Fcc managers interview

[Polar]

Hello

I have an upcoming managers interview with fcc and just want to know how much I should know about the company.

I only ask this because I have read somewhere that one of the things I should be able to tell the interviewer is all the stations on a set route, so say from Bedford to Brighton. This is fine apart from fcc stop at alot of stations on their various routes.

Should I just learn these all or will just knowing what the various routes and depots etc are be enough?

Any other info on fcc managers interview would also be helpfull, I have spent ages serching through posts but each toc seems to have a different approach to the process.

Thanks

 

[choo~choo]

No way will you need to know all stations, a few maybe would help..

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Best probably to learn the general route patterns rather than being able to list all stations - e.g Luton / St Albans all stations via the Wimbledon loop, Bedford to Brighton fast - all stations to St Albans then via either London Bridge (off peak) or via the Elephant peak etc. Ditto Kentish Town to Sevenoaks all stations via Catford and Bromley. A general appreciation of where the operations are , ought to be sufficient - the detail can come if you are employed. Good luck.

 

[W.Tregurtha]

I think that it might help if you have a look at precisely the nature of the field in which you're going to become a Manager. If you're going to be managing a group of people get to know what the ins and outs of their job(s) consist of. If it's in a particular area get to know the area. I'd suggest that you get to know know where the company operates, the main passenger flows, the problem areas, the bits that FCC are really good at (from what I've ascertained in the short time I've been here it seems to consist of prosecuting passengers for every little misdameaner) and what you've recognised as what they're not so good at (which seems to be not doing very well when it all goes wrong). Have a think about what what improvements that could be made - anywhere. Be enthusiastic but not exited.
And lastly,
GOOD LUCK!

 

[Clip]

All depends what sort of managerial position you are going for really. Then people may be able to impart their knowledge.

 

[W230]

I only ask this because I have read somewhere that one of the things I should be able to tell the interviewer is all the stations on a set route, so say from Bedford to Brighton. This is fine apart from fcc stop at alot of stations on their various routes.

Should I just learn these all or will just knowing what the various routes and depots etc are be enough?

What is the job you are being interviewed for? An actual manager's position? Or the "manager's interview" in relation to train driver/RPI/apprentice scheme etc? Or something totally different?

Either way, I wouldn't expect them to ask you to relay every station in their franchise! I would suggest knowing that they have the two routes and their depots (TL- Bedford, Blackfriars Brighton, GN - King's Cross, Hitchin, Cambridge, Peterborough, King's Lynn). I don't really remember telling them much else when I was asked what I knew about the company. Think I probably mentioned that the trains ran Driver Only Operation but that was about it.

 

[Polar]

Sorry I wasnt very clear.
I have the managers interview for trainee train driver.
Thanks for the replys they have helped.
Having never had a proper interview before I was just unsure how much was expected.
Cheers

 

[A-driver]

Sorry I wasnt very clear.
I have the managers interview for trainee train driver.
Thanks for the replys they have helped.
Having never had a proper interview before I was just unsure how much was expected.
Cheers

As others have said a rough idea of the route won't hurt but don't worry about learning every station. You are better to try and learn more about the company, its parent company, its franchise, current changes, why you want the job, how you will get to work etc.

Obviously if you wernt able to name any stations or have no idea where they go you may have problems but they won't expect you to know many specifics to the role at this stage.

 

[W230]

Sorry I wasnt very clear.
I have the managers interview for trainee train driver.
Thanks for the replys they have helped.

No prob. Well make sure you know the bits I put in the other post then and as A-driver says, little bits about the company. Obviously enough to seem interested and enthusiastic, without going over the top and sounding mad you will definitely sound mad if you list all their stations and stopping patterns!

When I had mine it was very laid back. But make sure you know why you want the job because they will ask!

 

[Polar]

No prob. Well make sure you know the bits I put in the other post then and as A-driver says, little bits about the company. Obviously enough to seem interested and enthusiastic, without going over the top and sounding mad you will definitely sound mad if you list all their stations and stopping patterns!

When I had mine it was very laid back. But make sure you know why you want the job because they will ask!

