Cforst513 - the sim prep is about $300-400/hr with a 2 hr recommendation. I suppose it could cost some money if you don't have jumpseat pass privilege or live local to sim facility. However, Bunsenhoneydew makes a great point about a guy in his interview class who had the credentials but didn't pass the sim eval (and also didn't do a sim prep). As I long windedly (sp) detail in my account a yr ago, I did get a sim prep in an A310 in Cinci (interviewed in the A300). Spent $600 on the prep with a few hundred more on a short notice ticket. I felt prepared. And...the guy I did the prep with had done some others for Fedex hopefuls with success, but I could have done better.
There is a guy named AJ who works with Aaron Hagan at Emeralcoastinterviewconsulting. This guy not only gives you some stick and rudder prep, but he also prepares you in a manner to "accept nothing but perfection." This latter concept, IMHO, is absolutely key. You see, you can look online or call around and get some sim time. Sure, the guy you do it with may say he's helped other Fedex folks, but you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't do it with the best folks you can. What I mean is, at the end of the scenario/sim prep, the guy should tell you something like "that's a good profile but you want to make sure you're not settling for anything less than perfection during your interview" rather than, "you did a good job and should have no problem with your sim prep." Reading what I've written or what others have written, or even doing MS flightsim ain't the same as being in a box and experiencing the real deal, IMHO. There are subtle differences to each of these scenarios, and some may even think that what I've written here is BS. Think of it as you may. And realize that the sim eval at Fedex IS WHAT IT IS. That said, folks who have pm'ed me over the past year have met success in the sim and for that I feel awesome. I feel great because I didn't keep my failure a secret...I shared it with future candidates and it's nice to know they met success. Not because of what I've written...but because of creating an awareness of preparation they may not have had had they not read the post.
AlbieF15,
Thank you for your kind words. And thank you for the HR interview prep. Because some have asked, I will say that I was hired at Southwest following the FedEx sim. While I didn't do my FDX sim prep with Emeraldcoast (due to reasons I state in my post a yr ago) I owe alot of my HR preparation to Aaron and his methods of bringing out your best in an interview. I did attend his seminar and encourage others to seek a similar seminar. Yes, things did work out for the better. My commute is a 40min drive to work to my base. I work with awesome folks who care about what they do and what direction the company is going. And I love my job. I was so scope locked on FDX that I barely even considered others. Still, six months prior to the FDX interview (that I never knew I would get), I got the 737 type and, well, things worked out better than I could have imagined.
Bottom line: get the prep and be as prepared for the interview as you possibly can. Be humble and always have a plan B.
Good luck,
-S