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C J Snarzell

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Questiontime

It won't have anything to do with Wednesday's events in the news.

I've had a handful of Northern applications fail at the paper sift & then marked as 'end of process'.

Sadly, its the nature of the beast in getting on in the railway world - the volume of applications is huge and its dog eat dog.

Can I ask which role you applied for?

CJ
 

Victornc

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I’ve applied heard nothing back yet Altho I did put in my application a day before it closed so maybe one of the last to here weather successful with application or not. is this the one that closed on 24th? Sorry to here you weren't successful but don’t let it put u off applying again. Doubt it has put to do with the franchise as still need staff.
 

Questiontime

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I’ve applied heard nothing back yet Altho I did put in my application a day before it closed so maybe one of the last to here weather successful with application or not. is this the one that closed on 24th? Sorry to here you weren't successful but don’t let it put u off applying again. Doubt it has put to do with the franchise as still need staff.

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Victornc

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It was the York role that closed today.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you and I will apply again myself in the future.
Appreciate it. Can’t lie it seems impossible to get the job with so many applications but guess you have to be in it to get it. Altho it seems like a huge wait especially people put into talent pools if completed all the assessments. So not expecting anything quick at all.
 

Questiontime

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Appreciate it. Can’t lie it seems impossible to get the job with so many applications but guess you have to be in it to get it. Altho it seems like a huge wait especially people put into talent pools if completed all the assessments. So not expecting anything quick at all.


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Victornc

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Ye I get that impression from this forum.

What line of work are you in currently? I thought mine may have put me in good stead.

Which area did you apply for?
I applied for Darlington, closing date was last week basically but did say they would try to get back to me in 2-4 weeks

Well my current job seems like it wouldn’t have anything in common with train driving... complex care worker. Looking after kids and adults that can’t breath on their own or eat via their mouth. However I have matched my covering letter to what they asking for. Working long hours and unsociable, working within strict guidelines and regulations, pressurised situations and safety conscious. So hoping that does the trick and shows that I might be a good candidate, but we shall see
 

Questiontime

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I applied for Darlington, closing date was last week basically but did say they would try to get back to me in 2-4 weeks

Well my current job seems like it wouldn’t have anything in common with train driving... complex care worker. Looking after kids and adults that can’t breath on their own or eat via their mouth. However I have matched my covering letter to what they asking for. Working long hours and unsociable, working within strict guidelines and regulations, pressurised situations and safety conscious. So hoping that does the trick and shows that I might be a good candidate, but we shall see

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Aristo

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I applied for Darlington too, got an email today saying they will hopefully be back in two weeks. Does anyone know how many theya re looking to take on at Darlington or will it just be the one?
 

Aristo

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Also, Questiontime. Was it a drivers position you applied for at York. I've just checked the website and its still open.
 

Victornc

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I’m a Police Officer, I focused on those points you mentioned too, maybe it’s just not my day.

Hope you continue through the application and give me some pointers in the future though.
Will certainly keep you up to date if I’m luckily enough. And what it all entails or how far I manage to get. It’s my first attempt and trying to learn as much as possible.
 

Victornc

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I applied for Darlington too, got an email today saying they will hopefully be back in two weeks. Does anyone know how many theya re looking to take on at Darlington or will it just be the one?
I’m not sure hopefully 50 positions haha. Hopfully more than 1 I’m hoping like 5 at minimum but I wouldn’t have a clue.
 

Aristo

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Cheers mate, appreciate it! :)
Just looking on the website it says it closes 31st Jan so maybe theres still a chance? All the best anyway! :)
 

L401CJF

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As mentioned elsewhere, apparently some companies have computers scan applications for certain words and phrases that they want to see relevant to the role before they get seen by human eyes, not sure if Northern is one of them and if its a driver career make sure you talk about experience in fault finding, maintaining concentration, communication, dealing with difficult situations and so on to be in with the best chance of making the paper sift.
 

Questiontime

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As mentioned elsewhere, apparently some companies have computers scan applications for certain words and phrases that they want to see relevant to the role before they get seen by human eyes, not sure if Northern is one of them and if its a driver career make sure you talk about experience in fault finding, maintaining concentration, communication, dealing with difficult situations and so on to be in with the best chance of making the paper sift.

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User995

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I had my Northern ones rejected too but was successful with EMR to the next stage.

I'll make sure my subsequent applications adhere to that guidance (ta L401CJF)
 

C J Snarzell

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I am a ex-bobbie.

I've had quite a few applications rejected at the paper sift. What I will say to anyone in the force wanting to get into the railways is this - being in the police is not a golden ticket to that dream job of being a train driver or conductor. I had the naivety and arrogance myself when I first left the police to believe I could walk into any job I fancied.

The truth is the opposite - being in the police gives you good social skills, excellent decision making and plenty of life experience but sadly what it doesn't do is give you qualifications or a decent business sense if you are working for a private company and not a public sector organisation. As its been said countless times on here - the TOC recruitment field has a massive audience. People apply in their hundreds to be a train driver and it has now affected other TOC roles - a Customer Service Assistant vacancy will get a long queue of takers. Do not be under any illusions that these jobs are in high demand and sadly many many people out there are going to be disappointed when one trainee driver vacancy attracts 100 applicants.

