zugmann I'm more amazed someone under the age of 30 watches (presumbly) The West Wing.
I'm more amazed someone under the age of 30 watches (presumbly) The West Wing.
Favorite show, followed closely by House.
zugmann York1 I agree. My life would have been much more pleasant if students had not had so much social interaction -- in school and out of school. My school life would have been so much more pleasant if the prinicipal cared for any interactions other than the ones between the crappy sports teams and the school budget. But we're both dinosaurs. The next generation has so much more access to information from so many more people. Organizations like the NRHS are just going to fade away more and more.
York1 I agree. My life would have been much more pleasant if students had not had so much social interaction -- in school and out of school.
My school life would have been so much more pleasant if the prinicipal cared for any interactions other than the ones between the crappy sports teams and the school budget.
But we're both dinosaurs. The next generation has so much more access to information from so many more people. Organizations like the NRHS are just going to fade away more and more.
York1I agree. My life would have been much more pleasant if students had not had so much social interaction -- in school and out of school.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
zugmann York1 At the same time, social skills and personal interactions are suffering. (From a retired long-time school principal.) Those were overrated to begin with.
York1 At the same time, social skills and personal interactions are suffering. (From a retired long-time school principal.)
Those were overrated to begin with.
I agree. My life would have been much more pleasant if students had not had so much social interaction -- in school and out of school.
York1 John
BEAUSABRE Make sure your email address and avatar are professional - ie: get rid of the "stupid" tag line
Make sure your email address and avatar are professional - ie: get rid of the "stupid" tag line
I second this advice. It gives the impression that you might be kinda hard to get along with.
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
York1At the same time, social skills and personal interactions are suffering. (From a retired long-time school principal.)
zugmannIf I were 20 years younger, I'd have all the nifty social media things kids get to make use of. Twitter (maybe not so much anymore), youtube channnels, twitch streams, instagrams, discord servers, telegrams, etc etc (And a whole bunch of other things this old guy doesn't even know about).
At the same time, social skills and personal interactions are suffering. (From a retired long-time school principal.)
If I were 20 years younger, I'd have all the nifty social media things kids get to make use of. Twitter (maybe not so much anymore), youtube channnels, twitch streams, instagrams, discord servers, telegrams, etc etc (And a whole bunch of other things this old guy doesn't even know about).
I'm jealous of the social networking and outreach those just starting out get to have at their fingertips.
rdamon In addition to the sage advice within this thread .. Make sure your email address and avatar are professional. The Internet lives forever, be careful what you post. Remember sometimes the selection process is sometimes as simple as first come first served. Early submission shows enthusiasm. It helped my children when applying to college and recently with internships. They had a classmate hesitate on accepting and they withdrew the offer.
In addition to the sage advice within this thread ..
Make sure your email address and avatar are professional.
The Internet lives forever, be careful what you post.
Remember sometimes the selection process is sometimes as simple as first come first served.
Early submission shows enthusiasm. It helped my children when applying to college and recently with internships. They had a classmate hesitate on accepting and they withdrew the offer.
As far as the email/social media thing goes I'm not worried about that. My email is my name, my email avatar is a graphic of a locomotive a local historical society tried to save a few years back. As far as social media goes, I only have YouTube, where I have only posted 2 videos, both of which are railroad related and incapable of being perceived as offensive.
rdamonMake sure your email address and avatar are professional.
Check.
Something perhaps not to be missed -- including an almost-priceless ability to start networking within the industry at the right levels -- is the Railway Age virtual conference for "young professionals". Take careful notes, ask thoughtful questions... perhaps get positive name recognition.
But for heaven's sake, when they say it begins at 1:00 but the Webcast player opens at 12:30 - BE ON AT 12:30.
https://www.railwayage.com/railway-age-young-professionals23/
Overmod BEAUSABRE Why not write them a nice polite letter asking them what they are looking for in candidates and what would make you competitive? Perhaps even better, take a leaf from those 'resume mills' and write the letter asking for advice on what skills and attitudes are most highly valued by the railroad industry when hiring -- a sort of 'mentorship request' to the rail equivalent of SCORES, as it were. Do your research first: get the specific names of people at NHRS, and address your letter specifically to them... with a request that they forward it on to anyone they know who can better advise you.
