Anyone else turned down by UPS?

[timetoquit]

Timetoquit,
Was there anything in your background check that might have been negative. What is UPS policy with regard to US passport, violations, accidents, etc. I think this information could be helpful to potential applicants.
Good luck,

Fortunately there is nothing in my background that would have been an issue, plus UPS didnt do a background check prior to the interview or rejection letter.

 

[camper1159]

UPS didnt do a background check prior to the interview or rejection letter.

That is quite a statement!

How do you know this for sure?

 

[ke4lir]

Any input on how long I should wait before I reapply?

 

[L'il J.Seinfeld]

That is quite a statement!

How do you know this for sure?

Because of the PRIA form that gets sent to you whenever an airline requests your FAA records?

 

[timetoquit]

That is quite a statement!

How do you know this for sure?

I returned the completed PRIA forms to them during the interview. There is no way they could have submitted them to former employers and the FAA to complete a background check in 1-2 days before the rejection letter was sent to me.

 

[Whistlin' Dan]

Fortunately there is nothing in my background that would have been an issue, plus UPS didnt do a background check prior to the interview or rejection letter.

Thanks to the internet and any number of commercial databases, a company can compile quite a bit of information on you using nothing more than your name, address, and DOB. The information is just a mouse-click away, has nothing to do with the PRIA, and they are not required to get your permission to access it, nor to notify you that they have done so.

I'm not saying this applies to you specifically, but I don't know anybody who's ever been hired at UPS that had a DUI, a bankruptcy, an FAA violation, or a criminal conviction of any kind, ever. You have to be lily-clean...cleaner than their trucks, and certainly cleaner than many pilots I know...just to get a job driving a delivery route for them.

 

[timetoquit]

Thanks to the internet and any number of commercial databases, a company can compile quite a bit of information on you using nothing more than your name, address, and DOB. The information is just a mouse-click away, has nothing to do with the PRIA, and they are not required to get your permission to access it, nor to notify you that they have done so.

I'm not saying this applies to you specifically, but I don't know anybody who's ever been hired at UPS that had a DUI, a bankruptcy, an FAA violation, or a criminal conviction of any kind, ever. You have to be lily-clean...cleaner than their trucks, and certainly cleaner than many pilots I know...just to get a job driving a delivery route for them.

Like the 4 drivers charged with stealing diamonds today!

 

[b707guy]

While on furlough a few years back, I interviewed for a Christmas-season UPS truck driver position. I got hired by my current company a few days before the call came back offering the drivers job, so that in itself is moot, but the funny thing is that I would have been paid more on a monthly basis as a part-time driver for UPS than I was paid for flying a 747 (right seat) around the world. Sure wouldn't have needed to hock any diamonds to get by...

Lots of great advice above. I haven't interviewed with UPS (not for lack of trying...) to compare, but I did interview with FedEx a number of years ago. The first part of the process, for me anyway, was the sim. There were three groups of six there at the same time for the whole process. The only thing I could have done worse in that sim was if I had thrown up in it, but somehow, I was one of only 9 of the 18 there who passed it. The ones who didn't included the entire gamut: fighter pilots, heavy drivers, and corporate folks. I still can't believe that many tubed it worse than I did, but that's their call. Anyway, the rest of the process went pretty well, but if I had to pick a part where I maybe didn't impress them it would be the flight deck scenario they set you up in. I understand that bit is no longer done due to a large number of "good" people that have been turned down as a result of their performance in that phase alone. If so, maybe I'll have a shot next time around, if and when it happens, but either way, the point is let them make the decision! Definitely apply again as soon as you can, whenever you find out what that interval is. If it's per calendar year as your interview indicated, that might explain why some have gotten second chances in shorter times. Just a guess, but either way, congrats on getting the interview in the first place. At least you've gotten that far! Good luck!

 

[learflyer]

To all those that swung and missed....keep trying, get up to bat again, and try to do better next time. Keep your head up, and eye on the ball.

And hopefully Dice K from the red sox isn't pitching!

 

[Razor_B]

Anybody have an idea what percentage of pilots that UPS interviews get hired?

 

[2LT]

%

During basic indoc recently, PD came in and talked w/ our class. He said they would interview approximately 900 to get right around 300 'new hires.' So, even though that seems a bit on the low side to me, that's the info that's being put out. Perhaps those numbers have changed/will change for '07? In any case, what we were told last year.

 

[174037]

For those that have interviewed recently, how long does it take to hear back from UPS after your interview, good, bad or otherwise? If you get the thumbs up is it a phone call?

