A career as a signaller

[GMac1502]

Glad it seemed to go well GMac, fingers crossed for you.

Thanks Kraken, don't think i could have answered any better to be honest, i didn't have that 'i wish i'd said this' feeling afterwards. The LOM seemed happy enough with my answers, waiting game now.

 

[Midlands_lad]

Hey.

Anyone have an idea as to how many Sundays they work in the rota at WMSC? Is it a 5 week or more rota? Does it average out 1 or 2 Sundays per pay day for e.g?

17 week shift pattern working 8 hours Mon-Fri and 12 hours on Sundays. Roughly work 2 Sundays out of 4.

 

[Kraken]

Thanks Kraken, don't think i could have answered any better to be honest, i didn't have that 'i wish i'd said this' feeling afterwards. The LOM seemed happy enough with my answers, waiting game now.

That’s all that you can ask for really isn’t it? Nice one.

 

[Amy1090]

Knottingley box closed some time ago. I suspect you're at Ferrybridge or somewhere nearby, like Cutsyke or Prince of Wales

Oh right okay, I wonder why Knottingley is on my offer letter! Thank you for the info!

 

[Major1494]

Knottingley box closed some time ago. I suspect you're at Ferrybridge or somewhere nearby, like Cutsyke or Prince of Wales

Thanks for the info, interesting to know!

 

[Gama20]

Hi guys, new poster
Just wanted to know any hints at the interview process and what kind of questions they ask?
external applier who doesnt have much knowledge About signalling

 

[Kraken]

Hi guys, new poster
Just wanted to know any hints at the interview process and what kind of questions they ask?
external applier who doesnt have much knowledge About signalling

Honestly have a read through all of this thread, it’s a long voyage but there’s so much gold in here already that will answer most questions. Best of luck!

 

[Gama20]

Honestly have a read through all of this thread, it’s a long voyage but there’s so much gold in here already that will answer most questions. Best of luck!

Thank you so much

 

[Kraken]

Thank you so much

But I think in general if you have decent examples set up for the 8 non technical skills and have an understanding of the safety vision and lifesaving rules that’s what will see you through. Not that I’m an expert as I’ve only had one interview the result of which I don’t know yet but that’s the distillation of most of the advice.

 

[Gama20]

But I think in general if you have decent examples set up for the 8 non technical skills and have an understanding of the safety vision and lifesaving rules that’s what will see you through. Not that I’m an expert as I’ve only had one interview the result of which I don’t know yet but that’s the distillation of most of the advice.

where do i find that information lol

 

[LOM]

Hi guys, new poster
Just wanted to know any hints at the interview process and what kind of questions they ask?
external applier who doesnt have much knowledge About signalling

As an external applicant you do not need *any* prior knowledge about signalling at all.

 

[Cerebral]

17 week shift pattern working 8 hours Mon-Fri and 12 hours on Sundays. Roughly work 2 Sundays out of 4.

Thank you for this. Much appreciated @Midlands_lad

 

[A14Ash]

Hi everyone.
Quick question wage related for a Grade 3 signaller position for 8hr shifts (Mornings and backs)
Box Shifts times-
Monday to Saturday 05:15 - 14:30 and 14:30 - 00:00.
Sunday - 08:00 - 1400 and 14:00 - 00:00.

I was told previously that the shift pattern would be a long weekend off Friday - Tuesday in weeks 1 / 2 and a Wednesday and Thursday off in week 3 then repeat.

Anyone have any idea if extra allowances would be on top of the basic pay. If so, what would it work out as.

Thanks in advance

 

[headshot119]

Hi everyone.
Quick question wage related for a Grade 3 signaller position for 8hr shifts (Mornings and backs)
Box Shifts times-
Monday to Saturday 05:15 - 14:30 and 14:30 - 00:00.
Sunday - 08:00 - 1400 and 14:00 - 00:00.

I was told previously that the shift pattern would be a long weekend off Friday - Tuesday in weeks 1 / 2 and a Wednesday and Thursday off in week 3 then repeat.

Anyone have any idea if extra allowances would be on top of the basic pay. If so, what would it work out as.

Thanks in advance

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Late	Late	Late	Rest Day	Rest Day	Early	Early
Early	Early	Early	Late	Late	Rest Day	Rest Day
Off	Rest Day	Rest Day	Early	Early	Late	Late

Is the pattern we previously discussed. You'll note that this doesn't add up to 35 hours a week, it's more, but there are extra rest days incorporated over a 27 week cycle to average it out, but the basic pattern remains as above.

