What a great source for info!!

I just found this website tonight and have been reading non-stop for over two hours!

I am someone who always "thought" about working for the RR but always had a good job and didn't feel like changing industries. I left a good job in silicon valley because I was sick of California over one year ago and thanks to a crap economy and only having worked in one industry (Electric Utility) am still out of work. I saw the ad for "Train service" in the paper last week and said what do I have to loose...nows the time! I filled out the online application last week and the very next morning I got a status the said "thanks but no thanks" or something to that effect. At first I was like oh well I guess it wasn't meant to be but then I started to wonder what in the hell was so wrong with me or my application. After at least 15 different calls to the HR 800 number I finally just left a message asking for an explanation. This past monday they called me back and left a message saying because I have been unemployed for more than 90 days I was dis-qualified..........I couldnot beleive my ears!!! The gal that left the message also left her name so I tried to contact her but again it took close to 10 attempts to finally get through to her. I asked her to tell me why I was not qualified to apply for a position and she just restated the whole thing about being out of work for a period of time. After 10 minutes of talking to a wall I was so mad and frustrated that I almost hung up on her....but at the last second I asked to speak with her boss. I think it kinda surprised her at first but then after a pause she says ok and put me on hold. The next gal gets on the line and says "how can I help you?" I went through the whole thing again but this time she actually listened when I told her to LOOK AT MY RESUME.....after a bit she comes back on the line and tells me that it's not right to exclude me and that she was going to change the status on the website! At first I was thinking yeh your just saying that so I'll hang up and never call back but I'll be damned it the status didn't change within 10 minutes. So, now I am thinking well maybe there is a small chance I'll get somewhere after all with this thing. Well, this morning (only 2 days after the phone call) I got my official invite to a hiring session in less than one week from today!!! So I guess the moral of the story is DON'T GIVE UP to fast if you really want something. Now I know I may not get offered a job next week but I sure feel better knowing there is at least one gal in HR that is not a robot!!

By reading alot of the posts here I think I must be one of the older guys in the UP hiring session I was invited to next week @ 35 years old! Any advice ???

34 years old here, just got invited to interview for train service in Portland, OR where I live.

This is my first time with UP. I interviewed twice with BNSF, was offered a job in CA (3 months after I was told they had no room for me) that I had to decline because my wife decided she didn't want to move. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will finally be the one.

Good luck on your interview! As far as advice, on BNSF it's all about safety, safety, safety. I'm sure it will be the same with UP.

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KarlJ wrote:The goal is to come off as a very sincere and GRATEFUL guy, not somebody fighting for your rights. You may well be the latter, but the latter doesn’t get you very far at this point in the game.

This is a wise course to follow. The initial screening process is often just about whittling down the numbers -- and arbitrary rules such as 90-days-unemployed is one way to eliminate applicants. The interview process itself is very often just a matter of eliminating as many as possible -- that means interviewers are consciously seeking negatives to use for this purpose. Unfortunately, that's the game that HR people play these days.

As I'm sure you know at this point in your life, no one owes you a shot at a job -- and many times the best person for a given position is pushed aside early in the process.

Hold your head up, take off your hat (which should never be worn backwards, by the way) inside a building, look them in the eye, act like a responsible adult, be enthusiastic about learning their way of doing things, and listen more than you talk.

Best of luck, but be prepared to make your own luck.

I am definetly hoping that the H.R. supervisor is not just pulling my chain, if so she is good at it for sure! I actually spoke with her again today as she had told me to call her once I submitted a couple more apps. on line. I had to leave a message for her again but she called me back within 10 minutes of that. She wished me luck and even told me to be at the hiring session 30 minutes early next week. So yes, I will be there early and present myself like the professional I am. I am planning on going over GCOR the day before to hopefully show them i am serious.

Any more advice or comments are welcome! By the way, are there any other websites on the net that are similar to this one??

That's good news, Mike. One other bit of advice (take it or leave it, I don't mean to be condescending here) -- don't try to impress them with your railroad knowledge (such as GCOR). Just let them know you are ready and able to learn whatever they want you to learn, and that you want to be as safe as possible all the time.

Remember: Listen more than you talk! Give them intelligent answers, but don't prattle on about how you really want to work for a railroad. I can tell from your posting that you'll do fine.

LCJ wrote:That's good news, Mike. One other bit of advice (take it or leave it, I don't mean to be condescending here) -- don't try to impress them with your railroad knowledge (such as GCOR). Just let them know you are ready and able to learn whatever they want you to learn, and that you want to be as safe as possible all the time.

Remember: Listen more than you talk! Give them intelligent answers, but don't prattle on about how you really want to work for a railroad. I can tell from your posting that you'll do fine.

That's good advice! I was already planning on bringing up all the safety and first-aid training I had in the Utility Industry. At PG&E we had a book like the GCOR that old timers would say was written in blood.

Anyway, I'll will be sure to update here as I go through the process.

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Hi:
I'd like to just second all the great advice that you have received. These guys are hitting the old nail right on the head. I'd agree that you should keep any discussion of your interest in railroads to a bare minimum, it may be hard to believe but the things that generally interest railfans have very little to do with the day to day performance of your job.

Please keep us posted on your progress. Good Luck from back here in Boston.

Mike:

All the info you are getting is 100% accurate. I came in from the law, where I was a burnt out attorney. I thought the HR person would just blow me off like a lot of other people who didn't think I was "serious" about going back to work at a real job. I now am almost complete with the BNSF conductor's training program and will mark up in 4 weeks! If I would have one thing to add, besides forgetting about trying to impress them with your GCOR or other knowledge (they want to teach you THEIR WAY and their way only and remember, the HR rep. may not be able to even spell railroad) is to listen. Listen to the questions asked in the interview, formulate a short answer and then stop. Too often I saw clients bury themselves by continuing to talk and talk. I took the same approach and it evidently worked. Also, if you are a veteran, take a copy of your DD 214. It's good for extra points.

The interview was fairly routine, but the questions were anything but. For instance, I was asked how I would handle conflicts with co-workers. Another question was, Why do you want to work for us? Finally I was asked if I thought all accidents were preventable.

When you answer these questions remember the company and GCOR line, safety, safety, safety. My answers were, I would walk away from a difficult co-worker, I want to work for a company that offers stable work (relatively stable) and one that offers advancement opportunities and all accidents are preventable, so long as I am in control. I cannot control what the driver of a car does, but I can control my actions and to some extent actions of my fellow employees. I used the phrase that we used in the military aviation community: I am my brother's keeper.

Good luck,
Terry Smith

BNSF coductor trainee

I made it all the way to the final interveiw today! Everything went pretty much as descibed by others on this site. I now only have to wait till this evening to know if I was selected or not. It's pretty crazy how many end up not making it to the final step at the end of the day......kinda sad.

That's great, Mike. Let us know how it ends up.

They told us they would call everyone they wanted to hire by a certain time this evening so I guess I'm not going to get hired. Kinda sucks but I wasn't too thrilled about being stuck in a yard all the time as they warned us it would be that way in Des Moines. I still have another app in for the same position but at a better location so maybe I'll get what I wanted in the long run.

Mike:

What RR did you have the interview with? If it is BNSF, I have some important info for you about their job placement.

Terry Smith

I interveiwed with Union Pacific. But I am still curious what you had to say....