There is one factor that people are just not picking up - all these questions are aimed to see if you are up to the job of driving a train, nothing else, if you look into the role of the train driver you will understand what the interviewers are looking for - for instance the question describe a time when you have spent over 2 weeks on a course this is directly related to the training that a driver will need to undertake - most of you are just digging a big hole that will swallow you all up"
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Multi Modal Interview Assessment Day 2
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Pepperami
Member
When I had mine, it lasted for an hour and a half, and it FLEW BY!
They said on average they last 45-60 mins, but there is no time limit at all, the interviewer will continue to probe you on every aspect of the answers you provided to the questions before you started and also will ask the same question a few times, but not together, and also worded very differently
They are not trying to catch you out, they are checking your consistency, and can tell straight away if your trying to blag it, dont even bother
Good luck to those of you that have this coming up
They said on average they last 45-60 mins, but there is no time limit at all, the interviewer will continue to probe you on every aspect of the answers you provided to the questions before you started and also will ask the same question a few times, but not together, and also worded very differently
They are not trying to catch you out, they are checking your consistency, and can tell straight away if your trying to blag it, dont even bother
Good luck to those of you that have this coming up
Which TOC was it with Tom?
Pepperami
Member
Good luck mate you will know fairly soon they don't like to keep people hanging about if they can help it
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tinsoldier
New Member
- Joined
- 11 Dec 2014
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- 2
Hi Tom
I have my Stage 2 tests at Watford coming up and I am trying to prepare for the multi-modal interview. Can you confirm that the possible questions are those which are listed on page 1 of this thread? I think ml suggested that some of those are no longer used? Also feeling unsure about the 2 Hand Co-ordination Test ! Any help would be appreciated !
Many thanks,
TS
I have my Stage 2 tests at Watford coming up and I am trying to prepare for the multi-modal interview. Can you confirm that the possible questions are those which are listed on page 1 of this thread? I think ml suggested that some of those are no longer used? Also feeling unsure about the 2 Hand Co-ordination Test ! Any help would be appreciated !
Many thanks,
TS
I'd say it wouldn't be a bad idea to think of answers to all of the questions posted in this thread and the other MMI specific ones, you shouldn't go far wrong then. There were a couple of different ones thrown in that I didn't see on here but obviously if you've got the experience to answer the question/s you'll be fine, I can't remember what they were now.
Hi Everyone,
I have recently passed my STAGE ONE and most of my STAGE TWO assessment, apart from the Multi Modal Interview (MMI), although I have not yet had any feedback regarding why or where I failed. I have contacted the OPC who told me someone will contact me with feedback (it's already 3 days with no response!).
We were told at the OPC that the SJE and the 6 question pre-interview form will not be judged or marked, but they will form the basis for the MMI questionaire. I was told after the MMI that I will hear from the TOC within 7-10 days and that they couldn't tell me my score straight away, but had to endure the suspense. Imagine my disappointment when I received an email just after 2 days informing me that I have been unsuccessful at the second part of the Trainee Train Driver assessment, I am, to say the least, absolutely gutted, considering I have previously been a train driver prior to my resignation in 2005. I felt I answered the questions well enough ensuring that I took safety as a priority, (but one should never be confident at any stage of the assessment).
The result couldn't come at a worst time when there are now a few companies looking to recruit new trainee drivers, my hands are tied as I can not apply for another 6 months presumably.
My questions are - I have read online somewhere that Train companies can, at their discretion overlook the MMI result if the candidate has had previous experience... who can confirm this and how true is it?? and will it affect my applications if I choose to contact a TOC with this information?
With regards to my views on fairness with the MMI, personally, I feel they should take a candidates previous experience into consideration prior to forming an opinion based on answers to their questions. I have previously been a good driver for 5 years, and I also have had a bus license for 15 years... So what is different about me now not being able to do the job according to the MMI?
Thank you for any positive feedback
I have recently passed my STAGE ONE and most of my STAGE TWO assessment, apart from the Multi Modal Interview (MMI), although I have not yet had any feedback regarding why or where I failed. I have contacted the OPC who told me someone will contact me with feedback (it's already 3 days with no response!).
We were told at the OPC that the SJE and the 6 question pre-interview form will not be judged or marked, but they will form the basis for the MMI questionaire. I was told after the MMI that I will hear from the TOC within 7-10 days and that they couldn't tell me my score straight away, but had to endure the suspense. Imagine my disappointment when I received an email just after 2 days informing me that I have been unsuccessful at the second part of the Trainee Train Driver assessment, I am, to say the least, absolutely gutted, considering I have previously been a train driver prior to my resignation in 2005. I felt I answered the questions well enough ensuring that I took safety as a priority, (but one should never be confident at any stage of the assessment).
