Booking Office Talent Pool

[PostieJono]

I had an interview recently for a Booking Office/customer service role. I just received an email today saying:

Hello, I hope you are well?

Following on from your recent interview for the Customer Service / Booking Office role, sadly we have filled the current vacancy. However, we would like to keep you on file for the next available position that arises.

If you are happy to remain on file in our talent pool, we can keep you updated when a position arises, in the next 6 months. The good news is that you wouldn’t need to re-apply or be interviewed again.

If you are happy to be kept on file, please reply to this email and we shall add you to the talent pool for future vacancies.
___________________________________________


I'm not sure whether to take this as a positive or that it's a polite way of saying thanks but no thanks? Im a bit deflated because I feel that the interview went quite well.

I did notice after my interview that the same company are advertising the same role on their vacancies but only to be put in a talent pool for potential jobs, which gives me hope that they are anticipating more roles in the near future.

 

[skyhigh]

I'm not sure whether to take this as a positive

It's a positive.

They are essentially saying they would like to give you a suitable vacancy if one comes up. If you hadn't met the standard they were looking for then they would have no problem telling you that.

 

[PostieJono]

It's a positive.

They are essentially saying they would like to give you a suitable vacancy if one comes up. If you hadn't met the standard they were looking for them they would have no problem telling you that.

Thanks for that.

Hopefully I hear good news in the near future then!

 

[Horizon22]

The railway industry regularly makes use of "talent pools" for certain roles, for people who have met the standard, but are below the top candidate(s) to fill the position(s).

So this is a good step, but just ensure you keep on top of it, especially if it gets to 5-6 months without a offer so you can clarify with the recruitment team if there are any next steps.

 

[saismee]

The railway industry regularly makes use of "talent pools" for certain roles, for people who have met the standard, but are below the top candidate(s) to fill the position(s).

So this is a good step, but just ensure you keep on top of it, especially if it gets to 5-6 months without a offer so you can clarify with the recruitment team if there are any next steps.

Most roles! Even simpler roles like gateline have a talent pool.

I'm not sure whether to take this as a positive or that it's a polite way of saying thanks but no thanks? Im a bit deflated because I feel that the interview went quite well.

I did notice after my interview that the same company are advertising the same role on their vacancies but only to be put in a talent pool for potential jobs, which gives me hope that they are anticipating more roles in the near future.

I was put into two talent pools after having good interviews. It's likely that they thought you were a good fit, but thought that someone else was just slightly better or more experienced. I was informed that I had not been given the job, then received another email ~6 weeks later letting me know that a new opening was coming up, followed by an offer. I'd say that the talent pool is certainly a good thing, and I wish you the best of luck!

Some quick clarifications (which I wish I had known prior):
If/when you receive an email about an upcoming role, it will still take a few extra weeks to be given an offer, so be patient.
You won't need to have another interview, so don't worry about preparing for it.
The forms sent can be a bit discombobulated, so be sure to read and re-read the emails and check all the attachments.

My experience is with a different Transport UK Group operator, so I imagine its pretty much the same.

 

[PostieJono]

Still waiting for that magical email with an offer of a role

Debating with myself whether to email for any updates/potential openings upcoming but don't want to ruin my chances by sounding needy!

 

[GPR]

Won’t hurt emailing or even calling, there might be a similar vacancy available or coming up that they can put you in.

 

[voyagerdude220]

Fingers crossed that you get a job offer soon!

Just to add my experience of being in a Talent Pool circa 10 years ago..

I'd applied for a Ticket Office job at a brand new Station, which someone else was offered in favour of myself, however I gratefully accepted the offer of being placed in the Talent Pool for 6 months.

As it happens, I seem to remember them kindly contacting me 8-9 months later and offering me an interview for a completely different Station which I could still commute to. After a few weeks of waiting, I was eventually offered the job. Also this particular job had only been advertised internally, so had I not been in the Talent Pool, I wouldn't have got my foot in the door onto the Railway.