SE'trn Looking for Drivers

[Grafter]

I've been reading this post with some interest. I completed and passed the questionnaire not because I agreed with the answers but what I thought the TOC were looking for.

Bull*hit baffles brains! I have been around quite a while (age wise) to realise this. For instance, who in their right mind is going to want to keep a women and crying baby hanging around? You are going to want to get rid of them as soon as possible. Or the judge? Does it matter if he is a judge, the Lord Mayor of London or a shop worker? Treat everyone the same and fairly.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how good you are or what your background is, if you don't fit the company ethos they are not going to recruit you. I recently got turned down for a job by a company because they said i didn't have the experience they were looking for. I'd actually been doing this role for 10+ years and introduced this company to it.....

 

[IKB]

I've been reading this post with some interest. I completed and passed the questionnaire not because I agreed with the answers but what I thought the TOC were looking for.

Bull*hit baffles brains! I have been around quite a while (age wise) to realise this. For instance, who in their right mind is going to want to keep a women and crying baby hanging around? You are going to want to get rid of them as soon as possible. Or the judge? Does it matter if he is a judge, the Lord Mayor of London or a shop worker? Treat everyone the same and fairly.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how good you are or what your background is, if you don't fit the company ethos they are not going to recruit you. I recently got turned down for a job by a company because they said i didn't have the experience they were looking for. I'd actually been doing this role for 10+ years and introduced this company to it.....

I tend to agree with you. I think I'm guilty of engaging my brain. I smelt the bull*hit (having become finely tuned at work!) and still made the mistake of trying to apply some logic to their simplistic "say yes" answers. Oh well!

 

[junior_7178]

Just sat the test and failed. I tried to apply logic and also had my girlfriend sat alongside me. She is a customer service manager and was happy with all the answers I selected and the logic I applied. She is mystified with the results.

Last week I sat the customer service test for FGW and passed.

 

[red2005]

like I said....every company has different ideas on what they are looking for it is a gamble I suppose but its not to say you cannot do the job it's just you might not share the same opinions as that particular company. just gotta keep trying mate

 

[darren111]

To All,
This post is becoming quite popular and for me its making interesting read. Although I am reading the comments, I am quite happy to do just this and wait with hundreds of other applicants to see what happens. In the meantime continue to search and apply every day for other opportunities. So I am looking forward to reading more comments from others and I wish you all the best of luck with your Southeastern application x

 

[TrackMann]

no 2 people have the same level of common sense

Classic

 

[red2005]

awwwwww bless

 

[TrackMann]

If you're a trainee driver, presumably you're not applying for other trainee driver jobs. Which sort of implies that you haven't even seen the questionnaire you're defending?

 

[Class2ldn]

Also if you're a trainee you have no experience of the job itself. Once you're out on your own you'll realise the job isn't how it's portrayed in the adverts atall.
Have you actually passed this questionnaire yourself red or are you just trying to brag a bit about the companies recruiting the right people now you're a trainee?
Maybe if you'd have taken the questionnaire you wouldn't be a trainee atall and be defending it so much. Just a thought.

 

[Pepperami]

Why don't the people that have not passed the questionnaire give SE HR department a call and ask them for feedback?

I can't say whether or not you would get it but as they are not as yet doing the huge job of sifting through all the applications you might stand a better chance for some answers now?

We all have mixed opinions of the way the application has to be done and some validpoints have been made but the truth is that no one on here will be able to answer the questions some people are looking on for the answers

South eastern recruitments number is 01732 357419

 

[red2005]

Also if you're a trainee you have no experience of the job itself. Once you're out on your own you'll realise the job isn't how it's portrayed in the adverts atall.
Have you actually passed this questionnaire yourself red or are you just trying to brag a bit about the companies recruiting the right people now you're a trainee?
Maybe if you'd have taken the questionnaire you wouldn't be a trainee atall and be defending it so much. Just a thought.

No I'm speaking as someone that been in customer facing roles for 11 years and having passed assessments like these to get in the police, as a guard and now a driver! It's got nothing to do with bragging about the fact I'm in the job! If I'd had my job handed to me on a plate or got it through sheer luck maybe but That's not how it happened with me I had to work my backside off and take 7 years of knock backs as flying through assessments and interviews is something that doesn't come naturally to me! Difference is the people that eventually get on the railway after rejections is they take it on the chin and keep trying and use it as a learning experience! They don't just let their bottom lip go and whine about the system!

Sorry to shatter your ego buddy but I've been in this industry for years already, and my previous role as a guard I was working alongside the driver and carrying out customer service daily so I have more experience than you think! What experience do you have!? Anyway what the job is actually like when you are out there is irrelevant at this stage! If you wanna have a stripper in your cab with you that's up to you once you get there!! But you've gotta jump through the hoops to get there and meet the companies minimum requirements first! The people on here moaning will be the first to shout from the roof tops once they are eventually in! Why should it be easy to get there?

