East Coast - Advice Needed!

[lagomera]

Hi Guys, I have been invited to a East Coast Mainline Assessment Centre in Edinburgh for an interview/assessment day for the role of n Board Customer Service Assistant. Can any one give me any advice on what to expect ( Interveiw questions/exercises ect ) I have already attended a Scotrail assessment day a few months ago, I wonder if it will be the same? Thank you for your help in advance guys!

 

[Joef88]

Can I ask when you applied for this role? The assessment is in two parts: a group discussion about things you observed on your journey to the assessment centre and a one on one interview. Both last approximately 20 minutes. Another thing I will say is not to expect a start date for a while. I passed the assessment centre last month and have not been given a start date yet. Some people can wait up to a year but hope it won't be that long.

 

[lagomera]

Thanks for the reply. 12/07/2013 was the date I applied. Did you attend the Edinburgh centre, what role did you apply for? What sort of questions did they ask at the interview?

 

[Joef88]

The assessment centre I went to was in York for the same role. I'd imagine it'll be exactly the same in Edinburgh. The questions were just things like when you have provided exceptional customer service and when you have dealt with a difficult situation. Just remember that saying how much you love the railways and how much you want to work on them can only get you so far. It can be good to hear but doesn't necessarily mean you'd be good at the job.

 

[lagomera]

Thanks for the tip! Have you heard anything of a start date yet? Why do TOCs advertise jobs, then when you pass everything, they suddenly decide there is no current places for you, I have seen this all over the forum, and it happened to me 2 months ago when I passed all the assessments for a conductor role with Scotrail........very annoying! ( the Scotrail job was eventually filled with an internal )

 

[Joef88]

It's because they always have a huge number of applicants for each role who then get whittled down to about 10 at the assessment centre. There are normally only about two vacancies and more often than not more people than there are jobs will pass. The talent pool is good for them because it saves them the trouble of having to do another full blown recruitment campaign and although it may not seem it it is good for us because most other companies will just turn everyone else away no matter how well you did in the assessments. It is frustrating, I have had to take on a job that I hate to support myself while I wait, but it'll be worth it in the end.