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Trainee Train Driver - Virgin Trains East Coast

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ComUtoR

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13 Dec 2013
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Firstly I'm closer to the factory worker than the bloke with a degree. Experience counts for a lot.

Same here but experience in this case often counts for nothing. They are testing for aptitude. Generally your gonna pass/fail based on innate skill rather than experience and academical status.

Experience will count more in the interview stage and your 'mental' success on going through the process.

I'm just saying it's a rubbish test, miss 1 mark and you fail. There's better aptitudes out there. You don't work for shl by any chance? :lol:

I think its very unfair when people say its a 'rubbish test' or that its irrelevant for the job. Those that are either in the job or have gone through the process do see the relevance. Mostly; I see the fairness of it all.

There has to be some form of selection criteria. No matter how you set the bar there will be someone who believes the bar should be moved or tweaked in some way; usually to their benefit. The higher the number of applicants, the tighter the margin of error must be. 15,000 going through some for of initial selection then cutting it down in small steps really doesn't help. You need to decimate it as quickly and efficiently as possible. If that means 1 mark is a potential fail then you must see that there are possibly hundreds of applicants that were just better than you. Increasing the pass rate just leads to another sift and lengthens the process further.

No I do not work for SHL. But I did sot one of their test papers recently <D
 
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Brian88

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21 Oct 2016
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Well, lets see on 21st who agrees with me. Wether I get through or not, I still stand by it being a rubbish test. It tests nothing other than how fast you can read
 

Bromley boy

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Well, lets see on 21st who agrees with me. Wether I get through or not, I still stand by it being a rubbish test. It tests nothing other than how fast you can read

Out of interest, what qualifies you to say it's a rubbish test?

Give some credit where credit is due. Virgin are offering a chance for people off the street to go straight into one of the most high profile driving jobs in the country. They need some way to whittle down the numbers. If I were applying, I'd rather sit a test I have some control over than them arbitrarily binning 50% of the CVs, or similar.

Quite a lot of your posts seem quite negative to the selection process which doesn't achieve anything. At the end of the day, all TOCs have selection tests. It's their trainset :lol:. No-one enjoys doing them but if you want the role you just have to lump it and jump through the hoops.

Keep mind this is the first of many such hoops you will need to jump through on the training program, should you be successful.
 
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red2005

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north ish
Firstly I'm closer to the factory worker than the bloke with a degree. Experience counts for a lot.

I'm just saying it's a rubbish test, miss 1 mark and you fail. There's better aptitudes out there. You don't work for shl by any chance? :lol:

Sorry Brian lad but you're talking out of your hoop. The railway recruitment process has always been designed so that it can be passed or failed by absolutely anyone no matter what your experience is.

Just because someone has worked for the emergency services for example doesn't mean they'll make great train drivers......If you missed one mark you've not got the aptitude sorry!!! Would you be that blasé if you missed one signal? Or missed the mileage post from which you're meant to conduct a line search at the very end of a long shift? Or missed the lifeguard that's part of your prep?

What on earth makes you qualified to conduct such a damning review of the testing? Tell me the amount of trains that you drive on a daily basis to be able to compare the relevance?

This is the real problem with railway applicants......If they pass the birds are singing and they can achieve anything. However if they fail they just spout 'it's a flawed system' or ' it's a conspiracy'.......get a grip, how about being honest and saying you just weren't good enough on the day or you may not just have what they are looking for.

Brian from what I've read on here you've been pretty negative about pretty much everything from the start........that's a personality trait that they WON'T be looking for I promise you.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Be interesting to know how they actually use the test results. You could have a bloke with a degree in transport fail this test because of a 1 second mistake not clicking, and at the same time a sausage factory worker ace the test, maybe even by a bit of luck. Do you think they would still bin the likely candidate on the result if in my opinion an irrelevant test. I think they should have made it out of 100 rather than 25, as 1 mark could be the difference in failure. From those on this forum there has been people from lots of backgrounds take this test.

Yes 1 mark could be the difference in failure that's the nature of any test that there's ever been!....would you like knowing the midwife that delivers your kids failed their exams?

What would have happened if you fell 1 mark short in your GCSE exams? Would they of passed you?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
In fairness I spent about 3 hours practicing the test over and over until I was getting almost perfect on every go, then the real test came round and I just flapped and missed loads. So im not sure the practice can help that much. You can keep logging back in and out though.

And there you have it........you flapped by your own admission!.

What would you do in an emergency situation when you're being relied upon by hundreds of passengers if you flap in the tests? The tests aren't just about ticking right answers......it's a pressurised environment and you're being assessed as soon as you walk through the door for such things as 'flapping'
 

Brian88

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21 Oct 2016
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Took the bait there lads didn't you :lol: I'm not knocking the process, It's good that everyone gets a chance.
 

