Southern Conductor Assessment

[Nkay11]

Hey guys,

I had an assessment day today with Southern. The day started with 12 of us and in the end, there were only 4... i managed to breeze through everything and have been invited back for an interview. I was just posting to see if anyone has had an interview with Southern before that could give me some advice on what sort of things will be asked.

Really nervous for my interview... didn't think I'd make it this far... it would be a dream come true for me to get this role since i am only 21 (Hope my age won't make them think i'm not experienced enough)

Also, i was just wondering, since I've passed all my assessments, does this mean that if i go for a position in the future, i can just go straight through to interview. Is this just with Southern or any conductor roles with any company?

Any comments or advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

[ee el oh]

Hi Nkay, Well done on passing your assesment, now comes the tricky part.
I just went through the process with Scotrail and as far as I'm aware the
assesments are good for three years. so any future applications for conductor
should just be selection and interview. My advice is to swat up hard on the company, their aims and goals, mission statement and any info you can learn about them. But the biggest part is sell yourself. Dress in a good suit and tie, polished shoes, haircut, shave (if a guy), smile, dont sit till asked, sit back straight hands on lap, make eye contact and talk clearly without slang. You will be in for about 45 mins with two interviewers but it will be a relaxed affair not an interegation.
Questions:
How did you prepare?
why did you apply?
What is your understanding the role?
how will you ensure the TOC achieve targets?
how would you deal with a difficult customer?
how would you provide customer info during disruption?
In between these Questions there will be sub questions so try and learn as
much about the role of conductor as possible.
Try and get a meeting with a Conductor manager or conductor at a depot
and tell them this at interview, it shows you are serious about the job.
But most of all try and relax, get there early and be yourself, even try and
inject a little humour into the interview. These guys may be your bosses so
prove you can get along with them and do a good job for them.
Best of luck and let us know how it goes. When is it BTW?

 

[Nkay11]

Hi Nkay, Well done on passing your assesment, now comes the tricky part.
I just went through the process with Scotrail and as far as I'm aware the
assesments are good for three years. so any future applications for conductor
should just be selection and interview. My advice is to swat up hard on the company, their aims and goals, mission statement and any info you can learn about them. But the biggest part is sell yourself. Dress in a good suit and tie, polished shoes, haircut, shave (if a guy), smile, dont sit till asked, sit back straight hands on lap, make eye contact and talk clearly without slang. You will be in for about 45 mins with two interviewers but it will be a relaxed affair not an interegation.
Questions:
How did you prepare?
why did you apply?
What is your understanding the role?
how will you ensure the TOC achieve targets?
how would you deal with a difficult customer?
how would you provide customer info during disruption?
In between these Questions there will be sub questions so try and learn as
much about the role of conductor as possible.
Try and get a meeting with a Conductor manager or conductor at a depot
and tell them this at interview, it shows you are serious about the job.
But most of all try and relax, get there early and be yourself, even try and
inject a little humour into the interview. These guys may be your bosses so
prove you can get along with them and do a good job for them.
Best of luck and let us know how it goes. When is it BTW?

Hi there,

Thank you very much for replying are the assessments good for any company or just Southern?

I'm not to sure when my interview is, I've just been told that i will hear probably within a week with a date. How would i go about getting an interview with a conductor?

Did you manage to get the job you applied for?

Thanks again.

 

[ee el oh]

Hi, Yes I passed the interview but I am currently on hold awaiting positions
becoming available. As far as I know the asessment good for three years is for all tocs, they are not going to shell out a lot of money to put the same people through the same test time and again. As for getting an interview, They say its
good to talk, and it is. Most people like to talk about themselves and conductors are no different. If you know somebody in the railways see if they can help if not go to your nearest depot and try and grab an off duty guard and find out who his manager is and if poss get a phone number or email if not
talk to the guard. Dont be shy cos you'll need to get used to talking to strangers if you become a conductor. Try and do this, it will make you stand out
from the crowd. Nobody else seems to do it and I promise you the interviewers will see that you are determined to do all it takes to get this job. P.S not
that it makes any difference but are you male or female?

 

[Nkay11]

Hi, Yes I passed the interview but I am currently on hold awaiting positions
becoming available. As far as I know the asessment good for three years is for all tocs, they are not going to shell out a lot of money to put the same people through the same test time and again. As for getting an interview, They say its
good to talk, and it is. Most people like to talk about themselves and conductors are no different. If you know somebody in the railways see if they can help if not go to your nearest depot and try and grab an off duty guard and find out who his manager is and if poss get a phone number or email if not
talk to the guard. Dont be shy cos you'll need to get used to talking to strangers if you become a conductor. Try and do this, it will make you stand out
from the crowd. Nobody else seems to do it and I promise you the interviewers will see that you are determined to do all it takes to get this job. P.S not
that it makes any difference but are you male or female?

Male haha i'll try my best to see what i can do mate... thanks

Really dreading this interview but hopefully i can show what i'm made of and get the job with any luck. It really would be amazing to get this job.. a life changer.

 

[ee el oh]

Its deffo a life changer and a job for life with great prospects. Try and keep relaxed about it and enjoy yourself, remember these guys want to see how
you react under pressure and how you work as a person, although answering
the questions to the best of your abilities is important, dont lie if you dont know
the answer, just be honest and say you dont know. The most important thing in
the rail industry is safety, always keep this in mind when you are answering questions. Oh and dont forget to breathe. The reason I asked whether male or female was the suit and shave thing. At my interview there were a couple of guys who were well dressed but no suit jacket, cos it was a warm day. They
never passed. Wear a full suit and keep your jacket on. Dont dread it, look forward to it and always be positive but dont be over confident either, nobody
likes a smug git.