I got a callback from UP today and they want me to come to a hiring session Oct. 11th. I am currently in the retirement benfits field and tax forms are due October 15, so this is my busiest time of year. I really cannot miss work this time of year. Also, if I get offered a position, I’d have to sign paperwork on Oct. 13 - now there’s really no way I could make that.
Is there any way to go to a different hiring session, or if I dont go to this one, did I miss the train?
Sorry, but I doubt they’ll be interested in that. Most railroads have enough difficulty getting their T&E folks to work weekends without many missed calls these days. Typically they have a Trainmaster give a talk about the difficulty of the 24/7/365 nature of T&E work. This usually eliminates quite a few candidates. I would suspect that the UP would identify you as a non-starter if you start causing scheduling issues for only the hiring session. You need to make a choice. If you really want to work for the railroad you’ll be at the session. If, not, then keep on with the tax prep and stick with railfaning.
LC
If you cannot make it to this hiring session because of work, decline the invitation, when I declined one I did not have to give a reason. There may be another one in the near future at that terminal, there may not be one. The hiring session I went to was like LC said, the MTO made it a point to emphasize the odd hours, no schedule, forced transfers, etc.
If you have accepted the invitation and you want to have any hope of ever working for the UP, make sure you make it there.
I wouldn’t have a problem attending if it were any other time of year. To say that I am not dedicated when I have prior commitments with my current employer is a false statement, especially when I marked on my app that I am currently employed. If anything, it shows that I am very dedicated.
I am not only a pencil pusher, I worked on a farm in high school and college. That work I actually enjoyed. Its the pencil pushing I don’t like. Operating machinery was my favorite part of farming. The first poster makes it seem like I would be doing the railroad a disservice by working there.
What I didn’t also mention is that the interview is at the other side of the state, about a 4 hour drive. I hope I can fill out paperwork at some other location on friday. They are hiring at several locations in my state, one of which is in the town I currently work.
I have a sort of “in” with a higher-up, a friend is going to talk with him and find out the best thing for me to do.
If you start your interaction with UP by saying “I can’t do that” regardless of why that is, it will not give them a favorable view of you. Like I said, if work is keep you from making that hiring session, just decline the invitation and hope another opportunity comes up in the next few months.
From what I gather, you interview and do your paperwork, etc. at the terminal where you will be working at. You also have to apply for each job individually. If you are being interviewed in the town where you currently work, I would guess you are not being considered for that position.
This is what I’ll probably end up doing. I don’t even want to start until April or so.
Thank you for your advice, this is exactly what I was wondering about.
I’ll warn you now, that if you decide to turn down the hiring session. Your name will appear in a differnet color on UP’s employment computer. Kinda like a black ball. But UP has never been consistant on alot of things, so take that information with a grain of salt.
UP will nt be denied!!! (I think that’s in their corporate by-laws somewhere)
I think you are misconstruing what I said. I said you have a choice to make, not that you were incapable of working for the railroad. When I hired out on the railroad my prior career was as an attorney. I had over 100 clients to whom I owed my efforts. So, before I hired out on the RR I located other lawyers (both in my firm and others) to handle the ongoing needs of my clients and took 6 months to wrap up the cases that could be completed including some tricky trials and appeals that I felt would not be as well handled elsewhere. This forced me to postpone seeking a RR job, but it had to be done for me to acquit my professional responsibilities. Although I could have hired out sooner, I held off applying until the work was done. I did not even apply for the job until I knew I could make a commitment. My point to you is, you need to choose. Either continue to do what you are doing or commit absolutely to the RR life. The RR cannot and will not a