BNSF News

Rails on Track for Hiring Boom

2007-07-19

Like other industries, railroads are looking to create a hiring boom in the years ahead. It’s anticipated that in the next five years, 10 million workers will leave employment gaps across the nation as they take off for retirement.

Railroads expect to hire more than 80,000 people over the next few years, driven not only by retirement but by growth in the industry; demand for freight transportation is expected to jump 67 percent by 2027.

BNSF hired more than 4,800 new employees in 2006, but one of the biggest challenges to increased hiring is raising the visibility of the railroad industry among job seekers.

"We recognize that we need to educate the community about what a great company BNSF is to work for and how we are a technologically advanced business," says Barbara Cook, BNSF assistant vice president, Human Resources. For example, the fact railroads operate some of the largest computer and private telecommunications systems in the world appeals to many younger job applicants, she says.

A New Kind of Railroader

Today’s railroaders, while carrying on the same strong work ethic as their predecessors, operate in an industry that places safety-mindedness first and foremost among job skills. This mindset has been evolutionary, and is now an expectation for hiring. In the next wave, in addition to safety, the job skills that all new hires need to bring to the workplace include a willingness to be a team player and an innovative thinker.

"We’re looking for candidates who have demonstrated they can be part of a self-directed work team and who are willing to make decisions that are, first and foremost, safe, and secondly, productive," says Cook. "We want to find people who act with a sense of urgency, who don’t want to work under the old model of ‘Tell me what to do,’ but who want to be part of a high-performing team with a common purpose to make sure the customer is better served."

Rails and the Military: A Good Fit

Railroads are actively recruiting men and women transitioning out of the military. The nation's four largest railroads all made the list of "Top 50 Military-Friendly Employers" as determined by GI Jobs Magazine in late 2006.

"BNSF is a military-friendly employer, and we are seeking applicants with military experience because we value their skills and unique experiences," says Connie McLendon, BNSF’s manager of Military Staffing. "Also, we believe that if you served your country, you shouldn’t have to stand in line for a job when you return home."

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Source: American Coal Magazine. Click here to read the full article on page 36.

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