Would be interested to hear LOM's opinion on this (having a candidate who's applied for multiple vacancies across the country).
I have a couple of applications in at locations away from home where I would be willing to relocate to start my new career. I also include a cover letter for each application outlining my plan.
In my own opinion it shows a commitment and desire to become a signaller.
It does show commitment to the role but as I think I have said here before it can seem a little bit desperate if someone applies from the other end of the country and they have multiple applications in the system at once. If you apply for every vacancy in your local area the LOM will soon get to know your name. I have a mental list of decent repeat candidates who I would like to employ at some point and who will probably end up as signallers eventually.
NR policy is not to give feedback on an application before the interview stage but HR will pass on a request for feedback to the LOM if you pester them so if you keep failing to be shortlisted it might be worth asking them. Though the LOM is not required to reply I think most would if they had time. I have done it a couple of times.
Again as I have said on this thread before make sure it is crystal clear in your CV and/or letter that you are willing to relocate if you need to. The CV is the single most important thing in the application so make sure it clearly demonstrates how you think you meet the essential criteria for the job, as shown on the advert
On the other side of the coin in my experience there are several names who keep popping up who will never be suitable and are, frankly, just wasting their time and mine. Unfortunately we are definitely not allowed to say that. There is a person who has applied for over 200 vacancies all over the country in the last 5 years. They did actually manage to land a signaller job a couple of years ago but failed the course (spectacularly by all accounts), were dismissed and are still applying for virtually every job going. I expect almost every LOM will know exactly the name I am talking about.