5 Tips to get Hired on a Railroad

 

"How do I get on with the railroad"?  "I applied but I didn't even get an interview".

When I tell people where I work, one of these two things is usually the next thing out of their mouth. There isn't really some strange trick, nor do you have to be the brother of the president to get hired, but there are a few things that you can do to up your chances of getting a job with a railroad company.

There are a lot of different positions that major railroads offer, but most people are asking me about transportation, track or signal jobs.  Here are a few things you should know about these jobs before applying for them. Too often I see people get hired only to run the other way once the work actually begins. Railroading is not for everyone.  If you get called to an interview, the presenter will tell you this while also showing you all of the wonderful things that you will get if you are lucky enough to be chosen for the position.  Lets skip the cool video and smiling faces and get the bad stuff out of the way.

Railroading is 24/7/365

Time to go to work Timmy

If you don't want to work on your birthday, anniversary, Christmas, Easter etc., this job may not be for you.  In any one given year it is unlikely that you will have to work all of them, but you can bet that you will have to work some of them and you won't always know which ones.  If you work in transportation you do not get holidays. If you work in the track department and a train falls off the tracks on Christmas morning, open your gifts quick because you are going to work. If you work for the signal department and Gary the gate runner gets hit at a crossing on his way to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving dinner, tell your family to save you some pumpkin pie because you are going to work.  This is how these jobs work, you will get called in the middle of the night, when you are at a movie, when you are just getting in the car to go on that long planned date with your spouse.  So if you are looking for a predictable 9-5 type job, this job probably isn't for you.

Come rain, snow, sleet or hail...

Drowned Rat

In case you haven't noticed, railroading is also a mostly outdoor job.  If it is raining, you will get wet.  If it is snowing you will get cold and wet.  While most of the time we do try and take the weather into consideration, trains have to run and they need track and signals to do it so if you are working in these types of positions, there will be days that you resemble a drowned rat.

It's dark out at night.
This fact doesn't seem to register with some people until they are standing in the middle of the national forest at 2am trying to find a broken knuckle.  There are places in this world where there isn't a lot of light pollution, and railroads run through these areas.  If you are afraid of the dark, this job probably isn't for you.

Night Grinder

If you read through those 3 paragraphs and still think you would like to work for the railroad here are 5 tips to get you started.

1. Double check your online application.  Many times someone who is qualified will slip through the cracks because they have forgotten to check a box somewhere on the online application.  Go back through and double check that you have completed each section, answered all of the questions and that the box you have checked, is the box you meant to check.

2. Brush up on your basic skills.  Most applications require you to complete a basic math and reading test before being hired. If you are like me and have forgotten most of the rules of dividing fractions you can go to a site like this one to get a little free practice before you take the test.  Yes, I know it is for kids, but anyone that has seen "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader" knows that kids are better at this stuff than adults. 

3. Highlight outdoor or on call work on your resume.  As I said in the beginning of this post, this work is mostly outdoors and mostly on call.  If you have held positions in the past that have required you to work outdoors or on call make sure the person reading your resume can find that information easily.  Google even has a resume builder that can help you show off your skills. 

4. Discuss the job with your family.  The interviewer is going to ask you about this, he is a railroader and he knows that this job can be very tough on families.  Have a serious discussion with your family about how they will feel about you being gone a lot, on holidays and on short notice.  If you have already had this discussion with your family you can be confident when you discuss the topic with your interviewer.  Family issues are the number one reason people quit the railroad, showing your interviewer confidence in this area can be the difference between getting hired or not. 

5. What have you done for safety?  Safety is a big deal on the railroad, too many people get hurt or die doing these jobs, so you can bet that you will be asked this type of question.  Before you go to your interview think of ways that you have contributed to safety in your past positions and practice telling a short story about it to a family member or friend.

Good luck with your endeavors