CN hiring process

Anybody else on here work in the shops? I work at the Thornton Diesel shops in Surrey, BC.

Looking to get in touch with other motive power guys at other shops... Mac Yard, Transcona, Woodcrest, etc. Especially with contract negotiations coming up to share ideas across the system... Maybe to share 'carnage' pics with too.. I've got a few good ones (but then again, who doesn't..)

hey, i had my exam/interview a few months ago and got called in for a medical on the 12th of March, i'm so in the dark of what is going on i have NO idea what to think. I know the HR guys hate getting nagged and annoyed so i thought i'd start here... does ANYONE have a clue whats to come next? i passed the medical the nurse called from Montreal that same day and told me I'm medically fit for the job and she was going to pass my file on to HR which has the final say... HELP lol i dont wanna be at this $10/hr job any longer lol
ps- bitch at me if im in the wrong section lol

Hey sparky,

I am an electrician at Mac Yard in Toronto, and by the sounds of it you must
be one too. I haven't been here very long, less then a year, but I am wondering what shifts
do you have and do you get OT for working weekends if schedualed shift, say tues to sat. A lot of new
guys have recently started and none ever worked for the RR, and can't belive how things are run around here. Most of the senior employees never had a nother job, so they think this is normal, like working a weekend for straight time ?? WTF is that. This company hasn't hired skilled trades for so long that half the guys a gone is a year or so, and the new hires a not impressed, so this contact things need to change and in a big way, or the new guys will be out the door with the retirees.

So what going on over there

What position did you apply for, passing the medical is the last step so your in, where are you working out of mac yard or running trades

i applied for Conductor, and im not sure what you mean by Mac yard or Trades...all i know is the position i applied for is in Moncton.

From what I was told from other conductiors, you will be in school for a few weeks learning about the signal systems, locomotive operations, and general rules about driving the engines, which you all have to pass. I herd you need a 100% on signals and 95% on the rules, so you can't screw it up at all or your done. They are just trying to accumlate a number of people so until everyone is hired and you go to class together, it may take a while until they fill all the positions. If you where the first person accepted, you might have to wait a while until you first day on the job

ok awesome, yeah i have an operators manual my friend let me look over...he wasnt much help he told me it could be different, but im looking over the rules a lot of trying to absorb as much as i can, i heard they put you up in a hotel for the 2 months it takes for the training... I'm SUPER stoked.. i just think, if CN is going to jsut GIVE me a career, i BETTER put my all into it and study like hell EVERY night.. i mean.. seriously lol

I'll be sending you a PM

Hello All,

I am new to this and I have been called for an interview for the RTC position at CN. Super Excited!!!! I was just wondering if anyone could give me a little information on this position. Such as what does the interview consist of, What type of hours do they work, What is the initial training consist of, Is this a good position to get into, Is there training pay and then regular pay? I am sure I haven't asked everything, but when I think of something else I will post it. Thank you all so much for your time and I hope to hear back from someone soon!!!!

Thanks Again

I had to wait a day before answering this to tone it down a bit. To answer your question in four words:

Welcome to Hell, brother!

This is a train dispatcher job, and it is shiftwork. Shifts are 7a-3p, 3p-11p and 11p-7a. New dispatchers work the extra board, which means you get a phone call 2 hours before you need to report to work. You get 15 hours off between shifts, but no guaranteed days off.

As far as initial training goes, I don't know what you're talking about. I've been doing the job for the past 20 months and have never received any training. They did give me a neat stack of books to add to my library, though.

Training pay and then regular pay? That depends on which railroad hires you. While the building has CN on it, the dispatchers are still divided up between the IC, WC and GTW. The EJ&E Dispatchers merged with the IC dispatchers - that's another story in itself. The GTW dispatchers are still in Troy, Michigan and should move down to Homewood, IL sometime between now and July of 2050.

At any rate, the IC and GTW pay at 80% of the base rate for the first year and the you go to 100%. On the WC, new hires get paid 50% as much as an IC dispatcher and never get a raise. you don't get a say on which railroad hires you - that comes as part of the job offer.

I hope this helps. And remember, if you get an offer and accept it, you can't say I did not warn you.

Hello everyone!

Well I didn't get the dispatcher position at CN! But on the bright side they referred me for the Transportation Clerk job. So I have an interview next week for that, so I was wondering if anyone on here knew any details about that position? As is description, salary, benefits, work hours, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks so much!

You must be one of those happy dispatchers I get to work with all the time! It seems to me to be a high stress job and one little mistake can have terrible consequences.

Uhh. what happened to this post? It's like... three in one!

lol i know, i kinda gave up, thought it was taken over by someone, but still havent gotten a call back ... lol damn

My really close friend just applied for a position at CN for US -Dock Control Operator. His father works there and has for 20 years or more. His father's friend also works there. He used both gentlemen as references. Here are my questions.

What kind of salary may this job pay?

What does the "hiring" process for this particular job consist of? I know there's a urine analysis right? Is there a physical and blood testing?

My friend is so nervous, and I am for him as well. This job from what we heard could be like $25/hourly shift work plus over-time or it could be like $49k a year. Does anyone know anything about salary/hiring process for this PARTICULAR position?