A career as a train driver

[choo~choo]

 

[ralphchadkirk]

The comment you made was directly after a comment about the structured interview not the managers interview.. As for the enthusiast, you couldn't be further from the truth with me, I too have passed the tests, more than once, and turned the position down once. Makes me über cool too huh

Right so you've applied for a train drivers job, passed the tests and turned it down? That's believable.

Sorry, but I'd prefer to believe a Driver, and Driver Manager of many years on his knowledge of driver recruitment.

 

[choo~choo]

 

[LCC106]

I have to say having just been through the interviews with Northern Rail, at NO stage was I asked what I would do if ... ( ... a situation occurred). Maybe some TOCs operate differently but I see no merit whatsoever in hypothetical questioning other than as per my edit above.

 

[Beveridges]

The fact that some TOCs operate differently has also probably lead to the inconsistencies between what I have posted and what some others have experienced

 

[Liam86]

All of my interview experiences were based on what I have done/how I have acted in the past. With questions mostly starting with something like, "can you tell me about a time when you......"

I have no previous rail industry experience, my work history is in retail/customer service/administration. Luckily for me, they where all decent roles and I had opportunities to develop myself and put myself into certain situations, giving me good experiences.

Also, some answers I gave at my interviews where from my personal life outside of work.
Any experiences you have that match what they are looking for are all good IMO.

 

[LCC106]

Also, some answers I gave at my interviews where from my personal life outside of work.
Any experiences you have that match what they are looking for are all good IMO.

Very true.

 

[Cagey]

First post... Just like to say thanks for all the advice given so far. Just completing my first application form, and i've taken onboard everything that has been said. Lets hope 11 years of working at sea (Royal & Merchant) will play to my advantage...

 

[LCC106]

Good luck, Cagey! Great to know you've found the forums useful. I certainly have.

 

[Shaky]

As I am very interested in working on the railways (latecomer at 43!)Thanks.

First post here for me also. Thought I would quote buffer as I have had a good look around the sight but cannot find any "hard and fast" comments relating to an upper age limit for new entries to the Trainee Process.

Is there any upper age limit as such ( I'm 47 in March ) or do the TOC's take into account previous careers experience more importantly ?

Thanks.

 

[Cagey]

Hey Shaky,

My father in-law is applying and he's 52...

Go for it mate, I think life experience should be far more appealing to them.

Just finishing my final draft for the application after the Mrs took one look at it and tore it (and me...) to shreds. New job, or new relationship??? lol

 

[Shaky]

Hey Shaky,

My father in-law is applying and he's 52...

Go for it mate, I think life experience should be far more appealing to them.

Just finishing my final draft for the application after the Mrs took one look at it and tore it (and me...) to shreds. New job, or new relationship??? lol

Luckily, our lass tends to leave anything that can impact our finances up to me, a rarity these days I reckon. Although the wages wouldn't be that much different to what I earn now, I'm beginning to tire of coming home stinking of filth from all the mucky jointing pits we have to work in.

My previous work has always been focussed around telecoms ( ex BT Engineer now doing the same job albeit as a subcontractor ).

Re; the structured interview, I could always relate to the safety principles we have to adopt to prevent danger to the public when we have manholes open or working up poles. There's always plenty of BT auditors waiting around corners to catch you out if you don't kit yourself out properly ! Most of the work is undertaken alone although if cabling/changeovers are required, the working as a team aspect comes nicely into play also.

I keep checking the TOC sites but realistically, I'm restricted to East Yorkshire so Hull, York and possibly Leeds ( M62 permitting lol ) are the areas I would have to consider. I reckon that gives me Northern, First Trans Pennine, First Hull Trains and National Express East Coast as my major hopefuls.

Still....nothing to lose trying if vacancies arise aye ?

 

[driver9000]

First post here for me also. Thought I would quote buffer as I have had a good look around the sight but cannot find any "hard and fast" comments relating to an upper age limit for new entries to the Trainee Process.

Is there any upper age limit as such ( I'm 47 in March ) or do the TOC's take into account previous careers experience more importantly ?

Thanks.

A trainee on my course was in his 50s. Go for it!

 

[Cagey]

I like to let her think she's in charge...

As for me, spent most of my working life at sea (grand old age of 32), currently working in the North Sea so safety with a hint of sea salt in the veins. We've just had our first child so I'm wanting to stay home and work rather than buggering off for months at a time.

