Hey all, I interviewed in Minneapolis a couple of months back and was turned down, even though it felt like the interview went really well. Back then, I was not paying attention to the amount of openings at the location. This is probably the dumbest question ever, but do you think that a person would be more likely to be picked up applying to areas that have better blue collar local economies where other workers might be choosing different industries? I have relocated to North Dakota and put in an application to Grand Forks and am awaiting whether I will get a chance to interview again or not. There are 12 openings here and the current Minneapolis posting has 5 listed. The unemployment rate is like 2.3% here, so I am hoping that somehow might play to my advantage.
Anyone going to chime in? I don't understand the slowness here, people on my other site would have ripped me to shreds for bad grammar or whatnot
Can't speak to the local unemployment rates affecting new hires, but railroads hire where their need is greatest, it may be a division point where crews are changed or it may be a hub terminal where trains originate. The Powder Rivet coal basin originates a lot of trains but coal usage is declining. The Bakken Oil shale is causing the need for a lot of unit tank trains from its particular area. Just keep trying. Charlie
This^. As people graduate from conductor training and gain a seniority number in the division, the rest of the terminals in the division are fair game for marking-up, unless of course you're hired under a "primary recall" condition. Terminals gain and lose conductors all the time. I would keep applying to the terminal you'd like to work at, or if you just want to get your foot in the door, apply to another terminal in the same division; then you can use your seniority to get into the terminal you'd really like to work at.
