Private Psychometric Test - Opinions

[ajp777]

Hi all. I'm currently trying to pursue a career in the railway industry, preferably as a Train Driver.

I am willing to put the hard work, time and effort in to achieve my goal and have come across the following link:

Book Your Private Train Driver Assessment | How2Become.com

Get private Train Driver training from recruitment expert's How2Become. Book your test and sky-rocket your chances of becoming a Train Driver overnight!

www.how2become.com

The link is basically an offer of 2 intensive courses which provides all the necessary training and guidance needed to pass the psychometric tests and also includes the fee's to sit the psychometric test which are recognised by all TOC's. The cheaper of the two courses is 779 quid + VAT and the more expensive one is 1197 quid but includes more training aids, guidance and support.

That may seem expensive but if it would assist with the application process and make me a more attractive candidate then it seems like a good investment (provided I put the work in and actually pass which I know is not easy).

Further to this, I have noticed some of the Freightliner companies have advertised for trainee drivers but part of the essential criteria they list is below:

• Applicants should have successfully passed their train driver psychometric assessment within the past 5 years. If you have failed part of your assessment within the last 6 months, you will be unable to apply for this position on this occasion.

That obviously rules a lot of people out.

Any advice or guidance would be appreciated. It's no secret that for any advert for trainee/apprentice train drivers there are 1000's of candidates that apply but does anyone know how beneficial holding a pass in the psychometric test would be? Would it make me stand out enough over other candidates when applying, enough to spend nearly a grand on?

In the mean time I have also applied for some shunting and ground staff roles which will hopefully get my foot in the door and stand me in good stead in the future when an opportunity local to me becomes available. I am currently a police officer with 14 years in but I am desperate to pursue a career on the railway.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Any advice, opinions or experiences will be greatly appreciated

 

[martin2345uk]

I personally wouldn't spend that amount of money on them when the vast majority of TOCs and FOCs put you through them for free if you pass the initial sift, which, as a Policeman, you will quite probably have the required skills/experiences to do (there's a lot of your ilk on the railways!).

 

[driver9000]

That's a lot of money and personally I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. These adverts make it seem that a pass is guaranteed if you sit the course but most of the material is already online for free and the tests rely on your ability rather than revision. There's lots of former police officers driving trains and you will already have much of what operators are looking for to make your application stand out.

 

[Aviator88]

It's a lot of money, but it's ultimately your money. My two pence? Apply for any trainee train driver job you can (the vast majority don't require recent assessment centre passes), and once you've sat the relatively simple psychometric tests you'll be so glad you still have that £1k in your bank.

 

[John Bishop]

Don’t give them a penny! More than achievable without spending anything.

 

[choochoochoo]

Don’t pay for this. It’s a waste of money. If you’ve got the ability the their additional training isn’t going to help.

Also their testing schedule is a lot more intense than a lot of TOCs/focs who split various parts over a 2 days.

Only one day to do all the assessments. And that with the tough MMI at the end of the day.

 

[Efini92]

Don’t waste your money.

 

[Neatro]

Personally I wouldn't bother. It may slightly increase your chances of being chosen in the sift but not by a lot.

Then they usually put you through the tests for free (you put the hard work in here) so by the end you've paid nearly £1200 to get to the same place as someone who spent £0.

Most also give you free practice material before the assessments too so paying seems irrelevant.

 

[Newapplicant]

Just to wade in on this - I feel I also have to agree with the others, don't waste your money on it. I only say this as there is a wealth of information on this forum that can help you prepare for the tests and in some cases give you practical examples of what to expect, for instance, the group bourdon tool that you can download and use for free.

 

[TheGoldfish]

Can’t see it ‘sky rocketing’ your chances as it claims … at best you’ll pass and be in the same position as all the other applicants or at worst you’ll fail and will have done your money and needlessy ‘lost a life’ in the process.

throughout the entire process of becoming a qualified driver .. these tests at the beginning are arguably the easiest / most straight forward bit and if anyone really needs to spend a load of money getting ‘extra’ help just to get through them then they're kidding themselves and probably not actually suited to the role in the first place.. sounds harsh I know but if you’re not gonna make it through the whole process it’s better to go out in the beginning and save yourself the pain of failure further down the line.

 

[Shunted]

My bit of input who be to stay clear of the ‘how to become’ software for the computer tests as they are nothing like the real ones but if you wanted a bit of practice and not spend too much then traineetraindriverinfo.com do practice material very close to the real thing!

 

[skyhigh]

I would stay well away from these kinds of schemes. If you pass the sift/company interview then the company will put you through the tests for free. They will provide you with most of the material you need to pass them too - for example I only used the provided information and the Group Bourdon tool from here and passed. Paying all that money will not guarantee you a pass either - I have no idea what the pass rates are like for them but at one TOC I worked the pass rate was around 20%.

It's also worth noting there isn't really a universal 'pass mark' either. Each TOC can apply their own criteria which means a pass according to national standards isn't actually something every TOC would consider a pass. So you could walk out having spent £1k and got a pass that won't actually get you a job with the TOC that has depots in your area.

A psychometric pass will also not guarantee a pass at the paper sift stage. A lot of companies use automated sifting software which means if you don't have a good enough application, you won't get through even with a pass.

Lots of things to consider but coming from a career in the Police you should have plenty of examples and experience you could use to write a good application that will make you stand out without needing to risk £1k on something you could get for free.

 

[YingYing]

As above; just apply for the job. Everything you need you either already have in experience, can be found on here, or will be given to you before sitting the test. The companies will put you through the tests for free and you have the same chance of passing them.

 

[Sly Sloth]

I very much doubt any recruiters would look favourable on your application just because you’ve passed the psychometrics. Keep applying and if you make the initial sift then you’ll do all the tests for free and stand a better chance of actually getting a job than this rip off company could ever dream of……

 

[AverageJoe]

With only reading the title and no one else’s post I’d say it’s pointless.

One of the biggest obstacles seems to be getting noticed at the application stage.

When I applied for the job I had never attempted or completed psychometrics.

However I had some work colleagues who already had a pass at enhanced standard.

I got invited to the assessments and eventually got the job. They just got an email saying they were unsuccessful.

Having a pass on psychometrics doesn’t seem to get you noticed anymore than anyone else at the application stage.

My advice is apply and if you invited to take the tests then strike while the iron is hot, pass them all, pass the DMI and get the job.

Easier said than done I know.

 

[baz962]

I'm not sure on this one. I personally wouldn't pay to do them privately, but in my case I believe having the passes helped. I started applying for trainee driver jobs in 2010. From 2010 to 2017 , most were unsuccessful with only one invite to a telephone interview which was unsuccessful. In 2017 I got invited to do the psychometric tests and passed to enhanced, but wasn't offered a job at managers interview. I wasn't going to waste the passes and applied elsewhere and made sure to put in my application where possible that I had the passes. Within three months I had been offered two manager interviews and accepted a job. Another few months later and got offered another interview by a company that I had applied for at the same time. So I got offered one telephone interview in seven years before the tests and three interviews in less than a year after passing. Might be a coincidence, who knows. Like I said though I wouldn't pay to do them personally.

 

[ajp777]

Thanks for all the responses guys. It's definitely an overwhelming opinion that the courses would in one way or another be a waste of money or that the costs almost certainly outweigh the benefits. Thanks to all who replied, you might have just saved me a lot of money