I first applied online in May 2014 for a Train Crew position. I was filling out a lot of applications in the meantime, and nearly forgot about them. In the middle of August 2014, I was selected to do a reading assessment, passed that, then was selected to attend a Hiring Session close to where I lived. I had a friend of mine listed as a referral who worked for UP, and thought that might help me land a job.
The week between I was selected for the Hiring Session and the actual date, I took to researching and learning as much about the company as possible. I looked up information about what I would actually be doing, called my friend for information about the position, researched their interview questions, as well as general knowledge about the customers and competitors of Union Pacific so I could put the company in a proper perspective. I learned that they always do the same interview questions, so I practiced with my wife. I got myself a nice button-up with slacks and a tie, notebook and identification in hand.
The Hiring Session took place at 0900 at the Ford Building in SLC. I arrived 20 Minutes early to make sure I made it, but saw that I was one of the last ones in the room. The moment you arrive, they start to notice what you do. I was prepared for this contingency and started to converse lightly with the other candidates. I even brought an extra pen for one of the candidates who didn't bring one. They started with a Safety Brief and an introduction.They then spoke a bit about the job and we watched a 20 minute video presentation about working at Union Pacific.
After the video, the HR specialist spoke at length about how much this job requires of you. She spoke to the effect that for the first 5 years, and likely the entirety of your career, you will have no life.Then, she went back to talking about the strain it would put on families to work this position, and had us take a break for 5 minutes to tell our wives what it would mean. I texted my wife, we already knew what it would require due to my prior research and talking to my friend. It was the type of gloom and doom speech I was anticipating, and made sure to react as if this were not a big deal for me. She went on to talk about Union Pacific expectations and goals. I was making sure to take notes of what she said, knowing that during the interview, she would ask questions about it. The Hiring Session is said to go from 9-5 in the email, but her speech, videos, and extra paper handouts lasted only until 11:45. From then, it was the interview session, each interview taking approx 30 minutes.
Waiting for the interview was fairly boring, so I went and got some lunch and came back and waited another hour or so until it was my turn. The Interview threw no curve balls, I had anticipated each question. The only difficult part of the interview was when they asked me how I react to a difference of opinion. Every other interview question had brought nods and smiles and had gone as planned. They asked me ,"When you are doing your job and you don't agree with the course of action, how do you respond?" I responded by saying I was a generally agreeable person who doesn't get worked up over a difference of opinion, and I usually do as I am told. They then probed me for more information and asked me to describe a time I had a conflict with a coworker. I thought a bit, and told them about a time when an old supervisor told me to do something against regulation, and I handled it by quoting regulation and going over his head to the GM. Yeah..... not great......This was not received as I had planned. Where other answers had brought smiles, this one brought nothing. Just a look of contempt. They saw me as a tattle tale. Never mind the whole business they talk about at the beginning where "Regulations save lives?" We chatted a minute and then the interview was done. I made sure to push my chair back in, shook hands, and that's it.
After leaving, I realized I could have answered that one with a little more tact. They said they would get back to you within the next business day with a job offer if you were selected, and I received my rejection after 2 days.