Delta Newhire training question

[~~~^~~~]

Delta has put a lot of work into their interview process, it is an objective process and by almost all accounts it has provided good results. The fact Delta lets you know your conditional status on the day of the interview is nice, compared to other airlines where you drift around in limbo for several weeks awaiting a decision from a review board where the politics have as much control over the outcome as the quality of the candidate.

If the medical helps control costs of insurance, then it probably saves Delta a lot of money in the long run. Employee disabilities are expensive not only for treatment, but for sick time and training costs as well.

If Delta makes any changes, I imagine they will be gradual and conservative. The current process is very well organized from what I have heard and even after seven years, Delta picked up right where they left off with the screening methodology.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Quite true Fin. I have a feeling that there will be some changes to it. I would guess that the first gouge from the new interviews will come out within the next week.
From what I have heard he does want to tweak the interview process.

 

[ASA_DFW]

ACL65, I got the July 2nd class. Talked to Brian and he said there would be 25 people per class, twice a month. Newhires WILL be going into the 767ER.

As for the changes to the interview, I think Delta will change the aviation knowledge questions. Instead of using the same 48 questions, the computer will take a random 48 questions from a bank. Everything else will remain the same.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

They were to do that already.
Glad to know that you got a class. BTW enjoy the 4th with Brain. He told us that he was going to conduct class. I would bet that they will.

 

[motch]

ASA_DFW...
Congrats on the class date.
Another one gets on!

Always..
motch

 

[CheyDogFlies]

As for the changes to the interview, I think Delta will change the aviation knowledge questions. Instead of using the same 48 questions, the computer will take a random 48 questions from a bank. Everything else will remain the same.

June 5th: Arnie is very nice, as was everyone else. By far the most relaxed and "low threat" interview I have ever done--no good cop/bad cop or "Mr. Passive Aggressive." I think the 48Qs did change--there seems to be a bit more math (based on SA of your position) than the questions I studied. Some guys had questions I did not have, so they definitely are not all the same test. NO, I DID NOT MEMORIZE ANY OF THEM. I did talk to Arnie about the "symbols vs. numbers" quiz, since I knew I totally blew that one. He was happy to show me my score, which was 41 (out of 100?). "You don't have to do well on EVERY test, but we usually see 50s and 60s," he said. I got good news, along with 3 of the other 5 applicants. We were told to expect Aug class dates.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Congrats. You will like it here. A great group of professionals.

 

[altscap]

CDF: Can you elaborate on the "symbols vs. numbers" quiz?

I got the e-mail yesterday and am calling after this post to schedule the interview.

For those who may want to know....I'm a former Delta Employee (cargo-LAX), NO internal recs as my time was 10 years ago, 6730 ttl, 2960 121 pic. I filled out my app on 12/24/06. Went to WAI in FEB and Air Inc. last month. Seems you have to have three solid recommendations on airapps and they especially like letters from check airmen who have known you for a loooong time (imo).

Have some pretty good gouge, ATP, FEX, written books and "ace the tech. pilot interview". Looking for "mental math for pilots" if anyone has an idea on where to find it please let me know.

Also, if anyone hears anything about changes to the interview process I would appreciate a p.m. with the details.

Thanks Everyone!

 

[slinky]

http://www.pilotmall.com/category/library

Try here for your mental math book.

Slinky

 

[altscap]

Thanks!! $22.95

That's a better deal than "Handling the Big Jets"!

 

[CheyDogFlies]

CDF: Can you elaborate on the "symbols vs. numbers" quiz?

Here are six symbols:
dash
circle
upside down L
u shaped thingy
etc...

Each one corresponds to a number:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (respectively)

Soon you will see 15 symbols on the screen (with above symbol key still in view). Type in the number for each symbol. VERY EASY if you are good at languages/alphabets such as greek, chinese, japanese, cyrillic, etc. If you suck at anything other than the Roman alphabet (me), you're not going to do well unless you can commit those symbol-number relationships to memory (for speed) rather than keep looking at the key to get every number.

As far as "competetive" goes, I had only one internal rec from a 10-yr 737 FO, and zero online recs. He either e-mailed or snail-mailed the rec for me.

