Delta Disqualifiers

89-LX said:
I guess I'm screwed for Delta Air Lines, the only place I want to move on to. Did community college from 2006-2007, then a university from 2007-2009. Finished my classes back at a community college in 2010, but still haven't graduated. Why do you ask? I can still defer my student loans by taking 1 credit hour every semester under old provisions in my promissory note. You may be asking, why would you want to continue to defer them for so many years? Well the first few years, I had no money. The last 2 years, I have some money. When they are deferred, my minimum payment per month is $0. Any payment I make, goes 100% toward principal. This has allowed me financially to pay down student loans much faster, which is allowing me to live a better life because 70% of my payment isn't going toward interest.

On the other hand, I do know that when I look at wanting to get on at Delta, I will have my degree applied for, and in hand. I know at this point in time, with no internal recs, no TPIC time, etc, that I don't have a chance at the moment. So why not free some of my financial burden, until I know I have a better chance there. But my time line is technically going to be about 10-11 years from start to "graduation". Guess working my butt off for that 3.84 GPA was for nothing.
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Posts like this are very frustrating. Multiple Delta Pilots, have come on here and said to relax, the rumor is false, and that their is no single disqualifying factor, especially if you had a high GPA. Then you write "I guess I'm screwed for Delta Air Lines". I'm hoping you just read the original post and replied immediately.
 
SteveC said:
I think it is interesting that an employer's selection criteria, based on their own (apparently extensive) internal research, is poo-poo'd by so many people based purely on their own opinions.

If the company decides that they prefer left-handed red heads, I'm guessing that they have data that tells them that they will improve their overall hiring pool at a rate that exceeds the loss of good candidates who were excluded by doing so. Right-handed blondes (including yours truly) shouldn't take it personally.
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Quoted for emphasis
 
i fear this thread has done little but give an excuse to some people to get angry and give an excuse for why they haven't gotten called. A lot of applicants to still a relatively small amount of hiring numbers at the majors, not everyone can get a call. I fully believe that someone with the right qualifications will get the call eventually from one of the airlines out there as long as you are applying and updating.
 
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Trip7 said:
Delta has found that their algorithms while not perfect, has been highly successful in targeting and hiring their ideal candidates for decades. It's highly data driven. New hire performance is tracked deep into their career and placed into a large database.
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Oh boy. They must really beat that into y'all over there. "You're elite!, the best of the best!"
I've known a lot of guys who've gotten hired there, a lot recently, and many FOs who I flew with, and they are regular line guys just like anyone else. And for those not hired yet, don't think it takes an astronaut type rating to get hired, don't let this algorithm nonsense be a reason you're not trying hard to get out of your regional.
 
Kingairer said:
Oh boy. They must really beat that into y'all over there. "You're elite!, the best of the best!"
I've known a lot of guys who've gotten hired there, a lot recently, and many FOs who I flew with, and they are regular line guys just like anyone else. And for those not hired yet, don't think it takes an astronaut type rating to get hired, don't let this algorithm nonsense be a reason you're not trying hard to get out of your regional.
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I don't know why so many are taken aback by this simple statement. No offense, but I think folks are reading what they want to hear. Delta system aims to find ideal fits for Delta and it's culture, not purely elite candidates.
 
Trip, do you think there will be as big of an emphasis on GPA in a year or 2? Would other things like check airmen, military service, ALPA work, volunteer work, etc help offset a slightly less an average
GPA?
 
Trip7 said:
I'm hoping you just read the original post and replied immediately.
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Bingo....in a way. I went to post this on Friday, but the hotel internet went down when I went to post it. Got home late Friday, and spent Saturday with my wife. This morning when I loaded up the laptop, I remembered it didn't post and resubmitted it, without reloading the thread.

I apologize for not re-looking it over. Was in a hurry prior to leaving for my trip today. Glad to hear that its just a rumor, and there is other criteria that is looked at.

As far as trying to get an internal rec, I live in base, so I don't commute. I always try to talk to the Delta jumpseaters, when I do have them on the flight up front. I had one guy, a 747 FO, who offered to bring me into the DTW CP office and meet some people. I've emailed him a few times, and nothing worked out. Haven't heard from the last email I sent him, but that was awhile back.
 
SteveC said:
I think it is interesting that an employer's selection criteria, based on their own (apparently extensive) internal research, is poo-poo'd by so many people based purely on their own opinions.

If the company decides that they prefer left-handed red heads, I'm guessing that they have data that tells them that they will improve their overall hiring pool at a rate that exceeds the loss of good candidates who were excluded by doing so. Right-handed blondes (including yours truly) shouldn't take it personally.
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I've seen this same sort of thing for literally two decades with the USAF's selection process for pilots. People constantly complain about the selection criteria when it doesn't favor them, and criticize the metrics and methodology by suggesting there's a way it should be done that is better.

