Freightliner Various Trainee Drivers

[4F89]

I believe that most that fail a DMI do so because of the "see a person breaking H&S rules, what do you do" question, and go to grass straight away, without stopping the incident from continuing.

 

[crebbs1]

I believe that most that fail a DMI do so because of the "see a person breaking H&S rules, what do you do" question, and go to grass straight away, without stopping the incident from continuing.

Glad you said that Jimathy, my answer to that was honest in the fact that I would confront the person to stop the situation. But after I thought perhaps they would feel that it is confrontational and may not like it, I am still hopeful on the DMI.

 

[SP Man]

At the driver manager interviews people seem to come in and be to relaxed as it they have spent to much time prepping for the other tests and not much for the Driver Manager interview. Nothing more to turn off the two people interviewing when you ask what do you know about Freightliner and you get back errr not much, couldn't find much on the internet! Don't expect war and peace and the inside leg of the CEO but at least operate diesel and electric, HH and Intermodal, part of the G+W family (world wide railway company) and a but about what the depot does you have applied for. All of which can be found on the internet. If people can't be bothered to look up and remember those the Driver Manager immediately thinks can this person be able to remember all the thousands of information we are going to throw at them. The first few answers will either make the DM be interested in you or not. Spend a bit of time and look up about both Freightliner and G+W (look around the offices for clues- those at Crewe will walk over a carpet/mat about 30 times outside the middle floor kitchen that says zero injuries - we have a big safety culture, mention it and the safety notice boards and be impressed on what you have seen - it will show observation skills as well).
Please don't ask me to go into detail on questions or what we, err they expect. Remember that's the only time we, err they will see you and decide. No point in passing the other tests to not shine at the people that will make the final decision to employ you.

Good luck everyone - it's a great opportunity.

 

[GLENMAYE77]

Glad you said that Jimathy, my answer to that was honest in the fact that I would confront the person to stop the situation. But after I thought perhaps they would feel that it is confrontational and may not like it, I am still hopeful on the DMI.

I’m sure I said I’d obviously pull them up but I’d see if it was within my remit to resolve, is it a knowledge or training need that can be resolved quickly with the help of a colleague or is it a persistent problem that needs escalating to a manager to resolve or be aware off

Hope I didn’t bore the DMI with my company research.

 

[SP Man]

I’m sure I said I’d obviously pull them up but I’d see if it was within my remit to resolve, is it a knowledge or training need that can be resolved quickly with the help of a colleague or is it a persistent problem that needs escalating to a manager to resolve or be aware off

Hope I didn’t bore the DMI with my company research.

If you done research it shows you are willing to learn, just done go into loads and loads.

 

[GLENMAYE77]

If you done research it shows you are willing to learn, just done go into loads and loads.

I arranged and went on a visit to the depot I’d applied to before the interview too, don’t know how that would make me look but I hope positive. Was good to see the depot operation on a personal level too

 

[Stigy]

I arranged and went on a visit to the depot I’d applied to before the interview too, don’t know how that would make me look but I hope positive. Was good to see the depot operation on a personal level too

I did this too. In fact I was interviewed by the manager I saw when I visited. Didn’t work though haha. I saw it as showing initiative as it’s something that would impress me if I was interviewing somebody and they had done some research with me prior to the interview. I think it shows initiative and interest in the job. I was lucky in that the depot for which I applied had offices at the railway station so it was easy. I know it’s not the case for all depots.

 

[387star]

They can ask anything
I got asked for the weeks WON number

I used to check the WON was valid and in date rather than memorizing the number!

 

[martin2345uk]

What’s a WON number?!

 

[Stigy]

They can ask anything
I got asked for the weeks WON number

I used to check the WON was valid and in date rather than memorizing the number!

No idea what WON of those is.....

Sorry.

