The "dreaded" MMI

[GreenVision]

Hi guys.

I will be sitting my second MMI in a few weeks. I have passed all other psychometrics with another TOC. Unfortunately I failed my MMI on that occasion.
When I requested feedback for this, I was told my answers were acceptable but my verbal communication let me down.
Has anyone else failed for this reason? I'm trying to reflect and improve on this particular aspect. I still have all my answers that were deemed acceptable previously but would appreciate any advice on how to pass the verbal communication element of the interview.
I'm familiar with STAR format and used this previously.

I am also all ears for literally any advice you may have to offer regarding the MMI.

 

[Horizon22]

If you search this forum for "MMI" you will find lots of discussion about it. Verbal communication is very personal, so it is going to be hard to answer exactly what it was that let you down.

 

[AndySV1K]

Is that all the feedback they gave you? If so it's difficult for you to focus on what you need to do to improve. If you have any more info on what they said to you that would help. If not, I think as Horizon22 said your best bet would be to read up as much info as you can on the subject as preparation for it.

 

[martin2345uk]

I’ve had to pass the MMI twice; I’d really built it up in my mind as this utter horror but in the end the guy was very nice and laid back; such that the second time I was much more laid back myself - I think part of the key is not to overthink it, stay calm and if you have to repeat yourself then do so!

 

[GreenVision]

Is that all the feedback they gave you? If so it's difficult for you to focus on what you need to do to improve. If you have any more info on what they said to you that would help. If not, I think as Horizon22 said your best bet would be to read up as much info as you can on the subject as preparation for it.

Unfortunately. I called and asked to speak to the assessor who had left me a voicemail but they were on a break at the time. So a receptionist read my notes and said I had failed the verbal communication element, my answers were all passes.
I agree, it's a very vague and subjective thing that only the assessors know about. Just thought I would chance my arm on here.

If you search this forum for "MMI" you will find lots of discussion about it. Verbal communication is very personal, so it is going to be hard to answer exactly what it was that let you down.

Thanks for the advice. I have tried searching verbal communication but can only find the odd comment on it. I will continue to search the forum though.

 

[PeteBre]

Hi guys.

I will be sitting my second MMI in a few weeks. I have passed all other psychometrics with another TOC. Unfortunately I failed my MMI on that occasion.
When I requested feedback for this, I was told my answers were acceptable but my verbal communication let me down.
Has anyone else failed for this reason? I'm trying to reflect and improve on this particular aspect. I still have all my answers that were deemed acceptable previously but would appreciate any advice on how to pass the verbal communication element of the interview.
I'm familiar with STAR format and used this previously.

I am also all ears for literally any advice you may have to offer regarding the MMI.

Don’t suppose you’d consider sharing your Q & A’s with me please?

 

[skyhigh]

Don’t suppose you’d consider sharing your Q & A’s with me please?

Knowing the questions is one thing, but asking for someone else's answers too? Wow

 

[PeteBre]

Knowing the questions is one thing, but asking for someone else's answers too? Wow

I wanted to see the full approach, please don’t think I would ever use someone else’s answers.

 

[Taylor-j01]

Which one does Northern do first the mmi or dmi?

Its competency based questions on the first interview

 

[D3WY]

I failed my first MMI, the feedback I got was my answers lacked structure. My first MMI experience was dreadful, my interviewer wasnt the normal driver interviewer and i felt like i got grilled and spat out, i left knowing I'd likely failed and was an emotional wreck.

I reapplied and went through the whole process again, this time I knew what to expect, I like you had the same answers as I KNEW the same questions would be asked, I made sure I was as detailed in my answer as possible and made sure I told it like a well structured story using the S.T.A.R method.

2nd time was a total opposite, much nicer experience all round and I left confident and got it!

So I'd say don't go in assuming it will be the same interviewer and same experience. Hopefully like me your second time round will be easier to prepare for it mentally.

Good luck

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Mar 2025 ==

Don’t suppose you’d consider sharing your Q & A’s with me please?

Don't use other people answers, they want you to use your experiences and they will likely pick up if you're making it up. Just come up with truthful answers that you know fit the questions well and you can explain well.

 

[Brum_AVFC]

I had mine recently and the questions were exactly as I had prepared, as prepared as I was it totally threw me off how often I was interrupted with how did I feel, what was the outcome (which I was building too) I feel like I’ve failed miserably as I was definitely tied up in knots.

What I don’t think is fair, the 2 candidates who came out of the interview with the male said it was nice and chill without much interruption, me and the other candidate had the female, we both left feeling absolutely defeated.

Yes you should be able to deal with it no matter the circumstance, and I’ll only have myself to blame if I’ve failed. But it should be the same pressure for every candidate.

 

[GreenVision]

I had mine recently and the questions were exactly as I had prepared, as prepared as I was it totally threw me off how often I was interrupted with how did I feel, what was the outcome (which I was building too) I feel like I’ve failed miserably as I was definitely tied up in knots.

