SWA Interview an "Audition"

[Resume Writer]

Hi Everyone,

I was reading my Business 2.0 magazine and found this excerpt on the Southwest Airlines interviewing process. This supports the thoughts I provide to everyone of my interview prep clients - be on your best behavior from beginning to end - from the minute you step on the airport grounds in your departing city, to the time spent at the hotel during happy hour, to the "down-time" between interviews, to lunch conversation, till the time you leave the airport grounds in your home city. With SWA, it starts even before you interview - read on...

The Job Audition
Turn the interview process into an all-encompassing tryout.

You don't just get interviewed when you apply for a job at Southwest Airlines. You get auditioned--and it starts the moment you call for an application.

Given that ultrafriendly service is critical to the $7.6 billion carrier's success, it's little wonder that HR managers don't wait until the interview to start screening. When a candidate calls for an application, managers jot down anything memorable about the conversation, good or bad. The same is true when the company flies recruits out for interviews. They receive special tickets, which alert gate agents, flight attendants, and others to pay special attention: Are they friendly to others or griping about service and slurping cocktails at 8 a.m.? If what the employees observe seems promising--or not--they're likely to pass it on to HR.

Even when recruits aren't on the spot, they're on the spot. During group interviews of flight attendants, applicants take turns giving three-minute speeches about themselves in front of as many as 50 others. The catch? Managers are watching the audience as closely as the speaker. Candidates who pay attention pass the test; those who seem bored or distracted get bounced.

"We want to see how they interact with people when they think they're not being evaluated," says Southwest recruiter Michael Burkhardt.

The screening method not only keeps turnover low (about 5.5 percent annually) but keeps customers happy. Every year since 1987, the carrier has received the lowest number of passenger complaints in the industry. -- M.V.C.

 

[Ready2Fly]

What if some of the staff is rude to you? Are you just supposed to suck it up and take it?

 

[LJDRVR]

What if some of the staff is rude to you? Are you just supposed to suck it up and take it?

I don't think you'll ever have to worry about this, troll.

Hey moderators! Can't you folks permantly ban IP addresses? Nobody really wants to see the latest incarnation of the Rhoid, IHavePension, EMB Skillz, etc.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

What if some of the staff is rude to you? Are you just supposed to suck it up and take it?

Of course not. No one likes a push over, but things can certainly be handled very diplomatically, satisfying both parties. If a passenger is rude to you as a flight crew member, how would you react. Remember, no one gets you angry, you get yourself angry.

It's interesting that your initial thought in such a situation is to sit there and "suck it up."

Years ago a test was devised to assess ones abilty to cope under certain situations and was used as an HR tool to see how one reacts under challenging or confrontational situations. There wasn't necessarily a universally correct response; it depends on the type of position one was applying for.

One of the situations went a little like this.

You've just sat down in your seat (which is inbetween two people) at the movie theater and after the movie has begun a person sits down in front of you with a very tall hat that obstructs your view of the screen. Unable to see, the candidate is asked as an open-ended question as to how they would handle the situation. Remember, certain solutions will appear more naturally or instinctually and to the forefront of ones mind. How one handles something reveals a lot of how they will react under other conditions.

In this scenario, there are a few solutions as to how you might resolve this. One might be to move to another seat (avoiding any conflict), ask the person to remove the hat (confrontational), remaining in your seat and tilt your head albeit uncomfortably to see the screen (passive), or you could ask that the person move to another seat altogether.

How one reacts says a lot.

 

[Resume Writer]

Actually LJ, he/she brings up a good point, which should be addressed. Many times in interviews, and in "real life" prior to the interview, people may be rude to you. While the person may just be having a "bad day," it may also be a test to see how you react to people that may not be nice to you. It is easy for people to deal with nice people - not so easy to deal with "mean" people.

How you react says a lot about your character. In a typical customer service situation, i.e. a mad passenger, even though the person is frustrating, you should not change who you are, unless of course they are threatening you or the safety of the aircraft, crew and other passengers, and then proper action needs to be taken to avert the situation.

In the interview world, the type of interview that brings this method to light is called the "stress interview." I have seen this in mild form at SWA during the logbook interview, as reported to me from my interview prep clients.

What seems to happen in this interview is the questioning of entries, or confusion over entries. The best way to handle this is to make it easier for the interviewer to understand what you have done, without getting defensive. A typical phrase to use might be, "I know that looks confusing, let me see if I can explain it better."

As this article points out, SWA is watching you to see how you react to people in any given situation. I do not blame them, they want to know if you are a good fit for their company.

 

[ivauir]

What if some of the staff is rude to you? Are you just supposed to suck it up and take it?

Doubtful this would ever be an issue. However, SWA expects you to be able to deal with rude passengers with style and grace, so act accordingly. Someone who sees everything as a contest with winners and losers ("suck it up and take it") isn't going to do well in a customer service situation though.

 

[mavdog]

They receive special tickets, which alert gate agents, flight attendants, and others to pay special attention: Are they friendly to others or griping about service and slurping cocktails at 8 a.m.? If what the employees observe seems promising--or not--they're likely to pass it on to HR.

Here's my question: how are the flight attendants supposed to tell that they have 'special' tickets and are sitting in 'special' seats if they don't have assigned seating???

 

[Resume Writer]

Here's my question: how are the flight attendants supposed to tell that they have 'special' tickets and are sitting in 'special' seats if they don't have assigned seating???

Well, I worked as a Customer Service Agent for SWA for about eight months before Katelyn, my daughter, was born. I know there is a special notation in the reservation and on the boarding pass. As for the FAs, they "might" get a passenger list from the gate agents (I cannot remember what we did at the gates since it was over three years ago), or perhaps they get a special report when they check in for their trip. I cannot really speak to that because I was not an FA for them.

Someone else know?

 

[Tejas-Jet]

What if some of the staff is rude to you? Are you just supposed to suck it up and take it?

Then you throw it right back at them. Let them know ( in ytour own special way) that you aren't taking that stuff.

I'm quite sure you'll do well at your interview. Best of luck

Tejas

 

[FlyBoeingJets]

Then you throw it right back at them. Let them know ( in ytour own special way) that you aren't taking that stuff.

I disagree. When people are rude they are out of control. Sometimes people will change their attitude if you treat them with kindness and smiles. Has happened more than once to me. People start feeling guilty they are being rude if you don't respond in kind. Remember, they may be worked up over something that happened to them earlier in the day and may snap out of it if you choose to help them regain control.

There are more effect ways of dealing with rudeness than "letting them know you aren't going to take that stuff"