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Signaller assessment centre - help!

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Leonsfave

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9 May 2016
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Hi all - wondering if anyone can help at all,

I've been invited to an assessment centre test for a signaller position in a few weeks.

I've been sent a short booklet with some details, but the info is pretty sparse. I'm particularly looking at the section on 'Fault Finding' - there's literally just one example!

I'd really like to have a bit of practice before I attend - can anyone recommend any sites/books that'll help with this?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Cheers in advance ...
 
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contrad!ction

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25 Apr 2016
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Hi all - wondering if anyone can help at all,

I've been invited to an assessment centre test for a signaller position in a few weeks.

I've been sent a short booklet with some details, but the info is pretty sparse. I'm particularly looking at the section on 'Fault Finding' - there's literally just one example!

I'd really like to have a bit of practice before I attend - can anyone recommend any sites/books that'll help with this?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Cheers in advance ...

It's not a terribly difficult set of tests (per se) but they do test your concentration - try to focus on being accurate/methodical rather than speeding through everything (as some people do).

I didn't find the lift tests anywhere near as bad as I was expecting, the beeps are at a reasonable pace and there's at least 2/3 examples at the start of each one to get used to the speed/pitch. The lottery ticket test is a bit of a marathon (I think it lasted around 10 minutes from memory) but again concentration is the key.

The fault finding test was the most 'difficult' one, and there are very few examples (as you state) to practice. However, there are some at the start of the test (of varying difficulties) for you to get the hang of what's going on.

Also, certainly on my day, the test administrators were brilliant and would happily repeat the examples until everyone understood exactly what was going on.
 

Leonsfave

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Joined
9 May 2016
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Hi Contradiction - thanks for taking the time to get back - much appreciated and your feedback is reassuring.

I actually managed to get a bit of time to sit down last night and work through the booklet properly so think I have a better handle on things.

Sounds like the administrators are spot-on too.

Did you do anything to practice before the day? Apart from re-reading the booklet, I'm not sure there's too much I can actually do to prepare.

Are you a signaller btw (be interesting to hear about the reality)?
 

contrad!ction

Member
Joined
25 Apr 2016
Messages
103
Hi Contradiction - thanks for taking the time to get back - much appreciated and your feedback is reassuring.

I actually managed to get a bit of time to sit down last night and work through the booklet properly so think I have a better handle on things.

Sounds like the administrators are spot-on too.

Did you do anything to practice before the day? Apart from re-reading the booklet, I'm not sure there's too much I can actually do to prepare.

Are you a signaller btw (be interesting to hear about the reality)?

You're welcome! I didn't do that much to be honest (apart from all the usual interview/assessment stuff) - the tests are really designed to test whether you've got the stuff or not, so a lot of the skills can't really be practised beforehand. That being said, having a good idea of what each test consists of is useful.

I'm a signaller yes, any questions just ask and I'll do my best to answer.
 

Leonsfave

New Member
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9 May 2016
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Hi again Contradiction - yep, can totally see it's not something that can really be practiced beforehand.

Are you on a busy box? In your opinion, what are the worst/best bits of the job?

Cheers!
 

contrad!ction

Member
Joined
25 Apr 2016
Messages
103
Hi again Contradiction - yep, can totally see it's not something that can really be practiced beforehand.

Are you on a busy box? In your opinion, what are the worst/best bits of the job?

Cheers!

I'm at a large signalling centre so things can get quite busy yes!

Overall I really enjoy my job and I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I think the main thing is that you're never quite sure what you'll be dealing with on any particular shift, some days will be very routine whilst others will be really stressful. Most people we deal with (drivers/S&T/PWay etc...) are great people to deal with (although as always there are exceptions) and it can be quite challenging/satisfying to deal with a failure.

It's a great career to get into and once you're in (as long as you don't mess up) it's relatively easy to climb the ladder and get into a higher grade PSB/IECC/ASC if that's the way you want to go. That being said, some of my colleagues are perfectly happy working the lower grade boxes - personal preference really!
 

8d3

Member
Joined
23 May 2016
Messages
35
Hi, can anyone give me a rough idea of how long you get for the different parts of the assessment? So how long for...

The Fault Finding Assessment, Signaller Trainability for Rules and Procedures Test, the Rules Application Test etc.

I've been practicing and because I've heard that you don't get very long I've been rushing through as fast as possible but I guess 'you don't get very long' is open to interpretation.

Thanks in advance! This forum is great, loads of useful information on here.
 

8d3

Member
Joined
23 May 2016
Messages
35
Can anyone give me an idea of what the map search task is like in the assessment? I have an assessment next week.

I've been practicing by searching for place names on road maps and searching for tube stations on tube maps.

I was just wondering what sort of format the map search takes, are you looking for place names or symbols?
 

nom de guerre

Member
Joined
24 Nov 2015
Messages
774
When I did it, five years ago, we were given an A3-sized map and told to circle all the 'restaurant' symbols. IIRC we did it twice: the second version was combined with a variation of the lift test.

It's not difficult. Just remember to 'scan' the page in a systematic way, and don't forget the corners!
 
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