They can ask anything, but they should at least ask all candidates for that recruitment session the same questions. I’m not sure if it’s just good practise/policy, or a ‘must do’ thing, but I was always taught you can ask what you like within reason as an interviewing manager, but if you ask one person something, you have to ask everybody else the same question so as to remain consistent during the scoring process.

 

[Mike121]

What’s a WON number?!

Weekly operating notice... they would ask this sort of thing if you were being interviewed for a qualified position.

 

[GLENMAYE77]

I did this too. In fact I was interviewed by the manager I saw when I visited. Didn’t work though haha. I saw it as showing initiative as it’s something that would impress me if I was interviewing somebody and they had done some research with me prior to the interview. I think it shows initiative and interest in the job. I was lucky in that the depot for which I applied had offices at the railway station so it was easy. I know it’s not the case for all depots.

Yea I remember you going.....I’m hoping it’s seen as a positive and that I’m keen. Sometimes the difference between you and another applicant can be tiny

 

[387star]

Weekly operating notice... they would ask this sort of thing if you were being interviewed for a qualified position.

No it's because I was a guard at the time
This is now about 5 years ago

 

[Westcoast-ting]

No it's because I was a guard at the time
This is now about 5 years ago

From an interviewer point of view they must hear the same answers about how candidates keep up to date with publications Blar blar blar.
Then boom drop the bomb and ask what’s this weeks number !

 

[Diff]

Sorry for the delay in replies guys...

To be fair it doesn't sound to bad to me , and surly has some relevance, blimey that's made me worry even more about my mmi now .

That's what I thought and why I was fairly confident about using it at the time, now they've got me thinking it clearly wasn't a good answer, don't be worried though, I'm sure you'll be fine, most people here are clearly passing I've just done something wrong that I havent realised lol.

That’s good they’ve let you know where abouts you went wrong. That’s pretty much me screwed then as I thought my answers were weak for one or two. Oh well.

Sorry forgot to say i don’t think that was a bad answer you gave either. Just must be people with better examples unfortunately

Yeah I'm glad they let me know, it's just a shame they couldn't go into exact detail.

You’re welcome. To be honest your example seems ideal to me. It sounds to me more likely you didn’t go deep enough when they proved? (Oooo errrr ). Did they do a lot of probing for responses? Did you answer these concisely etc? I’d like to think the guy giving your feedback would have known if this were the case, and advise you accordingly? But if he was just from the office and not an assessor, he might have solely been reading from the notes, which may not have been that clear and required some reading between the lines? Hope I’m making sense!

I went as deep as she tried to go, I've got a good memory for pointless details so I remembered with high detail what happened on the night in question with the snow. I answered as concisely as possible until she seemed satisfied with my answer. The guy on the phone I recognised instantly, he actually conducted my stage 1 funnily enough, so he was as trained to read the notes as anyone. All he hinted at was about making the answers relevant to the role of a train driver, so it must just be the fact that driving in snow doesn't at all relate to the train role. He seemed restricted with what he could tell me, no hints or tips at all, not that I expected them of course lol.

Diff, that sounds like a great example, did you make it clear that you remained calm, took full responsibility, followed the correct rules and procedures to carry out the task while remaining safe and achieved a good outcome whilst under pressure?

I did mate, I recall emphasising how slow and safe I was going and how all obstacles were approaced with caution. I'm stumped, I've clearly messed up somewhere in the probing that I haven't realised lol.

I'm a bit confused regarding Diff's MMI question, "Describe a time when you can be relied on to do well even in difficult times"; is that the same as "Describe a time you've had to solve a difficult problem"? I suppose it's got nothing to do with the emergency one.

@Diff, all the best for the future and keep trying. Being a HGV driver, you should have the right experience. Possibly just one of those things and it's just a matter of time before you get there.

Thank you very much mate, when my 6 months is over I'll hopefully be scanning the websites again looking for applications.

