How many times have you said to yourself...."When I grow up, I am going to be a..."
I remember growing up in Chicago, and seeing the Soo Line trains run through our town, and wondering what it would be like to be a train engineer. So now, I work for a Railroad in Central Virginia. Sadly, not as an engineer, but as head of HR.
Recently, we were interviewing candidates for two positions on our track crew. We received 150 resumes and applications, interviewed eight, and need to select two. One of the candidates told us a story about a previous job he held. He was hired in a factory for a particular job. Two other candidates were hired at the same time, but for different jobs. On their first day at work, after extensive interviews, the two candidates walked off their jobs, saying that it just was not what they thought it would be. Our candidate was asked to take over in a different department, until the company was able to find other people to hire.
Takes us now to the railroad. So many times, our dream job may, or may not, turn out to be what we were looking for. Railroad work is, strictly speaking, hard work. It pays well, but there are times when one is slogging around in the mud on a cold, rainy day, repairing rail sections, or cutting up trees that have fallen over the tracks. Makes it very important to match the job to the individual.
There are ways to do this....see more at www.resourcesforperformance.com.
Oh...and by the way...the picture above is a winter shot, where the rail worker is heating the rails to move them back into proper position. Rails move in...and out....very important to keep the trains on the tracks! Derailment is certainly a bad word!
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