Neurodiversity as a Superpower

Darren Lancaster:
Welcome to Talent Download. I’m Darren Lancaster, CEO of Amberjack, and in this episode we get under the skin of the challenges and opportunities shaping how organisations attract, assess and hire great people.

Today I’m joined by Sharon Wilson, one of Amberjack’s Account Directors. We’re going to talk about our long‑standing partnership with Network Rail, which has spanned more than a decade. While we often focus on early careers recruitment on this podcast, today we’re looking more broadly at volume and experienced hiring, and how that works in practice.

We’ll also explore the role of AI in screening, how it’s been adopted, and the lessons we’ve learnt along the way. Sharon, it’s great to have you with us. To get started, could you give us a quick overview of your background?

Sharon Wilson:
Yeah, sure. I’ve been working in volume recruitment for around 30 years, which makes me feel very old. I started my career at Sainsbury’s, working in recruitment for about ten years. That included volume hiring for retail colleagues, store management and head office roles.

After that, I moved to an applicant tracking system provider where I was Head of Client Services. Again, it was all volume recruitment – typically retail, hospitality and leisure. When I moved to Amberjack, it was my first time seeing recruitment from the supplier side rather than being in‑house, which gave me a completely different perspective. But throughout my career, volume hiring has always been there in one form or another.

Darren Lancaster:
When we talk about volume recruitment, I often think of it as a triangle. At the base you’ve got early careers hiring, which is high‑volume by nature. Above that you’ve got experienced hires, then specialist hiring, and at the top senior leadership.

Today we’re really focusing on that experienced‑hire volume space. Network Rail has been a client of ours for over a decade, which is a long relationship in our industry. From your perspective, what’s made that partnership work so well for so long?

Sharon Wilson:
I love working with Network Rail. They’re very open to innovation and trying new things. We have really honest, transparent conversations about issues and how we can solve them.

Sometimes we’ll have a tool that could solve a problem, but not quite in the way we need, and they’re happy to pivot and adapt it slightly to achieve the right outcome. They’re consistently at the forefront of trying new approaches, and that’s what keeps the work interesting.

Darren Lancaster:
You’ve worked with Network Rail for a long time now. How did the relationship evolve from early careers into the broader volume hiring space?

Sharon Wilson:
We’ve always managed their graduates and apprentices, and the number of hires in those areas has steadily increased over the years. As Amberjack became known for delivering a really strong service, they asked us to start doing some screening work for their signaler recruitment.

It quickly became clear that the signaler process was struggling in a number of ways. We had some detailed conversations about how well the early careers process was working and whether the same principles could be applied to signalers.

It’s a very different candidate population and very different roles, but the process itself could be the same. From there, things really took off. We’re now recruiting more than 300 signalers a year and handling close to 30,000 signaler applications annually.

Darren Lancaster:
That’s a significant volume. What does success look like for a signaler candidate? What kind of background do they need?

Sharon Wilson:
They go through a 12‑week in‑house training course with Network Rail. The essential criteria are actually quite limited. They’ll accept people from almost any background.

The key thing is passing a safety‑critical assessment, which includes reaction time testing. Location is also crucial – candidates need to live close to the depot they’re applying to. That’s often where challenges arise.

Darren Lancaster:
And handling that level of applicant flow requires real adaptability. How has the relationship held up through organisational change at Network Rail?

Sharon Wilson:
There’s been a lot of internal change, particularly with Network Rail and train operating companies coming together to form Great British Rail.

All the change they’ve experienced in the past is now feeding into what comes next. We’re working very closely together to understand what’s ahead and how we continue to recruit at pace while supporting their teams through that transition.

Darren Lancaster:
Feedback and trust are a big part of long‑term partnerships. How do we support Network Rail internally when it comes to stakeholder management?

Sharon Wilson:
A big part of it is helping our clients deal with their internal stakeholders. We’re lucky in that we can provide really strong management information, which helps justify the approach and demonstrates that the campaigns and processes are working.

Darren Lancaster:
Location is obviously a big factor for Network Rail. What lessons have we learnt over the years?

Sharon Wilson:
Location is absolutely crucial. Candidates need to live within an hour’s travel of the depot they apply to, and screening for that can be really tricky.

Younger candidates, particularly apprentices, often underestimate travel times. They might assume they can just get on a train, without realising trains don’t always run when they need to be on site.

Over the years, we’ve transformed how we screen for location and how clearly we communicate expectations. We applied those learnings to the signaler population, which allowed us to build large, location‑specific talent pools.

At one point, we ran three assessment centres over six months and made all offers directly from those talent pools. That wouldn’t have been possible before.

