This is a not an easy post to make since it pertains to those who may not have been selected for employment by SWA. As always I don't speak for anyone but myself and have no knowledge of who has or has not been selected other than when friends & acquaintances have contacted me over the last few days.
With the 14 April Decision Board past & as the announcements are slowly coming in, there will be great wonderment & befuddlement on how some folks got selected & how others were not selected, understandably so. I have seen the frustration in years past & while I can't relate to your situation exactly I can understand the disappointment of not getting the much awaiting call, "YOUR HIRED!" (My apologies to the Trumpster).
"A lot of military/civilian guys got turned down, is there a bias?"
The short anwer is no. I heard of a lot of military folks interviewed in Mar, probably a higher % than of civilians so expect the rate of rejection to also be higher. In April if a higher % was civilian, expect the rejection rate to be higher for them vs military....belay the conspiracy theory, it doesn't exist.
So where does one go after such disappointment. Here are some general thoughts, others will have much better insight & suggestions so please add on as appropriate as these folks will be looking for "good" suggestions.
1. Continue pursuing your aviation career in the same way you did before applying to SWA. Professional behavior, excellent work record & clean personal history.
2. Your apps to other carriers/employers should be well along their way through their app process. If you haven't applied to other places then you need to correct that mistake immediately & start that process...don't delay because others are hiring & if you have a 737 type don't think it only is useful at SWA.
3. There will be the tendancy to turn your frustration/anger toward SWA, or specifically toward the "process" & how it is unfair, bias or otherwise unjust. I would resist this temptation & use that energy toward one of two options:
(1) decide that SWA isn't your cup of tea & press on with other career aspirations or
(2) decide that SWA is where you wish to go to & begin the process that will make you a better candidate the next time you interview.
Some will say "How can I improve on my weaknesses when I don't know why they didn't hire me?"
Completely understandable & for the most part this is the hardest part as the answer to this question will require some soul searching & honest appraisal. Talk to your SWA friends, they may have some insight. You may have to enlist others to help but the science is imprecise no doubt.
A quick caveat. SWA has in the past & will in the future miss out on some super pilots. I know it, CPs know it & folks on the interview team know it but that doesn't make SWA's system of hiring any different than any other hiring process, it is an imprecise science but one that has proven successful for SWA.
"I haven't gotten a letter or a phone call, what's happened to my package?"
As long as you haven't been told you're not hired, then you're still in the running. You may be meeting the next Decision Board even though you interviewed in March. In the past circumstances develope that may preclude someone meeting the "next" decision board due to clerical errors, incomplete background checks, requested training records not returned to the PD for review or a mirade of other reasons.
If so, those individuals will be moved to the next DB & you will have to wait for another month. Will you be notified of this fact? I don't believe so but again as long as you haven't been told you are not hired, you're still in the running. Not hard to figure out which category you'd rather be in...."definitely not hired" or "still in the running"...sit back & chill (hard to do I know) for another month and wait for the results of the next DB.
Not being selected doesn't mean you aren't still the lovable, superb aviator, outstanding team player you were before SWA turned you down so don't think that the folks at SWA don't realize that. The process is however the process & has proven to be fairly successful over the years for SWA. How you deal with the adversity of being turned down will say alot about your future chances with SWA I believe. And yes there are some folks that have tried multiple times & have failed multiple times and are good folks but aren't selected by SWA...it isn't an indictment of those individuals but a realization that SWA & them are not matches.
However for those who have experienced their first rejection or even second, the hope I believe is that SWA does recognize those who are willing to try particularly after a rejection. There are no guarantees is the obvious phrase that needs to be inserted here, this is still life 101 rule.
Improving your resume with continued progression, leadership positions and building of quality flying time says something to SWA when you come around again (if you so choose) for your next attempt.
To those who are receiving the good news congrats, to those who are disappointed for not getting hired by SWA thanks for taking the time and energy out of your life and making yourself available to SWA. I'm sure the hope of all SWA pilots is that if you think it is worth your effort and time, please consider reapplying at the first available date.