Applied for FCC so fingers crossed...

 

[Shaky]

I like to let her think she's in charge...

As for me, spent most of my working life at sea (grand old age of 32), currently working in the North Sea so safety with a hint of sea salt in the veins. We've just had our first child so I'm wanting to stay home and work rather than buggering off for months at a time.

Applied for FCC so fingers crossed...

Good Luck !!

 

[emma7782]

Hi

I have passed my assessment for a train company for a trainee train driver. I am asked to go for the 2nd stage reaction test and interview.

What does the reaction test involve? How does it works?
Any ideas what will be asked at the interview?

I also been asked to go for an assessment for another train company which is very soon.
what should I do? I may not pass the 2nd assessment for the 1st train company thats why how can I make sure that I am still interviewed for the 2nd train company.

if I fail the reaction test for the 1st company will this mean that I can not do the same test for the 2nd train company?

please help

 

[LCC106]

Hi there. If you have a good search on this and other threads you will find out about the reaction test. Essentially, you will be wearing earphones and have to react to sounds and coloured circles / squares on the computer screen, pressing keys and pedals as directed. BopIt Extreme 2 and some computer games are good practise for this. As I understand it, if you fail you cannot sit another assessment centre for 6 months. If you fail again, then that is it. 2 strikes and you're out.

 

[Olexi]

Afternoon guys, I've applied for a position on the Trainee Train Driver scheme with Northern Rail, and I was wondering whether my young age (I'm 21 in march) and small amount of experience in customer facing roles would negatively affect my application to an extreme degree? I've worked in a photography studio as an administrator before, which involved a lot of customer interaction, and I've been an actor for years in university (where I studied for a Masters Degree in Physics) so I have a fair chunk of experience with safety in theatre, and my Dad is a H&S officer, so I know the kinds of things that might be important, but obviously nothing specific to rail.

Realistically, would be young age deter them from hiring me? I know some employers don't like young age groups for careers like this because they have a tendency to get bored and run off, which I really don't understand. I want this career so badly, and I really don't want my young age to put them off. Personally, I feel it's a stronger investment for them.

I'm absolutely buzzing to hear back about the next step from Northern Rail. Technically I haven't been given an invitation to the assessment centre yet but I'm confident my answers to the Dependability and Safety Instrument test are excellent. I was wondering if you guys have any advice for me to help prepare for the interview and tests (if I get that far)? I've already practiced the Group Bourdon and SCAAT tests quite a lot, and I feel reasonably adept at that, though I obviously have no idea what kind of score they're looking for. I've researched Serco & Abellio to get to grips with the history of the franchise and the companies that run Northern Rail, I've researched the fleets and procedures of training, the depot locations and all that. What else could I do to REALLY cement my position at the front of the pack? And which threads would be best for me (and any other hopeful applicants in this round) to read?

Thanks for any help you can give, and best of luck to all of us who get through!

-Olexi-

 

[Beveridges]

A lot of it is luck! But I got on as a Depot Driver through thinking carefully about the criteria that scores points in the application form and Interview, and making my answers so that they score those points. Depot Driving has the same recruitment process as mainline so my advice is still applicable. Exaggurate if you have to, but making stuff up completely is to be avoided. I doubt the quantity of experience will put them off, certainly not to an extreme degree, if you have enough of it to at least form some good answers to the questions asked at application and Interview stage.
If lack of relevant experience is making it too hard to form top answers then a role in another railway grade first would help immensely with this, and even if the TOC does not promote you, you can apply externally to other TOCs using the experience gained to form your answers. The only downside is you may get stuck there for years, so if you go for another railway role, it has to also be something you want to do, rather than something to "put up with" while waiting for chance to have a go at applying for driving

 

[Olexi]

Yeah, I'll see how well I can do on this application. My Uncle works in the rail industry, and has a bunch of mates who are drivers so I might be able to get some advice there. I'll do my best, and if that's not enough, I'll get in to this via a different route.

Handily enough, I tend to be quite a lucky chap

 

[LCC106]

Hi Olexi - sounds like you're doing all the things I did in terms of research and practise and yes, I was successful. If you're concerned that your age may go against you, all I can say is you'll have to demonstrate real maturity during the manager interview to get as far as the tests (if they do your MI first, like they have in the past). It's important to keep practising on the tests, no matter how good your results, to maintain standards for the real assessment centre. However, you may well want to ask friends or family to interview you to help you prepare for what you might say. If you feel uncomfortable doing this face to face, why not try doing this over the phone? Loads of threads on the forum that will help you so just keep looking through and good luck!