What I don’t think is fair, the 2 candidates who came out of the interview with the male said it was nice and chill without much interruption, me and the other candidate had the female, we both left feeling absolutely defeated.

Yes you should be able to deal with it no matter the circumstance, and I’ll only have myself to blame if I’ve failed. But it should be the same pressure for every candidate.

That's what I think I'm falling into the trap of. Almost preparing too much for the questions when the MMI is clearly designed to see how you react and think on your feet.

 

[D3WY]

I had mine recently and the questions were exactly as I had prepared, as prepared as I was it totally threw me off how often I was interrupted with how did I feel, what was the outcome (which I was building too) I feel like I’ve failed miserably as I was definitely tied up in knots.

What I don’t think is fair, the 2 candidates who came out of the interview with the male said it was nice and chill without much interruption, me and the other candidate had the female, we both left feeling absolutely defeated.

Yes you should be able to deal with it no matter the circumstance, and I’ll only have myself to blame if I’ve failed. But it should be the same pressure for every candidate.

It is the same process, the interviewer will have a tick box sheet he/she is working on, they ask you alot of how you felt etc because again they want to see if your personality fits the job fron the answers you give. As you say you have the exact questions to hand to prep, the only differential is the answers a candidate gives.

I'm also pretty sure the interviewer won't have a say in wether you pass or fail I think the info goes off to someone else who wouldn't have met you and works out if the person who answers this sheet is the right person.

This is from what I observed on my 2 MMI's anyway.

 

[marcy]

I had mine recently and the questions were exactly as I had prepared, as prepared as I was it totally threw me off how often I was interrupted with how did I feel, what was the outcome (which I was building too) I feel like I’ve failed miserably as I was definitely tied up in knots.

What I don’t think is fair, the 2 candidates who came out of the interview with the male said it was nice and chill without much interruption, me and the other candidate had the female, we both left feeling absolutely defeated.

Yes you should be able to deal with it no matter the circumstance, and I’ll only have myself to blame if I’ve failed. But it should be the same pressure for every candidate.

Absolutely, i have heard others say it is laid back and a casual conversation , my MMI was the toughest longest interview I have ever done and I never passed . Ex colleague said hers was laid back , told it was just a chat as after passing the computer assessments the ‘job was yours ‘
3 of us on the day , the first guy let away after 30 minutes , 2nd guy not long after , I was still on question 3

 

[Sly Sloth]

The MMI used to be a formality and in my many many years I’d only heard of 1 who failed it! The last year of so I know of 4/5 current staff who have failed it so either it’s got harder or the assessors have been told to make sure the answers are robust enough to warrant a pass!

 

[12LDA28C]

The MMI used to be a formality and in my many many years I’d only heard of 1 who failed it! The last year of so I know of 4/5 current staff who have failed it so either it’s got harder or the assessors have been told to make sure the answers are robust enough to warrant a pass!

The assessors need to be as absolutely sure as they can be that the candidate is the right person for the job. If they let someone pass who isn't, and they then fail to make the grade during training it's a waste of everyone's time.

 

[Error404]

"Verbal communication" infers to me about your tone, confidence, ability to speak clearly, explain information clearly, recall information, reduce the use of jargon, pauses, pitch and listening.

It speaks volumes to me that you accept that you didn't make the cut, and are looking to improve - rather than slate the process. This is good self reflection.

They could of provided more specific feedback than "Verbal communication".

Keep doing what you are doing.

Before I applied for the job I wanted I applied for a few in my company before hand to brush up on interview skills. I had no intention of wanting the job but used the experience to build on myself. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Brum_AVFC]

That's what I think I'm falling into the trap of. Almost preparing too much for the questions when the MMI is clearly designed to see how you react and think on your feet.

I tried to avoid memorising my answers word for word as it would come across rehearsed as opposed to a conversation. The constant questioning during my pitch did throw my answer out of sync and missed explaining some things I wanted to. I was in there for around an hour in total as opposed to the person before me who was in there an hour and a half, they say the longer it is the harder they’re working to get answers out of you. Don’t know how true that is though, hear a lot of things in this forum.

 

[Terry844]

I had mine recently and the questions were exactly as I had prepared, as prepared as I was it totally threw me off how often I was interrupted with how did I feel, what was the outcome (which I was building too) I feel like I’ve failed miserably as I was definitely tied up in knots.

What I don’t think is fair, the 2 candidates who came out of the interview with the male said it was nice and chill without much interruption, me and the other candidate had the female, we both left feeling absolutely defeated.

Yes you should be able to deal with it no matter the circumstance, and I’ll only have myself to blame if I’ve failed. But it should be the same pressure for every candidate.

When I did my MMI it was the toughest interview I have had, I was in there with the interviewer for ages definitely the best part of an hour if not a full hour. I left hoping I had done enough but feeling I hadn’t, I was surprised a few days later when I got the notification I had passed. Just wanted to say even if people think their interview hasn’t gone well, you never know until you get the result.

