SWA DB- DING You suck!

[Remington]

UAL said 1 in 5 is a great batting average?
Batting 200 is awful and get most sent to the minors, or worse.

 

[Sailpilot]

At least you got a free lunch!

MMMM...Free Lunch, good food, good conversation.

I too was on the DB in June, got the letter, started drinking, felt better while having outer body experience.

Long story short = Shi$ Happens and we'll have to swing for the fence again in 10months 1week and 3days.

While waiting= 3 parts Capt Morgan + 1 part Coke + 1wedge of Lime, stir and enjoy, repeat till horizontal position occurs.

Oh ya and go flying sometime.

Blue skies and tailwinds

 

[Gatorade]

Who knows, maybe they said you were a whiner?

Nice...I like it. That was funny. I know SWA does not hiring military guys only. I said "It seemed for June" rather my interview group. I'm no Ben Matlock. My posts arent the facts, just CHEAP THERAPY. That's all. Thanks for all the posts. Enjoy the weekend.

 

[:-)]

Really wasnt going to post, but it suprises me than no one else has. I guess most of us are just lurkers.

No, lots of pilots have your reaction, they just don't want to piss anyone off by posting on an open internet forum. Do you realize that you just identified yourself to people like LuvChild? We know: when you interviewed, and that you weren't military. It will be pretty simple to narrow your id down. You may have even screwed some other June applicant who isn't so bitter.

To all purspective applicants and/or interviewers here's is the skinny, at least from recent hiring practices, specifically June .
Over the past year and before my interview with SWA the only thing I heard about the interview process, how great it was! We're different from other airlines! We're a big family! Feel they Luv'! If you fit the SWA family! Sounds great. Im in.
Here's my experience-
Interviewed in June, the whole process was enjoyable. Everyone I met extremely nice. Before the interview started, SWA recruiters told us how great it was to have us all there and stated several times "We want to hire all of you!".

Of course, as others have said, they are trying to put you at ease. But they are also LYING.

IF THEY WANTED TO HIRE YOU ALL, THEY WOULD HAVE JUST SENT YOU AN INVITE TO CLASS INSTEAD OF AN INVITE TO AN INTERVIEW.

I too get tired of this tired rhetoric from hiring processes and HR departments. I'm a big boy, I know that the process is intended to identify good guys and weed out less than good guys, so lay off on the "we want to hire you all" stuff. I'm with you on this one Gatorade.

After my day was complete, felt great about the whole process, I couldnt have be more pleased on how everything went. Did better than I thought I would. No regrets. Before lunchtime, less the 24 hours after my interview was complete, references were called. holla!!! 3 weeks later, DB met, calls went out, I got nothing. Boo freaking hoo. Oh well.
WHAT DIGUSTS ME THE MOST ABOUT SWA!!! OR THE PROCESS!
I met roughly 20 guys the day I interviewd, I'd say except for maybe 2 or 3 guys, all seemed to be very outgoing, friendly, all pretty decent guys, excited about being future SWA new hires, if all went well. Out of the 20 or so there, the SWA DB hired 4 of us. Roughly the same number from the other interview groups in June. Most of the ones hired. seemed to be retired military guys. I was told out of the 100 or so interviews in June, they hired 20 folks.
WHAT THE HELL??? WHERE IS THE LUV???
It's disgusting! SWA you should be ashamed of yourselves. Thanks for wasting all our time and money. If your not hiring than many pilots, stop fu#$ing calling guys for the interview. If you want military guys, call just Military guys. Have a soul, for gods sake. Stop boasting about your company culture and how great your company is and sending these poor little lambs to the slaughter. Give us a chance, and STOP lying to us, saying "We want to hire all of y'all" . I just feel like I got hustled out of $8000 and 3 weeks of vacation.

SERENITY NOW! SERENITY NOW!

Whew...I feel better!

Hopefully you guys at the August DB have a better chance.

flame away, flamers!!!

You talk of being disgusted with the process, but I have to ask, honestly, .........could you do any better? I too feel that their process is somewhat disengenous, and the proliferation of interview prep companies leads me to believe that their process is manipulatable; but you should have realized that before you interviewed.

Let me tell you this, your post has reminded me of the importance of making sure that I am 100% prepared before I go for the interview. I may even pay a background check company to fake a call to my previous employers and recommendations just to make sure that they are as much on my side as I think they are.

Which brings up my real problem with airline hiring processes. You, the applicant sweat blood, jump through flaming hoops and offer to give your left nut to the company. You present yourself to them to be disected, probed and prodded. Then, after judging you to be acceptable in the "face to face" experience, they reject you (with no chance for counter point) after only a telephone conversation with someone who they can't see/don't know. It would seem to me, that they would at least give the applicant a follow up phone call after the recommend/ex-employer calls if there were any questions brought up during those calls. Otherwise, they are admitting that they give more weight to an ex-employers impersonal word than they give to the applicants face to face word. If I may suggest, since they give more weight to an ex-employer, why not just skip the face to face interviews and hire based upon your resume and background checks. It'd save them money and us the sweat produced in our interviews.

