mail came

[DalLeardriver]

Know The Feeling!

Newly Registered Friday,

flyboysgal I am sorry to hear the news. I have been reading this form because of the DB and feel like I have been with ya'll every time you go to the mail box. I talked to a friend who also recieved a letter yesterday. I have been trying to stay busy flying and trying not to think about the mail either. Infact, LOL, I send my wife to get it when I am home.

I am try to figure out this whole process. I live here in the Dallas area and I would think that if bad news was mailed out that I would be the first one to get hit. Do they send out the letters the same date? My friend said that his was dated the 21st and post marked the 22nd.

Chase maybe you can shed some light on this process.
I think maybe they call people according to the last 2 digits of the SS #. My last digits are 97 (no call, no letter yet) and a close friend of mine said that he was called 2 whole weeks after the DB. His last 2 #'s are 99. Am I still in the running? This waiting is killing me.

 

[chase]

dallear,

I'm sure they have a method but I'm not aware of it. Maybe SS#, who knows. The bottom line is if you haven't gotten a letter yet saying "no thanks", you're still in the running. As I advise folks, wait exactly 2 weeks from the DB (7 Mar), call on 8 March to the PD & ask for some intel. They'll either give you the good news or bad news at that time over the phone (I believe). The purpose isn't to make it painful but when you have 250+ folks not everyone is notified in the most expeditious manner sometimes. Its not a perfect world. I know the girls in there are working as hard as they can to get things out quickly. Just continue to hang (in there) for another week. Best of luck.

 

[SWA/FO]

Sorry, things have not turned out for a few of you. Like Chase, I have never heard the term "probies" (or whatever you said).

I have been where you are now, not with SWA but other carriers. I didn't have the right stuff for US Airways, TWA, Fed Ex -it hurt, but in the end it made me stronger/better person.

I've had a few friends get rejected by SWA, I wonder why? But I was not present in the interview....

Drink a few beers and get back on that dam horse! Good Luck

 

[Badda BING]

Gut Wrenching....Do you agree?

Dalleardriver,

We're in the same boat. Who gets the life preserver?
My last two digits are 16, so your theory might not stick, but who knows. This process is so much different than all the others.

I know how you feel. There's not one day that goes by without thinking about our fate. The most difficult aspect of the whole process is the waiting between the interview and notification.

I felt a little teased when the background check was being completed and especially with all the thumbs up indications from my SWA buddies and current Chief Pilot.

If it would have ended after the interview, it would've been easier to move on and focus on something else.

I'm now trying to have fun with this whole waiting game. My fiance and I laugh whenever we check the mail and the letter is not there.

I've been saved for another day. God will decide when it's my time to get the letter. Before I end this wonderful day, I'll pray to God to spare me for another day.

I'll take Chase's advice and attempt to contact Jen on March 8th. I hope I make it that far!

Don't give up, and think positive.

Fly Safe,

Tony S.

It's Friday night and I'm still in the game, until........

 

[flyboysgal]

Chase, you are a good guy.

It is just nice to hear you are on OUR side.
ALL of us. Says a lot for a company that is so welcoming to the guys who want in.
Thanks for your posts.
Keep us in your thoughts.... I will contact you again in a couple of years.
he he he

 

[DalLeardriver]

Got the letter

Well,

This is where I bid my good-by and show my self to the door. My wife came in with the letter. Not good. So live goes on and I will try again in one and half years. SWA is still where I want to be. No bitterness here just thankfull for the experience.

Good luck everyone!

DalLearDriver

 

[flyboysgal]

we will look YOU up too

NEXT time

 

[cargocanine]

Letter

It is like when you ask the girl you have a crush on to the prom and she guns you down. I have been in love with Southwest for a long time. I have never even considered another major never mind applied anywhere else. It has never been about a job, always the mission. I just want to smash bags on Thanksgiving Eve and get everyone to Grandma's for Christmas and do my small part to keep the fares low for everyone. I am a good pilot and a good person and I will always wonder if I failed to make that come across in the interview or if the competition was just too tough in this environment. I will be back in a year or so for round two and I may have more hours and better stories and Bob Beeks interview technique but really I will be the same person I am right now.