R6Pilot

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9 Oct 2016
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Location
Central Scotland
Well after receiving 3 x rejection emails I got the feeling the really didn't want me!!!!! Then out of the blue yesterday I received an email saying there was a glitch in the system and could I please complete online tests.

Just out of interest , if I start the practise tests do I have to complete main test straight after it can I log back on ?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Apparently everyone who has taken online tests should here by 21sr. Good luck to everyone still waiting .

"3 rejection e-mails" ? ....why did you get 3 ?
 

Davidson4301

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1 Nov 2016
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161
"3 rejection e-mails" ? ....why did you get 3 ?

I thought that they really really really didn't want me!
Then the next day I had an email saying "we loved your cv and letter" and can I do onljne assessment. Weirdly though, the day after I completed the assessment they sent me another one to complete . Fingers crossed for the 21st although I'm not holding out much hope as I definitely timed out on 3 answers.
 

ed c

New Member
Joined
2 Oct 2016
Messages
4
Hi there,
Have applied for the above role,
Can any east coast driver give me an idea of shift's and hours you work ,also what is your working day like ? This would be greatly appreciated.
 

Nosillomr

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29 Jan 2016
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I also had 3 rejection e-mails and also thought they really really don't want me then! Unlike you I didn't get any positive follow up e-mail.
Good luck.
 

Davidson4301

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1 Nov 2016
Messages
161
I also had 3 rejection e-mails and also thought they really really don't want me then! Unlike you I didn't get any positive follow up e-mail.
Good luck.

Sorry to hear that. If anything it's just given me a bit of false hope I think. I'll just have to wait and see.
 

Mark638

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8 Nov 2016
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Hi,
Once you log in, you are given the choice of a
Practice test or doing the actual test
 

stjimmy87

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16 Sep 2016
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Location
Nottingham
I reckon I got 3 wrong in total might have timed out on one.....same here not much hope but hey ho I am glad I got past the sifting stage...anything now is a bonus
 

martin2345uk

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21 Sep 2011
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Essex
I have, negative feedback haha. But to be honest, I'm now thinking maybe I was sent the assessment in error, and my rejection actually related to my CV. Would make more sense, as no one else has heard anything about the assessment...
 

Davidson4301

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1 Nov 2016
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161
I have, negative feedback haha. But to be honest, I'm now thinking maybe I was sent the assessment in error, and my rejection actually related to my CV. Would make more sense, as no one else has heard anything about the assessment...

How did you do on the assessment ?
 

S-M

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Joined
11 Nov 2016
Messages
6
Well after ignoring the "be patient" advice and emailing again, it turned out my application never made it through, so i resent it and they were nice enough to forward me onto the checking test, i took one practice run, and then went in for the main thing, as somebody else said "whats done is done" :)

Don`t think i did very well, but i did try to remain calm and not flap (to be fair i am not much of a flapper anyway)

I would rather have timed out then gave a wrong answer although annoyingly i did realise i had clicked the wrong one just after i selected one. i know i timed out on at least 3.

I have done a few of these kinds of tests or assessments recently and i seam to score an average result according to the few i have done, so we shall see.
 

R6Pilot

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9 Oct 2016
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Here's a question for those who got selected to do the online tests - did any of you e-mail them asking which file type they wanted the application submitted as ?
 

S-M

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11 Nov 2016
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How have people been completing the "Quality, Diversity & Inclusion document. "

Print out, write with pen, scan back in?
 

Firefly83

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8 Nov 2016
Messages
36
I've just completed the online assessment. Managed to complete 4 out of the 5 sections then my blooming laptop turned off (whilst plugged into the mains) so I couldn't do section 5. Has anyone been through the same scenario? What are the chances of me doing it again?
 

R6Pilot

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9 Oct 2016
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Location
Central Scotland
No but I sent as PDF & DOCX to be on the safe side.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

Cheers - I was just wondering if that was part of the "pre-qualifaction" ...that you didn't make any assumption on the matter ! ....I guess it was just my letter and CV they didn't like then :(
 

Stumac

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28 Sep 2015
Messages
28
I got the glitch email on the 4th but no rejection email and sent an email asking to confirm but gained no reply, sent another on the 10th asking to confirm but again no reply. Not bugging them further but appears to be the end of the line for me. Maybe 20 years without doing a CV and cover letter means Im out of touch as I followed an online template etc but knew this would be a fiercely competitive post.
Best of luck to those progressing and until next time for the unfortunates and myself.
 

Apples&Pears

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3 Nov 2015
Messages
78
Have given up waiting for a response from VT. Time to move on. Just find it rude if you say everyone will get a response but then not provide one. Onwards & upwards.
 
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