Dilemma Re Trainee Driver Application

[Bossa]

Hallo All,

As some might know, GTR have a trainee driver position up at Three Bridges. Unfortunately in the initial stages of application, i mistakenly ticked no for the age eligibility and late shift availability questions ad:. Obviously i would like to rectify this error and get a reversal of application but for two questions.

1. At this early stage of application, if i got in touch with the right person, would they accept an honest mistake and refresh my application?

2. There's also the small issue of having an interview this week for a role within a company under the GTR umbrella. So i wonder if they could get wind of this mistake and charge it as an incompetency on my part thus creating a preconception before my interview.

May be am overthinking this but any opinion at this point might point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance

 

[donpoku]

Contact them as I'm sure GTR HR will be most understanding of your mistake. What's the other role if you don't mind me asking.

 

[Greenyeti]

Have you actually submitted the application or would it not allow you to continue after answering those questions? Before you submit, it does state that you should check all information as it isn't possible to make any changes afterwards.

I did notice that 2 questions required a "yes" as opposed to all the others and thought this might be a way of filtering out those who haven't read things properly - easily done but given the volume of applicants and the selection process/assessments they can afford to be picky! No harm contacting them and asking though - good luck!

 

[Sikes 88]

When did this vacancy come up

 

[455driver]

What does it say about your attention to detail if you can't fill an application form in correctly?

I can't see GTR being interested anymore, they will have plenty of applications from people who have filled the form in correctly!

 

[387star]

Think it has gone now

 

[A-driver]

Not trying to sound condescending but it may be worth treating this as a lesson and double/triple checking such things in future. The entire application process is monitored to pick the right candidates. Attention to detail such as ticking the right box on the 'sudden death' questions is quite important to the overall job application. I hate drawing these kind of parallels so forgive me but clicking 'no' instead of 'yes' on the form for whatever reason isn't a million miles from pressing the door release buttons on the left side of the console when the platform at that station is actually on the right hand side...and this is all stuff they pick up on during the application process.

May be worth leaving this one and applying for future roles instead. Out of interest, and so you don't do it again, why do you believe you mistakenly clicked the wrong box? Was it due to rushing, not reading the question fully etc? As I say, I'm not trying to patronise but these kinds of 'mistakes' are the kind of things they take very seriously on the railway and so if serious about re-applying it's certainly worth looking into the reasons you made this error.

 

[387star]

It was purposefully trying to make you think as the yes was on the left then on the right for other questions to ensure you are not a robot

 

[red2005]

What does it say about your attention to detail if you can't fill an application form in correctly?

I can't see GTR being interested anymore, they will have plenty of applications from people who have filled the form in correctly!

slightly harsh!

 

[A-driver]

slightly harsh!

Perhaps slightly bluntly written but certainly not harsh. Make a mistake on almost any application form nowadays and it's straight in the bin. Many employers will say 'use black ink only' on application forms and all those in blue ink go straight in the bin without being read!

On the railway they get flooded with applications for driver jobs so any typos, wrong answers, mistakes etc and they will be straight out-usually a computer checks all that before it goes near a human to read. Harsh but the reality. Annoying as it is to the individual who has lost the chance of getting that particular job, to the TOC it's 1 of 100's of applications which won't get the job.

As I say, I'm not trying to sound harsh or uncaring here but the reality with most employers and most certainly with driver jobs on the railway is that mistakes arnt forgiven on the application forms and you simply drop out of the pile of applications they need to sift through if you make one.

 

[Bossa]

Thanks all for your contributions. Fully appreciated. Summing it all up it did cross my mind that attention to detail is important criteria in doing the job so a mistake like this one is not likely to be taken lightly especially with the volume of applicants they must receive. End of the day I should have been more focused in my application.
I have decided to focus on the upcoming interview I have and might consider asking for redemption once I hear the outcome of my interview. If that's after deadline day then so be it, will wait for the next one to come up and learn from my lesson

 

[387star]

slightly harsh!

sorry but I agree with 455driver

not harsh in the slightest this should be the easy bit so to fail to concentrate is worrying

 

[red2005]

Perhaps slightly bluntly written but certainly not harsh. Make a mistake on almost any application form nowadays and it's straight in the bin. Many employers will say 'use black ink only' on application forms and all those in blue ink go straight in the bin without being read!

On the railway they get flooded with applications for driver jobs so any typos, wrong answers, mistakes etc and they will be straight out-usually a computer checks all that before it goes near a human to read. Harsh but the reality. Annoying as it is to the individual who has lost the chance of getting that particular job, to the TOC it's 1 of 100's of applications which won't get the job.

As I say, I'm not trying to sound harsh or uncaring here but the reality with most employers and most certainly with driver jobs on the railway is that mistakes arnt forgiven on the application forms and you simply drop out of the pile of applications they need to sift through if you make one.

yes but we ain't talking about red ink instead of black..........capitals instead of lower case.........answering question 1 instead of question 2 etc......we are talking about tick boxes where it is easy to get them wrong!

this is by no means a a violation or anything of that level!.....and my harsh comment was more in relation to the way your post is put across!.......i am a train driver, have taken all the tests and completed the training yet have made that sort of error before..even in my training!...is my attention to detail poor?.....can't be that bad afterall i beat hundreds of applicants to 1 of 4 positions available!

i am sure if the guy rings up or emails them they will be more than helpful.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

sorry but I agree with 455driver

not harsh in the slightest this should be the easy bit so to fail to concentrate is worrying

an application form the easy bit??

you've got to be having a giggle!?.......it's arguably the toughest bit to get through!.......a tick box is a mistake ANYONE can make whether you're sweeping the floor for a living or driving the eurostar!

if a simple mistake like this lad has made says anything about his concentration levels i think half the drivers on the network must be deadly!.....going by your logic that is!

