The hiring session consisted of a presentation about the position and then a test battery. The test battery consisted of a business acumen (intelligence) test, a 5 minute test that no one can complete and a very long personality test. The intelligence test is not that difficult, mostly common sense. The 5 minute test is just there to see how well you work under pressure and how quickly and accurately you think. The personality test is long and very thorough. After that you break for lunch and proceed to 1:1 interviews. The interview questions are safety focused and evaluate how you handled learning new information and strategies that you used to overcome challenges. Provide examples of leadership, ability to adapt, willingness to relocate and examples of safety. I recently got an email stating that I passed the test battery but have not yet found out if I will proceed to the next step which is to fly out to Omaha, Nebraska for the second round of interviews.

The interview itself was held at the Union Pacific's Barns Yard complex in Portland, Oregon. The day started off with a roll call and then an hour long brief about the company, what to expect for each of the three management tracks, and then an overview of benefits. It was pretty impressive, as long as you are willing to travel anywhere west of the Mississippi and put in your time. Following the presentation, there was a four part test. The UP website lays out what will be included in the test pretty well. The only criticism is that the practice test provided gives a very small taste of the questions that are in each section. Testing takes about three hours with breaks. The interview itself was a 1:1 but I have heard from recent candidates that they went through a panel interview for this first round. It lasts about 25 minutes and includes standard questions about your qualifications, how they apply to the position, and why you want to be a part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Overall, it a relatively relaxed interview process. The HR manager for the Portland Service Group is easy to speak with so just come well prepared. This is the first of essentially a three round interview process. Following the posting of your test results in about a week, you will be invited to panel interview in Roseville, California if you qualify on the test and receive a strong recommendation from the interviewer. The company pays for this trip so it is perk. It takes 2-4 weeks to receive the invitation call from one of the managers and the Regional Human Resources Director. Between your initial interview and the Roseville interview, there should be a phone interview as well. I just completed this first interview process so hopefully more information will follow.