Darren Lancaster:
In terms of attraction, how was that split between Amberjack and Network Rail?

Sharon Wilson:
It’s about 50/50. Network Rail manages their media and advertising. We host and design supplementary careers websites, including a dedicated signaler site.

That site provides the same level of information we’d usually give early careers candidates – what the process looks like, the stages involved, and how to prepare. That kind of transparency isn’t always common in experienced‑hire processes, and it’s given us a real edge.

Darren Lancaster:
We’ve talked about volume on the signaler side. Is the same true in early careers?

Sharon Wilson:
Absolutely. The application‑to‑offer ratios are huge – around 83:1 for signalers, 85:1 for graduates and more than 70:1 for apprenticeships. Altogether, we’re dealing with around 40,000 candidates a year.

Darren Lancaster:
Application volumes keep rising, particularly with one‑click applications. How are organisations coping with that?

Sharon Wilson:
Network Rail has felt that impact particularly hard. The railway is seen as a safe place to work, especially during periods of uncertainty, so applications have continued to rise.

Candidates visit a microsite to learn about the role, apply through our ATS, and are screened against essential criteria. They then complete a future potential assessment, bespoke to Network Rail roles, followed by online testing, a video interview scored using AI, an assessment centre and finally an offer.

Alongside that, we provide additional candidate support – an AI pocket mentor that candidates can contact via WhatsApp or text, plus mobile‑enabled content sent to thousands of candidates at the top of the funnel to help them decide whether the role is right for them.

Darren Lancaster:
Let’s talk about AI. How have we introduced it responsibly?

Sharon Wilson:
We’ve always made pre‑assessment centre calls to candidates, but they’re not always answered. For apprentices in particular, that reassurance is really important.

The AI pocket mentor allows candidates to ask questions in their own time, 24/7. Uptake has been huge. We’ve also used it to support protected characteristic groups through coaching at different stages of the process, with great engagement so far.

On screening, we previously had a team of 30 screeners reviewing thousands of video interviews. We now ask candidates if they’re happy to be screened by AI – around 85% say yes. Those who don’t are still screened by humans.

What used to take months can now be done in minutes. We also apply human quality checks throughout. The AI is incredibly consistent and can even identify when candidates have used AI in their own answers.

Darren Lancaster:
How did Network Rail respond to that change?

Sharon Wilson:
They were very open to it. They want to remove blockers in the process, and volume was becoming unmanageable through human screening alone. This was the right solution.

Darren Lancaster:
Bias is often a concern. How do we address that?

Sharon Wilson:
Our AI analyses what candidates say, not how they look, where their eyes are pointing, or their background environment. Answers are transcribed and compared against a scoring guide, making the process highly objective.

The AI also produces detailed notes explaining why candidates scored the way they did, which gives hiring managers real confidence.

Darren Lancaster:
Candidate experience is critical, especially at volume. How do we ensure that candidates feel supported?

Sharon Wilson:
We communicate through multiple channels – email, text, WhatsApp, mobile content and a dedicated phone line. We collect Net Promoter Scores at each stage and review feedback monthly with clients so we can adapt quickly.

Our technology also prioritises urgent candidate emails so we can respond quickly and resolve issues before they escalate.

Darren Lancaster:
Looking ahead, what does the future look like for Network Rail?

Sharon Wilson:
I think hiring will diversify significantly as Great British Rail becomes established. The innovation we’ve introduced with Network Rail will likely be rolled out much more widely.

Darren Lancaster:
Let’s finish with some quick‑fire questions. One word answers only.

Working with Network Rail?

Sharon Wilson:
Fun.

Darren Lancaster:
Early careers or volume hiring – which gets your heart racing?

Sharon Wilson:
Early careers.

Darren Lancaster:
AI in recruitment – exciting or terrifying?

Sharon Wilson:
Exciting.

Darren Lancaster:
The one thing every hiring manager forgets?

Sharon Wilson:
Volume.

Darren Lancaster:
Tea or coffee on campaign launch day?

Sharon Wilson:
Coffee.

Darren Lancaster:
Best part of the job?

Sharon Wilson:
My colleagues.

Darren Lancaster:
CVs – overrated or underrated?

Sharon Wilson:
Overrated.

Darren Lancaster:
One word of advice for someone starting a career in recruitment?

Sharon Wilson:
Do it.

Darren Lancaster:
That’s been a great conversation. Thank you, Sharon. The Network Rail story really shows what we’re proud of at Amberjack – evolving partnerships, innovation and delivering at scale.

Thank you to everyone for listening. We hope you’ll join us next time on Talent Download.