As for some funny or ironic stories: I was waiting for my letter this week and not only did it show up today, but someone else's letter was stuck to it. Just one of the many things that can happen that don't happen too often. If it is yours, I will mail it out on Monday. Should be getting to you around Wednesday or Thursday. Friday at the latest. It will not have the Dallas postmark. Sorry. It was hard getting my own but to see that was like a punch in the stomach. I do not know why that upset me more but it sure did. Maybe just knowing that someone is out there waiting and wondering and hoping.

Some one wrote that SWA called and talked to their Chief Pilot for an hour. I stopped by my CP's office today and he asked, "You are Mr.........?" This despite the fact that unsolicited recommendations for doing an exceptional job have been crossing his desk at about one a week from every department in the company. I can only wonder what my background check went like.

Anyhow.... Congratulations to those that made it. You obviously worked hard to get where you are. I am truly happy for you.

For those that didn't... Keep up the hard work. Dreams do come true. I am sure that flying was just a dream at one point. Keep in touch. Anything I can do to help you find a job or get to SWA eventually I will do.

For me... I will put the Nuts book away for a few months and delete the Southwest screen saver for a while. I will get the type this summer when I can put my full effort into it. I will keep looking for a new job because I may not be going to Harvard but I am d@mn sure going to college!

Take Care everyone. Love, CC

 

[reepicheep]

I think the hour-long phone call you mentioned was to a reference, not a former employer. No chief pilot or other former employer is going to spend an hour or even five minutes for that matter on the phone if they want to stay out of legal hot water. "Yes, so and so was employed here as a pilot from this date to this date. Yes, he was a captain for part of that time." End of call. If they say anything more it's time to consult an attorney.

 

[FearlessFreep]

To Chase:

Yes I did bring up to the interviewer the problem with the three year old app. He said that "It didn't matter". Well, during those three years I amassed a fair amount of jet experience and other job experience that I would have thought to be relevant.

I have heard of "probies" a while ago on one of the incantations of this board actually and confirmed the existence of the phrase with some SWA people.

I am not trying to say that a strong prevalence of people are washed out of SWA. I am trying to say there are some that are and it might not be specifically based on pilot performance, though that certainly could be used as a justification. They just did not fit the corporate image.

What I was trying to communicate with flyboysgirl is that even though we might truly and badly wish for something it might not be the best for us. It was not meant to cast dispersions on anyone. If SWA did not feel that he would have been a good match for the company then maybe this is a good thing. When outwardly negative things happen to us we have to remember that there might be some positive aspects to it even though it might not seem that way at the time.

Do I hold anything against anyone that is happy at SWA? Certainly not. I just don't think that it would be my cup of tea.

I went into the interview positive and upbeat. Never was heard a discouraging word from my lips. I was sincere and forthcoming. I looked back on the experience very objectively and critical of myself (which pilot isn't?) and knew without a doubt that I did nothing wrong and put my best foot forward. After all that they still did not want me. Twice is enough for me, There is nothing at this point in time that I can do that is going to make them want to hire me.

Back before 9/11 and the decline of the economy no one would bat an eyelid if someone left WN to go somewhere else. We all have to find what works for us. Things will hopefully open up again and it will all go back to the way it was.

For example, I was jumpseating on a UA flight and talked to the Second Officer on the flight. He had only been with UA for less than a year. Prior to that he worked at UPS! I was shocked to hear that . I asked him why did he leave UPS when he was there for 3-5 years? His answer was that he hated it there. It wasn't the late hours or any other factors, he just hated the environment. Many people move around the majors in an effort to find the right "fit". In short what works for one doesn't necessarily work for all.

I hold no anomisty to WN at this time. After my interview, I had numerous indications that it was not going to work out. I am a very keen observer of people and their behavior. You have to pay attention to the signs. Being a woman in aviation you have to do this to effectively work with flightcrewmembers that would rather not have you there at all and are immensely prejudice in their opinions of women in aviation. Yes, discrimination is still very much alive and well in this industry. I wonder how many men have been rejected just on the basis that they are male. Oh and just to let you all know, I carry my own and I have not been looking for some special privledges or opportunities.

Was I depressed about the rejection letter? Slightly. Got over it and will continue looking for work. **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** the torpedoes and full speed ahead!

Sorry for the rant and the spelling. Just got back from a trip and I am a bit tired.