Love,
Calvin, or Hobbes, take your pick.

 

[canyonblue737]

let me approach the hiring percentage issue from an entirely different perspective.

SWA is going to hire 300-600 pilots every year (ballpark: 450.) everyone knows this when they go to get types, when they apply etc. This number won't change based on the quality or lack of quality of applicants. While we may wish the SWA hiring rate was lets say 50-75% of folks that interview, that would mean only 400-1200 pilots get to interview every year. The rest would wait by the phone. Since SWA is interviewing closer to 2000 pilots a year doesn't that have a silver lining in that ALL 2000 have a chance? After all if you're sitting at home your chances are ZERO. Sure you could say you're out the hotel expenses (your travel to Dallas is free on SWA) and dry cleaning your suit... but what a chance!

While it is sad to see anyone not get the good call after interviewing, if you didn't understand the chances or the system going in it was simply from a lack of seeing how SWA has been doing it for years, right or wrong.

also while i think SWA encourages every single one of their new hire pilots to understand that their excellent previous flying experience is something to be proud of and a part of why they are on the property in the end it certainly isn't the only thing, nor the most important thing to SWA going forward once you are here. your resume does not get you this job nor the gleaming fact you flew a C-5, F-15, FA-18, 70 seat CRJ, or 747-400 in a previous life. maybe 7 time space shuttle pilot does the trick, but we only have one guy who can say that.

 

[Jeff Helgeson]

Just an observation.

I have noticed a change over the past year or so in the hiring practice at SWA. This is only a random sample of friends that have applied with very good quals., checkairman, etc., good interview, etc. Then get turned down after the calls to their former employers and references go out. It used to be you were hired for the most part if the calls went out, but now it seems to be a common breaking point for many. It appears that there has been a slight change in the SWA hiring process.

It is a buyers market for pilot right now. You shake a tree and out falls 8 pilots fall out. It makes it hard to get improved compensation and work rules with so many resumes piling up.

Sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[ATRCAPT]

Gatorade -

i feel your pain, sort of. Three years they have had my app and no call. I feel like they owe me the $8000.00 I spent on the type rating! Actually, I don't feel that way, I'm just discusted with myself for falling for all the hype. On top of everything I just interviewed at another airline who CLEARLY did not like the fact that I have a B737 type on my certificate and no line experience. It was like having a tatoo on my face that said "I want to work for SWA!" So, let's recap. SWA won't call me because I'm not a swinging dick military guy or an RJ captain, and other companies are wary because of the type rating! I CAN'T FREAKIN' WIN!!!

 

[100LL... Again!]

Personally, I think that the problem with many people is that their goals are too specific, in other words they simply MUST fly for AA, or SWA or whatever.

I actually knew sever people who wanted to work at one PARTICULAR major or another, but could give no real clear reason why. The commute, pay, or advancement had no bearing on it according to them. They just REALLY wanted to work for UAL. Maybe they just like blue airplanes a lot?

Having such specific goals is a recipe for disappointment. I was offered every position I have applied for except two. One was a VERY sh1tty regional (a blessing in disguise), the other was a corporate position right after 911. Lots of applicants, many with substantial time in type, and the type rating (surprised I ws even interviewed).

In none of these cases was I ever desiring that job so much that not getting the offer would have been much of a disappointment.

You have to be your own man in this business and know that you are good at your job. Many airlines turn down great pilots and hire losers. Happens all the time. Personally, if I do a gret job at an interview and they are not smart enough to offer the position, then I would never apply again. Who wants to work for someone that stupid?

If you foul up the interview, then suck it up and try again, however.

 

[gern_blanston]

I feel like they owe me the $8000.00 I spent on the type rating! ...
...SWA won't call me because I'm not a swinging dick military guy or an RJ captain, and other companies are wary because of the type rating!
I CAN'T FREAKIN' WIN!!!

Another really great attitude that I'm sure doesn't show during the interview.

 

[BenderGonzales]

I'm not saying that Gatoraid is one of these guys... BUT

Is it POSSIBLE that guys who -- in the mid 90s' -- were hired by Comair, Continental Express, Chautauqua, etc.. and paid for their training are SURPRISED that the $10,000 check didnt work THIS time?

I mean, if that is their only experience with airline hiring then it is only natural that they would be caught off guard.

In 1995 they paid $10,000 and found themselves in the very next SF340 or EMB120 class.

In 2005 they bought a 737 type for $8000 or so -- shouldn't it be just as simple? Buy training, start class.

Again, not saying Gatoraid was one of these guys. But there are a whole HECK of a lot of people whose only experience with airline interviews has been signing over a check from daddy. Their expectations may be slightly skewed.