Network Rail

Competences and qualifications

The general entrance requirement for any of the graduate programmes at Network Rail is a predicted or actual 2.2. There are minimum UCAS point requirements as well:

• No specific UCAS points requirement – electrical engineering, although those applying for this position must also be studying a degree course that is recognised by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET).
• 240+ UCAS points – operations management.
• 260+ UCAS points – contracts and procurement – surveyor route.
• 280+ UCAS points – contracts and procurement – general route, information management (IT), property (also requires a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors-accredited degree), mechanical engineering (also requires an Institution of Mechanical Engineers-accredited degree).
• 300+ UCAS points – civil engineering (also requires an ICE-accredited degree), project management, strategic planning.
• 320+ UCAS points – finance.

Note: Network Rail particularly welcomes applications from candidates whose degrees include maths, economics or transport planning for the strategic planning scheme. However, this is not a requirement.

Postgraduate qualifications

There are no specific application criteria relating to postgraduate qualifications. However, Network Rail runs a course in conjunction with Sheffield Hallam University that culminates in a postgraduate diploma in railway infrastructure engineering. Completing the course successfully results in a job offer from Network Rail. Those who have an engineering degree in a different discipline may qualify for this programme as a route into employment at the firm.

Other skills

Network Rail looks for a number of key qualities. Apart from being genuinely enthusiastic about the importance of the railway network as part of Britain’s infrastructure, applicants should also be able to the demonstrate the following soft skills, known as competencies, during the application process:

• Analysis and problem solving
• Business and commercial knowledge
• Communication
• Leadership
• Making things happen
• Planning and organisation
• Working with others

Application tips

The application process begins with an online form, followed by online psychometric and situational judgement tests. Last, but not least, is an assessment centre.

Application form

The first step in completing the online application is to create an online profile, which involves entering basic information such as academic record, email address, and the scheme you are applying for. Candidates are able to log in and out of their account and save sections as they go, so the application form does not have to be completed all at once.

Sections on the form include:

1. Personal details.
2. Application details – such as which scheme the candidate is applying for, when they are able to start work, and whether they have applied to or worked for Network Rail in the past.
3. Residency – information about nationality and immigration status, including national insurance number.
4. Contact details.
5. Pre-university academic record – including GCSEs.
6. University academic record – includes membership of any societies during your studies.
7. Extra-curricular activities and interests – the form states that this can include sports and society membership, as well as any other hobbies or leisure pursuits.
8. Work experience.
9. You and your skills – includes several competency-based questions, which are detailed below.
10. Additional information – includes 2 boxes: the first is for any other relevant information (to a maximum of 150 words) and the second is for any ‘reasonable adjustments’ or mitigating circumstances, such as dyslexia (maximum 200 words).
11. Other information such as disabilities, equal opportunities and any convictions.

Competency questions – the ‘you and your skills’ section

There are 2 questions related to the company’s core competencies of teamwork and organisation (see the Competencies and qualifications section), and 1 question about the candidate’s motivation for applying. In each of these, there are sub-questions which candidates should consider individually. Each question must be answered within 300 words, so being succinct is essential.

Questions include:

Working with others.
Tell us about a time when you had to adapt your own style to work effectively with others in a team. How did you approach this? What was the outcome? How did you ensure that the team effectively worked together?

Tip: While any teamworking scenario could be an appropriate example, don’t forget that the key point here is your ability to adapt your behaviour to the situation. Flexibility is a vital attribute in the engineering industry, and recruiters need you to be able to demonstrate this through past examples. Think about the reasons you had to adapt (for example, perhaps your team mates preferred a different way of working), and what the benefits were to the team. Remember to focus on your personal contribution.

Planning and organising.
Tell us about a time when you needed to organise time and resources to complete a project. How did you identify necessary resources? What did you do to organise the time for those involved to complete the project? How did you monitor the progress of the project?

Tip: You are not limited to choosing an academic example; there are many situations (such as moving house, travelling, or charity fundraising, to name a few) which involve high levels of organisation. Although university work is a good example of organisation, every other candidate will have had a similar experience, so it’s unlikely to make you stand out. Consider the projects the job might involve and try to think of a relevant example.

Motivation.
What has motivated you to apply for the Network Rail Graduate Scheme and why have you chosen this particular role? Why have you applied for this role? Why have you applied to Network Rail? Why have you applied for the graduate scheme?

Tip: Be sure to answer each of these points, rather than giving a generic explanation of your choice of a career path. The recruiter wants to know why you have applied for this role and this company specifically, so refer back to your research for some of the reasons: are you interested in certain projects Network Rail is working on? Does the training offered on the scheme particularly appeal to you? Try to include this kind of detail to show your knowledge of the company.

Assessments and tests

Network Rail uses a range of tests during the course of the selection process, both online and at its assessment centres.

Online test

The online test follows the successful submission of the online application form. It consists of situational judgment questions that are likely to assess both verbal and numerical reasoning. Network Rail uses this to decide whether an applicant should move through to the next stage: the assessment centre.

Structure of the assessment

The assessment centre consists of an interview and a number of other activities:

• Interview. This is said to be one-to-one and competence-based. Applicants may be also asked to describe a scenario in which they were challenged with a problem.
• Group exercise. Applicants can expect this to take the form of a group discussion based on background material that each candidate is given to read through, setting out a problem that needs to be solved. They will be assessed on their ability to analyse the facts of the case quickly, their team-working skills and their ability to communicate effectively.
• Fact-finding and presentation exercise. Candidates are given a topic to explore and present. This will probably be one-to-one. After the presentation the assessor may ask the candidate questions.

Network Rail is a customer-based business, which is one reason why being focused and professional is important to the job. Certainly, its assessors put an emphasis upon professionalism and politely getting to the point.