I feel i need to explain more. I was on my iPad earlier so wasn't up for writing too much. I think maybe the two situations i chose to talk about earlier yes they were ok but I was told in answer to two other questions that my explanations weren't good enough.
For the first question about working to procedures i talked about the dispatch procedure at Birmingham new street as I do it many times a day every working day of the week so I felt like that should have been a relevant procedure but when it came to working alone I was told that a senior conductor doesn't work alone as there is always a driver at the front. I didn't it push it too hard but she said we'll come back to it try and think of another time where you have worked for long periods alone (i just don't really)...... brain freeze! I ended up talking about working in my home studio recording music, thats all I had left. Without lying its the only other thing I do alone and I can see there are no overlapping correlations between playing piano and driving a train.
And the last one solving a problem I talked about a time i worked as part of a team to clear 100s of passengers out of a station because all the lines were blocked ironically by failed freight trains and a fatality. I was told by her that I didn't solve the problem and I needed to think of another example so basically only 2 out of my 5 questions answered were accepted. I literally couldn't think of another situation where i have solved a problem. It was ridiculous, i ended up talking about fixing up the house because a sale had fallen through and managing to get it sold in the end. It was humiliating. Even when i think now I can't think of a problem that i have solved? can some of you guys give me an example of what you used. everything that creates a problem usually has a simple solution like a broken down car just requires a phone call.
All in all the only thing I can think of is I do ok as a guard, maybe I'm not cut out to be a driver. I still love working on the railways so it's all good. Maybe you might be able to make something more of what I have said now. I hope its coherent I hate typing long passages..
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That does sound rather strange, London MC, to say the least. I can only imagine your sense of frustration.
Today I have been contemplating that one of the possible drawbacks with the Criteria Based Interview is that there is an advantage towards those people from certain professions disregarding the provision of being able to include examples from your personal life. Having read your post, this would clearly not appear to be the case.
I am assuming that you evacuated the train in your capacity as a guard, to be applying as a trainee driver. I was a bit puzzled as to why the evacuation took place in a tunnel but as a guard, you may not have been directly responsible for where the train was stopped. For all I know, it might have been a very long tunnel and it was unavoidable.
Just wanted to clarify that the train stopped in the tunnel as the tunnel is quite long (if you know the four tunnels from exiting Birmingham new street towards five ways there are four long tunnels) we got a branch wrapped round the pantograph and lost all power and couldn't reconnect. the evacuation took place on to another train going in the opposite direction via one set of doors and a ladder (cue action music). Really good experience but not enough as it seems also according to the rule book this is a controlled evacuation not and emergency though I could be splitting hairs!. I'm on the list to receive feedback so who knows I might get an answer. Probably one that will make me slap my forehead. everything is so obvious when you know the answer. lol Anyway like I said I'm still a guard and it means I get to reads books in the back cab instead of concentrating on signals ha ha.