The result couldn't come at a worst time when there are now a few companies looking to recruit new trainee drivers, my hands are tied as I can not apply for another 6 months presumably.
My questions are - I have read online somewhere that Train companies can, at their discretion overlook the MMI result if the candidate has had previous experience... who can confirm this and how true is it?? and will it affect my applications if I choose to contact a TOC with this information?
With regards to my views on fairness with the MMI, personally, I feel they should take a candidates previous experience into consideration prior to forming an opinion based on answers to their questions. I have previously been a good driver for 5 years, and I also have had a bus license for 15 years... So what is different about me now not being able to do the job according to the MMI?
Thank you for any positive feedback
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Pepperami
Member
Sorry to hear this Zino, and yes your right, its a 6 month wait, and only one more crack at it with the 2 strikes rule 
Its 10 years now since you've left the industry for whatever reason, and I do not know being very new to this myself how this would be seen, a positive or negative?
Lots has probably changed in ten years regarding the rules, the traction etc but being you have been a driver, I am sure those are things you could probably have coped with as you already know what you have done and learnt, how much of a refresher would be expected I am not sure, but ten years in this line of work is probably a long time, too long maybe to be able to say "ok you just need to do this or learn that"
If you didn't pass the MMI then I can only guess that you didn't tell them what they were looking to hear, I know I found the MMI quite hard, having not had interviews in a long long time, and I just followed the very good advice of a few on here, and told them honest answers to the questions and all my answers were based on real life events which I could back up if needed, if it was railway related, I said I cannot answer in railway terms, as I have never done it, but if I was doing it under these circumstances.............. and thats how it went for me.
As for the feedback, I know one of our group waited around 3 weeks for feedback, as the TOC in question were extremely busy with the intake of people for different roles, but even his feedback was a little "Vague" and he thought that this was because if he went for it again, they didn't want to give him the exact reason he failed??? who knows
Its a real shame as you have been in the industry before, so you've worked the shifts, done the required modules to pass as a driver, but now you cant get through the MMI
I haven't a clue about TOCs taking people who failed the MMI bit, but I am sure someone who does know will be along soon
Good luck in the future, let us know how you get on
Its 10 years now since you've left the industry for whatever reason, and I do not know being very new to this myself how this would be seen, a positive or negative?
Lots has probably changed in ten years regarding the rules, the traction etc but being you have been a driver, I am sure those are things you could probably have coped with as you already know what you have done and learnt, how much of a refresher would be expected I am not sure, but ten years in this line of work is probably a long time, too long maybe to be able to say "ok you just need to do this or learn that"
If you didn't pass the MMI then I can only guess that you didn't tell them what they were looking to hear, I know I found the MMI quite hard, having not had interviews in a long long time, and I just followed the very good advice of a few on here, and told them honest answers to the questions and all my answers were based on real life events which I could back up if needed, if it was railway related, I said I cannot answer in railway terms, as I have never done it, but if I was doing it under these circumstances.............. and thats how it went for me.
As for the feedback, I know one of our group waited around 3 weeks for feedback, as the TOC in question were extremely busy with the intake of people for different roles, but even his feedback was a little "Vague" and he thought that this was because if he went for it again, they didn't want to give him the exact reason he failed??? who knows
Its a real shame as you have been in the industry before, so you've worked the shifts, done the required modules to pass as a driver, but now you cant get through the MMI
I haven't a clue about TOCs taking people who failed the MMI bit, but I am sure someone who does know will be along soon
Good luck in the future, let us know how you get on
Thank you for your support Pepperami, I have since spoken to the TOC and they have asked me to reapply at the next stage of recruitment... One positive point though, I guess, is that if, anyone has passed all the stages including the MMI, they are then in a position to wait for the right TOC with the ideal offer and conditions, as their results are valid for another 3 years.Sorry to hear this Zino, and yes your right, its a 6 month wait, and only one more crack at it with the 2 strikes rule
Its 10 years now since you've left the industry for whatever reason, and I do not know being very new to this myself how this would be seen, a positive or negative?
Lots has probably changed in ten years regarding the rules, the traction etc but being you have been a driver, I am sure those are things you could probably have coped with as you already know what you have done and learnt, how much of a refresher would be expected I am not sure, but ten years in this line of work is probably a long time, too long maybe to be able to say "ok you just need to do this or learn that"
If you didn't pass the MMI then I can only guess that you didn't tell them what they were looking to hear, I know I found the MMI quite hard, having not had interviews in a long long time, and I just followed the very good advice of a few on here, and told them honest answers to the questions and all my answers were based on real life events which I could back up if needed, if it was railway related, I said I cannot answer in railway terms, as I have never done it, but if I was doing it under these circumstances.............. and thats how it went for me.
