Invitation for graduate interview

[Smurf]

Hi all.

I submitted a speculative application on Monday. To my joy I today got a phone call inviting me to an interview next week.

To say I'm thrilled is an understatement, and as aware that I am that there are plenty more hurdles to jump, I'm delighted to atleast have my foot in the door with an opportunity to walk through it.

Fortunately, I'm self employed and work is a little slow at the moment, which gives me ample opportunity to knuckle down and really do my howework!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Is there any online resources for preparation of the dials test at the assessment stage? I've searched and read about it, but all the posts seem to relate to examples sent out for those confirmed for the assessment, I've not got that far yet.

I'm aware I have to cross one bridge to get to another, and am putting plenty of my time into revising for my first interview, where I expect they'll quiz me on what I know about the company, my suitability for the role, my character, and my reasons for applying. However I'd also like to get a heads up and familiarisation on what to expect on the assessment day, and the least I know about is the 'dials test?'

Also, is GLOP an acronym, and if so what does it stand for?

 

[TT66]

Hello, Dials test is easy,just put them in order of priority.Dosent need much revision at all but there is a book on amazon from the guy who does the how2become series.GLOP is a made up name in trainability for rules and procedures assessment.Basically you read and listen to a passage about GLOP.Not fair too give too much away but read carefully and answer multiple choices questions on what you have read,again not too much revision needed.
hope this helps and good luck

 

[Silv1983]

Does the graduate vacancy involve driving? Just wondering why you have to do GLOP/Dials.

 

[Smurf]

The vacancy is for a trainee driving position, yes.

 

[Beveridges]

Is it a management type role that involves Driving? Just can't understand why its a graduate role if it's a normal Trainee Driver position.

Glop and Dials - these are the 2 tests you can't revise for. However on Glop you can do some preparation. Read up on Sandite (aka Glop trains) trains on Wikipedia, Scotrail, etc. to get a background understanding of them. Once you've got that, you can try asking people who have sat the test if they can remember what's in the passage.
Lets start with what I can remember. The Glop train is operated by a driver and guard, and it is pulled and propelled by a locomotive...
Remember that and that's 2 easy points for you (out of 18) might not sound much but it's a start.

Thats all I can remember without looking at my old notes on the glop test. It was about 5 years ago.

 

[Smurf]

Cheers for the insight Beveridges, I assume that they are obliged to send out details of what to expect in the tests atleast a few days before (from what I've read)?

And I think there's a mix up over the title, I was merely repeating what the person I spoke to called it, a 'graduate driver interview', but I've applied for a trainee driver position, and made that clear in the application and on the phone.

 

[Beveridges]

A few more things on the glop test I can remember from my old notes:

The guard operates a Tumbler switch. The tumbler switch is operated to start and stop the application of glop. The tumbler switch is found at the rear of the train.
Now thats all I have. But remember that the train has a flashing light at the rear - make sure you note the colour, it isnt "Red" like normal trains have!
Also make sure you memorise any reference to speeds and countdown marker boards.

Anyone else on this forum who sat the test more recently than me can remember what else was in the passage?
I'm sure the Glop passage is available on the Internet somewhere anyway.


The Dials test is easy - no prior preperation is required.

Don't forget both the computer tests (Group Bourden and Reactions) can be practiced by downloaded practice software. Keep practicing until you get up to speed.

The questions and criteria for the Structured Interview with the assessor (part of the Psychometrics) have been posted all over this forum, so you can also go in fully prepared for that.

As for the Mechanical, you've just got to hope you get MT4.2 it is by far the easiest of the two papers. If you get MT4.1, be prepared to start guessing a lot! Unless you know a lot about mechanics.

 

[Smurf]

Top man, that's a good insight. I don't want to 'cheat' any tests by the way, I'm merely trying to get as much revision and preparation in beforehand.

I've previously been a motor mechanic, and mechanics is generally one of my strong points, as is basic physics and logic, so hopefully I will be okay in that dept. Although I've just ordered a book about basic physics, so there's still learning to be done.

As for the tests, I've downloaded the GBT / SCAAT tool, and my GBT results have improved significantly from:

Group-Bourdon Result Statistics
Saved on 16/10/2012 at 17:38:58
-------------------------------

Overall Statistics:
-------------------

Perception & Attention:

Targets Omitted ------------ 11
Marked Incorrect ----------- 1


Speed:

Total Cells ---------------- 892
Mean Cell Time ------------- 0.434
Median Cell Time ----------- 0.410

Completed Rows ------------- 33
Mean Row Time -------------- 10.935
Median Row Time ------------ 11.060


Vigilance:

Row Fluctuation ------------ 4.21

To:

Group-Bourdon Result Statistics
Saved on 20/10/2012 at 23:48:39
-------------------------------

Overall Statistics:
-------------------

Perception & Attention:

Targets Omitted ------------ 1
Marked Incorrect ----------- None


Speed:

Total Cells ---------------- 1274
Mean Cell Time ------------- 0.303
Median Cell Time ----------- 0.260

Completed Rows ------------- 48
Mean Row Time -------------- 7.590
Median Row Time ------------ 7.450


Vigilance:

Row Fluctuation ------------ 3.04

With my average now being 1200 - 1300 cells, 3/4 omitted, none incorrectly marked. (Still some room for improvement I feel). SCAAT results are not so hot though, so more practice there, but it seems to be the dots test which is more common?