BEAUSABRE Why not write them a nice polite letter asking them what they are looking for in candidates and what would make you competitive?
Perhaps even better, take a leaf from those 'resume mills' and write the letter asking for advice on what skills and attitudes are most highly valued by the railroad industry when hiring -- a sort of 'mentorship request' to the rail equivalent of SCORES, as it were. Do your research first: get the specific names of people at NHRS, and address your letter specifically to them... with a request that they forward it on to anyone they know who can better advise you.
I think that might be what does the trick. I'll try this out and see what happens.
That would be a good idea, but I have serious doubts it would go anywhere. Based off my attempt to contact the NRHS at their primary address (when my message was ignored) I doubt anything would happen. I have found a local organization I think I can get involved in, and I will most likely go to RyPN, so that should be of help.
BEAUSABREWhy not write them a nice polite letter asking them what they are looking for in candidates and what would make you competitive?
Why not write them a nice polite letter asking them what they are looking for in candidates and what would make you competitive? Nobody here is a member of the selection committee so our answers, while well intentioned and offering good advice in general, are just our guesses.
Maybe you should update your application and get it ready to send off the first day they accept them next year.
Overmod No NRHS chapters in MICHIGAN? Or Chicago, which is right around the corner from it? [N.B.: you can tell from this that I have little to do with the NRHS or its organized chapters, and expect to keep it that way.]
No NRHS chapters in MICHIGAN? Or Chicago, which is right around the corner from it? [N.B.: you can tell from this that I have little to do with the NRHS or its organized chapters, and expect to keep it that way.]
I phrased that weird. I meant that the NRHS doesn't really do anything with my state (Michigan). There was a chapter here but it got disbanded, and the NRHS just kinda leaves us alone. Which is pretty disappointing, there's some real gems here.
GrandTrunkWesternNot exactly understanding what you mean by a lock.
If you mean active involvement, the NRHS doesn't really touch my state.
You might want to register on RyPN, and ask the preservationists there about their opinions on the way the NRHS has been run, and the worth of RailCamp to them. As there are timeless threads over there about 'enlisting youthful participation' it would be a valuable resource... if you can get over the outsized sense of entitlement. Many of them are genuine professionals over there, as opposed to the likely grumpy old men in NRHS, and should be addressed with respect until conclusively demonstrated otherwise.
.
GrandTrunkWestern Overmod Frankly, it seems pretty clear that they treated the application as 'arriving' on the fourth, after their deadline. Whether or not they took a weasel way out by declaring it was 'past the deadline' ... the take-home message is that you should have gotten it in well BEFORE their deadline. I still haven't figured out why, if this was so essential an experience, you waited until the last minute. I'm actually appalled that your takeaway from posting here is that no one sympathized enough with the way you've convinced yourself you were treated. I certainly hope no one connected with NRHS reads this -- in my admittedly boomer-values opinion, it is full of real serious red flags. They could have had it the same day I finished it if they allowed for submissions online. It takes 5 minutes to create a google form you can upload a .PDF into.
Overmod Frankly, it seems pretty clear that they treated the application as 'arriving' on the fourth, after their deadline. Whether or not they took a weasel way out by declaring it was 'past the deadline' ... the take-home message is that you should have gotten it in well BEFORE their deadline. I still haven't figured out why, if this was so essential an experience, you waited until the last minute. I'm actually appalled that your takeaway from posting here is that no one sympathized enough with the way you've convinced yourself you were treated. I certainly hope no one connected with NRHS reads this -- in my admittedly boomer-values opinion, it is full of real serious red flags.
Frankly, it seems pretty clear that they treated the application as 'arriving' on the fourth, after their deadline. Whether or not they took a weasel way out by declaring it was 'past the deadline' ... the take-home message is that you should have gotten it in well BEFORE their deadline.
