Waiting... waiting... waiting...

[GMCK]

This post is not so much of an advice seeking one but more of a stress reliever.

Each and every day I will check the local TOC Career pages perhaps even every other hour, to see whether any interesting or appropriate positions have been advertised. I do wonder whether I'm something of a weirdo for being SO keen checking for job uploads, or maybe it shows an eager willingness to join an industry that is hated by those who make the most use of it, but loved by those within it.

Maybe something will arise soon......

 

[Sooty123]

Know your pain!
But maybe not every other hour for me.

 

[Dynamonic]

Yep, the waits can be very long. Also, don't know if anyone else has noticed, but after a while, auto-pilot comes on, so when a position does come up, you almost end up still closing the page anyway and have to look twice! (Well, I hope it's not just me anyway )

 

[rob12]

Average £50,000 a year, plus rest day premium rate, plus Sundays (if outside) plus pension and plus a 4 day 35 hour week ... I'm no train enthusiast, I did it for all of the above and we all checked everyday and every hour....... keep checking my man

 

[12guard4]

Set up email alerts that almost all TOCs have then forget about it.

 

[utternoob]

TOC =

train operating companies ?

i used to check arriva rails nearly every day missed the appilcation by one hour

 

[Johnny Depot]

I think what adds to the stress (from what I’ve seen so far) is that sometimes a deadline is very short and/or it can be removed before the closing date without notice.


I understand that it is a highly sought after career but it seems a little unfair that you could miss your chance of sending off your best possible application, if for example, you were away on holiday. It’s just the way it is I suppose but I think that the “anything can change” feeling causes the hunt to be quite addictive.


I’ve been doing some research through the forums recently and I’ve read posts where people have said that they have sat in talent pools for months/years after passing all requirements and that must be excruciating. I even came across a post (and this story may sadly not be unique) of someone passing everything but never received an official offer through and was later taken out of the talent pool. I would honestly find that heart breaking and it honestly seems outrageous.


I’m not saying the HR issue needs to be addressed or improved but there is aspects of the job hunt which seems to cause a lot of stress for some people - which is quite sad.

 

[Aivilo]

Life is unfair. I applied for a role with a TOC whilst sat by the pool on holiday. It boils down to how much you want it (I got the job and moved locations)

 

[LETHLFH]

I think what adds to the stress (from what I’ve seen so far) is that sometimes a deadline is very short and/or it can be removed before the closing date without notice.


I understand that it is a highly sought after career but it seems a little unfair that you could miss your chance of sending off your best possible application, if for example, you were away on holiday. It’s just the way it is I suppose but I think that the “anything can change” feeling causes the hunt to be quite addictive.


I’ve been doing some research through the forums recently and I’ve read posts where people have said that they have sat in talent pools for months/years after passing all requirements and that must be excruciating. I even came across a post (and this story may sadly not be unique) of someone passing everything but never received an official offer through and was later taken out of the talent pool. I would honestly find that heart breaking and it honestly seems outrageous.

Being placed in a talent pool is not a guaranteed job offer sadly. Some TOCs treat talent pools very differently, Northern take candidates out of talent pools after only 9 months and ask them to reapply at next opportunity. Where I've heard other TOCs allow candidates to stay in years.
My advice regarding short deadlines is to type up answers to common questions and key points you would like to get across in your application in a word document. That way when you apply you already have a lot of you application typed up and you can copy and paste it and just tweak bits.

 

[blackfrost]

Being placed in a talent pool is not a guaranteed job offer sadly. Some TOCs treat talent pools very differently, Northern take candidates out of talent pools after only 9 months and ask them to reapply at next opportunity. Where I've heard other TOCs allow candidates to stay in years.
My advice regarding short deadlines is to type up answers to common questions and key points you would like to get across in your application in a word document. That way when you apply you already have a lot of you application typed up and you can copy and paste it and just tweak bits.

This is really good advice! I did the same when I started getting serious about applying for other jobs in the railway when I was quite desperate to get out of my gateline job! If anything occurred at work or in my personal life which I thought would make a good answer to a competency based question for a job application I'd type up and when applying copy n paste! I'd tweak it a bit too add details here and there. Point is it saved me a lot of time doing applications that I could even spend time writing up a covering letter to better my chances! I'll also add that typing up these answers is good for interview practice!

 

[GMCK]

blackfrost,

It's funny you say that. The latest role I've applied for I too sent my application off whilst on holiday. I think attitude makes the world of difference, although I've been through several interviews and several application stages for different roles over the last 10 months and haven't made the cut yet! Perhaps this could be the one...

 

[Spikeylado]

To give you an idea i tried 15 times for various roles over a 6yr period! Eventually i ended up in a talent pool for 9 months and then got the call to start! i`m currently on my conductor course and all i can say is that it really is worth the hard work! I`m with ARRIVA and they are amazing to work for! I do feel fortunate but as you can see i had to work hard for this position!
Good luck to all that are trying, dont give up!

If anybody needs any advice feel free to inbox me.

 

[Gemz91]

Average £50,000 a year, plus rest day premium rate, plus Sundays (if outside) plus pension and plus a 4 day 35 hour week ... I'm no train enthusiast, I did it for all of the above and we all checked everyday and every hour....... keep checking my man

The average railway wage is probably less then £50,000 when you take into account its not just drivers who work on the railways and the original post made no comment of only looking for drivers jobs.

 

[Spikeylado]

?

 

[RPOMan]

I went for an assessment day back in February 2016 for the RPO role with SE. I passed the assessment and then my wait began! I contacted the recruitment officer and received various email updates over an 18 month period before being invited to an interview for the RPO role. I passed this interview and am now awaiting the offer of a role. Patience is key !

 

[Spikeylado]

Definitely! Never give up! Well done.

 

[RPOMan]

 

[TeaTrain]

The waiting game is very real on the railway i'm afraid. When I applied to be a conductor for ATW I passed everything and didn't get my start date until nearly 13 months later. I have now passed all my driver tests etc and have been waiting for another year. Its just the way it is. Trust me though it is well worth the wait!

 

[king_walnut]

I checked daily for 2 years for a driver position to come up, then one came up whilst I was at a festival and I actually filled out the application on my phone whilst seeing a band. That was last June. I passed the final stage back in May of this year but I'm still waiting for a medical and start date, which I'm told might not be until February.

There's so much waiting involved on the railway it's insane. But it'll be totally worth it in the end.

 

[Trico382]

Similar story for me, i applied for driver position November 2015 and have only just been given my start date which will be in January...so patience is the key!