This is the best advice anyone can give on a rail application, listen take note, go about your daily lives instead of refreshing an email 100 times a day. At the end of the day it’ll probably go to a ex forces, policemen or one of their other favoured backgrounds anyway.
You’re being negative again
It was all good until you said, “it’ll probably go to ex-forces or ex-policeman or another of their favoured backgrounds anyway”
The TOC will likely only take in to account someone’s background later in the process, and at the Initial application stage, it’s unlikely this will be looked at at all. It’s far better to advise applicants to make sure they get their CV and application right, and really sell themselves, on paper, for when the real selection starts.
It’s true that TOCs/FOCs like ex-Emergency Service staff etc, but that’s only based on the strength of their application and at interview. If someone from an office background has similar experiences to draw upon and some great skills, they’re no worse off when it comes to selection. On my course all were internal apart from me.
You’re right in that at the end of the day, even the best candidates on paper won’t all get a shot at this, and it is a game of luck half the time. They will probably have several thousand decent candidates, with only a handful of jobs.