Going for an interview to become a dispatcher and would like any advice any of the dispatchers on here have to offer. I am currently a t&e employee who has always been fascinated with the other side of the radio. I understand that is often a stressful job and that things seem to always go wrong just when they seem to be going great. I know, imagine having a great run to the terminal, only to get held out for several hours, it goes both ways. Anyhow, anything would be appreciated, especially with the interview process. Feel free to PM if that would be better.
First and foremost, dress to impress. Even though we work for the railroad and dress codes are not that strict for the operating employess I suggest you show up in at least khakis and a shirt and tie. During my interview for train dispatcher I noticed that the majority of railroad employess showed up wearing jeans and t-shirts, maybe a polo shirt. Several others who both worked for CSX and some who did not showed up in black slacks, ties, and jackets. The finalists all had one thing in common; they dressed to impress!
Since you already work for the RR, you know the lifestyle and the demands on your sleep schedule. Also, you need to promote safety and give examples of what you would do to work safely and encourage others to do the same.
Your operations experience will take you a long way and should already have you one foot in the door; it will definitely make classroom training all that much easier.
There is definitely stress with the job and sometimes you’ll feel like your in a situation you can’t think your way out of. The KEY is to take your time and think things through; just like being a conductor or engineer… NEVER do anything that you are not sure of. ALWAYS ask for help when you are not sure or think there could be a better way. There is more pressure on your shoulders because you are seen as a leader in the field and you have to lead by example. Know the rules and be able to recall them without hesitation because you will have to correct crews, M&W, and fellow dispatchers. Also, if you make a stupid move and do something against the rules be ready for consequences. Dispatchers can be assessed discipline for delaying trains. If the boss wants you to do something, you do it! I have seen several individuals try to go around direct orders and it has cost them. The boss could be wrong, you could try to point out a better way, but if they insist
[#ditto]
During the interview, like Wiley said, stress safety. You can never mention safety too much. Being able to multi task is also a good skill to mention. Just remember to relax, and as Wiley mentioned, don’t dress like you just came back from a weekend hunting trip. My interview was conducted by the superintendent of the division, he later told me that one of things he was looking for was how professional people presented themselves.
Thanks for all of the info so far. I have spoken to friend that is currently a M.O.P., a terminal supervisor, and a few train masters for advice. Speaking on the forum to people in the actual position was my logical next step and I appreciate all of the advice. I am a little nervous, but also very realistic. I really want this position, however I do love running a train. A win-win situation either way. By the way, when I first hired out, I never thought anything could be better than being a conductor. Then engine school in Atlanta changed that! Hopefully this is my next greatest job ever! Thanks again for all of the help.
So, are any of the dispatchers here going to be relocating when CSX has all of the centers up and running? Just noticed that Florence and Nashville have been advertised. What are the thoughts about putting everyone back out into the divisions?
I know that most of the folks in Jacksonville aren’t thrilled about having to move AGAIN. I know staying in Jacksonville is the primary choice of most, but obviously lots of dispatchers are going to have to pick a new place to call home, fall back on previous seniority in another craft, or find a new career. I think CSX is going to get stuck with a very “old” seniority roster in Jacksonville and will have to hire quite often in the next 10 years. I think Hunington, WV is the next most poplular destination for those forced to leave Jacksonville. Overall, Baltimore is the least popular choice due to the cost of living.
I’m just happy I was hired in Indianapolis, the first office to consolidate, and don’t have to worry about moving. Some in our office are hoping that there will be spots open in other regional offices. As far as our office goes, the most popular choices are Hunington, WV; Florence, SC; and Nashville, TN. I’m not sure how it will all work out as there are different contracts for the Indy and Albany offices vs. the rest of the system. I’m hoping after decentralization we’ll all fall under the same contract.
A lot of details still hang up in the air and it will be interesting to see how things finally settle out.
L&N:
I think I’m reading two parts to your question, one about how to handle the interview, and another about whether the job is the right one for you. I’m like everyone else – we can only answer from our own unique perspectives.
The interview is not standardized by railroad. I don’t know how CSX handles it or what they’re looking for. Some offices want confident self-starters with a lot of intelligence. Other offices want people who follow orders lock-step and don’t do anything without being told first.
As for the job. I learned more about railroading as a dispatcher in six months than I had learned in 15 years in the mechanical and engineering departments. I was fortunate to work for a small Class I where I could see the entire railroad, qualify on every desk, and work with many people both good and bad without any safety net. We were given a tremendous amount of authority, which was both good (you learned fast) and bad (you could make mistakes and no one would stop you). After a total of five days employment, I was told to mark up and start running a 150-mile CTC subdivision, the busiest on the railroad, on a relief job. Then I really found out just how little I knew. The next 60 days were the worst of my life.
