CN Rail Conductor Employment: I Can't Get Hired

I just completed an interview at CN for Conductor. I blew away the career battery tests and blew away the switch tests. I'm 38 years old. I was never a Conductor but always wanted to work for CN. I didn't get the job, just like the last time and the time before that and the time before that. How come they don't tell you where you went wrong and where you can improve so you can get hired the next time? With all of the horror stories I heard about human resources, what the hell does a guy gotta do to get on with CN- if he doesn't know anybody? Aren't they screaming for people? Later I find out that young boys, fresh out of high school, get hired on. What's up with that? I also read flurries of HR horror stories on the internet about how tonnes of people were rejected. I was told that Conductor school doesn't guarantee you a job with the Class 1 railways and I would get far better results knowing a strong employee with the CN railroad. How??? I don't know anyone on the CNR. Any advice? Should I blow $9000.00 on a Conductor's course to show how serious I am about the job only to get snubbed by someone at HR anyhow, based on oodles and oodles of such horror stories? Maybe I'll get better results if I apply for a position at NASA or the FBI.

I'm not sure what to tell you. I've never worked for the R.R. but applied for a conductor position for CP a few years passed their "tests" and went to an interview and never received a call after that. It could be something your backround check, driving record, previous work history, any dui or dwi's? I'm not sure what else would be stopping them from hiring you.

Sometimes you just don't know what they are looking for...
Keep in mind that CN has a long line of experienced railroaders trying to get on with them since they are one of the top paying RR's in the US.

I didn't get the job, just like the last time and the time before

How do you keep getting so lucky?

How do you keep getting so lucky?

lol, you must really not like your job. Which r.r. do you work for?

I don't want anyone to think that I'm criticizing CN. I only question some HR agents on all railroads that make controversy. I wasn't sure what was going on. I thought that maybe I had pissed off the former railway company I worked for and they said no. I had a good rapport with them. I had references from the workers and even the supervisor. So I don't know what's going on. What I need is some serious CN workers who can speak up to HR and say "Look, give this guy a chance. He wants the job, he passed your exams, he has some experience and you guys are desperate for people. So, what's going on here? Either you hire him or you can start typing up a new resume." I had no problems with the HR lady that conducted the tests/ interviews and she conducted herself the best compared to all other HR women I dealt with in the past. The HR lady did specify that it wasn't up to her who to hire. I was told that possibly someone higher up the ladder snubbed me out. If it isn't one thing, it's always another.... and another.... and another.... excuse after excuse after excuse..... I don't know. Well, I didn't apply THAT MANY times. I just applied twice to CN and twice to CP for Conductor positions. Four times and no cigar. Aren't you supposed to wait at least 6 months to a year before reapplying.

What's worse is that they don't tell you where you went wrong and where you can improve so you CAN get hired. Sounds to me like room to get away with murder- practices of personal prejudice if any. When I wasn't asked for my references the day of the interview nor was I sent to the clinic for drug screening that same day, while the security clearance went through, I was told that I was already in trouble and didn't get the job. I was told when men are hired after the interview, they are sent for drug testing that same day. So again, I don't know. Maybe they changed that. Okay, I may have some gaps in my work history, but if they're not sure of something, just simply ASK- don't ASSUME. Assumptions get people in hot water these days.

enjoythesilence wrote:I'm not sure what to tell you. I've never worked for the R.R. but applied for a conductor position for CP a few years passed their "tests" and went to an interview and never received a call after that. It could be something your backround check, driving record, previous work history, any dui or dwi's? I'm not sure what else would be stopping them from hiring you.