Never one to normally assume but I've probably undertaken more assessments and structured interviews than quite a few people on these boards simply because of the nature of the industries I've worked in! Just makes me giggle how people whine about these assessments! Would they be whinging so much had they passed?.....just a thought?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

If you're a trainee driver, presumably you're not applying for other trainee driver jobs. Which sort of implies that you haven't even seen the questionnaire you're defending?

So you are assuming I got the trainee position first time then!? Tut tut tut!......I had to take a test exactly the same for the last trainee position I applied for also I've seen the example someone posted earlier on in the thread.

If people spent less time moaning about the system ( the hoops that have been in place for years by the way) and how it obviously has it in for them and more time doing things like pepperami said and getting feedback and working out where THEY went wrong maybe they'd stand a better chance of getting through!

Sorry to be a bit of a realist but you are applying (or attempting to apply) for an industry that has hundreds going for every position whether that's director, driver, conductor, sweeping the platform or control room operator! Did you honesty expect it to be easy and straightforward!? Very few people get in first time!

Don't whinge about it get your feedback, apply again and get the job simple!!

 

[Pepperami]

Just to also add I applied to southern a year ago for a conducters role and they had a similar application process which I passed but failed the final interview

I was a little miffed, got my feedback, took it on board, applied to FCC for trainee driver and had the final interview and passed with flying colours.

FCC again had a similar process and anyone who has gone through these applications will tell you if you thought the SE application was unfair or bias or not anything to do with train driving wait until you have 25 questions on the situational judgement exercise!!

My reason for applying to SE is that a few of us are in limbo until the merger happens and so I thought it prudent to apply for this one as well

Take the failure and turn it into a positive. Get the feedback and try again, but you need to be able to accept that whatever YOU PERSONALLY THOUGHT was right was not what they wanted obviously so as a person you need to move on from that and start again

So many people on here have been in your situation and have gone on to do it again and got the dream job so don't give up.... give them a call and start again

 

[echodelta31]

Hi all!

Brand new user here, so please be gentle (or at the very least, abuse me with style...)

I applied at the weekend for the Victoria job and spent a good while on the application form. Converting 7 years of Police experience into application worthy statements under 200 words was fun, but manageable and I'm fairly happy that it is the best application I could put together. Hit all of the points in the job description individually and provided evidence for them, so it's now a (horrible) waiting game to see how I measure up to all the other applicants.

On a side note, some of the comments about the customer services 'test' are interesting. I can understand how annoying it would be, especially if you have a lot of customer service experience. But I think it's already been said that the company in question may have different views on how they want you to respond to different situations.

I have no idea if I was just lucky, but I have to admit that I spent some time on one or two of the those questions. In the end, I boiled it down to 2 things: everyone is a customer (not just the person you're dealing with) and it's better to deal with the root cause of a problem than treat the symptoms.

Also, a couple of the questions in my mind had at least 3 answers that were valid. Again, it could be luck, but I approached them from the point of view of what would be my FIRST action. Some of the other answers could have been further actions and I suspect that's what the test is trying to find out from you.

Stupidly long first post (I apologise), but to those that didn't get through the test, as Pepperami said, get the feedback and apply it to your next application. At the very least, it may help you to understand how Southeastern are thinking.

And finally, good luck to those awaiting the paper sift. This is only my 2nd ever application to a TOC and I'm well aware of the average number of applicants. All you can do is prepare the best application possible and leave the rest to the deity of your choice.

(Seriously, i'll stop writing now....)

 

[Pepperami]

Good luck my friend it's all experience in my book I've had success and failure but I didn't give up and will continue to do my very best

 

[red2005]

Good luck echodelta I'm sure you'll be fine mate!

Very good point as well! A lot of the process is about luck! Right person, right time or having the right/wrong person interviewing you!

Perserverence is key just keep going

 

[rchta455]

I have to agree with echodelta 31. This is my first application to a TOC and as another coming from a police officer background, I'm expecting that I will have to learn from this experience in order to secure a driving role in the future. Fingers crossed everyone

 

[echodelta31]

I have to agree with echodelta 31. This is my first application to a TOC and as another coming from a police officer background, I'm expecting that I will have to learn from this experience in order to secure a driving role in the future. Fingers crossed everyone ??????

Looks like the mass exodus from the Police continues...one of my old response team contacted me yesterday to find out about applying for these jobs, and also mentioned another ex-team guy who resigned last month after 10 years and moved to Wiltshire to drive freight.

Hope you don't mind me asking, but did you serve your full time or is this a career change for you too?