You'd get paid the Sundays on top of your basic, and a small amount of night allowance. Because the pay cycle is four weeklys and the roster is in 3 week cycles the monthly pay goes up and down a bit based on how many Sundays fall in that cycle.

How did your interview go?

 

[MostlyHarmless]

where do i find that information lol

If you do a search for NTS on this thread they are mentioned quite a number of times. They are key to the interview process so worth spending time on

 

[bouff34]

where do i find that information lol

Read the whole of this thread.... copy and paste useful bits onto a word document if you think you might need/want to refer to them again. If something hasn't already been answered...pose the question on here! If it's already been answered several times you might be told again to read the thread!!!

 

[A14Ash]

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Late	Late	Late	Rest Day	Rest Day	Early	Early
Early	Early	Early	Late	Late	Rest Day	Rest Day
Off	Rest Day	Rest Day	Early	Early	Late	Late

Is the pattern we previously discussed. You'll note that this doesn't add up to 35 hours a week, it's more, but there are extra rest days incorporated over a 27 week cycle to average it out, but the basic pattern remains as above.

You'd get paid the Sundays on top of your basic, and a small amount of night allowance. Because the pay cycle is four weeklys and the roster is in 3 week cycles the monthly pay goes up and down a bit based on how many Sundays fall in that cycle.

How did your interview go?

Yeah it is headshot 119. I find out next week if I'm successful or not, so fingers crossed. Thanks for the help again, ive tried working it out and was struggling to come up with a ballpark figure for the wage. Ultimately if I was successful I'd be deciding whether or not to leave a higher salary job but was hoping the drop wasn't too much.

Thanks again

 

[TRain87]

I can't help but think, all people new to signalling/network rail...just want things handed to them! Such a difficult role to get in to, then once you are in you're still competing with other staff members to get the better roles! You need to learn to apply yourself and work for the role you want!

I understand everyone is new at some point, but when I joined I read the whole of this thread, and then found people specific on location i wanted to work and arranged visits, and found out LOM etc and started networking to get myself ahead of the rest...this is just my opinion, but since i joined I can already see a different realm of signallers/moms coming through!

 

[LOM]

It is not unreasonable that people researching a new career online would find this thread and start to ask all their questions on it. This is a discussion forum after all! But this thread is very long, nearly 350 pages now, and takes a significant time to read through, or careful use of the search facility to dig out the information they are looking for. I can see why people just prefer to ask rather than put aside that time to start reading from page 1. That said it is a bit frustrating to see the same questions over and over again. I think a new comprehensive sticky thread that was mentioned a few pages ago would be a good solution to that.

The fact that candidates end up on this forum at all gives them an advantage over the majority of people I interview who seem to do very little research into the job beforehand.

I was doing interviews last week and every candidate at the end asked me if I could tell them what the shift pattern is - when the opening question we had asked them was “Tell us what you know about the location you have applied for and what the signaller role involves”. Only one of the candidates answered that in any detail.

 

[TRain87]

It is not unreasonable that people researching a new career online would find this thread and start to ask all their questions on it. This is a discussion forum after all! But this thread is very long, nearly 350 pages now, and takes a significant time to read through, or careful use of the search facility to dig out the information they are looking for. I can see why people just prefer to ask rather than put aside that time to start reading from page 1. That said it is a bit frustrating to see the same questions over and over again. I think a new comprehensive sticky thread that was mentioned a few pages ago would be a good solution to that.

The fact that candidates end up on this forum at all gives them an advantage over the majority of people I interview who seem to do very little research into the job beforehand.

I was doing interviews last week and every candidate at the end asked me if I could tell them what the shift pattern is - when the opening question we had asked them was “Tell us what you know about the location you have applied for and what the signaller role involves”. Only one of the candidates answered that in any detail.

I understand that, and I have also interviewed signallers...external and internal, and agree it’s frustrating when you ask the opening questions and get a blank look as their response

but coming into a forum of professional signallers and looking for advice is a lot different to coming into the forum and saying ‘what questions will I get asked in an interview’

 

[LOM]

I understand that, and I have also interviewed signallers...external and internal, and agree it’s frustrating when you ask the opening questions and get a blank look as their response

but coming into a forum of professional signallers and looking for advice is a lot different to coming into the forum and saying ‘what questions will I get asked in an interview’

Absolutely agree 100%. I am more than happy to give advice and answer questions about the job and the recruitment process, that is why I post on here. But as you say no one is here to spoon feed the answers.