Must be my work history. There's an 8 to 10 year gap between 1992 and 2003. Oh I had some part time jobs in between but looked after my spouses kids while she brought home the bread. Go ahead and laugh- I would have laughed at myself too if I didn't know myself. If you're single, or you hate your wife and kids, then you will find it funny. The problem was that the day care facilities were unsatisfactory with their handling of her kids. Since the kids really took to me how could I entrust them with under qualified strangers. We grew apart and split up in 2003 when I decided to go full time back to the work force. At least she couldn't say that I wasn't there for her kids. I'll get an A for effort. But if HR doesn't know that, they'll assume that I sluffed around for 10 years. See? Assuming. Well if that's what they assume, then that assumption is going to get them into alot of trouble because it's simply not true. Everybody has circumstances. I'll keep trying while I work elsewhere in other trades. Lets just hope that if I finally get back on, it's not 1 month before my 65th birthday.

powerpro69 wrote:

I didn't get the job, just like the last time and the time before

How do you keep getting so lucky?

My friend powerpro is probably right! Maybe fate is keeping you away, but seriously putting all joking aside, you never know what they are looking at, when I went to UP Brakeman class, we had a young guy that was about 4'10", looked to be about 12, was really like 22, we had older guys 30's, 40's and then everywhere in the middle. You just don't know what causes them to pick one an avoid the rest. I "DID NOT QUALIFY" on interview per my online check of my application, 4 months later I get a call from someone asking me if I was still interested and said they needed to rush, because my application was about to expire. There it was a change of human resources people.

newbie123 wrote: But if HR doesn't know that, they'll assume that I sluffed around for 10 years. See? Assuming. Well if that's what they assume, then that assumption is going to get them into alot of trouble because it's simply not true. Everybody has circumstances. I'll keep trying while I work elsewhere in other trades. Lets just hope that if I finally get back on, it's not 1 month before my 65th birthday.

It is YOUR obligation to explain that gap in your work history (and that gap is probably hurting you). If you are going to wait for the RR to ask - they won't. They'll just throw your application away. Some railroads are also hesitant about hiring people with previous RR experience. They think you may have picked up 'bad habits'. And did you tell them you always wanted to work for CN? That makes you sound like a railfan.

gp80mac wrote:

newbie123 wrote: But if HR doesn't know that, they'll assume that I sluffed around for 10 years. See? Assuming. Well if that's what they assume, then that assumption is going to get them into alot of trouble because it's simply not true. Everybody has circumstances. I'll keep trying while I work elsewhere in other trades. Lets just hope that if I finally get back on, it's not 1 month before my 65th birthday.

It is YOUR obligation to explain that gap in your work history (and that gap is probably hurting you). If you are going to wait for the RR to ask - they won't. They'll just throw your application away. Some railroads are also hesitant about hiring people with previous RR experience. They think you may have picked up 'bad habits'. And did you tell them you always wanted to work for CN? That makes you sound like a railfan.

Thanks for this. Good advice here actually. Should I mention the gap somehow in a cover letter or just bring it up at the interview when I go through the job history with the recruiter.? Though it IS true that I always wanted to work for CN and my dad wanted me to get settled there too, how could I put it to HR, if at all, so I don't come across as "just another one of those 'I always wanted to' people or a railfan? Even if I were to have omitted my past experience from my resume they would have found it anyhow while checking my job record, no?

Yeah gaps or long gaps, show that you are not very dedicated to finding work, have they asked about your gaps and what do you tell them?

cifn2 wrote:Yeah gaps or long gaps, show that you are not very dedicated to finding work, have they asked about your gaps and what do you tell them?

Not very dedicated to find work is an understandable conclusion on their part. I would have thought the same thing, as a reflex, if I was an HR agent. Looking after the kids was a personal choice of mine after the economy began picking up. Even so, I still did casual jobs during the gap. In answer to your question, no they haven't asked. Now I know to explain what happened when they don't ask. I hear that these background checks even see whether you were married, divorced or even common law and on Welfare- even if you failed to pay a speeding ticket. Is this true? Do they even check that or find these things? If so, then that's plainly ridiculous and worthy of some internal investigation of irregular hiring practices. This isn't the FBI, plain and simple. Looks to me as some kind of perfectionist excuse to look at everybody's flaws but their own. Even someone with a perfect record is just as likely to quit their job or get fired and I have read many stories where even people who have perfect/ squeaky clean work records are still rejected from some of these other railroads. Now that's just plain weird. lol!

newbie123 wrote:

cifn2 wrote:Yeah gaps or long gaps, show that you are not very dedicated to finding work, have they asked about your gaps and what do you tell them?

