The company is in miserable shape and its reputation is very bad. However, there are still excellent workers here who are characterized as very bad workers due to the reputation of the whole company. I knew that there were such prejudices but now that I am looking for a new job I am even more convinced.
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That is because you are a highly paid union worker and they hate you because of that
affilation
General advice. Recommend not bringing up how much UP sucks during an interview. They may appear to show empathy but nobody wants to hear how much you hated your former job when looking to hire you. Pretend you are writing a StraightUP Truth article and talk about how much you learned from UP and you are taking that experience to their company. If they know anything about the railroad industry, they already know about UP and why people are leaving. If they don’t, even better.
It's me, the ex diesel electrician.
Since you still work for UP, that is different from my situation since I was furloughed. In the past, when I was working and looking for a new job, the interviewer invariably would ask why I was not satisfied with my current situation. I recall one time I worked at a company which decided to shift direction (not unlike UP) as far as their operation was concerned and as such, layoffs were a pretty common occurrence. I knew it was just a matter of time before I got my pink slip. What I discovered was that if I aired the "dirty laundry" of the company I worked at, I wouldn't get called back for another interview. If I spoke highly of my job, what I did, my coworkers, etc, that left a positive impression on the interviewers. It was hard because this particular company (telecom) was one that, when hired, was my dream job which after a few years changed 180 degrees so I obviously had some bitterness of my dream slipping away.
My advice-think of the positive aspects of UP, your coworkers, your immediate work center and focus on that. Be upbeat about UP when interviewing and tell them you are looking to grow in your profession and moving to them will broaden your skills. Baffle them with BS but DON'T talk about how toxic UP is. It's like dating, the last thing you want to hear is your date talking about how bad their ex was.
I have brought up how UP's management ran things at my new job and no one believed me. Fortunately I saved all those stupid FTX green tickets they would write me up for and showed them to my coworkers but I waited until I got hired before talking down UP. Until then, I talked up my job and how cool it was to work on train engines.
To the former diesel mechanic, I am glad you found a different job. My experience was totally different than yours when interviewing. The companies I interviewed with were aware of the negative culture around UP. I explained to them why UP laid off thousands, and this had nothing to do with COVID-19. After explaining they were generally sympathetic and I even had a couple that were d-mbfounded how UP keeps any employees with the hours we are required to work as well as the uncertainty of if/when we may lose our jobs. Some companies may not care about the ratings, but others are aware of them. Just be ready to discuss if it’s brought up.
I was a diesel electrician who worked at a facility UP decided to close in 2019 and decided to finish my degree. In looking for jobs I discovered that having worked for UP actually impressed the interviewers. My experience going through different interviews was that the companies were not familiar with the internal dynamics with UP but rather based their impressions on the fact that I was employed with a fortune 500 company for a few years. Furthermore, in this day and age of Covid, employers are well aware that companies have laid off a lot of employees and as such, not really consider being laid off a big issue. Of course my present line of work is not in the transportation industry but just the fact that I worked for UP did impress more than one employer. That being said, I will never go back to UP as I know how toxic the environment is, but employers outside the transportation industry aren't aware of the company's employee/management issues, nor do they care.
Those of us left are the ones that can really take an azz beating.
The company is rated at the bottom and unfortunately the employees are looked at by people outside the company as substandard (no fault of the employees). I left the company last year and had to explain to several potential employers about PSR and the companies downsizing and how it affected the morale of the employees, and as a result the bad ratings. If you are interviewing be prepared for these questions. Most outside the railroad industry don’t know or understand what has happened in the past few years. I hope this helps and good luck in your job search.
People can’t understand why you are one of the last ones to leave the sinking ship. You’ll be ok . Just don’t wear your courage to care polo to the interview or use any “skills” UP ever taught you.