As for the feedback, I know one of our group waited around 3 weeks for feedback, as the TOC in question were extremely busy with the intake of people for different roles, but even his feedback was a little "Vague" and he thought that this was because if he went for it again, they didn't want to give him the exact reason he failed??? who knows
Its a real shame as you have been in the industry before, so you've worked the shifts, done the required modules to pass as a driver, but now you cant get through the MMI
I haven't a clue about TOCs taking people who failed the MMI bit, but I am sure someone who does know will be along soon
Good luck in the future, let us know how you get on
On another point.... Does anyone know if the Trams are covered by the RSSB umberella and are they subject to the same rules and regs as TOCs ??
Hi All
Got my 2nd stage assessment in Watford this Friday. I've been doing some work on possible Q&A in the MMI should I get that far. The Q that I'm struggling most with is the ' being in an emergency situation ' one.
To be honest I haven't, certainly haven't dealt with one. The nearest example I can think of is when I was 12 at a football match with my dad in the bad old days before fences came down, too many fans were in the enclosure and a crush was beginning to develop ( I suppose a similar scenario to Hillsboro which hadn't happened at that time ). Thankfully the police/stewards were aware of this and allowed a whole load of us to get onto the pitch and move along the touchline to a less crowded area. it was very scary at the time, lots of panicking and crying from a lot of people, albeit over with in minutes.
Obviously its not specific to a work environment, nor is it me actually dealing with the problem, so would that kind of answer be deemed a poor example?
Lets be honest, a lot of people have never actually been involved in an emergency.
Serious answers please. Thank you.
Got my 2nd stage assessment in Watford this Friday. I've been doing some work on possible Q&A in the MMI should I get that far. The Q that I'm struggling most with is the ' being in an emergency situation ' one.
To be honest I haven't, certainly haven't dealt with one. The nearest example I can think of is when I was 12 at a football match with my dad in the bad old days before fences came down, too many fans were in the enclosure and a crush was beginning to develop ( I suppose a similar scenario to Hillsboro which hadn't happened at that time ). Thankfully the police/stewards were aware of this and allowed a whole load of us to get onto the pitch and move along the touchline to a less crowded area. it was very scary at the time, lots of panicking and crying from a lot of people, albeit over with in minutes.
Obviously its not specific to a work environment, nor is it me actually dealing with the problem, so would that kind of answer be deemed a poor example?
Lets be honest, a lot of people have never actually been involved in an emergency.
Serious answers please. Thank you.
You're right, it's a poor example because you haven't performed any actions or demonstrated any qualities that they're looking for. Surely you must have come across a car accident that required you to call the emergency services and tell them location and problem and those involved and what's required, reassure or move casualties to a position of safety, communicate with emergency staff to tell them what's going on, direct traffic maybe? Happens to everyone.
greatkingrat
Established Member
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- 3,289
I think many people interpret this question too narrowly, it doesn't have to be a matter of life or death or involve the emergency services.
Any urgent situation that has occurred at work where you have had to take quick action to deal with it could be used.
Any urgent situation that has occurred at work where you have had to take quick action to deal with it could be used.
Cheers Jim
Thinking about it, Im a first aider at work and a woman fainted once and I raised the legs etc, comforted her and instructed a colleague to call the ambulance
Nothing major, but a better example ??
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Cheers Rat
tbh Ive loads of examples of that , that weren't what you'd call an emergency situation as in 999. Maybe I'll use one of those.
Thanks
Thinking about it, Im a first aider at work and a woman fainted once and I raised the legs etc, comforted her and instructed a colleague to call the ambulance
Nothing major, but a better example ??
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Cheers Rat
tbh Ive loads of examples of that , that weren't what you'd call an emergency situation as in 999. Maybe I'll use one of those.
Thanks
Absolutely. It's just that such situations do lend themselves quite well as examples, as they are pressured, time or safety critical actions that you are taking and involve accurate communication with situational awareness, sometimes with professional responsibility. You can of course demonstrate these qualities in a wide variety of different situations, although some may be less obvious than others.
If you have any safety-critical hobbies, I'd really be tempted to mention them. If you are learning to fly, sail, scuba dive etc. the odds are the instructors will throw plenty of "emergencies" in for practice. Given that when experiencing these you often cannot tell whether they are the "real thing" until the situation is safe, I'd imagine they would make pretty good examples.
If the question is specifically about work, it may make those a little difficult, I don't know how they'd respond if you said "well, I don't really have anything from work but I do x outside of work and have examples from that".
I think the tricky ones (whether to use) are examples where the candidate has challenged a more senior person on safety grounds.
If the question is specifically about work, it may make those a little difficult, I don't know how they'd respond if you said "well, I don't really have anything from work but I do x outside of work and have examples from that".
I think the tricky ones (whether to use) are examples where the candidate has challenged a more senior person on safety grounds.
