Skywest aside
Originally posted by guitarflyer
I was 38 when I was hired on at Skywest 2 years ago. In my initial groundschool class there were guys much older than I was, including a 55 year old gentleman.
One of my sim partners during my upgrade was an FO with less than a year with the company, who has less than 18 mos before mandatory retirement.
I started applying to SkyWest in 1988. Their mins back then were 1000 total and 100 multi. I had close to 1000 total but maybe 35-40 of multi at the time. I thought that would be close enough, especially during a hiring boom. I wasn't called. I thought, well, okay, I don't quite meet the mins.
I went to work at ERAU and built time. I earned my ATP. I continued to send updates to SkyWest. During that time, I made and exceeded the mins. No phone calls from Skywest. I tried various techniques to get their attention, such as including self-addressed acknowledgment postcards requesting the correct pilot recruiter be written in. The postcards were always returned. I also received postcards that said that there were no openings. I later received postcards that said that I would be contacted if there were any openings. I still have most of my SkyWest correspondence in my files and would be pleased to share with you all the names of people to whom I addressed my letters and updated apps. I sent materials to SkyWest for six years, from 1988 to 1994.
I had a student who was hired there. She couldn't understand why after all my application efforts I was never called. In early 1994, she offered to walk in an app and resume for me. I took her up on it and gave her my documents and another check for the app fee, just in case I had fallen through the cracks. My check was returned with a letter noting that I had already paid the application fee. I obviously had not fallen through the cracks. No phone calls resulted from that effort. So, even with help, I could not get an interview.
In 1993, a Dale Merrill, who was SkyWest Vice-President of Human Resources, was interviewed for an article on the airline in the October, 1993 FAPA magazine,
Career Pilot. Mr. Merrill was quoted as saying that a pilot who had not been hired by 2500 hours was "having problems" and in need of a "hard look." I remember reading that in the magazine and going ballistic. Once again, I started applying at less than mins, made the mins, and exceeded the mins. I was 37 when I sent my first inquiry to SkyWest and 43 when I gave up. In the meantime, apart from my former student who was hired there, I know of at least one other ERAU instructor who was hired at SkyWest. This gal was about 25, and, unlike my former student who had a little 135 time, had only been a Riddle CFI. I will not accept retorts that my former student and the other instructor were hired because they were women. My gal was a great pilot, and I knew the other one was a good pilot and flight instructor.
Any reasonable person would figure that after someone has been sending in applications
for six years running that he/she must be very interested in the company and might be someone who might stay and repay its investment in that person. What would have been the harm to pick up the phone and interview me for a few minutes? It would have been no skin off their noses to bring me in for the interview; after all, isn't that H.R.'s function? I would have paid for my own transportation and lodging.
I appreciate your comments. In that spirit, I would hope that you would at least respect what I am saying. I am certainly glad that you were hired. However, when I see much-younger people than myself with essentially the same quals being hired while I am ignored, I can only say that the thing speaks for itself.