Hello had my interview yesterday. Out of interest how long did your interview last?
I think I was only in there 25mins so im assuming this is not a good sign! I felt it went ok and they seemed very positive so really at a loss.
I now understand what you ment by not many interview type questiins and very laid back.
Just hope they put me out of my missery quickly.
Thanks for the help guys

 

[Class2ldn]

I was in mine for nearly two hours but that was for qualified so more to ask I guess. Good luck.

 

[playmore64]

I've lost count the amount of interviews I had attended within the Railway. Most interviews last between 45-60 mins pending on how they want to probe you in your answer.

I think you should be fine mate as long as you know you answered confidently and concisely then I can't see there being a problemo!

Perhaps, they said, 'Ah! what the heck, we don't need to probe any further this chap is the man for the job'

I wish you all the best my friend

EDIT: Another theory is perhaps you did so well in your SI there wasn't much to ask you other than what you know about the company and why you want the bloody job

 

[oi oi]

when in an interview for a trainee driver job how much time should i spend talking about network rail.

 

[A-driver]

when in an interview for a trainee driver job how much time should i spend talking about network rail.

Why would you need to talk about network rail? The job isn't for them is it? All you may need to know is that they manage the infrastructure.

 

[W230]

Hello had my interview yesterday. Out of interest how long did your interview last?
I think I was only in there 25mins so im assuming this is not a good sign! I felt it went ok and they seemed very positive so really at a loss.

Can't remember now as it was a while ago. Maybe 45 mins? I'm guessing, I really can't remember. But don't worry - length isn't everthing as they say!

It sounds like you gave a good account of yourself anyway and you did your homework so don't worry. You know you gave it your best shot so all you can do now is wait to hear back. Let us know how you get on.

 

[TDK]

when in an interview for a trainee driver job how much time should i spend talking about network rail.

You don't need to talk about anything except answer the interviewers questions.

 

[Darksoul27]

Hello had my interview yesterday. Out of interest how long did your interview last?
I think I was only in there 25mins so im assuming this is not a good sign! I felt it went ok and they seemed very positive so really at a loss.
I now understand what you ment by not many interview type questiins and very laid back.
Just hope they put me out of my missery quickly.
Thanks for the help guys

Well good luck mate and hope you get it, im still waiting for feedback on whether i passed the Structured interview or not yet.

 

[rookie]

Hello had my interview yesterday. Out of interest how long did your interview last?
I think I was only in there 25mins so im assuming this is not a good sign! I felt it went ok and they seemed very positive so really at a loss.
I now understand what you ment by not many interview type questiins and very laid back.
Just hope they put me out of my missery quickly.
Thanks for the help guys

Hello Polar, had mine today. Was in there just under an hour. Hard to gauge how it went really. Mixture of good and probably could have done better in some areas with wonderful hindsight. Perhaps that's just me focusing on the not so positive points! Out of interest, did they give you any indication of when they will let applicants know? Cheers.

 

[Polar]

Hello Polar, had mine today. Was in there just under an hour. Hard to gauge how it went really. Mixture of good and probably could have done better in some areas with wonderful hindsight. Perhaps that's just me focusing on the not so positive points! Out of interest, did they give you any indication of when they will let applicants know? Cheers.

Hello, no sorry I didnt ask though they told me they were doing interviews all this week so id assume next week. Im kinda thinking ive screwed it up but can only hope im wrong until I find out otherwise. I can only wish you the best of luck. Let me know if you hear anything.
Cheers

 

[rookie]

Hello, no sorry I didnt ask though they told me they were doing interviews all this week so id assume next week. Im kinda thinking ive screwed it up but can only hope im wrong until I find out otherwise. I can only wish you the best of luck. Let me know if you hear anything.
Cheers

Cheers Polar and all the best to you too. I don't think time is necessarily a gauge on anything. It might be a case of quality not quantity! It's hard to know exactly what they're looking for, but I'd imagine it's candidates with a strong set of assesment results, who they believe they can train to the required standard. I'd be surprised if they were expecting strong answers for every question especially for those questions that were specifically role related that could only really be answered by drivers with actual driving experience. It's a trainee role after all. That's what I'm hoping for anyway.

Will do, and you let me know likewise. Cheers.

It would be interesting to know if the weeks interviews included positions for other locations? Increases the chances if so.

 

[Polar]

Hello

Out of interest what depot did you apply for then? I applied for Hitchin.

