Hi all. I'm what you'd probably call a 'NEWBIE'.
I've got an interview for a Depot Driver next week and any info regarding the day to day role or previous interview questions would be greatly appreciated.
Totally new career hopefully at the grand old age of 38.
As Elvis once said 'It's now or never'.
PS: If there are any Depot Drivers who fancy practicing interviews they can do mine next week.I'll provide relevant I.D. Ha ha.
I have no knowledge of the depot your going for but I posted a detailed description of a general MDD role in a previous post. I'll see if I can find it later.
EDIT: Unfortunately, its hard to find, because so many threads have descended into flame wars between the usual suspects.
When you go for your psychometric tests you perform an Interview with the assessor. He asks the following questions:
Describe a time when:
1) You dealt with an emergency
2) You dealt with a difficult problem
3) Worked alone for long periods
4) Completed a training course
5) Solved a difficult problem
When you go for your corporate Interview they could ask anything. Previous "known" MDD questions include:
1) What do you know about Northern?
2) What do you know about the MDD role ?
3) Why are you applying for this role?
4) Describe a time when you used problem solving skills ?
5) Describe a time when you worked as part of a team ?
6) Describe a time when you worked under pressure ?
7) What ISO standards does the depot have to comply with ? (I can't remember but it was ISO 9 thousand & something)
8) What do you think the depot does to reduce its impact on the environment ? (disposing of items and materials in the correct container, reducing spillage of diesel fuel, recycling & other stuff)
9) Are you prepared to do fuelling and perform CET / Toilet tanking ? (some people cannot cope with it)
10) What are your career ambitions (Do NOT say "mainline driver" or that could be an instant fail depending on who the interviewer is)
11) Describe a time you had to multi task ? (important as in this role you are often required to drive units, plan your moves, deal with conflicting moves, talk on the radio to the OTL's / DD's / DP's, listen to radio messages, deal with faults, obey signals/hand signals - all at the same time!)
12) Describe a time when you had to rectify a fault ?
13) Describe a time when you had to make a difficult decision ?
14) What other strengths and qualities do you have ?
15) Do you have any questions to ask us ? (have a few to show your interested; ask about the role and the training, ask for a copy of the Rosta to see the shifts)
Another important part of a Depot Drivers role is safety critical communication, a Depot Driver will communicate a lot with hand-held radios, far more frequently than a Mainline Driver has to communicate. When mentioning your strengths it is important that you mention communication skills. Not only do you have to speak clearly, concisely and accurately, but you have to listen to the radio all the time to keep track of what is going on around the depot as much of it will effect you & you repeat back critical info to ensure a clear understanding has been reached.
The list of questions they could "potentially" ask is endless, I notice a lot of other forum members on here have had Depot Drivers interviews, why aren't you contributing to this thread ???
