Morning, I’m sure you’ve read the many post on here and understand it’s a tough industry to crack. Don’t be disheartened by that, persistence pays off. Ok, so you’ve tried the standard approach with no luck. How about this.
Network = Networth
A. LinkedIn could be an approach - find people whom work at the business you’re looking for and contact them directly - explain what you have done already and you’re trying to make a connection to someone who can help. You’re obviously keen, explain you want to find out more about the industry generally and name some roles you’re interested in. Briefly explain why you’re doing it. I.e you’re looking to find out about the day to day life of roles before you commit to deciding if it’s a career path for you. Leave your contact details.
B. Bit old fashioned, probably nerve wracking but it is highly effective. Get some slips/cards made up with your contact details on. Approach someone at the station, explain what you’re looking for and can anyone help set up a short chat/meeting to talk about their role. You might get knocked back - ideally approach someone who’s not busy. But someone will feel your pain and help. AIM here is when you pass your details you ask for theirs, then you can follow up with them.
C. Kind of following on from B - ask away on here who are people whom are likely to become planners - for example would that be a dispatcher. They might be easier to find and could have their own aspirations to be a planner and would likely be more willing to talk.
You’ll be surprised how many people are happy to talk about their jobs - people love it.
If you’re interested in being out on the track or platform but end up connecting with a planner and talking to them - once you’re with them you can ask, do you know any drivers/ conductors I can chat with - it’ll roll.
Many places might not have specific work experience placements - but nothing is stopping them from having a chat and that might end up in a placement. From what i see these days work placements are less about doing the job, the students just getting batted around the office talking and hearing about the different depts.
I’d just frame the conversation differently and just ask for a chat about the job and see where that takes you.
I applied to the rail industry knowing nobody who worked in it. I just started approaching people when I was going to/from work. By the end of my application I had about 3/4 different people whom talked me through the job and application process.
Hope this helps, like anything there is 10 ways to do it. See if that works. All the best.
