Interview gouge
Xdriver: Below is an excerpt from a pm I sent to a pilot on this board looking for some info on FedEx. Its pretty generic but perhaps it will help a little. Good luck.
FJ
excerpt follows:
I've only been here a couple of years and so far things are pretty good at FedEx. I can't compare it to other airlines really, since I came out of the military.
Pros: Pay, variety of schedules and trips, retirement plan, excellent vacation rules and 97% union membership. Company is solid financially and making big time profits. Business outlook is quite favorable. Long term stability is likely as good as it gets in the airline industry.
Cons: Flying mostly at night. Sitting sideways now for 2 years with no realistic chance to upgrade for at least another year or two. Old, non standard equipment (727-100s and -200s) and no real hope of getting any NEW aircraft (except the A-380 which I'll never be senior enough to fly before I retire, too old). Fred likes used aircraft and buys them from whoever has them and they are not configured the same. FedEx doesn't spend the money to standardize the configuration, that bothers me. Wide disparity in the quality and pay in those variety of trips. Some are VERY onerous, some are so easy they are criminal. Hard to get the good ones when you are junior.
Biggest concern right now, hopefully short term: our accident rate. We need to fix that for sure.
All that being said, life is pretty good at FedEx, even at the very bottom of the seniority list plumbing the 72. I moved to Memphis and have been stuck on reserve (might be able to finally get a line next month since we've finally hired some folks the last few months) since I finished training, so that was a good decision. I get to see my family quite a bit and spend most nights/days in my own bed. I do mostly out and back, same day trips, with a few 2 day trips in there as well. I have only had about 3 week long trips in almost 2 years, which is good for me. Others prefer the week-on week-off flying because they are commuters. FedEx is very commuter friendly as well.
For the interview I would do some kind of sim prep if at all possible. I practiced a profile in the Falcon sim for a couple of hours a day or two before my interview. The profile is unusual in that you have to scan rate of descent/climb along with everything else and you really need to stay ahead of the jet. I think they are cracking down on the sim evals now because of the accident rate we have. You must survive the sim just to get to talk to the interviewers.
Bone up on your CRM items so that you can converse in the lingo after your situational interview. Don't try to hide mistakes, talk about them and analyze how to improve from them. Don't be afraid to mention good decisions/actions as well. You will have to write your comments up on a board and present your debrief to the 2 interviewers who will give you absolutely no feedback, total stone faces. Very disconcerting, don't worry about it, they do it to everybody.
Face to face interviews: Be yourself and be sure to stay positive and humble. When you are done don't forget to thank them for the opportunity and tell them that you think you would be a great fit for FedEx.
It is fairly low key and you are there because they want to hire you. Stay calm, relax and try to enjoy the opportunity.
Best of luck to you. Let me know if you have any other questions.
FJ