It has been mentioned before that the rail industry is leaning heavily into NTS and as a result it’s those personality traits that they are looking for. so you can have meticulously prepared answers to the questions, but a few probing questions from the interviewer and they will see if you have the traits they are looking for

 

[D3WY]

When I did my MMI it was the toughest interview I have had, I was in there with the interviewer for ages definitely the best part of an hour if not a full hour. I left hoping I had done enough but feeling I hadn’t, I was surprised a few days later when I got the notification I had passed. Just wanted to say even if people think their interview hasn’t gone well, you never know until you get the result.

It has been mentioned before that the rail industry is leaning heavily into NTS and as a result it’s those personality traits that they are looking for. so you can have meticulously prepared answers to the questions, but a few probing questions from the interviewer and they will see if you have the traits they are looking for

I wouldn't read too much into it, I heard it's a points thing and the more times they interrupt and ask questions is a bad thing. But I got asked loads of times like you and still got through it. So yeah I wouldn't loose sleep over it, as long as you know you did your best that's all that counts

 

[driverd]

Sorry, whats an MMI and a DMI?

Been driving for over a decade and never heard these terms - to me a DMI is a driver/machine interface... (Wouldn't be the railway if we didn't abbreviate everything, ey?)

 

[marcy]

Sorry, whats an MMI and a DMI?

Been driving for over a decade and never heard these terms - to me a DMI is a driver/machine interface... (Wouldn't be the railway if we didn't abbreviate everything, ey?)

DMI in an interview with the driver managers
MMI is multi modal interview with a recruitment administrator and is usually the last part of the assessment process ( for me anyway )

 

[driverd]

DMI in an interview with the driver managers
MMI is multi modal interview with a recruitment administrator and is usually the last part of the assessment process ( for me anyway )

At northern (and I think TPE), it was just the manager interview and the psychometrics, mind you, this could all have changed by now. Is the multimodal interview the one you do on the psychometrics day?

 

[marcy]

At northern (and I think TPE), it was just the manager interview and the psychometrics, mind you, this could all have changed by now. Is the multimodal interview the one you do on the psychometrics day?

I wish it was still that ! I would have got through!!

Yeah I did the MMI after passing the computer assessments on the day of the 2nd stage assessments

 

[AverageJoe]

I personally think the MMI is a bit of a mystery as to what exactly gets you through it or not.

It could be multiple things or a combination of many.

Are they looking for only correct answers, or is it the manner in which you deliver the answer? Or both?

Does taking time between questions showing you are thinking it through score you a mark, whereas quickfire direct almost robotic answers cost you a mark because it looks to them as if it’s a made up or pre planned response? Or do they want to see you can think and react quickly?

Sometimes they will ask you if you will do things differently and sow doubt in your mind about an answer, do you double down and stick to your guns or do you accept you made a mistake and say you would do things differently next time?

There is so many things that could score or lose points that’s it’s just so hard to know or prepare for, and overly preparing can actually leave you less prepared if the questions aren’t what you expect.

That’s why I always say learn about the TOC, learn about the railway in general and turn up and be your best YOU on the day.

If that works, great. If not then maybe the MMI did its job and you are not best suited to the role but you will likely excel at another role you can now pursue.

I understand it’s a job that many people dream to have but non of us are entitled to it, we have to pass the tests on our own back and show we have the attributes to do it consistently day in day out.

 

[Taylor-j01]

So the first one with Northern is the mmi (competency and situational based questions)

If you pass that stage
The second one on the same day as the psychometrics is the dmi ?

 

[AverageJoe]

So the first one with Northern is the mmi (competency and situational based questions)

If you pass that stage
The second one on the same day as the psychometrics is the dmi ?

I believe northern tend to do the DMI first.

The MMI is part of the psychometrics and a fail in that one will count towards a life lost.

 

[12LDA28C]

So the first one with Northern is the mmi (competency and situational based questions)

If you pass that stage
The second one on the same day as the psychometrics is the dmi ?

I'm fairly sure that the DMI would not be done on the same day as the psychometrics, as the MMI is usually the last stage of the tests.

The DMI would be done afterwards at the TOC.

 

[Taylor-j01]

Thanks for the info

I have a interview and the new style assessment day next week for Northern

As it would be a Dmi - Am I correct that this is the depot Manager with a individual also from Northern HR who conduct this?
Or is a Dmi a manager who does not work that specific depot
I know alot of info on the line too which if they are the actual depot manager could come in handy

 

[AverageJoe]

Thanks for the info

I have a interview and the new style assessment day next week for Northern

As it would be a Dmi - Am I correct that this is the depot Manager with Northern HR who conduct this?
Or is a Dmi a manager who does not work that specific depot
I know alot of info on the line too which if they are the actual depot manager could come in handy

DMI stands for driver manager interview.
So it will be with one but probably 2 driver managers.
This is your chance to show them you are someone they would want on the team rather than someone who could cause them headaches.