CN hiring process

I applied for a conductor job last week at CN. Thus far, my application status remains "not reviewed". What are the chances of a "no previous experience" conductor getting hired and what is a typical time frame to get some feedback from HR?

Took about a month and i got a call outta the blue. Needed more info.
Then no invitation to interview. I had other aps in as well and I got called to interview
about 2.5 weeks later. I have prior experience though, but was not local.
They prefer qualified (recent 2 years) conductors. Then they look at everyone else.
you have a shot unless they get a bunch of qualified or semiqualified guys. The less they
gotta train the better, I would think.

About a month and a half for me to get the call... then the screening (aka group interview, testing) and then the individual interview. About two weeks for 'the process'. Then I started about 5 weeks after that, but I went for the shops instead of transportation.

I like knowing when I'll be working... more than two hours in advance, that is. Plus, seniority in the shops is way easier to attain - all the 'old guys' are gone in three years. Not so for transportation, they've hired hundreds already and you'll be working the spare board for years before you see a steady shift.

I really, really need help. My friend applied for a Dock laborer job and his father has worked there 20 plus years. He even used his dad's friend who's worked there the same amount of time. We filled out the application online on the CN website. Everything looked good. He has the high school diploma, experience with heavy machinery, and 1 year of general A.A. in college. He received an e-mail that said they are "pursuing other candidates" about two weeks later. Why would this be if he had 2 employee references and some general work in that field of work? HE has no criminal record! The only thing he had was a driving with an expired license. He doesn't even having speeding tickets. WHAT would cause CN to just not even give him a chance for an interview? His dad and his dad's boss at the CN keep telling him to apply, and he does and he's automatically denied? The boss even told his dad to let him know when the son applied so he could know...um, why would he do that if we were going to get an automatic denial? ANY IDEAS? please help!

You definately answered your own question. The driving with an expired lic. did him in. Transportation companies look very, very closely at your driving record. They can definately like the candidate, but because there are usually so many qualified applicants at hiring sessions (ex. 200 applying for 3 jobs), they'll just delete anybody thats not 100% clean, and then make their hiring choice from the rest of the pool. I'm not passing judgment at all, but driving with an expired license is REALLY bad. His license got revoked (looks extremely bad) because unpaid tickets, reckless driving, etc. and then he made the decision to drive again while expired and got caught. I would presume this is an automatic denial by any RR or transportation co. in general, that's why his app is immediately denied. It's on the level of a DWI. If his dad has connections, he might still be able to get him in, but it'll be tough to get an HR approval with this situation.

Expired means he didn't renew in time . It's WAY different from having you're license suspended
and then driving anyway. I had a 4 year license that expired and I had no idea as I haven't been
carded in a long time and never get pulled over, so it sits in my wallet getting moldy.
When I went to rent a car THEN I found out it was expired. Holy crap!

So the fact that he got caught is not good. Depending on how long it had been expired
it could look kinda bad, or just not great for the reasons you mention.

mispoken wrote:I applied for a conductor job last week at CN. Thus far, my application status remains "not reviewed". What are the chances of a "no previous experience" conductor getting hired and what is a typical time frame to get some feedback from HR?

I applied 7 days ago for a brakeman position. The application status changed to "application reviewed" yesterday. Here's hoping they liked what they read, even though I lack experience. I pray every day that I'll get out from behind this desk.

I didn't get the brakeman job. I guess I'm not one of the 10 best applicants in the area. Maybe next time.

EDIT: They apparently send the email before updating on their site. I guess there's no need to keep an eye on the status on their jobs page.

Hi There,

Applied for Signals & Communications Apprentice did the online test haven't heard anuthing else status applications says under review . Does anybody knows how long this take
thanks

Hi there,

I went to a session a few months ago for a car mechanic position with CN, passed the aptitude test and interview portion, gave my information for the background check and was told that a medical will be arranged at a later date. I'm more than willing to wait for this position, as it is an amazing job in my mind, but I'm wondering how long it could take? Does anyone have any idea or information? I've seen posts for other positions, none for freight car mechanics though.
Thanks for any information

I applied for an S&c apprentice position and I was called for a screening session. Unfortunately I was unable to make it to the screening session because I was on the other side of the country working for a CN contractor. Can I really apply for the same position if it opens up or am I blocked from future postings.