Amtrak Hiring Process: Job Application, Interview, and Employment

Amtrak Hiring Process: Job Application, Interview, and Employment

The hiring process at Amtrak involves various stages, including the job application and interview processes that you must successfully complete to be offered employment by the Company.

Please, continue reading to learn about the Amtrak recruitment process and improve your chances of being employed by the Company:

Amtrak Company Overview

Amtrak, also known as the National Passenger Corporation, is a long-distance intercity service provider in the U.S and nine Canadian cities.

The company was founded in the year 1971, and it currently provides service to over 500 destinations in 46 states and three provinces in Canada.

Amtrak is engaged in the operation of about 300 trains daily, over 34,000 kilometers of track, and more than 80 thousand passengers utilize its trains every day.

Moreover, during the early years of this establishment, it experiences a few downturns. However, it later recovered and is now currently thriving among the largest companies by revenue.

Amtrak has over twenty thousand employees, and there are still opportunities for applicants who wish to be employed.

The Amtrak Hiring Process

Amtrak usually hires an applicant as a permanent or temporary staff, after he or she must have passed through the hiring process of the company.

Amtrak hiring process consists of the following stages:

1. Job Application Process

To get a job at Amtrak, you have to first submit an online job application to the company via the main employment website.

Simply visit Amtrak employment site, and search for your preferred job by clicking the highlighted search jobs button.

Ensure to type in your location to discover the vacant jobs available.

Once you have seen your preferred job, click on the job title to see more details and then read the description.

Click on the highlighted Apply button, fill in your details as required and then submit.

However, if this is your first time of making an application, you will have to create an applicant profile.

Creating this profile will require some of your personal details, such as email address, name, phone number, and password.

2. Assessment Tests

After your online application, you are likely to participate in an assessment test before you can be interviewed by the hiring personnel. There are various assessment offered to applicants, depending on the position.

However, the assessment tests are being performed in the same manner. The tests are usually conducted to screen out applicants who don’t have reading comprehension skill, basic math skill and suitability to deal with the public in general.

The test has three sections – math, reading comprehension, and personality tests.

The math sections consist of 20 questions, relating to additions, subtractions, multiplication, division, decimals, and fractions.

The reading comprehension involves a one or two paragraphs that you have to read and answer some multiple choice questions based on what you’ve read.

The personality test is pretty strange and tricky. Several behavior-based questions will be asked, and your answers to these questions will determine your success on the test.

If you successfully pass the test, you will perform a background check, and probably a credit check for a few days (depending on the role).

3. Interview Process

Amtrak interview beings from the phone most times before an in-person interview is being conducted.

A phone interview is conducted by the recruiter to determine if the applicant is suitable and qualified to sit for an interview with the hiring manager.

The phone interview is quite brief and straight forward. It involves a few questions based on your credentials, job experience and salary expectation.

Furthermore, after the phone interview, you will be contacted to participate in the in-person interview, provided you passed the phone screening successfully.

The in-person interview varies, depending on the position. It consists of questions relating to your profession and the role you applied for.

The Amtrak interview questions may include:

• Do you have any tangible reason why you should get this job?
• As an employee, what can you offer Amtrak?
• What knowledge do you have about Amtrak?
• What kind of wage are you looking forward to receiving as an employee?

It is highly recommended to make intense preparation prior to the interview.

Here are some things to note when preparing for an interview with Amtrak:

• Carry out research about Amtrak, to discover their core values and aims.
• Get ready to provide examples on how to deal with incompetent colleagues.
• Ensure to answer interview questions briefly and confidently. It shows you are sure of your answer.
• Carry out research about the interview process for your specific role.

4. Orientation

Orientation process for newly employed workers at Amtrak can be very stressful most times, depending on your role.

It is usually a training process that gets employees educated about their duties and how they should behave as an Amtrak staff.

The whole process may last up to two or three weeks, and you will be trained and oriented by special personnel who are expert at your role.

How Long Does Amtrak Hiring Process Last?

After participating in the interview, Amtrak usually assures an applicant of receiving a call from the recruiting team.

However, there is a specific time to get this response. It might take up to a month or less than that to get the employment call.

Sometimes, a late response from the recruiting team doesn’t mean you are not qualified, it might be due to the role you applied for.

Amtrak Jobs and Careers

The jobs and careers that can be applied to at Amtrak are numerous, but here are some of the most significant ones:

• Customer service representative: This employee is responsible for providing Amtrak’s passengers with quality customer service on the station platform. He or she also greets, provides services, and guarantees customers’ comfort.
• Yard master: This individual is responsible for the yard, workers, and train movement, and the distribution of automobiles therein. The position is also responsible for the coordination of equipment setup for everyday service with the local mechanical department.
• Electrical engineer: This employee works with group members that prepare and revise signal standard designs plans, in order for him or her to offer assistance to the senior electrical engineer in completing and executing signal system design projects.
• Coach cleaner: This employee is responsible for performing cleaning tasks for train cars using the standards and guidelines of FDA and Amtrak. He or she is in charge of Vacuuming, mopping, dusting, sweeping, and washing of windows and walls. He or she also carries out the maintenance of materials, machines, hand tools, and equipment usually utilized in performing the cleaning assignment.
• Shift supervisor, asset management: This individual ensures communication with the Backshops and mechanical terminal to identify the compliance of regulations in the U.S., and also identify defect repairs.

What to Expect Working at Amtrak

Working at Amtrak gives you an opportunity to learn a lot as regards to your profession.

Depending on the role, jobs can be fun most times and then an amazing wage to be paid afterwards.

Amtrak believes in team work, thus, employees are willing to help each other overcome a particular challenge.

Moreover, some employees usually complain of long working hours and difficult tasks to handle often.

Some also feel the company doesn’t care much about staff safety, even though Amtrak claims to prioritize the safety of employees.

Conclusion

Amtrak has been offering professional service to millions of people, due to the competent employees that it has.

The company seeks for well qualified, certified, and experienced professionals to help evolve their services to customers.

The information provided on this page will serve as a guide and direction when making a job application at Amtrak; applying the given steps correctly will aid your progress throughout the hiring process and help you get the job.