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.