I still haven't figured out why, if this was so essential an experience, you waited until the last minute. I'm actually appalled that your takeaway from posting here is that no one sympathized enough with the way you've convinced yourself you were treated.
I certainly hope no one connected with NRHS reads this -- in my admittedly boomer-values opinion, it is full of real serious red flags.
They could have had it the same day I finished it if they allowed for submissions online. It takes 5 minutes to create a google form you can upload a .PDF into.
Your points have no merit in THEIR way of doing things.
NEVER be last minute unless you are submitting your Income Tax and you have to make additional payments beyond what has been already been withheld and make SURE you beat the deadline with the postmark.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Ulrich BaltACD GrandTrunkWestern BaltACD GrandTrunkWestern zugmann GrandTrunkWestern As I said, I most certainly wasn't considered. It was made clear in the rejection email I was sent that my application was not looked at. And once again, if there was an indication given that candidates who applied earlier would have a better chance, I would have been fine with this. A deadline isn't a deadline if you can apply within the deadline and not be considered. You're young. Not everything is spelled out completely all the time. That's life. Ditch the entitlement attitude and move on, try again, or go complain to the NRHS directly. Well since I got my application in by the deadline, filled it out completely, mailed it in, and was told by the NRHS that applications were being looked at, I do feel as though I was entitled to have my application looked at. And I have tried going to the NRHS directly, their email inbox seems as though it has some cobwebs on it. Their 'looked at' and your 'looked at' are two different looked ats. Their's wins. Remember the Golden Rule - those with the gold make the rules. Yeah, it would seem as though their "looked at" isn't really what it should be. I guess that's kinda why I made this, I figured after the NRHS blew me off I would try to come here to shine some light on it and warn those who would want to apply in the future. Guess I should have figured it was futile, but I guess it was worth a shot. It would appear that when they looked at your resume, their decision was that the resume wasn't what they felt it should be for them to accept you. That is the real world - just applying doesn't mean you are acceptable to those that are making the decisions. In real life, you will get knocked down for a variety of reasons in a variety of situations. You will find a lot of company where you get knocked down to. What will set your life apart from others is how you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and march forward for the rest of your life. Life will knock you down, picking yourself up one more time than you are knocked down is what life is all about. Yeah, what he said. And keep in mind that sometimes you'll be passed over for no good reason.. life is often kind of unfair that way. Sometimes looking for alterrnatives helps.. does RailCamp have a lock on participating in rail volunteerism in your area?
BaltACD GrandTrunkWestern BaltACD GrandTrunkWestern zugmann GrandTrunkWestern As I said, I most certainly wasn't considered. It was made clear in the rejection email I was sent that my application was not looked at. And once again, if there was an indication given that candidates who applied earlier would have a better chance, I would have been fine with this. A deadline isn't a deadline if you can apply within the deadline and not be considered. You're young. Not everything is spelled out completely all the time. That's life. Ditch the entitlement attitude and move on, try again, or go complain to the NRHS directly. Well since I got my application in by the deadline, filled it out completely, mailed it in, and was told by the NRHS that applications were being looked at, I do feel as though I was entitled to have my application looked at. And I have tried going to the NRHS directly, their email inbox seems as though it has some cobwebs on it. Their 'looked at' and your 'looked at' are two different looked ats. Their's wins. Remember the Golden Rule - those with the gold make the rules. Yeah, it would seem as though their "looked at" isn't really what it should be. I guess that's kinda why I made this, I figured after the NRHS blew me off I would try to come here to shine some light on it and warn those who would want to apply in the future. Guess I should have figured it was futile, but I guess it was worth a shot. It would appear that when they looked at your resume, their decision was that the resume wasn't what they felt it should be for them to accept you. That is the real world - just applying doesn't mean you are acceptable to those that are making the decisions. In real life, you will get knocked down for a variety of reasons in a variety of situations. You will find a lot of company where you get knocked down to. What will set your life apart from others is how you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and march forward for the rest of your life. Life will knock you down, picking yourself up one more time than you are knocked down is what life is all about.