I'll apologize to those in advance if it sounds preachy or holy than though...my intent is to help, I hope I have.
Good luck & God speed!
With the 14 April Decision Board past & as the announcements are slowly coming in, there will be great wonderment & befuddlement on how some folks got selected & how others were not selected, understandably so. I have seen the frustration in years past & while I can't relate to your situation exactly I can understand the disappointment of not getting the much awaiting call, "YOUR HIRED!" (My apologies to the Trumpster).
"A lot of military/civilian guys got turned down, is there a bias?"
The short anwer is no. I heard of a lot of military folks interviewed in Mar, probably a higher % than of civilians so expect the rate of rejection to also be higher. In April if a higher % was civilian, expect the rejection rate to be higher for them vs military....belay the conspiracy theory, it doesn't exist.
So where does one go after such disappointment. Here are some general thoughts, others will have much better insight & suggestions so please add on as appropriate as these folks will be looking for "good" suggestions.
1. Continue pursuing your aviation career in the same way you did before applying to SWA. Professional behavior, excellent work record & clean personal history.
2. Your apps to other carriers/employers should be well along their way through their app process. If you haven't applied to other places then you need to correct that mistake immediately & start that process...don't delay because others are hiring & if you have a 737 type don't think it only is useful at SWA.
3. There will be the tendancy to turn your frustration/anger toward SWA, or specifically toward the "process" & how it is unfair, bias or otherwise unjust. I would resist this temptation & use that energy toward one of two options:
(1) decide that SWA isn't your cup of tea & press on with other career aspirations or
(2) decide that SWA is where you wish to go to & begin the process that will make you a better candidate the next time you interview.
Some will say "How can I improve on my weaknesses when I don't know why they didn't hire me?"
Completely understandable & for the most part this is the hardest part as the answer to this question will require some soul searching & honest appraisal. Talk to your SWA friends, they may have some insight. You may have to enlist others to help but the science is imprecise no doubt.
A quick caveat. SWA has in the past & will in the future miss out on some super pilots. I know it, CPs know it & folks on the interview team know it but that doesn't make SWA's system of hiring any different than any other hiring process, it is an imprecise science but one that has proven successful for SWA.
"I haven't gotten a letter or a phone call, what's happened to my package?"
As long as you haven't been told you're not hired, then you're still in the running. You may be meeting the next Decision Board even though you interviewed in March. In the past circumstances develope that may preclude someone meeting the "next" decision board due to clerical errors, incomplete background checks, requested training records not returned to the PD for review or a mirade of other reasons.
If so, those individuals will be moved to the next DB & you will have to wait for another month. Will you be notified of this fact? I don't believe so but again as long as you haven't been told you are not hired, you're still in the running. Not hard to figure out which category you'd rather be in...."definitely not hired" or "still in the running"...sit back & chill (hard to do I know) for another month and wait for the results of the next DB.
Not being selected doesn't mean you aren't still the lovable, superb aviator, outstanding team player you were before SWA turned you down so don't think that the folks at SWA don't realize that. The process is however the process & has proven to be fairly successful over the years for SWA. How you deal with the adversity of being turned down will say alot about your future chances with SWA I believe. And yes there are some folks that have tried multiple times & have failed multiple times and are good folks but aren't selected by SWA...it isn't an indictment of those individuals but a realization that SWA & them are not matches.
However for those who have experienced their first rejection or even second, the hope I believe is that SWA does recognize those who are willing to try particularly after a rejection. There are no guarantees is the obvious phrase that needs to be inserted here, this is still life 101 rule.
Improving your resume with continued progression, leadership positions and building of quality flying time says something to SWA when you come around again (if you so choose) for your next attempt.
To those who are receiving the good news congrats, to those who are disappointed for not getting hired by SWA thanks for taking the time and energy out of your life and making yourself available to SWA. I'm sure the hope of all SWA pilots is that if you think it is worth your effort and time, please consider reapplying at the first available date.
I'll apologize to those in advance if it sounds preachy or holy than though...my intent is to help, I hope I have.
Good luck & God speed!
