I have been thinking about applying at NJA. I am currently a pilot at a part 121 major airline who is soon to be furloughed. I probably have adequate pilot qualifications. I could also give evidence of customer service excellence. Of the options out there now, NJA looks like a good one for me. Even so, I have decided that I will not be applying.
The flying looks like fun. The compensation is adequate. The contract seems fair. Every NJ pilot I’ve talked to says he/she wouldn’t want to work anywhere else. I need a job. So what’s the problem?
It’s hard to explain but I just have a bad feeling about NJ. These are some of the things that bother me;
- I think that any company that is currently billed as “the place to work” may be due for a correction. We all know many examples of this from the history of airlines. It seems almost like painting a big target on your back.
Also, Management is aware that NJ is considered to be the place to go in a tight job market. No matter what kind of love fest is going on between management and labor, management will always convert that kind of political capital into advantage for their side.
- I know it’s a buyers market but the NJA recruiting process really gives me a bad feeling. It seems to be a mixture of incompetence, arrogance and stupidity. I tried to override this idea by saying to myself “the company is very successful so they must know what they are doing.” Or I would argue “I am not in charge of the recruiting department of a very successful company so what would I know about it.” After all my efforts, I just can’t convince myself that there isn't some serious stupidity going on over there. The latest brag is that NJA offers employment to 10% to 20% of people who make it through their ridiculous screening process to the actual interview. What really bothers me is that some people on here who claim to be part of the hiring process at NJA seem to be proud of this. I won’t even go into the many reasons why this is a statistic that no one should be proud about.
- I know this is not very scientific but every time I see one of the gold ties waiting to board a flight in the concourse, they always look they think they are better than everyone else who doesn’t wear the gold tie.
- I know this last point is also not very scientific but at an airline where I used to work, I knew of four pilots who left to go to NetJets. Of those four, three of them were the biggest ****************************** bags I’ve ever met. In all fairness, the fourth was a really good dude. All we have to go on sometimes is our gut feelings.
Is NJ going to lose any sleep when my resume isn’t one of the 4,000 they have to sort through? I doubt it. To all who work at NJA or will work there, I hope it turns out to be the kind of ride that we all deserve.