As for reactions, I'm starting to get a feel for where the buttons are now, which means I can focus my attention on the screen rather than looking for the right button to press. That said, I'm still occasionally pressing the wrong foot 'pedal' when speeds increase, which I'm trying to drill out, and once the speed gets to about the 700 mark, I'm hopeless! I manage okay until that point, but from 700 I can't keep up, and struggle to pick a point to resume from. So more practice needed there too.

As for the structured interview, that's something which I am spending alot of time on, and assessing whether the answers I would give would be relevant and have enough depth to them. I believe there are only the same 5 questions, and they are looking for 6 criteria from those questions. I keep going back over my proposed answers and looking at where I could improve etc.

 

[NI 271]

Top man, that's a good insight. I don't want to 'cheat' any tests by the way, I'm merely trying to get as much revision and preparation in beforehand.

I've previously been a motor mechanic, and mechanics is generally one of my strong points, as is basic physics and logic, so hopefully I will be okay in that dept. Although I've just ordered a book about basic physics, so there's still learning to be done.

As for the tests, I've downloaded the GBT / SCAAT tool, and my GBT results have improved significantly from:



To:



With my average now being 1200 - 1300 cells, 3/4 omitted, none incorrectly marked. (Still some room for improvement I feel). SCAAT results are not so hot though, so more practice there, but it seems to be the dots test which is more common?

As for reactions, I'm starting to get a feel for where the buttons are now, which means I can focus my attention on the screen rather than looking for the right button to press. That said, I'm still occasionally pressing the wrong foot 'pedal' when speeds increase, which I'm trying to drill out, and once the speed gets to about the 700 mark, I'm hopeless! I manage okay until that point, but from 700 I can't keep up, and struggle to pick a point to resume from. So more practice needed there too.

As for the structured interview, that's something which I am spending alot of time on, and assessing whether the answers I would give would be relevant and have enough depth to them. I believe there are only the same 5 questions, and they are looking for 6 criteria from those questions. I keep going back over my proposed answers and looking at where I could improve etc.

Group-Bourdon Result Statistics
Saved on 10/21/2012 at 3:39:34 PM
-------------------------------



Overall Statistics:
-------------------

Perception & Attention:

Targets Omitted ------------ 6
Marked Incorrect ----------- None


Speed:

Total Cells ---------------- 1311
Mean Cell Time ------------- 0.293
Median Cell Time ----------- 0.260

Completed Rows ------------- 49
Mean Row Time -------------- 7.363
Median Row Time ------------ 7.250


Vigilance:

Row Fluctuation ------------ 3.02

Just downloaded the programme, that above ^ was my first attempt. Can anyone tell me how far I've got to improve to attain a reasonable standard? Obviously the 6 correct cells I missed need to be eliminated completely but how many cells should you be looking at completing realistically in order to secure a decent - ie well above borderline - pass?

 

[Smurf]

From what I gather, 1300 cells is more than enough quantity, you should be getting towards half-way down the page, which from my experience is around 1200 - 1300 cells anyway.

Your row fluctuation is good at around 3.00, and you want to make sure that your rows per sheet are consistent.

I've been getting around 9/10 rows per sheet, but you need to make sure that this is consistent, and thus not showing you are quick to start but slow down.

I.E

11-11-9-8-8 is not so good, but 10-9-10-9-10 is better, and shows a consistent level of concentration throughout.

To be honest, I find that finding a rhythm is the key, and as you practice you will notice the patterns of 4, rather than the number, and start striking the patterns rather than counting the dots quickly. Need to be careful though because some of the 3 & 5 patters are similar, practice will clear this up though, and accuracy and speed should increase accordingly.

I think 1 or 2 mistakes is okay over 1200/1300 cells if they're omissions and not incorrectly marked mistakes, but I would guess many more would result in a borderline, or a fail.

 

[TT66]

1400 with one or two mistakes would be enough,thts what someone else on the board told me.Make sure you know whether its computer or paper based so you can practice the same test.

 

[Neil73]

I'm sure i read a post somewhere on this forum that if you hit around 1100 with only a couple of omissions then that will see you right

 

[NI 271]

From what I gather, 1300 cells is more than enough quantity, you should be getting towards half-way down the page, which from my experience is around 1200 - 1300 cells anyway.

Your row fluctuation is good at around 3.00, and you want to make sure that your rows per sheet are consistent.

I've been getting around 9/10 rows per sheet, but you need to make sure that this is consistent, and thus not showing you are quick to start but slow down.

I.E

11-11-9-8-8 is not so good, but 10-9-10-9-10 is better, and shows a consistent level of concentration throughout.

To be honest, I find that finding a rhythm is the key, and as you practice you will notice the patterns of 4, rather than the number, and start striking the patterns rather than counting the dots quickly. Need to be careful though because some of the 3 & 5 patters are similar, practice will clear this up though, and accuracy and speed should increase accordingly.

I think 1 or 2 mistakes is okay over 1200/1300 cells if they're omissions and not incorrectly marked mistakes, but I would guess many more would result in a borderline, or a fail.

That seems like good news, last one was 9-9-10-10-10 with only one omission (row 2 of first page... - however in three tests I haven't marked any incorrectly) however I only managed 1248 cells that time. Hopefully I can up that over the coming weeks/months/years...

 

[Smurf]

I'd say working on your accuracy is the way forward, I initially tried working on the speed, but was making mistakes and being inconsistent. I slowed down and worked on accuracy and strangely found I was getting quicker, probably because I was working to a rhythm.

Never watch the clock either, which isn't easy because you know its there, but tell yourself it isn't!