So far I have been turned down for:
East Coast - Train Guard
Northern - Gateline Assistant
TPE - Travel Centre Advisor
... and now an email from East Coast telling me I've not been successful for a Despatcher job.
I feel like giving up on this dream of working in the industry, but part of me thinks something will come up.... eventually!
P.S. I seem to get every other job I go for outside of the industry.
I feel the same way sometimes and I have had more joy than you. The strange thing is that I have several years of experience working as a computer man but I have attracted proportionally more interest from rail companies than otherwise.
What you need is an action plan that prepares you for all stages of the recruitment process. Ultimately, you will encounter interviews, an interview that is structured , and one which is more informal with the depot manager or line manager. In preparing apt responses for both of these interviews which can be very probing, you will no doubt find useful material for the application form.
Details of specimen questions asked in the two interviews can be found in various places on this forum so you have come to the right place as you may have gathered. I am not quite sure exactly what goes off at the conductor CBI as distinct from the driver CBI (Criteria Based Interview) but I am sure there will be some commonality such as examples of working to rules and procedures. With conductor applications, you will no doubt be asked of when you have provided excellent customer service.
I would say that you also need to try and get to know the job inside out insofar as you are able. There are different ways of achieving this. You could try volunteering as a heritage line (emphatically not the same as working on the main line however), talking to rail employess, etc. Even reading websites such as Answers on Yahoo can offer some insight as well as industry websites such as RGS online.
If you normally drive to work, it may be an idea to ditch the car for a while and buy a season ticket just keeping your eye out for unusal circumstances and how the rail employees handle certain situations. Even if it is something so trivial as someone wanting to smoke a fake cigarette in a carriage.
My point is that you can be doing all of the above whilst you are waiting for your next opportunity. The material is out there waiting to be discovered. I even met a woman recently who changed profession from a nurse, I believe, to a bus driver in order to gain the requisite experience.
Finally, do not forget to read such things as the passenger charter and naturally the job description which may offer clues for the type of people sought for the job, although at the end of the day, most employers will be looking for the same essential skills such as the ability to work to rules and procedures and to concentrate for long periods of time, not to mention experience of working shifts and possibly working alone, in fact I would go back and read the the sentence again about shiftwork.
Hope this helps.
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Football, Cars and moaning about work related things seems to be the main messroom talk unfortunately, and it seems that way everywhere. Still the odd discussion about classic diesels comes up from time to time if the spotters are on.
Never been a big fan of football and one of my reasons for wanting to join the railway is to get away from cars and some of the people who drive them, for want of a better term.
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There was an incident a few years back adjacent to well known freight depot and on investigation there was a steam train in the depot and this was a major factor on the reason for the incident. Distraction was the root cause.
Live and learn, I also wondered why expressing enthusiasm for the railways was seen as a drawback in interviews.
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I did however see quite a few people when I attended the FTPE process in April who had no ties, ties wide open and top buttons open. My own preference is always matching jacket and pants, shirt and tie which match. We all have different standard's but I can't see the point of attending anything if you're wearing pants, shirt,tie and a bomber jacket ??? which I also saw a few of at the FTPE process.
In my view, if you are going to turn up sporting such an appearance, may as well just turn up half a hour later for the interview. I personally would not have an open collar as I am such no-one wants to see any of my bodily hair.
Ironically, I have been interviewing for the post of IT Assistant and someone turned up in jeans and a shirt which I found mildly insulting. Bizarrely, we were going to bring him back again as he demonstrated ability.
hock:, it took me 5 years in total, 2 just to get past the sift!