 

[Fred Dinenage]

Do you receive bonus for every exclamation mark you use?!? Or do you shout a lot in real life?!

!!!

 

[fabs]

Bossa

I imagine (and stand willing to be corrected) that ticking 'no' for the late shift availability question would see your application screened out, possibly automatically. With that in mind I would contact HR, 'fess up and ask if they would allow you to either re-submit or if they will change the options for you.

In my last job, I was in involved in the recruitment and selection of personnel in a safety critical environment. If I was the hiring manager, someone spotting a mistake, confessing to it and attempting to rectify it would go some way toward redemption. In a safety critical environment, honesty and a 'just culture' are absolutely vital. I will caveat; the jobs I hired for there was nowhere near the interest that Trainee Train Driver positions attract.

I am fortunate to be starting employment with a TOC very soon. When shortlisted for interview while preparing I noticed a horrible spelling mistake and a missing word in my covering letter. I was lucky to get shortlisted but made sure that I mentioned it and covered it off in the interview just incase the panel noticed it while shortlisting further; the rest is history.

Don't take the comments on here to heart, spend just a few minutes on these forums and read a few posts and you'll see that consistent attention to detail is not an attribute that many drivers (or instructors) seem to possess themselves. That said, CVs and applications should be proof read, read again and read by someone else before submission.

You have to try, you'd kick yourself if you don't make it through the sift without trying. Good luck.

 

[A-driver]

Bossa

I imagine (and stand willing to be corrected) that ticking 'no' for the late shift availability question would see your application screened out, possibly automatically. With that in mind I would contact HR, 'fess up and ask if they would allow you to either re-submit or if they will change the options for you.

In my last job, I was in involved in the recruitment and selection of personnel in a safety critical environment. If I was the hiring manager, someone spotting a mistake, confessing to it and attempting to rectify it would go some way toward redemption. In a safety critical environment, honesty and a 'just culture' are absolutely vital. I will caveat; the jobs I hired for there was nowhere near the interest that Trainee Train Driver positions attract.

I am fortunate to be starting employment with a TOC very soon. When shortlisted for interview while preparing I noticed a horrible spelling mistake and a missing word in my covering letter. I was lucky to get shortlisted but made sure that I mentioned it and covered it off in the interview just incase the panel noticed it while shortlisting further; the rest is history.

Don't take the comments on here to heart, spend just a few minutes on these forums and read a few posts and you'll see that consistent attention to detail is not an attribute that many drivers (or instructors) seem to possess themselves. That said, CVs and applications should be proof read, read again and read by someone else before submission.

You have to try, you'd kick yourself if you don't make it through the sift without trying. Good luck.

I take strong offence to that post actually. No one has claimed drivers possess the ability of constant attention to detail. As humans it's actually impossible.

Just a thoughtless comment from you showing, once again, a complete lack of understanding into train driving.

And I stand by my comments from earlier despite you trying to pretend he still stands much chance. With hundreds of suitable applicants chasing a few jobs they are unlikely to re consider. The reason for the sudden death questions is to sit back the number of applications made. If they were desperate for more applicants then they may well re consider but it's highly unlikely when they have been so flooded.

I'm not trying to sound harsh of put the OP off but I'm just being realistic.

 

[fabs]

Certainly no offence intended, although I am interested in why you think I have 'once again' shown a lack of understanding of driving, or indeed where I have tried in the past to convince anyone that I have any understanding.

I merely wanted to say that he probably has nothing to lose in trying to rectify the situation when there are posts here (intended or otherwise) that might convince him to simply give up.

Again no offence intended we are all human, perhaps some more delicate than others (I imagine you are offended by that too).

 

[A-driver]

Certainly no offence intended, although I am interested in why you think I have 'once again' shown a lack of understanding of driving, or indeed where I have tried in the past to convince anyone that I have any understanding.

I merely wanted to say that he probably has nothing to lose in trying to rectify the situation when there are posts here (intended or otherwise) that might convince him to simply give up.

Again no offence intended we are all human, perhaps some more delicate than others (I imagine you are offended by that too).

By 'once again' i didn't mean you personally but general forum population commenting on driver incidents without very much understanding on the reasons such incidents occur (and it's not due to a lack of attention to detail). Such comments will only ever cause offence.

 

[fabs]

Fair enough, I apologise to you for causing you offence.

I have not suggested anywhere that driver safety errors or mistakes are down to attention to detail, just trying to make someone feel a bit better about themselves.

I could talk with you for hours about Human Factors, Non-Techical Skills, the difference between errors and mistakes and why they are made. It's been my area of work for the last 25 years, but the thread is already off track.

Again I apologise if you were offended.

 

[red2005]

Certainly no offence intended, although I am interested in why you think I have 'once again' shown a lack of understanding of driving, or indeed where I have tried in the past to convince anyone that I have any understanding.

I merely wanted to say that he probably has nothing to lose in trying to rectify the situation when there are posts here (intended or otherwise) that might convince him to simply give up.

Again no offence intended we are all human, perhaps some more delicate than others (I imagine you are offended by that too).

spot on......it is a simple error that absolutely anyone and one that should at least be questioned......all toc's are different and to think that all toc's would simply just throw that in the bin even if he tries to correct it is frankly a bit naive.

as much as people say he's shown very little attention to detail so far he's certainly making up for that now with common sense and initiative.........only an idiot would find that he/she has made an error like this and sit there and say " oh well that's that then".

i say hats off to the fella for having a bit of get up and go about him to at least try and resolve the issue.........i can guarantee in railway terms not one of us has submitted the "perfect" application form.