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London Midland assessment day
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RailUK Forums
keep the faith mate , its difficult i know , its not easy when you dont know where you stand , but weve come this far , for me i hope either someone drops out or they have a different group starting in april ( which is what i was told )
but time will tell
happy new year to all
SJN
Member
Good to hear you haven't given up Cobbler. At least you've passed everything and are good to go. Happy New Year.
might be worth giving them a call mate
it seems they have got the full intakes in jan/feb
then they have people who have passed everything but have no job offer
then people who are still halfway through the process
i would think maybe they arent so busy now most of the recruitment is complete ?? but who knows what plan they have
i heard the other day they wanted 40-60 new starters from now till april
i think thats probly correct thb , i dont think anything is 100% untill you sign the contract ,i would think they have quite a large pool of people atm who have passed everything and in limbo as it were
would be interesting to see if they do hold more assessments in a couple months
plastictaffy
Member
pt_mad.........
I have a rough idea of how it works, and if you don't mind I'll explain.
Of all the applications they receive, around a third to a half will not get through the paper sift. At this point you can lose the job purely by making a simple mistake on the first page of the application form. Believe me, if you've advertised a position, and you get a lot of applicants, (as London Midland will have had) you DO NOT read all the application forms properly. You generally look at the first page and the last page, and scan read the experience bit.
They generally lose anywhere up to half again at the assessment stage.
Half to two thirds don't make it through the interview for whatever reason, some just don't turn up, same for the assessment.
Of those that are left, 10-20 percent either don't show for, or fail the medical. If you've got to the passed interview stage, the chances of you getting a job are very good.
Knowing London Midland as I do though, I could just see that they have say, 100 positions available, and end up trying to offer 150 people a job!!!!
The only bit of the above I KNOW to be true is the assessment bit and the medical bit, and the rest of it comes from personal experience of interviewing people for jobs myself. But, if you take that as a rough guide, it gives you some idea of what you're up against to gain a job that's actually worth having.
I have a rough idea of how it works, and if you don't mind I'll explain.
Of all the applications they receive, around a third to a half will not get through the paper sift. At this point you can lose the job purely by making a simple mistake on the first page of the application form. Believe me, if you've advertised a position, and you get a lot of applicants, (as London Midland will have had) you DO NOT read all the application forms properly. You generally look at the first page and the last page, and scan read the experience bit.
They generally lose anywhere up to half again at the assessment stage.
Half to two thirds don't make it through the interview for whatever reason, some just don't turn up, same for the assessment.
Of those that are left, 10-20 percent either don't show for, or fail the medical. If you've got to the passed interview stage, the chances of you getting a job are very good.
Knowing London Midland as I do though, I could just see that they have say, 100 positions available, and end up trying to offer 150 people a job!!!!
The only bit of the above I KNOW to be true is the assessment bit and the medical bit, and the rest of it comes from personal experience of interviewing people for jobs myself. But, if you take that as a rough guide, it gives you some idea of what you're up against to gain a job that's actually worth having.
i think thats a fair reflection on how it works , but i do wonder how it works after they have people who have passed everything , how do they pick ?
i know for fact that someone who i interviewed with on the same day got the job and has no cash handling ex or any railways or any real work ex as they are very young ..but got the job
its quite confusing lol im trying to remain upbeat though
but ill hang on though because who knows and i know better than most how decent the job is and bletchley has some good blokes there
i know for fact that someone who i interviewed with on the same day got the job and has no cash handling ex or any railways or any real work ex as they are very young ..but got the job
its quite confusing lol im trying to remain upbeat though
but ill hang on though because who knows and i know better than most how decent the job is and bletchley has some good blokes thereplastictaffy
Member
You're not pulling out of the recruitment process then, cobbler?? Thought you said you already phoned them and told them to forget it??
i didnt tell them anything
i more expressed my dissapointment on here that waiting till april was not the ideal senario lol polite eh it would be silly to take myself out of the running , anything can happen from here , a place could become avaible and i could slot in ?
if it isnt to be then it isnt to be , im quite sure that if they do another course in april then i should be on it , but thats a long way off and things change
so ill keep hanging on for the time being and see what develops
Iceman1979
Member
- Joined
- 16 Jan 2013
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- 27
Hi Everyone
I have my interview for Trainee Senior Conductor next week Wednesday, so I was hoping if you guys can help me with the sort of questions they ask and how long the interview lasts.
Will appreciate greatly for any help guys......Thanks
I have my interview for Trainee Senior Conductor next week Wednesday, so I was hoping if you guys can help me with the sort of questions they ask and how long the interview lasts.
Will appreciate greatly for any help guys......Thanks
SJN
Member
Hi. It's mainly customer service experience they ask about and how you have dealt with difficult situations, following standards and proceedures, how you will cope with early mornings and late nights. Theres probably loads more I cant remember as I had mine in October. I found the interviewers really relaxed and friendly and it all went well. Good luck.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Got my confirmation letter today. Definite start on 25 Feb at the New Street offices. Hope to meet a few of you there.
plastictaffy
Member
Haven't had mine yet, SJN. According to my current bossman, they haven't requested a reference yet. 
