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Re: UP in Roseville hiring Train Crew canidates
Author: SP5103
Date: 12-15-2015 - 21:01
There aren't any conductor (trainee) openings on their website at the moment. LINK
The hiring process is very different these days. First, you have to deal with a confusing, frustrating and impersonal computer application process. Then several weeks later out of the blue you receive an email giving you only so much time to complete an online literacy and personality test. If you are lucky or unlucky, you might get very short notice to drop everything and attend a hiring session, so get ready to leave at 4am and spend the day. You will actually meet the HR representative who will be the only person you will deal with face to face. Assuming you meet whatever the politically correct specifications are, you then have a very short time (2-3 weeks) to schedule and pass a physical agility test (again may 100 miles from your terminal) and show up to class - or you will get another impersonal email that doesn't even thank you for wasting hours in their stupid process.
These days, I am interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing me. I'm not so sure that it is the lack of qualified applicants, basically the person making the decisions is more interested in meeting their quotas of females, minorities and military veterans and have no clue what it actually takes to do the job.
BTW - If your on the young side - don't bother applying unless you have an in somehow. HR doesn't like the new generation's (lack of) work ethic. Then again, the railroads can't figure out why fewer and fewer people are willing to sell their souls to the company regardless of the pay. For train crews, pool turns and super pools are nothing more than working the extra board. How many terminals are left where someone with 20 years seniority might be able to hold a daylight, weekday or any kind of regular job? And shortlines - a few are OK but others are either low pay and/or horrific turnover rates, sometime no better or worse working conditions than a Class 1.
The interesting thing is the railroads must now invest $15,000 to $100,000 to qualify a new hire as a conductor or engineer. You'd think they would be more interested in protecting their investment in recruiting and training employees as an asset rather than treating them as a liability.
The hiring process is very different these days. First, you have to deal with a confusing, frustrating and impersonal computer application process. Then several weeks later out of the blue you receive an email giving you only so much time to complete an online literacy and personality test. If you are lucky or unlucky, you might get very short notice to drop everything and attend a hiring session, so get ready to leave at 4am and spend the day. You will actually meet the HR representative who will be the only person you will deal with face to face. Assuming you meet whatever the politically correct specifications are, you then have a very short time (2-3 weeks) to schedule and pass a physical agility test (again may 100 miles from your terminal) and show up to class - or you will get another impersonal email that doesn't even thank you for wasting hours in their stupid process.
These days, I am interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing me. I'm not so sure that it is the lack of qualified applicants, basically the person making the decisions is more interested in meeting their quotas of females, minorities and military veterans and have no clue what it actually takes to do the job.
BTW - If your on the young side - don't bother applying unless you have an in somehow. HR doesn't like the new generation's (lack of) work ethic. Then again, the railroads can't figure out why fewer and fewer people are willing to sell their souls to the company regardless of the pay. For train crews, pool turns and super pools are nothing more than working the extra board. How many terminals are left where someone with 20 years seniority might be able to hold a daylight, weekday or any kind of regular job? And shortlines - a few are OK but others are either low pay and/or horrific turnover rates, sometime no better or worse working conditions than a Class 1.
The interesting thing is the railroads must now invest $15,000 to $100,000 to qualify a new hire as a conductor or engineer. You'd think they would be more interested in protecting their investment in recruiting and training employees as an asset rather than treating them as a liability.