Not very dedicated to find work is an understandable conclusion on their part. I would have thought the same thing, as a reflex, if I was an HR agent. Looking after the kids was a personal choice of mine after the economy began picking up. Even so, I still did casual jobs during the gap. In answer to your question, no they haven't asked. Now I know to explain what happened when they don't ask. I hear that these background checks even see whether you were married, divorced or even common law and on Welfare- even if you failed to pay a speeding ticket. Is this true? Do they even check that or find these things? If so, then that's plainly ridiculous and worthy of some internal investigation of irregular hiring practices. This isn't the FBI, plain and simple. Looks to me as some kind of perfectionist excuse to look at everybody's flaws but their own. Even someone with a perfect record is just as likely to quit their job or get fired and I have read many stories where even people who have perfect/ squeaky clean work records are still rejected from some of these other railroads. Now that's just plain weird. lol!

Can they check for your marriage status, yes probably, it could play a role in the hiring, but probably not very likely, I am not and was not married at the time of hiring, there were guys in the class that were married, none divorced. You will need a good family, and a wife that doesn't mind having to do the honey do's herself. At UP they said tell them plan things on their own, and if you happen to be there, you are there, but don't plan on you being there or trying to plan things for you.

They do have to check up on your criminal history and your not paying a speeding ticket might seem like nothing to you, but that could lead to further criminal negligence. They have to trust you will be trustworthy when someone comes to sue the railroad because your train wasn't blowing its horn when it came across that crossing and killed someone. They have to know your credit is good so you are less likely to steal railroad assets to help yourself.

I have told this a couple other times, and I know this fellow didn't get hired, but he still tried, back when I was just a few years out of high school I remembered reading and hearing from a local police officer that a subject had a loaded handgun in his lap, and when he was stopped for suspected DUI, which he was, he kept putting his hand in the seat, they ordered him out and found the handgun, he got a conviction for DUI, and the illegal transporation of firearm or something along those lines, he was at the hiring session with me, stayed the whole time, even after they warned the background checks would turn up lots of things.

If you can explain and show on paper your gaps you might have a better chance. I know UP wanted very small gaps, and I know when I interviewed for Walmart they were the same way, Why did you have a gap of 2 months, I said I was looking for work. I was due to get a job for 14.xx / hr, at a distribution center, but I didn't and why you ask? Well I talked to my previous employers who said yes they had talked to them, my only guess is that the UP, either didn't give me a reference to clear me for work, or they gave me a bad one. Or else I would have never had my 3 interviews required at Walmart to get hired.

So just be careful, because they make it hard to get hired on anyplace that actually checks a background and requests a reference, when you decide the railroad isn't for you, or in my case family illness you ask to leave.

One guy recently told me that he had been a railroad veteran for 20 years and tried to get his brother on. Apparently his brother had some sort of nervous breakdown, years ago before applying, and was in the looney bin for a month. This, in fact, disqualified his brother from getting on regardless of a good record prior to and after that slip up. Holy crap! These kinds of detailed checks, if true, must have something to do with 9/11 or something where people in certain industries become increasingly paranoid who they hire. You would think that these kinds of hiring practices would not be with a railroad- but for some kind of country club/ restricted community. The only option left, if any, would be to somehow go back to the womb, re- grow and become 20 years old all over again just to reapply! LOL!

as they always say, you are always under scrutiny from someplace, and it seems more and more often even though they are not supposed to hold it against you, your medical background is also playing into job interviews. Same way if they ask you at an interview, if you have ever been injuried on the job, they know or want to catch you in a lie so they have a reason to avoid you or fire you later, if they don't like you.