Been turned down at SWA?

[hankhill]

UALjan15,

Hang in there, I'm pulling for you. My family and I went through a furlough at USAir a couple of years ago and I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

I'd call the SWA People Department and try to find out how you can improve your chances the next time you interview.

If you're interested in flying for a regional I'll do everything I can to help. My old regional took me back knowing I was in the pool at SWA, and they gave me a chance to stay current.

Southwest has given me the opportunity of a lifetime, and it's by far the best place I've ever worked.

Disregard anybody who has the cajones to throw rocks from the safety of the internet, that's a sport for cowards. Send me a PM, I don't make idle comments. I'm on your team.

Take care,

hank

 

[huncowboy]

It is amazing what someone can find as "obvious" after a 2 paragraph post and never having met me......anyway/whatever:

Basically, I felt a stronger cultural fit at SWA, but went to UAL for all of the variety, pay, benefits, etc that
...

My tactic was to clear the air early, either answering the question early or weaving it into my "Why SWA" question. I showed maximum regret, owned up to my mistake, and sincerely stated my case for why I thought I was a good fit at SWA. What else can you do? It wasn't easy......what I avoided was trying to rationalize in the interview why I went to UAL; that just didn't work for me when I practiced that answer. For what it's worth, it seemed to go over well in each interview, and there's nothing I would do differently as far as the interview.

Back to the drawing board,
DR

Not that I have any business in this thread... just reading this post and it kind of made me sad and I felt like I need to comment.

Why did you make any mistakes by not going to SWA in 1999? It is not like it was a known fact how everything was going to play out. Back then you could not even compare UAL with SWA. Just the variety itself would have been enough reason to go for UAL. I would say almost everyone would have made the same decision. And now you have to sit there and confess your sins that you have never committed. It is not like anyone knows where SWA will be in 20 when you will retire (or whenever you will retire). I doubt SWA board persons are more hypocrites than anyone else.

Anyways... I don't think SWA has the time to call in people just so they can make you do the Canossa walk face to face. If they’ve called you in for the interview my guess is (based on common sense only) that they wanted to hire you and UAL was not THE factor in their decision.

Either way good luck to you... and with that said I am going back to my "training" section of the forum.

 

[chase]

The most recent (2) Decision Boards selected furloughed pilots from several struggling carriers along with pilots who weren't even furloughed but who applied. Yes some of them had applied to SWA in the past. Just as some of these did get hired, others did not who were similar in resumes to the selectees. What does that say? In terms of getting out of the interview successfully it means I believe that how you present yourself (no duh!) is still the criteria. How your tell your stories, explain your decisions, what you say about your previous employers and many other factors go into how you come across to the interview team.

Sounds familar doesn't it? There is no built in bias to the system I honestly believe. Everyone searches for explanations but quite frankly as others have said it is watercooler speculation and doesn't contribute much to the debate but it does allow great venting and conspiracy therorists to sell their theories. Sometimes it is as simple of not clicking with the interview team (for whatever reason), so be it, it happens. Over prepared, under prepared, log book, stumbling on "Why SWA?", other basic questions are all contributors but there are many more & too many to speculate on.

Bottom line, regardless of what folks opinions this is a fact, SWA is made up of many types of pilots & interview persons....some are corporate, some are military, furloughed (multiple times--"non-cancer type") folks, part 91/135 carriers....there is no cookie cutter type out there that you can point to I believe except for the characteristic of folks who generally like to work, have fun and enjoy people. I hope you'll re-apply and give us another try...I'm sure you'll do well next time if you continue to prosper in your aviation career. cheers