 

[altscap]

hmmm... I wonder if trying to memorize just 3 combos would be beneficial. You have a good chance at 50% right?? Thanks for the warning

 

[~~~^~~~]

In practice, you could make up associations between the symbols and the numbers. The symbols & numbers are alleged to change from test to test, so use these only as an example:

1 = __ (a 1 on its side looks like a dash to me)
2= U (U2 was a favorite band of mine)
3 = C (C is the third letter of the alphabet...)

etc... (left off a public bulletin board since Delta probably does not want anything like their test actually posted. The numbers and symbols above are intentionally incorrect)

You will have to think up your own variations, but make up associations and you will be able to remember the "code" three months from now. This seems like one of the easier portions of the cog test because you have time. The faster paced tests are harder because they divide your attention between two tasks and ask you to invert the numbers. I don't know how a person could "game" those tests to get a higher score.

 

[~~~^~~~]

hmmm... I wonder if trying to memorize just 3 combos would be beneficial. You have a good chance at 50% right?? Thanks for the warning

Dangerous. If you aim for 100 and fall short, you are still OK. If you aim for 50 and hit it, you are probably not going to get in.

Play with different combinations and start practicing making associations. It is not that hard.

One of our IP's had his wife use flash cards with numbers that she would display for a second over his monitor (monitor turned off) then he would poke at the screen while saying the number in whatever order his wife specified. He aced the test and his home made simulator was probably the best technique I've heard of. He is the only person I've heard say that they "enjoyed" the cog test and thought it was "fun."

 

[Dr Pepper]

I would expect any changes to move the interview more towards a targeted selection process. I would be ready to answer lots of TMAAT questions and get very comfortable talking about yourself. Know your strengths and weaknesses, your failures and successes, you leadership and management styles, and your decision making and conflict resolution processes. Have a personal story that shows how YOU deal with each of those situations. I think if you are ready to do that AND ready for the old gouge then you should do fine no matter what they throw your way. I think they could do away with the psych eval, medical, and cognitive skills tests. This would cut the process to one day, save them money, and still allow them to find great candidates.

My interview was pretty much just like that. Plus I had two scenarios. If a change is to be made, they should get rid of the behavior test. How can you fail that test, except completely contradict yourself when the question is repeated and rephrased? I may be sick, but I kind of enjoyed the cog test.

 

[Bruiser]

Attendance

I've also heard they are looking very closely at attendance history.

I thought the PRIA allowed for training info but not sick or attendance issues. Are they getting some kind of waiver or seperate documentation to request the information from a previous employer?

 

[JOPILOT]

They have you sign a release so they can supposedly speak with your current employer about your attendance. Although I obliged, when I spoke to my employer they said this is not an acceptable practice and the information can not be given out...at least at that airline. It is possible they are trying to get you to fess up on being absent or unreliable.

Probably the best idea is to sign the paper and tell them the truth about your attendance, I definately did not have perfect attendance, but I was also always willing to do extra work on my days off if asked which I conveyed to the interviewers. There is always more than one way to skin a cat so just try to be yourself and if you think doing that is going to hurt your chances you might be in the wrong profession. Good Luck, I believe Delta just might be the best job available right now considering relative seniority, bases, and soon A/C orders. Although they are not as organized as you would hope, the employees are doing their best with what is left from bean counter cutting (the training department has been left holding the rope).

Peace JP

 

[~~~^~~~]

Our airline provides Delta with attendance records via a request to payroll. Our airline does not keep record of sick calls past a certain date, but payroll keeps track of everything, forever. Anything that resulted in money being coded as "sick time" shows up. Anything that does not show up on your paycheck does not. Other airlines may answer Delta's request in different ways.

Delta is very particular about honesty and it would be a shame to do well on all the rest of the process and then get whacked after the conditional offer letter during your background check.

 

[~~~^~~~]

I thought the PRIA allowed for training info but not sick or attendance issues.

PRIA also allows a search of your personal file for disciplinary letters. If you got a nastygram over attendance, it is not supposed to show up, but do you trust an overworked staff person to edit your personal file carefully, or just dump everything in the copier and err on the side of caution? Even the $60,000 to $80,000 a year Legal Secretaries screw up and send out confidential materials more frequently than you could imagine.

 

[altscap]

I think they are just looking for honesty. If you were sick a lot, just fess up and don't lie about it. If you were sick A LOT, then plan on backing up your actions with a logical explanation.