NS Hiring Sessions

[Anonymous]

Ive been to 4 of these things for the Freight Train Conductor trainee, I dont even stay for a interview and it pisses me off. Ive checked the website and it says if you stay for a interview you will be taking a math test and a language test. Now this question is for NS employees who's takin it. Are these test difficult? I took some test for UP and ace'd them. Im afraid when it came to math the good lord skipped over me in the brain's department there. I was just looking for a little help there. Ohhhh and what do I gotta tell these people to get a job?

[csxengineer98]

the one to talk to would be Nora...she as gone to a few of them.... she would be able to tell in detail what the tests are all about... but i it seems that she donst come around here as much since she got a clerks job with NS..and from what i understand..she is/or has moved into a new house... but at some point she might stop in here agin....
csx engineer

[Anonymous]

hmmmm. well thanks csx for the info. What about CSX engineer. I heard they'ed bbe hiring this year, but CSX doesnt train their employees. So how do you get a job with them?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jango_Fett6

Ive been to 4 of these things for the Freight Train Conductor trainee, I dont even stay for a interview and it pisses me off. Ive checked the website and it says if you stay for a interview you will be taking a math test and a language test. Now this question is for NS employees who's takin it. Are these test difficult? I took some test for UP and ace'd them. Im afraid when it came to math the good lord skipped over me in the brain's department there. I was just looking for a little help there. Ohhhh and what do I gotta tell these people to get a job?

I went to a NS hiring session a couple months ago,..fully expecting to get thrown out on my ear.

Instead, I made the first 3 cuts, totally to my surprise.

The tests you mention are centered on three areas,...(1) their personality profile , which is mostly made up of asking the same 10 questions 100 different ways, just to see if you are honest, and then a timed test made up of (2) math and (3) common sense questions that you are not given enough time to complete, but are judged based upon how far you get and the percentage you get correct.

Here is an example of a common sense question:

which of the following letters begins the word described in the following?

A person who performs in motion pictures.. (1) P, (2) D, (3) A, (4) K, (5) X

The correct answer is (3) A....as in "actor"

That is an actual question from their test, by the way,... My guess is that it is to see if you can guess your way through someone elses bad hand writting,..there were about a dozen or so similar questions,.

and the math questions were no more difficult than 8th grade advanced math....you know, very light algebra.. Such as 'If Car A is 10 miles away from car B, and each approaches the other, car A at 8 mph, and car b at 5 mph, how ling before they pass by each other?" type of stuff...

[Anonymous]

Probably about 40 minutes for both cars to pass each other from 10 miles apart.

How precise do they want that answer?

[csxengineer98]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jango_Fett6

Ive been to 4 of these things for the Freight Train Conductor trainee, I dont even stay for a interview and it pisses me off. Ive checked the website and it says if you stay for a interview you will be taking a math test and a language test. Now this question is for NS employees who's takin it. Are these test difficult? I took some test for UP and ace'd them. Im afraid when it came to math the good lord skipped over me in the brain's department there. I was just looking for a little help there. Ohhhh and what do I gotta tell these people to get a job?

I went to a NS hiring session a couple months ago,..fully expecting to get thrown out on my ear.

Instead, I made the first 3 cuts, totally to my surprise.

The tests you mention are centered on three areas,...(1) their personality profile , which is mostly made up of asking the same 10 questions 100 different ways, just to see if you are honest, and then a timed test made up of (2) math and (3) common sense questions that you are not given enough time to complete, but are judged based upon how far you get and the percentage you get correct.

Here is an example of a common sense question:

which of the following letters begins the word described in the following?

A person who performs in motion pictures.. (1) P, (2) D, (3) A, (4) K, (5) X

The correct answer is (3) A....as in "actor"

That is an actual question from their test, by the way,... My guess is that it is to see if you can guess your way through someone elses bad hand writting,..there were about a dozen or so similar questions,.

and the math questions were no more difficult than 8th grade advanced math....you know, very light algebra.. Such as 'If Car A is 10 miles away from car B, and each approaches the other, car A at 8 mph, and car b at 5 mph, how ling before they pass by each other?" type of stuff...

it all depends on the railroad that the car is being shiped over... if its on csx or up..the awnser is ...they will never pass each other since they will get sucked into a major terminal and never come out...
csx engineer
thier isnt gravity on the railroad....the place just sucks...

