Most railroads post job openings on line…does this mean that all applications go into a central repository and are then screened from that central location as opposed to locally? It used to be that people filled out an application at their local office and potential candidates were screened for employment by local officials. Headoffice didn’t have any direct involvement in hiring train personnel…i.e. if Kamloops, BC needed a couple of brakemen they would screen and hire without any involvement from Montreal headoffice (for example).
A couple of years ago, I was “scouting” UP’s employment opportunities for someone. I have to assume that the application, despite being oriented toward specific local hiring points, goes to headquarters first. I suspect that would be the most efficient way of checking things such as criminal records, driving records, citizenship, and other such information. Applicants who successfully go through this screening are then invited to a local hiring session for further screening–local officers get to look 'em over; they have to pass a few aptitude tests, and so on. I’m sure that new-hire classes weed out a few more who can’t handle the work, either physically or otherwise.
Some railroads have HR departments for each division. CN does, ie BC North and BC South have their own HR departments responsible for hiring people for all the terminals within that division. If you were to apply for a job in, say, Kamloops, then you’d be dealing with the HR manager for the BC South division in Vancouver.