GrandTrunkWestern BaltACD GrandTrunkWestern zugmann GrandTrunkWestern As I said, I most certainly wasn't considered. It was made clear in the rejection email I was sent that my application was not looked at. And once again, if there was an indication given that candidates who applied earlier would have a better chance, I would have been fine with this. A deadline isn't a deadline if you can apply within the deadline and not be considered. You're young. Not everything is spelled out completely all the time. That's life. Ditch the entitlement attitude and move on, try again, or go complain to the NRHS directly. Well since I got my application in by the deadline, filled it out completely, mailed it in, and was told by the NRHS that applications were being looked at, I do feel as though I was entitled to have my application looked at. And I have tried going to the NRHS directly, their email inbox seems as though it has some cobwebs on it. Their 'looked at' and your 'looked at' are two different looked ats. Their's wins. Remember the Golden Rule - those with the gold make the rules. Yeah, it would seem as though their "looked at" isn't really what it should be. I guess that's kinda why I made this, I figured after the NRHS blew me off I would try to come here to shine some light on it and warn those who would want to apply in the future. Guess I should have figured it was futile, but I guess it was worth a shot.
BaltACD GrandTrunkWestern zugmann GrandTrunkWestern As I said, I most certainly wasn't considered. It was made clear in the rejection email I was sent that my application was not looked at. And once again, if there was an indication given that candidates who applied earlier would have a better chance, I would have been fine with this. A deadline isn't a deadline if you can apply within the deadline and not be considered. You're young. Not everything is spelled out completely all the time. That's life. Ditch the entitlement attitude and move on, try again, or go complain to the NRHS directly. Well since I got my application in by the deadline, filled it out completely, mailed it in, and was told by the NRHS that applications were being looked at, I do feel as though I was entitled to have my application looked at. And I have tried going to the NRHS directly, their email inbox seems as though it has some cobwebs on it. Their 'looked at' and your 'looked at' are two different looked ats. Their's wins. Remember the Golden Rule - those with the gold make the rules.
GrandTrunkWestern zugmann GrandTrunkWestern As I said, I most certainly wasn't considered. It was made clear in the rejection email I was sent that my application was not looked at. And once again, if there was an indication given that candidates who applied earlier would have a better chance, I would have been fine with this. A deadline isn't a deadline if you can apply within the deadline and not be considered. You're young. Not everything is spelled out completely all the time. That's life. Ditch the entitlement attitude and move on, try again, or go complain to the NRHS directly. Well since I got my application in by the deadline, filled it out completely, mailed it in, and was told by the NRHS that applications were being looked at, I do feel as though I was entitled to have my application looked at. And I have tried going to the NRHS directly, their email inbox seems as though it has some cobwebs on it.
zugmann GrandTrunkWestern As I said, I most certainly wasn't considered. It was made clear in the rejection email I was sent that my application was not looked at. And once again, if there was an indication given that candidates who applied earlier would have a better chance, I would have been fine with this. A deadline isn't a deadline if you can apply within the deadline and not be considered. You're young. Not everything is spelled out completely all the time. That's life. Ditch the entitlement attitude and move on, try again, or go complain to the NRHS directly.
GrandTrunkWestern As I said, I most certainly wasn't considered. It was made clear in the rejection email I was sent that my application was not looked at. And once again, if there was an indication given that candidates who applied earlier would have a better chance, I would have been fine with this. A deadline isn't a deadline if you can apply within the deadline and not be considered.
You're young. Not everything is spelled out completely all the time. That's life.
Ditch the entitlement attitude and move on, try again, or go complain to the NRHS directly.
Well since I got my application in by the deadline, filled it out completely, mailed it in, and was told by the NRHS that applications were being looked at, I do feel as though I was entitled to have my application looked at. And I have tried going to the NRHS directly, their email inbox seems as though it has some cobwebs on it.
Their 'looked at' and your 'looked at' are two different looked ats. Their's wins. Remember the Golden Rule - those with the gold make the rules.
