2 Hiring Sessions for Norfolk Southern

cockerhamsg wrote:

jrock1956 wrote:Seems like a monumental waste of time to test after the "scary speech" orientation. Online assessments seem to work for everyone else.

I also think online assessments are the better way to go. It wastes fewer peoples time by weeding them out before they make the trip to a session to get canned. You know? But hey, thats how NS plays it. Old school I guess you could say. Just do it and move on if you want the job. I did it and thousands of others have done the same. Our opinions matter not, lol. Good luck.

Nope. They want to observe YOU in person. They are evaluating your every move while there--including seeing if you are prompt to appointments. Thus the thing about the EXACT time you are to report. If you can't show up ON TIME to GET a job, then you *may* tend to "fudge" when called to protect assignments--arriving late. Too many people think that 8 AM means 8:02, or 8:05, or 8:20. They are expecting their employees to BE in place at or before the sked time! Sooner or later, they're gonna have to see you anyway and discuss things with the prospective employee; why not at the initial personal interview? They want to watch--although you may not know it---how you react to situations, how you answer questions. This can't be done "on line", and it is due the fact that railroading is unlike any other career, and the lifestyle is very stressful. It takes a certain kind of person to put up with it, they are PAYING us VERY well to DO it, and they expect the best from us, no, DEMAND it!

If everybody only did an online assessment, they also realize they would miss a lot of good employees that way! You just can't tell without observing first hand!
And as was said, they've always done it that way, and I expect , they always WILL! With the demand that has traditionally filled UP their employment sessions, they can afford to be "picky" and ask MORE from potential employees! They don't give a **** if they waste YOUR time!

GF

Ha!

Don't be concerned about the pre-assessment testing and scary speeches being a waste of time. Or money for that matter.

The railroads will waste plenty of their time and pay you to do so over a 30+ year career. And a waste of money too you say? Nah.

The railroads will spend $100K (yes, $100,000.00+) training you to be a conductor and then engineer and then proceed in looking for ways to fire you after doing so.

Keeping it real.

slchub wrote:Ha!

Don't be concerned about the pre-assessment testing and scary speeches being a waste of time. Or money for that matter.

The railroads will waste plenty of their time and pay you to do so over a 30+ year career. And a waste of money too you say? Nah.

The railroads will spend $100K (yes, $100,000.00+) training you to be a conductor and then engineer and then proceed in looking for ways to fire you after doing so.

Keeping it real.

People seem to spend to much wasted time trying to beat the system thinking it's unfair. As one who witnessed the changes on the railroad from the '70s to retirement in 2010 I too rebelled in the begining. Then I realised by letting the railroads make decisions they were making me money. Gone was the need to get the job accomplished in a couple hours which benefitted everyone. Their way made me a lot of overtime on both the road & the last two years working a pusher job in the yard. When they started ending early quits on yard jobs those that made it a carreer became angry. I embraced it, again their way made me overtime. LOL! Same goes for rules violations most are just plain laziness. There are no short cuts anymore without violating rules. We had one crew that did a line of road pick up, they faked an air brake test on the cars picked up the conductor was back on the locomotive. Turns out there were officials in the bushes that night. They were terminated over 8 cars that they were to lazy to do a brake test. The locomotive engineer & conductor was faking radio communications. LOL!

COEN77 wrote:

slchub wrote:Ha!

Don't be concerned about the pre-assessment testing and scary speeches being a waste of time. Or money for that matter.

The railroads will waste plenty of their time and pay you to do so over a 30+ year career. And a waste of money too you say? Nah.

The railroads will spend $100K (yes, $100,000.00+) training you to be a conductor and then engineer and then proceed in looking for ways to fire you after doing so.

Keeping it real.

People seem to spend to much wasted time trying to beat the system thinking it's unfair. As one who witnessed the changes on the railroad from the '70s to retirement in 2010 I too rebelled in the begining. Then I realised by letting the railroads make decisions they were making me money. Gone was the need to get the job accomplished in a couple hours which benefitted everyone. Their way made me a lot of overtime on both the road & the last two years working a pusher job in the yard. When they started ending early quits on yard jobs those that made it a carreer became angry. I embraced it, again their way made me overtime. LOL! Same goes for rules violations most are just plain laziness. There are no short cuts anymore without violating rules. We had one crew that did a line of road pick up, they faked an air brake test on the cars picked up the conductor was back on the locomotive. Turns out there were officials in the bushes that night. They were terminated over 8 cars that they were to lazy to do a brake test. The locomotive engineer & conductor was faking radio communications. LOL!

