SWA Point System?

[SFR]

Falconjet:

If SWA ever told me to give my first born for a job there, I would laugh in their face and walk out of the room. I hope everyone else would too.

You people act as if these companies are your direct path to success. Just remember all of those that got hired at UAL, DAL, etc back in 1999,2000... They too thought they were immortal. Now where are they.? I remember some of those folks getting the "you regional pilots suck" their last month at ASA before they went to DAL (and they were still regional pilots!!!). Their attitudes are 180 degrees different now!!

I have a more optimistic outlook for SWA!!!! for all of us!!


Another topic.....Qualified?? What does that mean???

Flight time??? With 20,000 hours and 747 type, you still can't get a free drink at Starbucks.


Personality, Sense of Humor, Morals, Motivational skills, etc are a lot more important than flight time!! Unfortunately there is no way to log that.


Good luck all, see you at SWA.

 

[FearlessFreep]

This is the most ridiculous thread I have seen in a while.

Who really knows why any airline hires anyone?

The ludicrous ends that people go to in an attempt to outwit the "People Department" is amazing. They have their methods - your not going to be able to second guess them, nor should you even try.

Remember when everyone was applying at the other majors? You never knew if you would ever be called for an interview - you just kept trying. So just put your stuff in, follow the gouge & hope for the best.

When you go to the interview make sure that your right shoe is untied. One lace should be hanging off to the left and measure exactly 3.875" in length. The other should be draped across the arch and just touch the front part of the shoe. This one has to be approximately 4" long. The little plastic things on the end of the laces need to have small cracks around the diameter 3 in number , .25mm in length and equally distributed at 120 degree intervals. All this indicates that you can follow directions and tolerate something other than perfection. Note: make sure that it is not the left shoe.

I am toying with re-applying with the good ol' WN (for the third time). Will I get an interview? Who knows. Will I successfully accomplish an interview? Probably not. WN will probably ask me questions off the 8 year old intial application, after all that's what they did last time. When I get rejected again am I going to get upset? Nope. I am just doing my d*mnest to honestly & forthrightly acquire employment with a good company.

Do I truly, sincerely, humbly, desire employment with WN? Wholeheartedly yes. Do I want to get married to the company? Nope, a working relationship would be sufficent. If WN did hire me (highly unlikely) they will get a hard working, loyal, personable (with a sense of humour), optomistic and dedicated employee. What they won't get is a koolaid drinking brown nose.

Anyone who tries to tell me that they became a pilot so that they could work for WN is full of...

For those that get/got hired by WN good for you. Youv'e got the SWA stuff!

No rancor intended.


Good Luck To Us All!

 

[Falconjet]

No offense

No offense SFR, but maybe you read part of my post too literally. I simply mean to say that just about everyone will try to convince SWA that they have wanted to work for them since they were born. A little commitment and loyalty go a long way I'm sure toward making the recruiter feel that you would fit in.

What I didn't say is that the furloughed pilot is more "qualified" than you, all I said was that just because you applied first doesn't make YOU more qualified than those who apply behind you.

Again, I simply feel that it is the company's perogative to decide what their minimums (thread creep) are and who THEY think is best qualified for their positions, and interview them in the order they deem best.

It is admirable that you have made SWA a lifelong career objective and I'm sure that they will appreciate hearing that. I just don't think it should make you feel that you deserve the chance 'more' than a furloughee just because you applied earlier.

Just my humble and ill-informed opinion. No offense meant.

Good Luck

FJ

 

[llowwelll]

Just wanted to offer the info I have on the original question regarding the point system. I was at HPA last month getting my type rating. I had heard the rumors about a point system, so I specifically asked the SWA rep the question. I asked if interview selectees will be decided in a manner similar to the one JetBlue uses...screened and scored by computer. The short answer was a definitive "no". SWA hires for character and trains for skill. The most important attributes SWA looks for are those that match up with the Southwest spirit. Attributes like that are not always able to be accurately assessed by a points system.

 

[spanky2]

SFR,
Dude...you are not at a SWA interview..."wanted to work there since I was born." Do you also live on a diet consisting of peanuts, Wild Turkey, and cigarettes ? Do you have a cardboard model of Herb in your room? Did you also paint your car to look like a killer whale ? Can you REALLY guarantee that pilots hired by UAL, DAL, etc laugh at SWA ? You do not know their reasons...and OBTW qualifications are the basis of hiring, not the whole picture mind you, but the baseline. Even though you have wanted to fly for SWA since the moment of Mr Sperm meeting Ms Egg and your favorite book is "Nuts", you still have to have the basics and "fit" in their work force. You may not fit. PD folks determine that. If a furloughed pilots is willing to resign from previous employer and is more qualified then that pilot may get hired before you. Sorry. They hire using the "past performance predicts future performance" concept. I happen to have been thru the SWA interview process 4 years ago, passed, and offerred a job. Wonderful experience, and I actually enjoyed the interaction with the 3 interviewers. Cindy was the PD contact in those days and I wrote her a letter thanking her SWA's interest in me but I chose another path for personal reasons. Hard decision.
Like your eagerness, though. My long rsponse is meant to be fun ribbing...comes from 20+ years of mil;itary flying as a PIC in fighters. Will look for you in "C" concourse...you would be the ASA pilot with SWA stickers on your kit bag.