Yeah, it would seem as though their "looked at" isn't really what it should be. I guess that's kinda why I made this, I figured after the NRHS blew me off I would try to come here to shine some light on it and warn those who would want to apply in the future. Guess I should have figured it was futile, but I guess it was worth a shot.
It would appear that when they looked at your resume, their decision was that the resume wasn't what they felt it should be for them to accept you. That is the real world - just applying doesn't mean you are acceptable to those that are making the decisions.
In real life, you will get knocked down for a variety of reasons in a variety of situations. You will find a lot of company where you get knocked down to. What will set your life apart from others is how you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and march forward for the rest of your life. Life will knock you down, picking yourself up one more time than you are knocked down is what life is all about.
Yeah, what he said. And keep in mind that sometimes you'll be passed over for no good reason.. life is often kind of unfair that way. Sometimes looking for alterrnatives helps.. does RailCamp have a lock on participating in rail volunteerism in your area?
Not exactly understanding what you mean by a lock. If you mean active involvement, the NRHS doesn't really touch my state. There's a few different ops here, but nothing really with a 30min or less drive. There's the Steam Railroading Institute (home of the PM 1225), the Huckleberry in Flint/Mount Morris (my frequent) and the Henry Ford. Pretty much all volunteer/small scale stuff, no big organizations involved. I guess you could say for the Henry Ford/Greenfield that it's run by Ford, but the base is still pretty small.
daveklepper Please keep us informed if you do follow Ulrich'd (and my) suggestion. Note thast my railfanning made an order-of-magnitude improvement in February 1947, age 15, by my chance meeting with ERA and Branford members at the Gardner Avenue, Mt. Vernon, complex of Third Avenue Transit. Older Railfans like John Stern, Herman Rink, Harold Geissenheimer. took me in tow, built good reltionships with my parents, and led to the opportunities for many of my photos on the Classic Trains Forum. Active members of a tourist ort museum railroad casn do the ssme for you.
Please keep us informed if you do follow Ulrich'd (and my) suggestion. Note thast my railfanning made an order-of-magnitude improvement in February 1947, age 15, by my chance meeting with ERA and Branford members at the Gardner Avenue, Mt. Vernon, complex of Third Avenue Transit. Older Railfans like John Stern, Herman Rink, Harold Geissenheimer. took me in tow, built good reltionships with my parents, and led to the opportunities for many of my photos on the Classic Trains Forum. Active members of a tourist ort museum railroad casn do the ssme for you.
Will do. I've been looking for a while but I'll have another go at it to see if anything new has sprung up.
Backshop GrandTrunkWestern Overmod Frankly, it seems pretty clear that they treated the application as 'arriving' on the fourth, after their deadline. Whether or not they took a weasel way out by declaring it was 'past the deadline' ... the take-home message is that you should have gotten it in well BEFORE their deadline. I still haven't figured out why, if this was so essential an experience, you waited until the last minute. I'm actually appalled that your takeaway from posting here is that no one sympathized enough with the way you've convinced yourself you were treated. I certainly hope no one connected with NRHS reads this -- in my admittedly boomer-values opinion, it is full of real serious red flags. They could have had it the same day I finished it if they allowed for submissions online. It takes 5 minutes to create a google form you can upload a .PDF into. But that's not the way they do it, and you knew that ahead of time. Remember, most if not all of the people running this are volunteers and they do things the way that is easiest or most comfortable to them. You still haven't answered questions people have asked you here, such as... Why did you wait until the last day? What makes your application better than others?
But that's not the way they do it, and you knew that ahead of time. Remember, most if not all of the people running this are volunteers and they do things the way that is easiest or most comfortable to them.
You still haven't answered questions people have asked you here, such as...
Why did you wait until the last day?
What makes your application better than others?
To answer those questions:1. I was trying to be thorough. And even if it was the last day, it was the day they said they would take it, that was the deadline.
2. I never said it was better. I'm saying that it never really, actually got looked at. I'm here talking about how I got it in by the deadline yet it wasn't looked at. I'm not saying that my application was better and that I should've gotten it, I'm saying that I should've had it looked at because I had it in by the deadline.
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