First Group Jobs

[warriorofrovac]

I just applied for a role with First Group, with First Capital Connect.

The closing date of the application is 6th May. I applied and I immediately got an email which I assumed was acknowledgement of the application, instead it said I was unsuccesful.

I checked the First Group site again and it still lists my application at 'Awaiting Shortlisting'

What gives? was the email a mistake, or have I actually been unsuccessful seconds after applying?

 

[N Levers]

Was there any selection test when applying. If so you could have been rejected on that.

It could however be a mistake, and after the deadline has passed if it still says "processing" maybe give them a ring.

 

[warriorofrovac]

There were a few questions at the end of the application, 'what would you did if...' sort of questions. I found the answers they provided rather ambiguous as often all of them, I felt, were perfectly acceptable answers to the question.

If so, it could have failed that, though it is a shame that a Computer makes the decision.

I imagine if I did fail the test then there must just be a communication lag, so it did not update on the site.

 

[Asian Demon]

I just applied for a role with First Group, with First Capital Connect.

The closing date of the application is 6th May. I applied and I immediately got an email which I assumed was acknowledgement of the application, instead it said I was unsuccesful.

I checked the First Group site again and it still lists my application at 'Awaiting Shortlisting'

What gives? was the email a mistake, or have I actually been unsuccessful seconds after applying?

The email is correct. Those questions are to shortlist people who apply and although the questions seem ambiguous, there seems to be a right answer to each one. The comp system of theirs tends to lag behind. The email is automatically sent out when you fail selection. Tbh why I don't like First's selection standards.

 

[185]

It's probably the autoreject question -

Most common one for swift rejection is 'do you live within 1 hour of this post'

You have to lie and put yes, as technically you will do should you relocate.

Badly, lazily designed recruitment site.

 

[Shrub Hill]

they use a word recognition programme which basically screens the applications for key words, a vast majority of applications are rejected within 15 seconds of hitting the send button, just there way of whittling down the numbers!

 

[BestWestern]

It's a shame, but much of the recruitment 'processes' which are encountered nowadays seem to be angled squarely at whittling down numbers, presumably in order to save actual people, who of course tend to cost actual money, from having to actually read what applicants have written! It's hardly a fair system to have been rejected without so much as your application landing in the HR department. You could try setting up a different e-mail account and using another address (friend or relative), then reading through your previous attempt and have another go using a different approach (and knowing which answers to avoid on the questions of course! )

 

[185]

Yep. use Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoomail, etc.

Only way to beat "Error: You may reapply for firstgroup job of this category after 512 days"

 

[GB]

So if you get rejected, officially you can't reapply for that job or similar for 512 days???hock:

 

[warriorofrovac]

It seems to be that ultimately, the people who might get through to the next stage, are not necessarily the most qualified for the job.

If they ask a question about money handling, and you provide an amazing answer, the system may reject you because it did not pick up any of the keywords in the application.

This is horribly unfair.

They should have spent the time and money on people reading the applications then investing in that god-awful system.

I had a list of four jobs to apply for once, applied for one, was rejected and was told I could not apply for the other roles for six months. Silly.

 

[185]

As i said. Stuff the system. Theres about 9 different people sifting the applications so just use numerous email addresses to circumvent this. Allegedly.

 

[Big C]

I recently applied for First Scotrail....
After a seven week wait I was rejected, by standard e mail
Apparently I did not have the relevant skills or experience for the role (Trainee driver)
I was previously a Trainman 'd' and then a driver for seven years, so what skills and experience do I not have???
Possibly I haven't completed my application with enough of the keywords required, who knows... But it has left me extremely confused and disappointed

 

[HST Power]

Possibly I haven't completed my application with enough of the keywords required, who knows... But it has left me extremely confused and disappointed

It probably was something to do with your application. The thing is, train driving jobs are rare to come up, and when they do, competition is incredibly fierce. For every one vacancy a TOC advertise, there are literally hundreds of applicants. It gets to a point where every last form and every last word has to be brushed with a fine tooth comb. If you make even the smallest mistake, perhaps a spelling error, a lack of detail, or maybe an answer that's just slightly lacking in context, they have no option but to scrap your form and scrap your application, as they obviously can't call up a hundred people for interviews and tests.

Keep trying, that's all I can say. And when you write your forms, you've got to right them not well, but very, very well.
It may not have been your application that let you down, it could've been something else. I don't know. But TOC's have to be picky, as so many people want to be train drivers.

Don't let yourself be demoralized. Keep trying!

 

[Legzr1]

It's a sad day when a fully-qualified driver can't even get through the first stage of selection!

Chin up Big C.

 

[387star]

I recently applied for First Scotrail....
After a seven week wait I was rejected, by standard e mail
Apparently I did not have the relevant skills or experience for the role (Trainee driver)
I was previously a Trainman 'd' and then a driver for seven years, so what skills and experience do I not have???
Possibly I haven't completed my application with enough of the keywords required, who knows... But it has left me extremely confused and disappointed

Wouldn't you go for a qualified role?

 

[Big C]

Wouldn't you go for a qualified role?

left in 1998, as far as i'm led to believe you are only qualified for 5 years...

 

[HST Power]

How come you left?

 

[cantosis]

they really need to sort out thier careers website, its really poor when you apply for jobs

 

[Masbroughlad]

I had a similar experience with Virgin Trains. Said I hadn't answered all of the questions! The questions didn't appear on the on-line forms, but did when you reviewed your application (as a printable file) but wouldn't let you fill them in.

Could have been a glitch on my PC at the time, but I doubt it. Tried to contact their recruitment hotline on a number of occasions, left messages and sent an e-mail - none of which were responded to!

Maybe they are just so snowed under that any immediate 'errors' or slight mistakes are spotted by the computer and automatically rejected? There are hundreds of people applying for every job these days.

Need some good old fashioned human contact and interaction please! Particularly for people facing jobs......

 

[Fincra5]

No, their career website is very bad.