Interview offer after previous withdrawal (Southern)

[fhkh2438]

Hello everyone,

Recently southerns recruiter reached out to me asking i withdrew my application(i withdrew it a week ago because i previously failed the interview and they posted the same role again so i wanted to try and reapply but i couldnt)
The recruiter then asked if a part time platform assistant role would be of interest(he also unlocked the role i was unable to apply for). I then agreed and they have given me an interview date, i am 18 years old and i just wanted to know if anyone has had any similar experiences or if anyone my age has been hired for a safety critical role such as the one im going for. Tips for GTR interviews would be appreciated, thank you.
I have done work experience with southeastern and volunteered at a cafe for a bit.

 

[Horizon22]

Hello everyone,

Recently southerns recruiter reached out to me asking i withdrew my application(i withdrew it a week ago because i previously failed the interview and they posted the same role again so i wanted to try and reapply but i couldnt)
The recruiter then asked if a part time platform assistant role would be of interest(he also unlocked the role i was unable to apply for). I then agreed and they have given me an interview date, i am 18 years old and i just wanted to know if anyone has had any similar experiences or if anyone my age has been hired for a safety critical role such as the one im going for. Tips for GTR interviews would be appreciated, thank you.
I have done work experience with southeastern and volunteered at a cafe for a bit.

Welcome to the forum.

I'm a little confused by this. What was the original role you applied for at Southern? And you have since applied for the part-time role, passed the assessments/process and now have an interview?

And yes 18 year olds have been hired for safety critical roles, such as dispatch / platform assistants before.

 

[fhkh2438]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm a little confused by this. What was the original role you applied for at Southern? And you have since applied for the part-time role, passed the assessments/process and now have an interview?

And yes 18 year olds have been hired for safety critical roles, such as dispatch / platform assistants before.

Thank you,
The original role i applied for was platform staff at clapham jnct metro but they changed it to london victoria/bridge as it was closer to me but i failed the interview for that, so they posted the same clapham role a few months after and i thought withdrawing my original application would enable me to reapply, hope this helps with the confusion. As for your second question, no the recruiter put me straight to the interview.

And also the recruiter asked if i was interested for the part time role via email.

 

[Horizon22]

Thank you,
The original role i applied for was platform staff at clapham jnct metro but they changed it to london victoria/bridge as it was closer to me but i failed the interview for that, so they posted the same clapham role a few months after and i thought withdrawing my original application would enable me to reapply, hope this helps with the confusion. As for your second question, no the recruiter put me straight to the interview.

And also the recruiter asked if i was interested for the part time role via email.

Ah I understand. Did you do any assessments the first time around? You may have performed well at interview last time but maybe not quite well enough so they were happy to consider you again.

 

[fhkh2438]

Ah I understand. Did you do any assessments the first time around? You may have performed well at interview last time but maybe not quite well enough so they were happy to consider you again.

There were only online assessments first time around. no in person/written ones.

 

[Horizon22]

There were only online assessments first time around. no in person/written ones.

That's fairly standard. Otherwise I would suggest check the STAR method for interviewing, and have some answers prepared about managing safety & performance, dealing with difficult customers/passengers and teamwork.

 

[fhkh2438]

That's fairly standard. Otherwise I would suggest check the STAR method for interviewing, and have some answers prepared about managing safety & performance, dealing with difficult customers/passengers and teamwork.

Thanks alot for the tips & help, i really appreciate it. Im a bit familiar with the STAR method but ill definately revise on safety and performance, i mostly posted this because i was uncertain if the railway regularly hired 18 year olds, so thanks for everything.

 

[Horizon22]

Thanks alot for the tips & help, i really appreciate it. Im a bit familiar with the STAR method but ill definately revise on safety and performance, i mostly posted this because i was uncertain if the railway regularly hired 18 year olds, so thanks for everything.

Routinely perhaps not, but it's also not unheard of. Your challenge is having relevant experience to be able to answer the relevant questions, but everyone has to start somewhere!

 

[godfreycomplex]

Thanks alot for the tips & help, i really appreciate it. Im a bit familiar with the STAR method but ill definately revise on safety and performance, i mostly posted this because i was uncertain if the railway regularly hired 18 year olds, so thanks for everything.

Certainly do, most people I've known as 18 year olds have come in through platform grades. It's definitely possible. I was signalling a busy main line at 20 not all that long ago, and there was a 19 year old set on after me!

Totally agree with Horizon22's advice, prepare with STAR format and make sure your answers are focused with an attitude on safety. Cafes have a lot of dealing with hot liquid, for example, and if someone working in there does something wrong it could have dire consequences. Food safety/hygiene as well. They'll be looking for a safe attitude as much if not more than actual experience in a safety critical environment.

It's always nice to see the young team taking roles like this on so best of luck!

 

[fhkh2438]

Certainly do, most people I've known as 18 year olds have come in through platform grades. It's definitely possible. I was signalling a busy main line at 20 not all that long ago, and there was a 19 year old set on after me!

Totally agree with Horizon22's advice, prepare with STAR format and make sure your answers are focused with an attitude on safety. Cafes have a lot of dealing with hot liquid, for example, and if someone working in there does something wrong it could have dire consequences. Food safety/hygiene as well. They'll be looking for a safe attitude as much if not more than actual experience in a safety critical environment.

It's always nice to see the young team taking roles like this on so best of luck!

Thank you for this reply! Genuinely brightened my day, interviews on wednesday and ill definitely try my best to ace this interview as this is basically a second chance .

 

[LondonRrd]

Well done on getting this far, it sounds like they are keen to get you back in for an interview if they contacted you and unlocked the job posting for you. Some great advice above, I would imagine with your work experience and volunteering you have some good transferable experience. The railway is very procedure driven, any examples you could give in the interview of following strict procedures may be useful. I’m not sure if this is relevant to platform staff but there has been a big push recently towards Non Technical Skills (NTS). The RSSB has a published list so might also be worth having a look at that and seeing which of the skills you think apply to platform staff and mentioning that during the interview if you get the opportunity.