I applied for conductor trainee in fresno, ca, and took the assessment test online. Just curious of how flexible they are with the hiring process. The reason I ask is that I am an over the road truck driver. The holidays are very crucial times out here. I elect to be gone, that being said, its not so easy to get home since loads don't just appear to where I need to be at a specific time. I'm a bit nervous about this but with the outline of the position they are hiring for I would be a good candidate. I cannot just jump ship with a reputable company I am woth for somethin i dont have for sure, but i would give my current job up in a heartbeat for railroad opportunity. Any advice?? Thank you in advance.
That is a real judgement call which only you can truly answer. Having said that, let me also say that these positions are highly competitive. You are not the only one applying for the job, but I'm sure you realize that. The days of frenzied hiring of big classes of operating crews ala the late 90's and early 2000s are most likely gone. The wholesale "walkout" of T.Y.& E. employees with the change to the Railroad Retirement law(aka the 60/30 law)has slowed down. I have seen the results of that with the crews I still know working. I just ran into an engineer classmate of mine. He was also in the Army Reserve and was activated just after the completion of training and served in Iraq. He has been back for a few years. He would have roughly 12 years engineer's seniority and he is holding a DAY job on a switch engine in Cicero(IL)Yard. Normally that would require "whiskers" just north of 20 years. With any luck you might be able to make an interview without having to travel any long distance. My personal thought is that if you decline an interview, your chances of getting another dont look good. I wish I could offer you a better solution to your quandary, but it just doesn't seem to be there. I wish you success in whatever your future may bring. If you'd like more info, you can PM me or send me an e-mail Charlie BNSF loco.engineer(ret.) Chicago/Aurora IL
Thank you very much for your response and insight. It is most definitely competitive for very good reasons and would not deny an interview by any means. I would fight tooth and nail to get what to that interview if the opportunity arose. Although that may not be 100% possible with the nature of the work I am in now, which in is basically the nature of the position I am trying to get hired for i.e always on call, holidays, weekends, weather, travel, ect. I guess I am really trying to plan ahead to make the best of any possible situation because I understand the weight of the decision. I would be in my best interest to get to that interview to give it a shot, but I still have to be loyal to the person writing my checks and a good employee to them as well. I would hope bnsf would understand my situation and not take that for granted, but with how many people vying to get the open positions, I am one of many, and a name on a paper that does not deserve special treatment by any means. Hopefully I can find a way to make contact in the meantime to show my will and devotion even before they make any more decisions and I potentially miss an amazing opportunity.
If you don't make the interview, chances are almost nil they will reschedule. The pool of applicants is usually huge and they don't need to chase people down.
Thats ultimately what I figured from all the board reading that I have done until this point. I will do what I can and hope for the best. Their is no shortage of folks in the same boat as me one way or another. Thank you very much for the reply.
Just some further background, I made pen-pals with a guy on a message board. He had been with the CSX for a year or two and they wanted to force him to Jacksonville FL(from Illinois!!)He declined and pulled the pin on them. He wanted to get back into railroading and I offered my help from the "inside" so to speak. He had two interview opportunities with the UP, the first he declined since he was marrying within a month or two and knew he couldn't take time off to get wed and he explained that to the personnel wonk. They said they would re-schedule him and they did call while he was on his honeymoon.So much for that. As for the BNSF, he wasn't getting any action. I was doing qualifying trips as an engineer and I mentioned this to my mentor. On day while we were enroute from LaCrosse WI to Chicago, he was sitting in the brakemans seat overseeing my running and he suddenly remembered something. He gave me a phone number with the instruction "tell your buddy to call this number ASAP". I got a hold of my friend when I tied up from that trip. He called that number, got an interview, took his physical and was scheduled for training all within the same week! He has since become an engineer. So one never knows just what will happen. That was probably just a fluke, however if you do get an interview be prepared to act with very little notice. When I was hired,at the end of my "vetting" process, I received a phone call from personnel on Monday questioning me as to whether I would drive to Kansas City or fly there(I chose the latter). I received a certified letter two days later(Wednesday)telling me to report to training on Sunday, along with an airline confo number and instructions on how to get to N.A.R.S. One thing that I think is in your favor is that you are familiar with being on call 24/7/365. That is an asset as is working in the worst possible weather and being away from home for extended periods of time. Hang in there! Charlie