 

[SWAdude]

Spanky2

As an interviewer we looked for the kind of enthusiasm that SFR has for the job.

Now that you worked for another carrier, you would be pleasantly surprised on what a difference that quality makes.

Hope you and alll the furloughees get called back real soon.

SWAdude

 

[MachBuffet]

Two Cents

Sometimes I feel like I am one of the few people who likes to learn from others mistakes. I got my flight training and instructed at a little grass strip run by an old guy who retired from TWA seniority #1. He flew everything from the DC3 to the 747. Incredible career that none of us will ever experience. He beat it into our heads that any airplane is exciting for a few hundred hours, then you're back to bitching about weekends off, pay, seniority, etc. He said that all that will matter is that you enjoy going to work, make decent pay, and can enjoy your time off. When we (us aspiring CFI's) would sit around the office and discuss who we were going to fly for someday, the old man would come in and slap us around a little bit and put some sense into our head. "Do whatever you have to do to get some PIC time in your book and always have a plan B if something happens to your flying career." I won't repeat his opinions about other majors, but they weren't very rosey. While I was busy dragging down the profession at Kalitta in the left seat of a jet and then dragging it down some more in the left seat of a 737 and MD80 at Vanguard, I learned a lot. I was having the time of my life. Those little crappy airlines were the most fun I will probably ever have in my life. They were everything you hear about from the guys who did this job back in "The Day". However, when we walked thru the terminals, without fail, we all got dirty looks from most of the other "professional" airline crews. We would be joking with each other and having a good time on the crew vans and would get disgusted looks and rolled eyes from the other "professional" airline crews who barely looked at each other when they didn't have to. This left a bad taste in my mouth. I set my sights on an airline that would give me the important things like (knock on wood) job security, decent pay/benefits and an enjoyable work environment. If I'm going to work somewhere for 20+ years, I don't want to hate it every time I pull into the employee lot. I got a lot of grief from guys that ran off to a major as soon as possible while I prodded along making crap $$ as a lowly captain at a terminally ill airline. I was filling my logbook with time that goes on applications in the good column, not worrying about going off to a more "professional" airline. Most of the guys that got hired by a major in the last 4-5 years are on the street right now without the qualifications to even apply at most places, stupid me, what was I thinking? I'm not saying that SWA monopolizes the good attitude category, but they come real close. I commuted for 7 years on various airlines and with very few exceptions found the best people at SWA. If you read my few other posts you'll see that I definitely don't agree with the hiring practices of most airlines and I think a large number of pilots are whining babies. I got lucky, my plan worked, I'm in the shallow end of the SWA pool. I have never judged a pilot on the size of his fuselage or his paycheck and don't understand those that do. Lots of the ribbing on this board is just that, "My check is bigger, I get to go to Brazil/Aruba/Rome in a 777 for a "real" airline." Who cares? Do you show your watch to everyone at the table too? Keep bashing AirTran, ATA, jetBlue, SWA, commuters, regionals and show the rest of us how clueless you are. If you are ever sitting across from an interviewer, your bitter attitude will hopefully come thru so the rest of us won't have to put up with you. When is the last time you truly enjoyed a day at work and realized how blessed you are to have the skills and random combination of natural abilities to fly an airplane? Looking forward to being fat/dumb and happy, paid decently and treated very well at SWA for a long time.

 

[spanky2]

Hey SWA Dude (and SFR),
I said I liked his eagerness...and I was poking fun at his comment about wanting to fly at SWA before he was born. Those are all great but you still gotta have the basics to qualify. I take some offense to the idea that because someone is furloughed that they are doomed for life...or at least get in line behind SFR. There was nothing worse than spending 4 days with a pilot who complained, over and over, or flew slower than a 152 to make a point with mgt. Speaking of mgt, I admire Herb for daring to be different and sticking to his guns over many issues, including staying put at DAL vs moving to DFW. Ms Barrett seems to be of the same mold. Let's hope that SWA mgt does not follow the path of the other majors in terms of leadership (or lack there of). It could happen...we can all name other airlines that used to be a "family."