They also told me there was only two courses a year and only 8 ppl on each course, so id assume the first one would be full already so maybe a year wait for a place if sucessfull.

Still it will be worth the wait

 

[A-driver]

I don't wish to dash hopes with those waiting for FCC but certainly on the GN side I doubt there will be many more courses starting at the moment. At present hitchin, Lynn and peterbourgh are all full with no vacancies for the next year or so. They also all have a waiting list for internal transfers so will be a while before trainees are considered at those 3. Plus there is a bit of a storm brewing over the new diagrams for may. It appears that they have crammed so much work in that some depots may be loosing diagrams and the plan appears to be to reduce the number of drivers at kings cross and Cambridge by not filling any more vacancies-in fact rumour has it some depots may be carrying surpluss drivers from may if these diagrams get through.

I am yet to see any of them yet but understand from those who have that they have managed to reduce the overall number fairly substantially.

 

[rookie]

I don't wish to dash hopes with those waiting for FCC but certainly on the GN side I doubt there will be many more courses starting at the moment. At present hitchin, Lynn and peterbourgh are all full with no vacancies for the next year or so. They also all have a waiting list for internal transfers so will be a while before trainees are considered at those 3. Plus there is a bit of a storm brewing over the new diagrams for may. It appears that they have crammed so much work in that some depots may be loosing diagrams and the plan appears to be to reduce the number of drivers at kings cross and Cambridge by not filling any more vacancies-in fact rumour has it some depots may be carrying surpluss drivers from may if these diagrams get through.

I am yet to see any of them yet but understand from those who have that they have managed to reduce the overall number fairly substantially.

Cheers A-driver. I hate to read a post when you were dashing hopes!

Can you tell me why FCC (at great expense and at three separate venues) would put hundreds of people through 1st stage assessments, then reduce numbers at two further stages, if there wasn't any need or point?

Just seems a huge waste of resources and time to me.

 

[A-driver]

I believe that they were under obligation to recruit by the DfT. Also, the TL side still has vacancies I believe.

We arnt sure exactly what is going on at the moment and there is a lot of talk about this amongst drivers-FCC are desperate to save money and cutting back driver wise seems to be one way they are doing it. They want to further tighten diagrams and reduce the numbers again by reducing unit prep times to a sort of half prep in a fraction of the time aswell as reducing walking times at some places.

I only posted what I did as I can't see them recruiting any more GN drivers when 3 depots are full and from may all 5 depots may actually have too many drivers. The new diagrams for may were done on a new computer software which makes them as productive as possible-the same software which when cross country used it meant many depots were now carrying 3or4 surplus drivers.

Of course by June when the job has ground to a halt as they realise none of the diagrams are practicle and delays are mounting up they may re-address this!

 

[W230]

Can you tell me why FCC (at great expense and at three separate venues) would put hundreds of people through 1st stage assessments, then reduce numbers at two further stages, if there wasn't any need or point?

There are vacancies on TL side though I believe only at Bedford and Blackfriars. Brighton never seems to have a shortage of internal transferees anyway.

I think the TL side will continue running courses as they need to up their driver numbers at some point ready for when the Thameslink project is completed and the new units come in (if this ever actually happens).

They are only able to run a couple of courses a year at the moment though which means two courses of 8 if it carries on as it has. I get the impression they are a bit snowed under too but there is a new course starting in a couple of weeks so I imagine it'll probably be another 6 months until they start the next.

When I started with FCC they said they needed 150 drivers over the next few years. I assume that's still the case though I can't see how they're actually going to have the capacity to train them. As for why they put so many people through the assessments - I was told when I did mine that they wanted to have the largest pool of people possible to choose from. I wrongly thought that while the assessments hope to show who could besuited for the role they were also designed to whittle the numbers down. This isn't the case though - HR told us it was in their interest that more people passed the assessments as it would give them a greater choice of who they could have post interview. If you think about it then it makes sense - as a company you would rather test 500 and have 100 to choose from instead of test 50 and have only 10 to choose from at the end!

I would expect that with the sheer number of people who have passed the assessments now, getting that contract is still lying to be very competitive.

 

[mkwhite]

There are vacancies on TL side though I believe only at Bedford and Blackfriars. Brighton never seems to have a shortage of internal transferees anyway.