Dispatching is very different than TY&E, mechanical, or engineering. At least at my railroad, you had to have your head in the game for nine hours straight, at least until MOW went home. No moments to gaze out the window or daydream or relax, or time to chat with others, as there was always five or six calls lit up on the Avtec plus signals to clear, trainlists to pull, crews needing paperwork or crews to call, Form As to update. One thing for sure, the shift passed very quickly on daylights and afternoons. Midnights was often a different story, and at 3 am with your railroad lined out and all the paperwork done, the time just dragged and it was very hard to maintai
I second that emotion about the necessity of “dressing for success.” As was said, the better-dressed candidates made the short list while the casual did not – not overwhelming proof that it will always work that way, but IMO it tends to.
Another aspect of this, is that it is easier to dress DOWN than dress UP. You can loosen or remove a necktie, but you can’t add a tie to a polo shirt. The crew may have settled in for the khaki-and-polo look, but in some offices that’s still considered Friday casual.
You may think it petty or even hypocritical to subject yourself to an unwritten dress code before you’ve even been hired, but that’s not the point: hiring agents at the first rung have to be petty by nature, especially in situations where there’s a cadre of men and woman vying for the same few jobs. Take every ethical advantage you can.
And good luck!
al-in-chgo
I would add one more comment – much of a dispatcher’s communication is verbal so speak clearly in the interview (and also when you get the job.) Some people tend to speed up their speaking cadence when under stress - when just the opposite is needed. Reduces errors and make life better for all concerned.
dd
RWM:
As always, I enjoyed your comments.
What, in particular was the most difficult aspect of dispatching? Would it be handling the MOW requirements along with the movement of trains? Did I read correctly that you had to call the crews? Is that handled by dispatchers rather than a crew caller?
It seems that even tho 1st or 2nd trick was more stressful, you enjoyed it more than the 3rd shift…is that correct?
Listening to my scanner for years, I am always amazed at the level of calmness good dispatchers display. Also, the crews seem to appreciate when a dispatcher explains what he/she is doing and why. The CN dispatchers seem to provide that information to crews and actually ask questions (“where would be a good place for you to wait for the congestion to clear” or “which location would be better to swap with 395?”).
NS dispatchers dont seem quite so forthcoming with information, although a couple will indicate something like “you will be at _______ for awhile if you want to get dinner.”
RWM, what was the single biggest individual challenge you ever faced in your dispatching days…and how did you handle it?
As always…thanks,
ed
The hardest part was learning how to hold a plan in your head that accommodated 35 trains and all the work events they might have from blocking their cars to switching an industry to making power swaps to a train running in the opposite direction, keep track of the hours-of-service clock ticking away on every crew, know where every meet would take place 4-8 hours before they occurred, plan where you intended to recrew every train that wouldn’t make its terminal on hours-of-service and make sure you had a van and a dogcatch crew that would be there at the same time, make sure your trains would still fit in the sidings after pickups, make sure the trains would have enough power to make the hills after pickups, make sure the crews had the right paperwork for the hazmats, make sure the trainmasters knew your plan and would do their part … and then every 3-5 minutes chuck out half the plan and rebuild it in 10 seconds because something unforseen occurred. The old-heads that taught me could forsee the entire railroad 48 hours into the future and tell you with amazing accuracy where you’d see every train when you walked in the next morning, and the morning after.
We had to know WHEN to call the crews – that’s the critical part – the caller made the call when we told her/him to make it. Most trains on our railroad would make it into the other terminal with maybe 20-30 minutes left on their 12 hours, so if you called a train 15 minutes too early you ended up having to run the railroad around that train to try and get it into the away terminal before it ran out of time, or
One of the biggest problems about being a good dispatcher is being able to handle multiple tasks at the same time. MULTI-TASKING. CSX will be moving it’s dispatchers to Nashville by the end of the year.
Maybe its to save $$. The dispatcher has to take a qualifying run on the territory that he will be assigned to and then off to JAX to quickly forget about the territory. There is usually a bottleneck of freight on the Bruceton to Memphis side every morning due to “FORCE FEEDING” all of the freight into Leewood. They have been doing a better job moving stuff in and out lately, but you still have to deal with the foreign railroads when you pick up and try to go north again.
I also applied for the Nashville position and expect to hear back from H/R soon. The deadline for applying has closed effective 19 May.
I spent my last 6 years working in the Army in a mechinized, light, and airassault Infantry Battalion and Brigade tactical operations center. My guess is the the hours and stress are about the same.
Good luck hope to see you at the interview.