 

[Sam85]

Hi all. I am currently practicing for the stage 1 TEA-OCC and I wonder if anyone can tell me how the rest is run on the day? The practice materials I have include a 3 minute test searching through a phone directory and listening for low tones but the booklet I have says the test lasts approximately 25 minutes.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Mr Oli]

Hi everyone,

I'm taking my stage 1 assessment with Freightliner on Tuesday. I will be taking the following:

· The Trainability for Rules and Procedures Test Part 1 and 2
· The Group Bourdon Concentration Test
· The Driver Fault Finding Test (DFFT)
· The Test of Everyday Attention for Occupational Assessment (TEA-Occ)

For the The Driver Fault Finding Test (DFFT) they have supplied us with some practice material whereby you have the drivers window panel and are tasked with finding faults in the power box, washers, wipers & electronic blind. Will this be the same on testing day, or will they use other examples which aren't based on the window panel?

I would assume they will also use different error codes for the for the technical information too?

Thanks in advance.

 

[4F89]

It's impossible to explain. The test will be similar and is designed to test your thought process. I didn't practice once and I'm now in training school.

 

[Stigy]

It's impossible to explain. The test will be similar and is designed to test your thought process. I didn't practice once and I'm now in training school.

I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s more to gain an awareness of the tests. The DFFT is quite complex, but not something you can practice for as such. The main thing is to understand what you need to do, as long as you can do this you’re halfway there already. If you don’t understand the tests, you’ll fail.

 

[4F89]

Exactly stig

 

[WirralWanderer]

It's impossible to explain. The test will be similar and is designed to test your thought process. I didn't practice once and I'm now in training school.

Couldn’t agree more, I read through the practice material but honestly I feel the idea is to see that you are capable to do the training. The best advice I could give is stay calm and remember it’s not a race.If you make a mistake it’s not the end of the world just stay calm and carry on.
The MMI and DMI (stage 2) are where you are best to plan ahead.
I may not be training yet but will be sooner or later (I hope) as I’m in Pool.

 

[Sam85]

Hi all,

Just trying to prepare a little for the MMI and was wondering if someone could clarify whether they were looking for a general time period in terms of the answers to “describe a time when” or a specific situation?

 

[martin2345uk]

Hi all,

Just trying to prepare a little for the MMI and was wondering if someone could clarify whether they were looking for a general time period in terms of the answers to “describe a time when” or a specific situation?

A specific situation.

 

[Westcoast-ting]

Hi all,

Just trying to prepare a little for the MMI and was wondering if someone could clarify whether they were looking for a general time period in terms of the answers to “describe a time when” or a specific situation?

From memory they used to ask for examples within 2 years.

 

[crebbs1]

From memory they used to ask for examples within 2 years.

One of my examples was 7 years ago but I recalled the situation very well.

 

[Westcoast-ting]

From memory they used to ask for examples within 2 years.

When I sat it in 2013 it was specified that it must be within 2 years.

This year though it wasn’t mentioned.

 

[Stigy]

When I sat it in 2013 it was specified that it must be within 2 years.

This year though it wasn’t mentioned.

They weren’t specific with me (or any of the applicants for Freightliner as far as I’m aware). I was however careful where possible not to specify when certain examples actually happened as I was conscious that a couple were a few years old. They were strong examples though and ones I recall well.

 

[choochoochoo]

They can ask anything
I got asked for the weeks WON number

I used to check the WON was valid and in date rather than memorizing the number!

My answer wouldve been: its the same as the current tax week number. I just check my WON is in date and for my region. I'm sure I've seen WONs published with the wrong number on the front !

 

[choochoochoo]

It's impossible to explain. The test will be similar and is designed to test your thought process. I didn't practice once and I'm now in training school.

The test is similar but with a lot more systems to check than just those 4 you had in the practice. It goes on for quite a few questions. Don't expect to be able to finish it.

 

[Static65]

When I sat it in 2013 it was specified that it must be within 2 years.

This year though it wasn’t mentioned.

I was asked when one of my examples happened and gave the exact date, which was over 4 years ago. They accepted the answer and I passed so I think this must have changed.