I think the TL side will continue running courses as they need to up their driver numbers at some point ready for when the Thameslink project is completed and the new units come in (if this ever actually happens).

They are only able to run a couple of courses a year at the moment though which means two courses of 8 if it carries on as it has. I get the impression they are a bit snowed under too but there is a new course starting in a couple of weeks so I imagine it'll probably be another 6 months until they start the next.

When I started with FCC they said they needed 150 drivers over the next few years. I assume that's still the case though I can't see how they're actually going to have the capacity to train them. As for why they put so many people through the assessments - I was told when I did mine that they wanted to have the largest pool of people possible to choose from. I wrongly thought that while the assessments hope to show who could besuited for the role they were also designed to whittle the numbers down. This isn't the case though - HR told us it was in their interest that more people passed the assessments as it would give them a greater choice of who they could have post interview. If you think about it then it makes sense - as a company you would rather test 500 and have 100 to choose from instead of test 50 and have only 10 to choose from at the end!

I would expect that with the sheer number of people who have passed the assessments now, getting that contract is still lying to be very competitive.

I am one of those starting this Wednesday. Thanks to all the people on this forum.Full steam ahead.

 

[Polar]

Thank you for attending the recent assessments/interview for Trainee Train Driver [First Capital Connect] role at First Capital Connect Network with First Capital Connect.

We now have the results of your assessment / interview and I have pleasure in advising that you have been successfully throughout all three stages of the Trainee Train Driver process. However, unfortunately we have filled our open positions and would like to place your application on hold.

We appreciate that you may be disappointed by this news and would like to assure you that your application will be kept on file for the next intake. Please note that your test results are valid for 3 years and you will not be required to retake any of the assessments/interview for the future positions.

I would like to thank you for your time and effort for attending the assessments and interview with us

Again, please be assured that we will contact you with a conditional offer of employment as soon as we have a confirmed date for additional intakes.

Yours sincerely,

FirstGroup Resourcing Team

:roll:

 

[W230]

I got that exact email last year after passing my manager interview. I received a conditional job offer less than three weeks later.

It might not be quite so soon for you looking at the numbers already in the same position but don't give up hope!

 

[rookie]

Thank you for attending the recent assessments/interview for Trainee Train Driver [First Capital Connect] role at First Capital Connect Network with First Capital Connect.

We now have the results of your assessment / interview and I have pleasure in advising that you have been successfully throughout all three stages of the Trainee Train Driver process. However, unfortunately we have filled our open positions and would like to place your application on hold.

We appreciate that you may be disappointed by this news and would like to assure you that your application will be kept on file for the next intake. Please note that your test results are valid for 3 years and you will not be required to retake any of the assessments/interview for the future positions.

I would like to thank you for your time and effort for attending the assessments and interview with us

Again, please be assured that we will contact you with a conditional offer of employment as soon as we have a confirmed date for additional intakes.

Yours sincerely,

FirstGroup Resourcing Team

:roll:

Congratulations Polar and all that worrying about the 25 minute interview is now probably a distant memory! Well done to you.

Sadly for me I haven't received an email of any kind so it looks like I've fallen at the final hurdle. I too thought my interview was positive overall. Naturally I'm disappointed but have to console myself that it was my first attempt and that I still have both lives left.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who knows where this now leaves me with FCC? Specifically with any new trainee driver positions in the future. Will they contact me? Will I have to reapply? If so, will I go direct to Managers interview?

Thanks.

 

[W230]

Sadly for me I haven't received an email of any kind so it looks like I've fallen at the final hurdle. I too thought my interview was positive overall.

You should know now that things in railway recruitment move very slowly! Don't fear the worst until you actually here it first hand from FCC. No news is good news.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who knows where this now leaves me with FCC? Specifically with any new trainee driver positions in the future. Will they contact me? Will I have to reapply? If so, will I go direct to Managers interview?

If you have been unsuccessful then you would have to reapply next time vacancies come up. You would obviously mention you'd already passed the psychometric assessments with FCC and as long as your application passed the paper sift out of the other applicants then you would be invited straight to the managers interview.

Edit: Krudger, I've just noticed that it's less than two weeks since you had you managers interview! That's far too early to start worrying!