SWA Interview Notes

[chase]

Kathy,


check your PM, hope that explains the point behind my post...cheers & good luck...I sent the same thing to Albie...

 

[SWA/FO]

That read like an advertisement for you resume writer!

 

[Resume Writer]

Thanks, Chase. I had a feeling where you were going with that part of the post.

Kathy

 

[Resume Writer]

That read like an advertisement for you resume writer!

That was not my intention if it read like that. My intention was to dispel the notion that every person that does interview prep is out to take people's money. If I were advertising, then I would have never claimed I guarantee nothing - not exactly the best sales pitch!

Further, I think there are some excellent people that do interview prep. When I have a person that wants to apply for Jet Blue, I tell them to go to AlbieF15. I also think that Judy Tarver does an excellent job at interview prep.

As I said, if people decide to prep with someone, that is great. If they decide to do it on their own, that is great. Just as Chase said, be prepared.

Kathy

 

[FlyBoeingJets]

If I might add to the awesome advice above....

If you aren't awesome at interviews, get prep. It will relax you, point out anything that you do that you didn't realize you do and make you better at interviewing. It will give you confidence that you've done this before and can do it again. I wish I had done it years ago. It has helped me in other facets of life.

I can second the canned answer thing. The comments about interviews in spring 2004 were the candidates were too canned. They hired 50%, I think. May have been less. The quality of the candidates, I've heard, were incredible and could have justified hiring a much higher percentage. Everyone should have thought about and practiced their 'stories' to reach back too when needed, just like Chase said. But do not practice the exact wording too much. Every question I was asked, "Tell me about a time when...." was similar to the gouge I had but different enough to change the answer. They had certain twists. I had to explore different aspects of the story in order to answer the question. Not just "Have you had an emergency?" but one without a checklist or one where you disagreed with the Captain.

One interviewer asked for a more recent story after I started to recount an experience that perfectly fit the question. I asked for a few moments to remember something more current. This, of course, was one of the experiences I had that was one deep. Nothing but silence for a few endless moments, then the story came to me. I don't think I would have reacted as well (perhaps less awkwardly than normal is more accurate) without experiencing 'uncomfortable' silence and putting my experiences into 'interesting stories' during prep sessions.


Under Seige 2
"Chance favors the prepared mind."

I don't believe much in chance so this one I like better

Star Wars
"Your focus determines your reality"

 

[YellowLab]

I'm not trying to take business away from Resume Writer but several of my friends have been turned down that have done the prep. I feel it is because their answeres sounded too "canned". It's just my opionion but I think if you go in there and be yourself and totally honest you can't go wrong. I didn't always follow the "S.A.R" format to the letter but I think it was Ok because they knew I was being me and being totally honest. It's just my opinion.

 

[Resume Writer]

No worries - you are not taking away business from me. I do not solely rely on the aviation profession to make my living. I just enjoy working with aviation people because I love the industry.

It is really hard to say that people are turned down because their answers sound "too canned." There are factors that are not in my control. Not everyone is a direct match for SWA. They are looking for a certain type of person and if someone does not fit that criteria, they will be turned down.

Also in consideration is the reputation a person has in this industry - whether they come from a civilian or military background. Your reputation is everything and it can have a resounding affect on the rest of your career. I can point to a specific example of one candidate that prepped with me that did not make it. It had nothing to do with my prep. He apparently had made enemies throughout his career and every time he applied, they all kept checking the list. The reason I tell this story is so that people realize what a small community aviation is and to never burn bridges.

Kathy

 

[viking737]

Who is Judy Tarver working for these days?

 

[chase]

Judy is an independent contractor who does professional interview preparation. She's also researches and writes on the industry for several publications and is a personal friend...she has many irons in the fire related to aviation and outside of aviation...I might also add she recently was recognized by Women in Aviation with an award (my apologies for not recalling the precise award title)....a great lady with incredible knowledge when it comes to interview preparation and the industry as a whole....she worked for American Airlines for 17 years as a pilot recruiter/interviewer directing their shop for a period of time. Her resume is lengthy & quite impressive.

Yellow lab & resume writer are correct there are many reasons why folks don't get hired.....it can mess with your mind if you give it too much thought. Choose a path that you feel comfortable with, ask your friends & be honest with yourself when making the choices about what to do to prepare oneself....good luck.

 

[canyonblue737]

i felt i had a handle on how to answer questions in the style SWA wanted. i also felt i was good at interviews. but i was nervous you know? so i used a prep, didn't gain much new insight out of it... but it let me know that i *was* on the right track. i didn't try to learn answers, just make sure i was presenting myself as i felt i was.

did it work? you bet... been drinking the koolaid and flying the LUV jets and it is all good. do a prep if you feel really nervous or think you are poor communicator. don't do a prep to learn the right answers, those have to come from you.