Careers at Network Rail
Network Rail owns, operates, maintains and develops the railway infrastructure in England, Scotland and Wales. Its purpose is to connect people and goods with where they need to be, and it divides its business into five regions: Eastern, North West and Central, Southern, Wales and Western, and Scotland's Railway. Network Rail runs 20 of the country's largest stations and maintains 20,000 miles of track and the infrastructure around it.
Network Rail is a public sector arm's length body of the Department for Transport. The government plans to bring track and train together under a new public body, Great British Railways, which it expects to be operational around a year after the Railways Bill becomes law.
Types Of Jobs At Network Rail
Employees at Network Rail take on roles that support the running, maintenance and development of the railway in Great Britain. Network Rail's work is organised into four business areas: Operations, Maintenance, Engineering and Professional Services.
There are a number of career opportunities across all business units, with Professional Services teams, for example, driving efficiencies, controlling finances, expanding the network and running its systems.
Network Rail Application Process
Every application starts with registering an account, completing an application form and submitting your CV. Network Rail tailors the later stages to the role, and they may include an online assessment, a video interview, a virtual or face to face interview and an assessment centre day. You can apply for more than one job.
Network Rail Online Application
All successful job offers start in the same place: the online application form. The application form sets out your basic details and will require your CV.
Network Rail Aptitude Tests
Candidates who meet the minimum criteria move on to an online assessment. Network Rail says this may include verbal and numerical tests and other psychometric assessments depending on the role. For its graduate and apprentice schemes it describes a scenario-based assessment of how you work, combined with a video interview.
Network Rail Verbal Reasoning Test
A verbal reasoning test assesses a candidate's ability to understand and make deductions from written text. The test format typically asks the candidate to read a written passage after which they must select the most appropriate answer of a multiple-choice set of answers, allowing an objective evaluation of language understanding, logic and verbal comprehension.
Network Rail Numerical Reasoning Test
A numerical reasoning test measures the candidate's ability to interpret, analyse and draw conclusions from sets of data or numerical information.
Inductive Reasoning Practice
Network Rail does not say it uses an inductive reasoning test, but some employers do, so it can be worth a little practice. These tests ask you to spot the rule behind a sequence of shapes or numbers and choose the item that comes next.
Network Rail Scenario-Based Assessment
For its early careers schemes, Network Rail describes an online assessment that presents you with scenarios to assess how you work. Situational judgement tests use a similar approach: you read a workplace scenario and choose the responses you think are most and least effective.
Network Rail Interview
Some roles include a video interview. Interviews include competency and capability questions and a safety-related question, so prepare examples against the competencies in the job description. For graduate and apprentice schemes the final assessment, virtual or in person, is an interview.
Network Rail Job Offer
Network Rail says all offers of employment are conditional on satisfactory pre-employment checks, set out below.
Network Rail Pre-Employment Checks
All successful candidates are subject to the satisfactory completion of the Government Baseline Security Standards (BPSS). This includes checking candidates:
- Identity
- Right to work in the UK
- Previous employment (three years)
- Basic criminal record check for unspent convictions
- National security vetting where relevant (includes counter-terrorist check)
- Medical assessment
- Face to face drugs and alcohol test (safety-critical roles)
Tips To Get Hired At Network Rail
Successful candidates are ones that have prepared well and understand what is asked of them. These are our top tips for getting hired by Network Rail.
1. Prepare Well
You will need to demonstrate an understanding of Network Rail, why you would like to work there and the role itself, as well as how your skills and experience complement the role to which you are applying. You should understand Network Rail's purpose, to get people and goods where they need to be, and the central place of safety in everything it does.
2. Research The Company
Your research into Network Rail should be extensive and thorough. Read its annual report and recent news, and understand how it is funded and its plans, including the move to Great British Railways. Look for accounts from people who have joined and use the careers and early careers pages on the Network Rail website.
3. Practice Tests
Network Rail does not name its test provider, so practise a range of verbal, numerical and situational judgement formats rather than one publisher's style. Practise for accuracy as well as speed.
4. Understand The Format
Make sure you are familiar with the format of each test so you can quickly see what is being asked. Mistaking 'most' for 'least', or misreading the instructions, can cost you marks.