 

[Olexi]

Thanks, I'm a very sensible and logical person, so I've no worries about appearing mature enough in the interview, but as you say it'd definitely be worth asking around for all the help I can get in thinking up what kinds of things I should say and ask. My dad has interviewed loads of people for safety critical positions, so that'd be a huge help. Good idea! And I'll try and do tests GB and SCAAT tests every day to get myself used to it.

The age thing was primarily about me being paranoid no-one will hire me because they think I'm a bad investment as I'm quite artsy, intelligent and young. So it figures I'll have to tailor my answers and attitude to letting them know I'm highly committed, enthusiastic and understand what the job entails. They'll get their moneys worth out of me, I'll let them know. And I've played the role of Dorian Gray before in a performance at Uni, with all the wonderful things he gets up to live on stage. So I doubt I'll have any difficulty talking face to face :P

Thanks again for all the advice ^_^ From what I've read it's a hugely diverse group of people that apply for these roles, so I'm looking forward to seeing who else I might be training with. Deadline for the Safety Instrument test is tomorrow, anxiously waiting and fingers crossed.

 

[driver9000]

Don't let your age put you off. I was 22 when I joined as a Trainee driver. Good luck!

 

[Olexi]

Any idea how long Northern tend to take to send out invitations to assessments? After the D&SI test?

 

[LCC106]

No idea. Suspect it'll depend on their workload. They had several vacancies advertised all at once a couple of weeks ago. Factor in several hundred applicants per driving post and you'll appreciate it's almost a case of "How long is a piece of string?" All I can say is from initial application to offer was 2 months for me, with the medical a week later and start date 3 weeks after that. Didn't get confirmation I'd passed the medical until 2 weeks before I started...

 

[Olexi]

I'd best go and get a brew then in that case.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Just got rejected, ah well. Thanks for all the help.

 

[notadriver]

I'd best go and get a brew then in that case.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Just got rejected, ah well. Thanks for all the help.

You've got a masters degree in physics and you're not even 21? Wow. Would you be content to start off in another role such as platform staff?

 

[Olexi]

That's the catch, I haven't got a Master's Degree. I studied on the MPhys course for two years after being offered a scholarship before realising it was a complete waste of money. There was very little chance to network, only 7 hours of lab work a week, and the tutors really didn't seem interested to name but a few problems. And it was at Lancaster, which is supposed to be one of the best Physics universities in the UK.

But yeah, I'd be willing to look at lower level jobs that might offer a way in to Train Driving. I'm moving to Scarborough now though, so options will probably be a tad limited.

TLDR: Studying for £4000 a year in a course you hate for a career you don't want is a waste of money in my opinion. Then again, I may well have shot myself in the foot. We shall see!

 

[david_VI]

I've been doing a ton of research on how to become a train driver but have a few questions. (I didn't want to make my own thread as you seem to get a lot of threads asking for stuff that could be found here..)

Its been my dream to become a train driver for many years, always had a passion for the industry. Does this count for anything when in an interview or do they just want someone who will do the job?

Is it worth me applying? I have no full time employment experience as i've been in full time education. I have however done voluntary jobs. Will the lack of experience stop my application getting me to an assessment centre?

I say the above, although I did get to the NXEA assessment centre for station staff, passed the tests but must have failed at the interview, but I guess that job was much different to being a driver!

Thanks for the help
David

 

[driver9000]

Its been my dream to become a train driver for many years, always had a passion for the industry. Does this count for anything when in an interview or do they just want someone who will do the job?

I was in the same the position when I applied, I explained at the interview that I had a life long interest in the railways and had wanted to be a driver since I was a boy. There are plenty of enthusiasts driving trains on the network and contrary to the belief of some being an enthusiast isn't as frowned upon as imagined. Try not to come across as a trainspotter whose life revolves around trains though.

Is it worth me applying? I have no full time employment experience as i've been in full time education. I have however done voluntary jobs. Will the lack of experience stop my application getting me to an assessment centre?

If you don't apply then you definitely won't get it. Driver vacancies attract a lot of attention and there will be hundreds of applicants but don't let this stop you applying. It is always worth applying if you want the job and if you don't get it this time then don't let it put you off - I spent years being rejected for various roles in various companies before I got where I want to be.