I decided to resign after 7 years, due to many different reasons. One of the big ones was becoming a father to a gorgeous little girl. How some people can stay in the job (especially with how bendy things are going/have gone) with new children is beyond me....and I made a difficult choice to get out sooner rather than later. Had I known how few skills I could effectively transfer over to any other job, I may have reconsidered slightly.

Be that as it may, this career is my best option now and something I've wanted for a long time. And also with a major plus side...it's less likely anyone's going to want to try their best to stick anything sharp in me. (colleagues or customers....)

 

[rchta455]

I have 13 years experience in the "service" albeit the last 7 years as Constable (doing the proper job). It seems our circumstances are rather similar. I'm about to become a father for the first time and, although I miss many things - I can honestly say my life is somewhat better now I'm out. I grew massively disillusioned with how the job was being gradually ruined/scuttled by buffoons.
I understand the issue of transferable skills (or people unable to understand we didn't just say "ello, ello" and "feel collars").From the interactions I've had with some HR bods, I question how some companies can claim to "put staff first" or be "investors in people" when the staff they utilise to attract/retain their workforce seem either cerebrally lacking or totally disinterested (albeit not with any TOC's).Anyway, I digress, I'm very much hoping to get in the cab but, being painfully aware of the similarities between police and TOC recruitment, I'm not holding my breath for a speedy progression or otherwise.
Yes. It's nice not to have a target on ones back- whether placed there by the public or the Home Secretary/ACPO.

 

[darren111]

Hi echodelta31,
Pepperami and red2005 have given you some words of wisdom, you can either take it onboard, take some of it onboard or take none of it on board, choice is yours. For me their words have touched my heart and therefore I will be taking what they both said onboard. Best of luck with your application x

 

[red2005]

Hi echodelta31,
Pepperami and red2005 have given you some words of wisdom, you can either take it onboard, take some of it onboard or take none of it on board, choice is yours. For me their words have touched my heart and therefore I will be taking what they both said onboard. Best of luck with your application x

nice to hear Darren lad! by the sounds of it pepperami and myself are at round about the same stage! if there is anything I can do in terms of advice having recently gone through the system and im sure pepperami will say the same.....feel free to drop me a message mate, i'm no expert but i'll help where I can

 

[darren111]

red2005, thanks for that.

 

[Pepperami]

Yeah Red I think we're about the same

Always happy to try and help where I can

Thank you for the kind words Darren & Echo appreciated

 

[echodelta31]

Well, for now it's just a horrible waiting game. But thanks for the offer and I may well seek some advice if everything goes to plan. Don't want to jinx anything yet!

On a slightly humorous note, I can tell when something is on my mind. Had the strangest dream where hundreds of applications were sifted and the obviously terrible ones were thrown out. The wacky part was how the remaining applications were sorted. It was a bit like a cross between a tombola (spinning box and everything) and 'Bullseye', except with application forms on the dartboard instead....and not a caravan or jet ski in sight.

Didn't even have any cheese last night, so god only knows where that came from. Made me chuckle this morning though.

 

[rchta455]

Are you sure you don't work in recruitment?

 

[heart-of-wessex]

On a slightly humorous note, I can tell when something is on my mind. Had the strangest dream where hundreds of applications were sifted and the obviously terrible ones were thrown out. The wacky part was how the remaining applications were sorted. It was a bit like a cross between a tombola (spinning box and everything) and 'Bullseye', except with application forms on the dartboard instead....and not a caravan or jet ski in sight.

Nor a Beige Austin Metro?

 

[Pepperami]

Lol lol lol

 

[echodelta31]

Nor a Beige Austin Metro?

You've got me started now....had to look up the 14 worst prizes ever on Bullseye....

http://www.buzzfeed.com/scottybryan/14-amazing-retro-prizes-you-could-have-won-on-bullseye

A carriage clock,
a FOURTEEN-INCH portable TV,
a novelty neon landline phone,
a massive pink cuddly toy hippo,
a 'music centre' (with matching gold pens...?),
the standard Wedgewood Dinner Service,
3 pieces of luggage (no holiday then?),
an electronic knitting machine,
a red Talbot Samba ('with electronic ignition'!),
a grandfather clock,
a full set of encyclopaedias,
some pretty awful clothes
and a yellow speedboat (great if you live in a tower block in Peckham....)

I think I'd prefer to get through TOC recruitment than win that lot

(PS....no more off topic posts by me...otherwise I'll risk comparing the assessment tests to the Krypton Factor.....although I'm nearly at 5 posts now)

 

[Pepperami]

Funny you should mention the assessments and the krypton factor

 

[Nevillehill]

Red2005 Your an inspiration to others, just applied for a cleaners job with Northern, I've noticed that they seams to be lots of train cleaning jobs in the south, think I will move down south.

 

[red2005]

Funny you should mention the assessments and the krypton factor

Ha yes I thought that lol!!!