ZapBrannigan
If it ain’t a Boeing, I’m not going. No choice.
Good morning everyone,
I wanted to share with all of you that I wasrecently invited to interview at Southwest Airlines. If the internet speculation is correct over 7000 people applied, a few hundred were invited to interview and, ultimately, they will have hired about 100. Unfortunately, I have received word that I was not selected.
I spent several months studying and preparing for the interview, reading "Nuts" (several times) and polishing up to interview for the first time in around 7 years. I went in feeling confident and well prepared -- so, although I am dissapointed in myself, I am comfortable in the knowledge that I did my best and that there were other candidates who were either better qualified, who presented themselves better, or were just a better fit. I'm ok with it. The men and women I interviewed with were terrific people and SWA will be fortunate to have hired any one of them.
The experience in Dallas was terrific. They treated all of us extremely well. The interview was laid back and comfortable... more like hangar flying than an actual "interview".
So for now, I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I still have a great job as a corporate pilot with a terrific company. I make a fair wage and am able to support my family. I was not desperate for a job, or needing to put food on the table. I went to the interview as much to interview them... as to have them interview me and I was not dissapointed by what I saw. SWA is a fantastic company and I can see why it has become the gold standard for airline pilot job-seekers.
I share this with you guys today because, well many of you have become good friends over the year and in a way JC seems like an extended family of sorts. But also because part of "pay it forward" is sharing both the good times and the bad in the industry. Talking about how we deal with those highs and lows, how it makes us feel, and what our plans are to move forward in a career that is seldom "stable".
There is a sense of relief after an interview is over and the months of preparation and worrying have come to a close. Even finding out I wasn't selected is in some small way a relief... I wont have to cancel summer vacations or miss my son's birthday due to initial. I think it takes guts to apply and to interview somewhere. The longer you work in a place the more comfortable you become and the harder it is to consider the alternative -- especially if that alternative includes less pay, commutes, and other intrusions on work/life balance. I felt -- and I still feel -- that in this case it would have been worthwhile. I sincerely appreciate SWA for inviting me to interview, and all of my friends on JC and in the "real world" who thought highly enough of me to write letters of recommendation on my behalf. I am honored and humbled by their friendship.
I wanted to share with all of you that I wasrecently invited to interview at Southwest Airlines. If the internet speculation is correct over 7000 people applied, a few hundred were invited to interview and, ultimately, they will have hired about 100. Unfortunately, I have received word that I was not selected.
I spent several months studying and preparing for the interview, reading "Nuts" (several times) and polishing up to interview for the first time in around 7 years. I went in feeling confident and well prepared -- so, although I am dissapointed in myself, I am comfortable in the knowledge that I did my best and that there were other candidates who were either better qualified, who presented themselves better, or were just a better fit. I'm ok with it. The men and women I interviewed with were terrific people and SWA will be fortunate to have hired any one of them.
The experience in Dallas was terrific. They treated all of us extremely well. The interview was laid back and comfortable... more like hangar flying than an actual "interview".
So for now, I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I still have a great job as a corporate pilot with a terrific company. I make a fair wage and am able to support my family. I was not desperate for a job, or needing to put food on the table. I went to the interview as much to interview them... as to have them interview me and I was not dissapointed by what I saw. SWA is a fantastic company and I can see why it has become the gold standard for airline pilot job-seekers.
I share this with you guys today because, well many of you have become good friends over the year and in a way JC seems like an extended family of sorts. But also because part of "pay it forward" is sharing both the good times and the bad in the industry. Talking about how we deal with those highs and lows, how it makes us feel, and what our plans are to move forward in a career that is seldom "stable".
There is a sense of relief after an interview is over and the months of preparation and worrying have come to a close. Even finding out I wasn't selected is in some small way a relief... I wont have to cancel summer vacations or miss my son's birthday due to initial. I think it takes guts to apply and to interview somewhere. The longer you work in a place the more comfortable you become and the harder it is to consider the alternative -- especially if that alternative includes less pay, commutes, and other intrusions on work/life balance. I felt -- and I still feel -- that in this case it would have been worthwhile. I sincerely appreciate SWA for inviting me to interview, and all of my friends on JC and in the "real world" who thought highly enough of me to write letters of recommendation on my behalf. I am honored and humbled by their friendship.