I revamped my CV and Cover Letter after taking advice and researching the subject of job applications. Miracles do not happen over night and I'm sure you will suffer further set backs before you get anywhere.

What I also discovered is that Northern's decision making when rejecting applications is a little bizarre at times and I've never understood their logic. You may find that other TOCs may be a bit more accommodating towards you when you apply.

Please take on board what I have said - Perserverence is the key and after months of frustration I finally got the opportunity I want.

Good luck and all the best.

CJ
 

CloudDriver

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Doncaster hi
The Police is almost as difficult to get into and probably has the same amount if not more applications!... Similar competency based application process, should give a good advantage.
 

Victornc

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Messages
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Location
Darlington
I am a ex-bobbie.

I've had quite a few applications rejected at the paper sift. What I will say to anyone in the force wanting to get into the railways is this - being in the police is not a golden ticket to that dream job of being a train driver or conductor. I had the naivety and arrogance myself when I first left the police to believe I could walk into any job I fancied.

The truth is the opposite - being in the police gives you good social skills, excellent decision making and plenty of life experience but sadly what it doesn't do is give you qualifications or a decent business sense if you are working for a private company and not a public sector organisation. As its been said countless times on here - the TOC recruitment field has a massive audience. People apply in their hundreds to be a train driver and it has now affected other TOC roles - a Customer Service Assistant vacancy will get a long queue of takers. Do not be under any illusions that these jobs are in high demand and sadly many many people out there are going to be disappointed when one trainee driver vacancy attracts 100 applicants.

I revamped my CV and Cover Letter after taking advice and researching the subject of job applications. Miracles do not happen over night and I'm sure you will suffer further set backs before you get anywhere.

What I also discovered is that Northern's decision making when rejecting applications is a little bizarre at times and I've never understood their logic. You may find that other TOCs may be a bit more accommodating towards you when you apply.

Please take on board what I have said - Perserverence is the key and after months of frustration I finally got the opportunity I want.

Good luck and all the best.

CJ
So have you managed to get a trainee possition somewhere? If so congrats! Appears super hard to even get any possition on the railway
 

C J Snarzell

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Messages
1,506
Victoria

Thanks for that.

I'm currently working in control on a FTC role. I have applied for conductor roles with Northern but I've been sadly knocked back twice. I'm not interested in train driving because I'm not overly confident with the whole idea of being responsible for several carriages full of people and commanding a powerful beast.

The current job only lasts until May so I'm hoping the experience will act as a stepping stone for other jobs later down the line (no pun intended!)

CJ
 

Taylor-j01

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9 Dec 2019
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Hexham
Does anyone know each time you apply for a northern driver role and you attach the cv and cover note that it is just those attached?

reason i ask i have applied for 2 driver roles within 6 weeks of each other and on the db portal homepage it lists 4 attachments 1 cv and 1 cover note for each job. Say i applied for london and glasgow locations it wont attach all of them to each application? If that makes sense. Whats with the attachments listed on the homepage i have the option to delete them but dont want it to damage the 2 applications which are in progress
 

Aristo

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22 Nov 2019
Messages
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Location
Newcastle
Does anyone know each time you apply for a northern driver role and you attach the cv and cover note that it is just those attached?

reason i ask i have applied for 2 driver roles within 6 weeks of each other and on the db portal homepage it lists 4 attachments 1 cv and 1 cover note for each job. Say i applied for london and glasgow locations it wont attach all of them to each application? If that makes sense. Whats with the attachments listed on the homepage i have the option to delete them but dont want it to damage the 2 applications which are in progress

I'm a bit curious about this too. I applied for a couple of vacancies too. Problem was I decided to reupload my cover letter after finding a typo after the vaccancy closed so I had to do it via the homepage. I jsut named each cover letter I uploaded depending on the postion and TOC. I do worry that they either wont be able to see it at all or will see all of them which isnt great!
 

C J Snarzell

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Messages
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For some reason on the Deutsche Bahn site it creates an archive of everything you've downloaded and added to your previous applications.

I always ensure a new updated CV is added each time along with a tailor made cover note for the role you are applying for. As far as I am aware the recruitment team do not have access to any of the archived stuff on your profile ONLY what is submitted at the time of the current application.

With regard to the old CV and cover letter stuff - it's always worth keeping hold of in case previous submissions make it past the paper sift and you get invited to a interview. If you get the dreaded 'end of process' on a previous application, I would just delete the CV and cover letter as it doesn't serve any useful purpose on there.

CJ
 

Aristo

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22 Nov 2019
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Newcastle
Thats disappointing to hear, Sounds like I've totally shot myself in the foot and removed my original cover letter? I wish the website was more clear as they way it looks is that you could update an upload your CV and cover letter whenever you like. Even when the application is closed.
 

Busyboy89

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14 Nov 2018
Messages
132
Hey guys did anybody apply for the Sheffield driver position that closed this month?

I found the DB website quiet hard to negotiate and must of checked everything 100 times and still wasn’t sure what was attached when I sent my application off lol
 
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