** Free basic advice for applicants below - **

If you sit down and think for a few minutes about what personal qualities you might need to be a signaller - even if you know nothing about the job other than you are there to make sure the trains get safely from A to B - then you should be able to come up with most of the non technical skills all by yourself. It does not take a huge mental effort to then translate that list into some possible qestions.

For example you might decide based on what you know that a signaller needs to be able to stay calm, solve problems, prioritise different tasks, make decisions quickly.... A few minutes thought about each of those and you will have lots of examples of the sorts of questions you are likely to be asked! If you spend a while thinking about times you have done these things well previously, then there are your answers!

People who are incapable of doing this simple level of logical thinking are going to struggle at interview, during the training and on the job.

 

[Roadster 7]

I had my interview Wednesday this week and I've just had an email saying I wasn't successful.
It says' I met the required benchmark but another candidate scored higher than me and they want to keep my application on hold incase the offered position doesn't commence'.
Does this mean I am a kind of reserve for the position or is that a polite way of saying thanks but no thanks?
For feedback for the interview is it best to go through HR or Email the LOM direct?
I am gutted but I have three more applications in so hopefully I will get there in the end!

 

[amanda08]

Af

I had my interview Wednesday this week and I've just had an email saying I wasn't successful.
It says' I met the required benchmark but another candidate scored higher than me and they want to keep my application on hold incase the offered position doesn't commence'.
Does this mean I am a kind of reserve for the position or is that a polite way of saying thanks but no thanks?
For feedback for the interview is it best to go through HR or Email the LOM direct?
I am gutted but I have three more applications in so hopefully I will get there in the end!

After my interview in May, I received the same email. Two weeks later I was offered the position and start training in two weeks
I also had considered if it was a nice brush off lol. So I would say, don't give up yet!
Fingers crossed for you!

 

[Roadster 7]

Af


After my interview in May, I received the same email. Two weeks later I was offered the position and start training in two weeks
I also had considered if it was a nice brush off lol. So I would say, don't give up yet!
Fingers crossed for you!

Thank you
Hopefully then I have a very slim chance!
I need to get feedback and dust myself down and keep plugging away!
Good luck for your training and future career.

 

[GMac1502]

I had my interview Wednesday this week and I've just had an email saying I wasn't successful.
It says' I met the required benchmark but another candidate scored higher than me and they want to keep my application on hold incase the offered position doesn't commence'.
Does this mean I am a kind of reserve for the position or is that a polite way of saying thanks but no thanks?
For feedback for the interview is it best to go through HR or Email the LOM direct?
I am gutted but I have three more applications in so hopefully I will get there in the end!

That was a quick response if your interview was only wednesday, i had mine yesterday and they said it will be end of next week or into the week after beforrme i find out.

 

[LOM]

That was a quick response if your interview was only wednesday, i had mine yesterday and they said it will be end of next week or into the week after beforrme i find out.

It depends how quick the answers are scored, the paperwork is scanned and sent to Manchester and the recruitment team go through their processes for updating candidates. Can take anything between 48hrs and a week for that (longer if there is a weekend in the middle). Obviously the hiring manager first has to wait until all the interviews are done before they can make the decision.

 

[GMac1502]

It depends how quick the answers are scored, the paperwork is scanned and sent to Manchester and the recruitment team go through their processes for updating candidates. Can take anything between 48hrs and a week for that (longer if there is a weekend in the middle). Obviously the hiring manager first has to wait until all the interviews are done before they can make the decision.

Nice one thanks for the response LOM

 

[Roadster 7]

That was a quick response if your interview was only wednesday, i had mine yesterday and they said it will be end of next week or into the week after beforrme i find out.

Yes it was very quick!
The LOM who interviewed me did say he had 2 weeks holiday so I guess he wanted it all scored and sent to HR before he went, I was still expecting it to be at least next week before I heard anything though.

 

[Chumba]

When I was unsuccesful I had email notifications, between 2-5 days post interview. When I was successful the LOM rang me the following day to offer me the job, Nice personal touch. (HR confirmation arrived about 3 days later) All pre COVID-19 I hasten to add.

 

[LOM]

I always phone the successful candidate. I have tried phoning all the (interviewed) candidates in the past but had mixed experiences with that so I just leave it now.