Passenger Trains > Amtrak to host hiring event in Seattle Tuesday

Amtrak to host hiring event in Seattle Tuesday
by KOMO News Staff
Thursday, January 19th 2023


Amtrak is hosting a hiring event in Seattle next week.

The event will be held on Jan. 24 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Seattle. Walk-ins are welcome.

Local job opportunities include coach cleaners, machinists, electricians, train attendants, and motor equipment operators.

Amtrak said interested job candidates should RSVP in advance online, plan to be at the event for at least four hours, and bring three printed resumes.

Holding it during business hours on a weekday ensures that potential employees currently employed may not apply in person as they would need to take off work at their current job

HR departments at many companies hold these in the evening hours or on weekends with better results

Posted from iPhone

Goes to show Amtrak is not serious about hiring and Senator Cantwell and others should be made aware of such Gardner snow jobs.

Posted from Android

What is a "motor equipment operator" at Amtrak?

Peter_Hawtrey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What is a "motor equipment operator" at Amtrak?


https://careers.amtrak.com/AMTRAK/job/Seattle-Motor-Equipment-Operator-90348287-Seattle-Hiring-Event-01242023-Wash-98134/969556300/

Posted from Android

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Goes to show Amtrak is not serious about hiring
> and Senator Cantwell and others should be made
> aware of such Gardner snow jobs.
>
> Posted from Android

I agree, probably still has that COVID Requirement too!

amtrakbill Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Holding it during business hours on a weekday
> ensures that potential employees currently
> employed may not apply in person as they would
> need to take off work at their current job
>
> HR departments at many companies hold these in
> the evening hours or on weekends with better
> results
>

It also ensures that the HR people don't have to work outside their 9-5 hours.

TAW

ProAmtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> joemvcnj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Goes to show Amtrak is not serious about hiring
> > and Senator Cantwell and others should be made
> > aware of such Gardner snow jobs.
> >
> > Posted from Android
>
> I agree, probably still has that COVID Requirement
> too!

Boilerplate at the bottom of Amtrak job posts-

"Successful applicants for employment with Amtrak must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the date of hire as a condition of employment, subject to requests for accommodation.  Fully vaccinated means 14 days have elapsed since receiving the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or 14 days since receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. "

goduckies Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Peter_Hawtrey Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> https://careers.amtrak.com/AMTRAK/job/Seattle-Moto
> r-Equipment-Operator-90348287-Seattle-Hiring-Event
> -01242023-Wash-98134/969556300/

 Sounds like an overblown title for a Laborer.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/23 08:35 by Peter_Hawtrey.

>
> Boilerplate at the bottom of Amtrak job posts-
>
> "Successful applicants for employment with Amtrak
> must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the
> date of hire as a condition of employment, subject
> to requests for accommodation.  Fully vaccinated
> means 14 days have elapsed since receiving the
> second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or 14
> days since receiving the Johnson & Johnson
> vaccine. "
Wonder if this will deter people from applying? Maybe that's the idea!
Sad to see Amtrak clinging to the 2020 Covid-Craziness hysteria.
Like JOEMVCNJ says, " a snow job."

 

Microsoft in Seattle probably has a lot of people out of work looking for jobs, but not these jobs. 

"How many programmers does it take to change a light bulb ? None, it's a hardware problem". 

Wages offered and the wage expectations of job seekers in a 3.5% unemployment world are often very far apart.

It's not uncommon for some workers to get 2 raises in one year. I doubt Amtrak pay schedules are in sync with that.

Posted from Android

Amtrak may want to favor hiring the unemployed and homeless anyway...it fits with their "social engineering" philosophy.  Such an approach is unlikely to garner the best and brightest, if indeed Amtrak is concerned about that.

ProAmtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> joemvcnj Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Goes to show Amtrak is not serious about hiring
> > and Senator Cantwell and others should be made
> > aware of such Gardner snow jobs.
> >
> > Posted from Android
>
> I agree, probably still has that COVID Requirement
> too!

They do

goduckies Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ProAmtrak Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > joemvcnj Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Goes to show Amtrak is not serious about
> hiring
> > > and Senator Cantwell and others should be
> made
> > > aware of such Gardner snow jobs.
> > >
> > > Posted from Android
> >
> > I agree, probably still has that COVID
> Requirement
> > too!
>
> They do

That sucks! I probably'll never apply as long as that still stays, besides I'm doing great with UPS and hoping to be a Feeder Driver soon, so not gonna do railroading anymore which I came close with Amtrak a couple of times for Conductor! Oh well at least I tried!

There is absolutely nothing to prevent potential applicants who are not able to attend the job fair during work day hours from completing an online application at any time they wish. Including in the middle of the night, if that's their choice, and / or if their current work schedule necessitates doing so. They will probably have to complete the online application process at some time anyway.

Job fairs can be good, or not. Most in my experience, even by companies more highly regarded than Amtrak is here on TO, were usually pretty mediocre. I always felt like I got more traction faster, and had a better chance to start the interview process, by completing the online application process with a good resume customized to that particular job, even though that process has many of its own flaming hoops to jump through. But that was because many job fairs were simply to listen to an company and/or job orientation presentation, drop off a resume, and maybe have a minute or two to speak to a recruiter. That doesn't necessarily do a whole lot more than just starting the process online.

But that's not to say that Amtrak can't run a good job fair in Seattle, or anywhere else. The fact that they suggest four hours time commitment seems to indicate that they might do not only a good orientation presentation to the company and the job, but also might conduct immediate first-round screening interviews. That's just a guess. A substantive first round screening interview - more than just a minute or two with a recruiter while they skim your resume - is a critical door to get through. And hopefully if you do well it gets you into the queue for second-round and later interviews, which are the ones that really count. And allow you, perhaps, to mitigate the many challenges of the online resume automated screening and scoring routine that otherwise is the gatekeeper to get to that first screening interview.

Yes, in an ideal world Amtrak should hold the job fair event in the evening, too. Or, perhaps better, have daytime hours which extend into the evening to better accommodate those with jobs during regular business hours. But very few job fairs are organized that way. Back in prior economic downturns and after big corporate layoffs I attended a bunch of them. Heard about those big IT layoffs recently? I was part of one years ago, which took out about 14,000 people in one swipe at IBM, including me. Lots of resume writing and more than a few job fairs attended following that happening.

It's amazing (and somewhat depressing) that so many of the same folks who criticize Amtrak for past personnel policies now criticize them also for holding a job fair to concretely address the situation. The job fair is not a total solution, but it is a positive step taken to address staffing shortages that are affecting service delivery - however it was that those occurred. And that is all history now and  in the rearview mirror - it's time to move forward.

You would think Amtrak might earn a few points of goodwill for doing this. But not from this crowd. No good deed goes unpunished among some here on the TO Passenger Trains forum, does it?

MC
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/23 11:04 by ironmtn.

ironmtn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> It's amazing (and somewhat depressing) that so
> many of the same folks who criticize Amtrak for
> past personnel policies now criticize them also
> for holding a job fair to concretely address the
> situation. The job fair is not a total solution,
> but it is a positive step taken to address
> staffing shortages that are affecting service
> delivery - however it was that those occurred. And
> that is all history now and  in the rearview
> mirror - it's time to move forward.
>
> You would think Amtrak might earn a few points of
> goodwill for doing this. But not from this crowd.
> No good deed goes unpunished among some here on
> the TO Passenger Trains forum, does it?
>
> MC
>  
Very well stated.  Thank you!