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I used a time from one of my old employers whereby I dealt with an incident that was an emergency in their eyes but wouldn't have been for any other industry whilst I was on call. They're not looking for a time you single handedly managed a major accident, just that you have at least had experience of dealing with a situation that needed the specific skills etc to deal and get a result.
One thing I have noticed is that some folk on the forum have been given an opportunity to expand on otherwise "failed" answers whilst others seemingly haven't. Would it be a good idea to confirm with the interviewer at the start whether I would be prompted to expand on such an answer or asked to provide another example?
Additionally, I've read that in one example that the assessor took loads of notes whilst another just ticked a series of boxes. I have also read of at least one situation where the assessor continually interrupted the candidate. The apparent inconsistency does concern me a bit.
I am a bit concerned since I do wonder if who you get on the day can seriously affect the chances of passing. I'm confident that I've got good examples but I'm concerned that if I don't say exactly the right thing then I'll fail.
Additionally, I've read that in one example that the assessor took loads of notes whilst another just ticked a series of boxes. I have also read of at least one situation where the assessor continually interrupted the candidate. The apparent inconsistency does concern me a bit.
I am a bit concerned since I do wonder if who you get on the day can seriously affect the chances of passing. I'm confident that I've got good examples but I'm concerned that if I don't say exactly the right thing then I'll fail.
Just look at the job description for person specification and be sure to form your answers around that because that is what they're looking for.
Also, explain each answer in stages such as when it happened, what you did and the positive outcome of your actions. They may ask you how you felt at the time but if you can include that in your answer too then you won't go wrong.
Just be careful not to ramble and stray from your point and remember the question being asked.
They want you to pass
I was asked to use the same example for two questions rather than another I had down and passed
I was only interrupted as I got off to a bad start lol due to not sticking with the STAR technique and sticking to a specific event. The assessor was interrogating me at times and there was a lot of ' then what did you do' 'how did you feel about that' 'why did you do that' all said in a very monotone voice
They want to know not just what happened but a detailed background so what your task was what time was it what you were doing and any flaws and you WILL be picked up on it
The assessor made lots of notes and asked additional related questions like how I feel about rules
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I waited over an hour for my interview whilst fellow candidates were being grilled inside separate rooms two at a time... You could hear the interrogation inside! Imagine my nerves!
Was shocked to pass it the hardest part of the process
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Thank you very much for the reassurance and advice, I have got quite a few examples written down in a STAR format which I am memorising, haven't tried to tie them to any specific question too much though I have a rough idea of what the main themes will be.
I did work pretty much alone in one job on early and late shifts for a year and a half (I did on rare occasions work with others). It was fairly repetitive job and I was tempted to discuss each main responsibility of the job under the "Action" bit of STAR as opposed to picking a single day where lots of stuff happened, though I'm not totally sure this is a good idea since the "specific event" bit has been mentioned.
I did work pretty much alone in one job on early and late shifts for a year and a half (I did on rare occasions work with others). It was fairly repetitive job and I was tempted to discuss each main responsibility of the job under the "Action" bit of STAR as opposed to picking a single day where lots of stuff happened, though I'm not totally sure this is a good idea since the "specific event" bit has been mentioned.
Thanks redron, I'll make sure to stick to examples of actual events using the STAR principle.
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I recently sat this and made sure my examples were relevant to each question. I also made sure that I provided clear examples where I had been conscientious, where I had successfully dealt with challenging situations and where I had responded well to low stimulation, as page 3 of the RSSB presentation suggests.
http://www.rssb.co.uk/Library/group...ral-information-briefing-new-ris-3751-tom.pdf
There wasn't really an obvious question on "low stimulation" though I provided an example where it was very clear I had succeeded in managing it. I don't know if they are expecting an example of this in a specific question. If I demonstrated it but not in the "right" question where they were looking, would that be a fail or would they be thinking "he hasn't shown that here but he has demonstrated it on this question so that's ok"?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I recently sat this and made sure my examples were relevant to each question. I also made sure that I provided clear examples where I had been conscientious, where I had successfully dealt with challenging situations and where I had responded well to low stimulation, as page 3 of the RSSB presentation suggests.
http://www.rssb.co.uk/Library/group...ral-information-briefing-new-ris-3751-tom.pdf
There wasn't really an obvious question on "low stimulation" though I provided an example where it was very clear I had succeeded in managing it. I don't know if they are expecting an example of this in a specific question. If I demonstrated it but not in the "right" question where they were looking, would that be a fail or would they be thinking "he hasn't shown that here but he has demonstrated it on this question so that's ok"?
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Waikikibaby
Member
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- 22 Jul 2013
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Just thought I'd ask what is probably an incredibly stupid question. I failed my previous MMI on one question. I'm due to do it again soon and wondered if I'd have to do the complete MMI over again, or just the one question that I failed on?
Does anyone know?
Does anyone know?
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