[csxengineer98]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jango_Fett6

hmmmm. well thanks csx for the info. What about CSX engineer. I heard they'ed bbe hiring this year, but CSX doesnt train their employees. So how do you get a job with them?

they do hire through some testing and application setions....but most of the hireing is done through college programs offered at select colleges around the country....(choo choo U) for trainmen employees... you go to school... about 5 weeks..(5 weeks book of rules class basicly)...take tests on what you learned...pass the class....get a job interview (even going to a csx sponsred school is not a 100% that you will get a job but *** near it..lol).....they will have an interview setion at the school at some point during your 5 weeks.....then...when you get the job... and you jump through all the hoops...you will then spend time ( 2 weeks at a training location in atlanta)...you then are to report to your working location for your OJT....after you jump through more hoops.. and do your OJT...you get tested agin and agin...and after you pass all the promotion tests required...your stamped as a conductor with all the rights privlages and responsiblitys that go with the job....then you look for a place to mark up at and try to make a living on the railroad..... at some point..god knows when..they might call you to engin school.....and that my friend..is another big a$$ set of hoops to jump through all over agin...
csx engineer

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by HighIron2003ar

Probably about 40 minutes for both cars to pass each other from 10 miles apart.

How precise do they want that answer?

I fotgot to mention that,....the math portion of the test was "multipe choice" so it gets easy if you just start eliminating answers where the numbers are outside of a reasonable "common sense" range.

The trouble with this method, of course, is that as a timed test where you are not given enough time to complete all the questions "on purpose", you can't use the "elimination" method on all the questions. Just the ones that aren't obvious to begin with.

I would say that ANYONE who actually earned a highschool diploma, (you know, where their graduation was actually something they are proud of and feel like they acomplished something in the process) should have no problem with NS's "math test"

It's not rocket science.

Again, the emphasis seemed to be on "how far you got into the test with reasonably good accuracy" when the time to lay the pencils on the desk was called.

I do recall that the guy from NS corporate conducting the interview (who seemed like kind of a ***) actually chided those who he said "must have just hurried through the test guessing, since they had completed all the questions, but had the lions share of them incorrect." before making the final cut.

So, as somone who made that cut, I can tell you that accuracy on the portion you manage to answer, and managing to answer a reasonable quantity of questions in the time alloted are what they are looking for.

This timed portion of the test was 2 pages long, and I completed the entire first page and roughly half of the second, before time was called..(15 minutes) And evidently that was "good enough" for them.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jango_Fett6

Ive been to 4 of these things for the Freight Train Conductor trainee, I dont even stay for a interview and it pisses me off. Ive checked the website and it says if you stay for a interview you will be taking a math test and a language test. Now this question is for NS employees who's takin it. Are these test difficult? I took some test for UP and ace'd them. Im afraid when it came to math the good lord skipped over me in the brain's department there. I was just looking for a little help there. Ohhhh and what do I gotta tell these people to get a job?

Oh, and as far as what they "want to hear" to get the job, tell them you are willing to work 30+ days per month, cause that's what they wanna hear,...and SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY!!

[jeaton]

TheAntiGates:

I may have missed it, but were you offered a job, and if so, did you accept?

Jay

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton

TheAntiGates:

I may have missed it, but were you offered a job, and if so, did you accept?

Jay

Yanno? That was a big disappointment.

I expected to get thrown out on my ear during the first cut,...instead, I made all 3 cuts during the hiring session,..from an original field of 65 applicants,....I made the final 12 that day, and was told that I would receive a call by 5 PM the following tuesday, if I was hired..

Never heard from them again.

Seems like the disappointment was saved until I really believed I had a chance to get hired, then shot at me with both barrels.

And the worst part? I have NO idea why I was rejected, and no way of finding out...

Just "sorry ***" no phone call, no job.[:(!]