 

[Iron Man]

Thanks to the internet and any number of commercial databases, a company can compile quite a bit of information on you using nothing more than your name, address, and DOB. The information is just a mouse-click away, has nothing to do with the PRIA, and they are not required to get your permission to access it, nor to notify you that they have done so.

I'm not saying this applies to you specifically, but I don't know anybody who's ever been hired at UPS that had a DUI, a bankruptcy, an FAA violation, or a criminal conviction of any kind, ever. You have to be lily-clean...cleaner than their trucks, and certainly cleaner than many pilots I know...just to get a job driving a delivery route for them.

Whistlin Dan,
Would it not be fair for UPS then to state clearly in their minimum requirements : Positively no DUI's, Accidents, Convictions, Violations, etc.

 

[Waborita]

For those that have interviewed recently, how long does it take to hear back from UPS after your interview, good, bad or otherwise? If you get the thumbs up is it a phone call?

They notify you by the United States Postal Service. It took 11 days for me to get the "GREAT" news! My postman will never forget me. hehe Many have posted here any where from 2 days up to 30 days.

When I interviewed 02/07 they said it averaged 4 weeks for a pool notification, but they were trying to reduce that to 2 weeks. Hope this helps?

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Call them. They will tell you if you can re-interview. I got shot down a few years ago.
They had my first name wrong on the letter. IE they pulled the wrong NDR. I told them that. I was then told that they would let me reapply in six months. I have not heard anything in two years.
Fact is that no one that they have turned down in recent history has gotten another interview.

 

[Whistlin' Dan]

Would it not be fair for UPS then to state clearly in their minimum requirements : Positively no DUI's, Accidents, Convictions, Violations, etc.

I don't know what the legalities would be regarding that, but most companies have 2 sets of rules by which they hire...the ones they publish, and the ones it really takes to be competitive. For example, Delta Airlines never specifically said that one had to be an ex-military pilot to be considered for employment, but I don't know of anybody hired prior to 1990 or so who wasn't.

Look at the so-called "stanine test" that United Airlines used to administer to prospective applicants. How many good pilots (many ex-military) didn't get hired there because they didn't know the temperature at which Brie cheese should be served, or who the Prime Minister of Canada was?

As long as there are many more well-qualified candidates for a job than there are actual positions available, hiring will be in large part subjective. That's why it's always a good idea to have "more than one iron in the fire" (preferably 3 or 4) when looking for a flying job.

 

[bravodude]

whats the upgrade time

 

[b19]

Congrats on getting the interview, and I can't really imagine how bad it must have felt to not get a dream job worth millions, retirement, benefits, security etc. All I can say in response to a lot of the very good advice you have recieved is that eventually good things happen to good people. So hopefully your time is coming.

 

[Whistlin' Dan]

I can't really imagine how bad it must have felt to not get a dream job worth millions, retirement, benefits, security etc.

Whew! I had to go back and look at the title of this thread. I thought for a minute you were talking about Delta, United, Braniff, Eastern, Pan Am, TWA, USAir, Continental (the old one, not the new one) or even DHL.

I had lunch a while back with an acquaintance who spoke of how burned he was at not being hired at United some years back. It was his dream job, the one he really wanted, and he figured that being a somewhat distinguished ex-military jock he would be a shoe-in.

Except it didn't happen. His buddy got hired and he didn't. So after a period of "mourning" he accepted a position with another, "lesser" airline.

At the time of our meeting, he was an F/O, flying International wide-body with that "lesser" carrier, while his buddy was still on furlough from United. His airline had taken some pay hits, but he was still making well into six-figures, while his buddy was tarring roofs in Chicago. Where each of them will be in 10 years is anybody's guess, but I'd say the future looks better for him than it does for his buddy at United.

As for cargo, the volume of domestic overnight express shipments is leveling off, and the margin on those shipments is shrinking. The real growth in domestic shipments has been in those that are trucked, not flown. The increase in International traffic has certainly fueled the need for more pilots at UPS and FedEx. But with that growth comes some very stiff competition from ACMI and foreign carriers. There's a lot of speculation in the Ivory Towers of Memphis and Atlanta about what the next 10 years are going to be like in this industry...speculation that's starting to be reflected in the stock prices of the major players. Most agree that the glory days are behind us, and that the real work is about to begin.

Missing out on this "million dollar job" may still turn out to be the best thing that ever happens to this guy...

 

[capt. megadeth]

Missing out on this "million dollar job" may still turn out to be the best thing that ever happens to this guy...

Very true.