SJN
Member
Strange. They requested both of mine last week. I stood over my current boss whilst they wrote it and pestered my previous one by txt until he sent it. They don't seem to get a move on do they? I would presume everyone needs their notice in by next Friday. I'm lucky, I only have to give two week and then I've got two weeks rest.
I had an e-mail about 10 days ago to confirm the e-mail addresses of my references, replied ages ago but haven't had anything through at current job yet. Will give them a ring if don't get anything through in next few days see what's going on.
SJN
Member
Yeah, I had that email. I replied straight away and the references were sent out the same day. The only hold up for me was that my old boss was on holiday and didnt reply until Tuesday just gone.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
My email was from Emily. I emailed her a couple of times and she is really helpful. I would email her on Monday if I were you for an update. Do you need to resign by Friday?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
My email was from Emily. I emailed her a couple of times and she is really helpful. I would email her on Monday if I were you for an update. Do you need to resign by Friday?
plastictaffy
Member
To be fair, my current boss is a knob, and may not have even bothered checking to see if they have put a reference request in. Think I'll fire off an e-mail to Emily now, see what the game is at the moment. Then in the morning, I might ring to see if my previous employer has had a request. If he has, it's fair to say that my current boss is just dragging his heels, as he was none to happy when I handed my notice in.
Yep mine was from Emily too. Just sent her a quick e-mail to check the status of the references. Yes, ideally I'd have needed to do it by Friday but my Manager is off this week and as I'm Assistant Manager I had to give it in last week as don't think they'd be very impressed if gave it to myself! Just hoping and praying all goes through now or I've got bit of a problem!
I'd done the assessment and the structured interview. I felt I fitted what they wanted, after all I've been working 'front of house' with customers and handling cashfor 14 years. Its taken them from the 3rd December to make their minds up which I think is bang out of order, I've effectively put my life on hold whilst I waited for them and its not on. I will be submitting an invoice later today for my time and train fares. I will also be speaking to Centro West Midlands to see if they are interested in knowing about London Midland.
well im sorry for ya mate , as i said i know how you feel ive been there , however and i do feel its slightly poor taste saying it but i got offered the job today to start in april , im really pleased
and heres the thing , dont look at it as being you or something you did or didnt do , ive tried 3 times in total to come back , twice this year and once before
ive done the job for 10years with a good work record and its been hard getting knocked back because i know i can do it , theres alot of luck involved
keep plugging away , it will happen
and heres the thing , dont look at it as being you or something you did or didnt do , ive tried 3 times in total to come back , twice this year and once before
ive done the job for 10years with a good work record and its been hard getting knocked back because i know i can do it , theres alot of luck involved
keep plugging away , it will happen
RJ
Established Member
My advice is to let it go. Recruitment processes can often be interminable, especially on the railways and you can't ever assume that you've got the job until you've been offered the job. Putting your life on hold wasn't a good idea.
Be angry about it by all means, but think about the bigger picture.
SJN
Member
Congrats Cobbler. Really pleased for you. I start in Feb so not sure what stage of training I'll be by then but maybe I'll bump into you at some point. When in April do you start?
plastictaffy
Member
Sorry to hear that, roverman. Don't be disheartened though, please!!! It has taken me 14 years and countless applications to get to the point I am at now. I have spent many a sleepless night wondering why, no matter who I applied to within the industry, I didn't even get the dreaded "Dear John........" letter. It's an employers' market, and employers know it only too well. You win some, you lose some. Take it on the chin, mate. Onwards and upwards.
Everyone knows within the industry, I would imagine, exactly what LM are like. All of us on here have been fobbed off/given misinformation by them at some point.
If you do send them the invoice for your time and train fares, it will likely scupper any chance you are ever likely to have of getting on with LM, and possibly any affiliate companies GoVia run. (Southern, SouthEastern and GatEx I believe)
By all means, send them an e-mail asking for feedback, then you'll perhaps know where you went wrong for the next time you have an interview for a job you REALLY want.
Everyone knows within the industry, I would imagine, exactly what LM are like. All of us on here have been fobbed off/given misinformation by them at some point.
If you do send them the invoice for your time and train fares, it will likely scupper any chance you are ever likely to have of getting on with LM, and possibly any affiliate companies GoVia run. (Southern, SouthEastern and GatEx I believe)
By all means, send them an e-mail asking for feedback, then you'll perhaps know where you went wrong for the next time you have an interview for a job you REALLY want.
SJN
Member
Did you find out about your references Plastictaffy?
plastictaffy
Member
Yup, my current boss-man did it on Tuesday. Had an e-mail from Emily telling me that she's dealing with it. I phoned them and spoke to Sheila who said that she would speak to Emily when she came in, as she sounded less than chuffed that my references hadn't been done.
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