Southwest/FTI Open House

[thepotato232]

Has anyone here heard about the employment open house SWA's having in Vegas on April 20th? Southwest's people are going to be there meeting prospective pilots and accepting resumes, and FTI will be there to sell cheap 737 type rating deals to prospective applicants. Plus, I'm sure a bunch of airline pilots will be able to think of something entertaining to do in Vegas on a Friday night in their spare time...

I plan on being there to get an early start on the whole resume submission/updating process. Any high-time regional flyers on this forum might have a really nice shot at an interview. There's a signup form for the whole thing on fti737.com. Anyone else interested?

 

[Mr Hat]

As much as I love Southwest.....Trying to nonrev into Vegas is a feat not for the weary!

 

[thepotato232]

Yeah, trying to find a free seat into Vegas on a Thursday night / Friday morning could be a real pain, now that I think about it. You can't just sneak in on the jumpseat?

 

[ERJpusher]

Resume submission at SWA is useless. The interview list is now solely generated by computer from online applications. A current pilot can't even walk a resume into the PD anymore.

That being said, if you are going to the open house strictly for informational purposes, it is a great opportunity to learn a lot about the company and it culture. You will definitely enjoy yourself while you are there.

If you are going there just for face time/resume drop-off, you are wasting your time. They will never remember your face and will not do anything with your resume.

I recommend that you go, though, if you have the time. They keep a list of everyone that shows up, and once you are selected for an interview, they can see in your file that you attended.

Best of luck!

 

[Lear70]

Does that mean the AIR, Inc career fairs are worthless, too?

Even the ones that Southwests hosts in Dallas?

 

[Mr Hat]

Even the jumpseats are usually full on Continental (who I would use to get out there).

ERJPusher, Ex-Expressjet?
I hate to do it but I totally disagree with the face time thing. I do think it's important and if the right impression is made, it COULD help. That being said, I have also heard that it's totally computer generated and pilots can't help their friends until they get an interview on their own....then the SWA guy can write a letter.
But I've also heard a story or two about people who've gotten excellent contacts and have snuck in under that stuff. One who I know personally had a Southwest Jumpseater who promptly called his Cheif Pilot when they got to where they were going and asked him to look closly at my buddy, who got an interview 2 weeks later.......I it COULD have just been a coincidence but thats pretty blatent.

All I gotta say is that I'm waiting for my second shot and I'll do just about anything to get that second shot!!! Except non-rev to Vegas.

 

[MED]

Does that mean the AIR, Inc career fairs are worthless, too?

Even the ones that Southwests hosts in Dallas?

It's useless for most major airlines. What do you think they do with the resumes at the end of the day? If you don't believe me, ask those housekeepers about those nice papers that they dispose every morning after the job fair.

 

[ERJpusher]

Even the jumpseats are usually full on Continental (who I would use to get out there).

ERJPusher, Ex-Expressjet?
I hate to do it but I totally disagree with the face time thing. I do think it's important and if the right impression is made, it COULD help. That being said, I have also heard that it's totally computer generated and pilots can't help their friends until they get an interview on their own....then the SWA guy can write a letter.
But I've also heard a story or two about people who've gotten excellent contacts and have snuck in under that stuff. One who I know personally had a Southwest Jumpseater who promptly called his Cheif Pilot when they got to where they were going and asked him to look closly at my buddy, who got an interview 2 weeks later.......I it COULD have just been a coincidence but thats pretty blatent.

All I gotta say is that I'm waiting for my second shot and I'll do just about anything to get that second shot!!! Except non-rev to Vegas.

No, not ex-Xjet.

I still stand by my statement that the face time is essentially useless. The PD is seeing about 250 INTERVIEWEES per month that they can't remember ever talking to by the next month. I sat next to one at a Higher Power lunch, chatted and laughed with her for over an hour, inteviewed with her a couple of months later, and she couldn't remember ever meeting me. I was in HQ with a couple of my buddies one day and we all saw a another person that had interviewed all of us 1.5 months prior. We went over to talk to her, and she couldn't remember any of us. If they can't remember the people that they are seriously considering for positions in the company, than what makes you think that they will remember random people they meet at a job fair? Not trying to be cruel, just being realistic.

As for the "No Walk-In Resumes" policy, this is new within the last month or so. I spoke with a check airman who tried to walk one in for his nephew, and was shot down due to the new procedures.

 

[hypersonic]

ERJ,
No-walk-in resume is correct but talking to them face to face may not be. From my experience, I got a call for the interview a month after talking to someone from the PD that I met while commuting.

 

[Lear70]

It's useless for most major airlines. What do you think they do with the resumes at the end of the day? If you don't believe me, ask those housekeepers about those nice papers that they dispose every morning after the job fair.

I guess we're still one of the standout exceptions to that rule.

SG instituted a new practice a couple months ago to where half of the interviewees are all AIR, Inc attendees with NO internal LOR's.

As far as I know, almost NO ONE gets hired here without attending an AIR, Inc / OBAP / WIA career fair unless they are personal friends or relatives of a senior management official.

Rumor has it there's a 22 year old in class with no 121 experience.