That is also an unfortunate byproduct of our times: the "ME" syndrome. So long as I can slip under the wire, beat the system, violate the rules, get away with it, its all right. I, I, I, I, ME, ME, ME. This is also parcel to the Rules that govern us, for they, as I heard so often, "written in someone's blood". True, a lot of the railroad life is "unfair", but we just live with it, gripe about it, and go on. Those outside the industry, those who have never worked in the industry and wish for some way to beat that requirement for color acuity, or hearing, or their backs not being up to the task, they don't realize how dangerous their inabilities *could* be in the railroad environment. They also don't care if the railroad must bear a huge burden/risk for injuries and litigate thru and with FELA, and indeed, some hope they CAN get hurt in order to win a huge settlement from the railroad. I heard them talk about it. I don't defend the railroads, per se, but, after all, right is right, and wrong is still WRONG! Beating the system still costs money, and SOMEBODY has to pay for it. But............that's all right, according to today's morality, so long as it isn't "ME"!

GF

Gadfly wrote:

cockerhamsg wrote:

jrock1956 wrote:Seems like a monumental waste of time to test after the "scary speech" orientation. Online assessments seem to work for everyone else.

I also think online assessments are the better way to go. It wastes fewer peoples time by weeding them out before they make the trip to a session to get canned. You know? But hey, thats how NS plays it. Old school I guess you could say. Just do it and move on if you want the job. I did it and thousands of others have done the same. Our opinions matter not, lol. Good luck.

Nope. They want to observe YOU in person. They are evaluating your every move while there--including seeing if you are prompt to appointments. Thus the thing about the EXACT time you are to report. If you can't show up ON TIME to GET a job, then you *may* tend to "fudge" when called to protect assignments--arriving late. Too many people think that 8 AM means 8:02, or 8:05, or 8:20. They are expecting their employees to BE in place at or before the sked time! Sooner or later, they're gonna have to see you anyway and discuss things with the prospective employee; why not at the initial personal interview? They want to watch--although you may not know it---how you react to situations, how you answer questions. This can't be done "on line", and it is due the fact that railroading is unlike any other career, and the lifestyle is very stressful. It takes a certain kind of person to put up with it, they are PAYING us VERY well to DO it, and they expect the best from us, no, DEMAND it!

If everybody only did an online assessment, they also realize they would miss a lot of good employees that way! You just can't tell without observing first hand!
And as was said, they've always done it that way, and I expect , they always WILL! With the demand that has traditionally filled UP their employment sessions, they can afford to be "picky" and ask MORE from potential employees! They don't give a **** if they waste YOUR time!

GF

All of the class 1 railroads except Norfolk do online assessment and like I said, it seems to work for them. I was at the hiring session for NS on Tuesday and there were 36 people in attendance. And 1 person knocking on the doors after they were locked at 8:00 am sharp. The HR lady talked about the aspects of the job and NS environment and culture for about an hour and 15 minutes. After that, the terminal manager gave the "scary speech" that lasted for another hour with a Q & A session. A 15 minute break was given to allow people to phone their mommies, wives, girlfriends or whatever to let them know we would never see them again if we get the job. 5 people didn't come back. After the 1 hour and 10 minute test was over, we were told a list of people who passed would be posted on the door of the conference room at 12:00. Only 17 of us passed and would be granted interviews. I wonder if there were folks from out of town who didn't make the list?

I'm willing to bet the majority of those in attendance were from out of town. I know where I hired is 2.5 hours away from "home".

It's not surprising only 5 people left after the speeches. Times are tough not a lot of good jobs these days that pay like the railroad with benefits. I don't know how to take the comment about calling their mommies ect...that they'll never see them again. LOL! Apparently the scary speech did it's job. LOL!

After getting interviewed back in the first week of June, I finally got the call today to go for my background check. Another poster on a different forum suggested I call the HR desk to get a status up date. Previously I emailed them and got a form response. I called them yesterday and the guy on the phone took my information as far as when and where I interviewed and what email address I used. He put me on hold for about 5 minutes and when he returned he told me I should be getting a call the early part of next week. Well, they called today to schedule my background and I assume next week for the physical and drug screen.

I guess my application fell through the proverbial crack.