vacancies either with that company or with other TOCs. The best way to deal with Railway recruitment is to be as flexible as possible....if you have to drive 20 miles extra to get in the grade/industry do it.....if you have to relocate do it worry about the logistics and the long term later. Not as simple as that obviously but that flexibility sometimes is the only way to speed up recruitment to the railway.

I wish you the best of luck.

Red.

Thanks Red... sounds like good advice. I've missed some local opportunities that I'm now kicking myself for not following up because I thought I might compromise my position with the original role (but apparently not) - so I will carry on doing what I'm doing whilst waiting (for a call) and keeping an eye out for other foot in the door opportunities.

Red1980 · 4 Oct 2019

PoppyPoodle said:
Thanks Red... sounds like good advice. I've missed some local opportunities that I'm now kicking myself for not following up because I thought I might compromise my position with the original role (but apparently not) - so I will carry on doing what I'm doing whilst waiting (for a call) and keeping an eye out for other foot in the door opportunities.

Don't beat yourself up too much mate! I can't really remember a time when the Railway has been so active in terms of recruitment so something will pop up soon I'm sure, especially if you can be flexible as I say.

No there's definitely no harm in looking at other positions elsewhere. I certainly wouldn't put in multiple applications for multiple roles with one TOC but there's certainly no harm in looking to multiple TOCs.

You'll get there! Keep going!

Nicbetyy · 4 Oct 2019

I’m in the same position and understand your frustration .
I’ve just chased via email for an update and has the standard response .
I’m just about to sign a temporary contract until December . This will be extended until March and I have a feeling I’ll still be in a talent pool come March

PoppyPoodle · 5 Oct 2019

Nicbetyy said:
I’m in the same position and understand your frustration .
I’ve just chased via email for an update and has the standard response .
I’m just about to sign a temporary contract until December . This will be extended until March and I have a feeling I’ll still be in a talent pool come March

Same here - I'm now into a temporary contract to the middle of January.. but at least it's in a customer service role and out of sales (sp!t)!

Talent Pools

PoppyPoodle

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ComUtoR

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PoppyPoodle

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ComUtoR

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Lmc1976

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ComUtoR

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Red1980

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PoppyPoodle

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Nicbetyy

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