I remind them that there has never been an organization in the history of aviation that has trained more pilots than the USAF, and after having picked and trained candidates for the last 70+ years, the people who develop the algorithms for selecting candidates have plenty of data to use. They also have a significant financial motive to select the right people, especially ever since the post-Desert Storm drawdown days where cost is a significant aspect.

Thus they know better than any of us do what the "right" criteria is to hire into their organization. Of course there are outliers, but policy can't be designed around outliers.

I have to think that the airlines are much the same in their available data, motivations, and methodologies selected based on that information.
 
Hacker15e said:
I've seen this same sort of thing for literally two decades with the USAF's selection process for pilots. People constantly complain about the selection criteria when it doesn't favor them, and criticize the metrics and methodology by suggesting there's a way it should be done that is better.

I remind them that there has never been an organization in the history of aviation that has trained more pilots than the USAF, and after having picked and trained candidates for the last 70+ years, the people who develop the algorithms for selecting candidates have plenty of data to use. They also have a significant financial motive to select the right people, especially ever since the post-Desert Storm drawdown days where cost is a significant aspect.

Thus they know better than any of us do what the "right" criteria is to hire into their organization. Of course there are outliers, but policy can't be designed around outliers.

I have to think that the airlines are much the same in their available data, motivations, and methodologies selected based on that information.
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Except that they all use different criteria, and all turn out with roughly the same results.
 
Trip7 said:
I don't know why so many are taken aback by this simple statement. No offense, but I think folks are reading what they want to hear. Delta system aims to find ideal fits for Delta and it's culture, not purely elite candidates.
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You can't do that with a computer and a points based metric. A good fit comes with so much more.
 
SteveC said:
If the company decides that they prefer left-handed red heads, I'm guessing that they have data that tells them that they will improve their overall hiring pool at a rate that exceeds the loss of good candidates who were excluded by doing so. Right-handed blondes (including yours truly) shouldn't take it personally.
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The reason that this bothers me is that I think it discriminates against middle class families. Everyone would be livid if the point of exclusion was based on race, gender, or sexual preference. These are all things outside of your control, and some times things like how long it takes to complete your education are too.

At most I could see asking about it during the interview, but if it really is a mark against you, that's silly.
 
mshunter said:
You can't do that with a computer and a points based metric. A good fit comes with so much more.
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And surely you formulated this opinion over your decades of HR experience selecting employees and you have the data to back it up. Maybe you should go into Pilot Recruiting consulting since your method is superior with the statistics to back it up.
 
Trip7 said:
And surely you formulated this opinion over your decades of HR experience selecting employees and you have the data to back it up. Maybe you should go into Pilot Recruiting consulting since your method is superior with the statistics to back it up.
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All the company cares about is meat in the seat that conforms to an algorithm that ensures training success ($$$). From a pilot's perspective, I want the company to hire the guy/gal who won't be a pain in the ass for a ___-day trip, and manages not to scare me. Sometimes the two are not the same.
 
Trip7 said:
Posts like this are very frustrating. Multiple Delta Pilots, have come on here and said to relax, the rumor is false, and that their is no single disqualifying factor, especially if you had a high GPA. Then you write "I guess I'm screwed for Delta Air Lines". I'm hoping you just read the original post and replied immediately.
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Have you guys confirmed that though? The problem is that a Delta recruiter appears to be (at least in the past) claim timeframe matters...
 
Trip7 said:
And surely you formulated this opinion over your decades of HR experience selecting employees and you have the data to back it up. Maybe you should go into Pilot Recruiting consulting since your method is superior with the statistics to back it up.
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Nope, I don't have a degree in HR, or years of experience in it either. But I have a brain, common sense, and enough intellect to know that a computer can't judge someone's personality, and how it would be to sit next to someone for the next 3+ days, whether or not they are humble or arrogant, how well the give constructive criticism AND take it etc. Good employees in paper don't necessarily make good employees in person.

There is a good reason all the super cushy pt91 corporate gigs usually do interviews over lunch, or beers. Qualifications are a minutiae of the person sitting across the table. And some damn computer algorithm isn't going to discern that. Not even close.

Edit to add: Did I mention I was the pseudo HR guy at my last gig? I was tasked with finding my replacement. I may not know a lot about it, but I know enough that a computer isn't going to tell me much.
 
USN88 said:
Trip, do you think there will be as big of an emphasis on GPA in a year or 2? Would other things like check airmen, military service, ALPA work, volunteer work, etc help offset a slightly less an average
GPA?
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I believe it GPA will be less a factor once Delta drops into Tier 2 and below which I keep hearing is not in the too distant future.

Absolutely those things can offset low GPA by boosting your score. Several Delta Pilots have posted they had a less than stellar GPA and got hired.

Right now nothing is disqualifying but competition is very stiff. A concerning element of this thread is the defeatist frame of mind that several have exhibited just from a rumor. I can guarantee you your competition for an interview slot is not saying Delta must not want me if they hear a rumor that might be negative against them.

Everyone will get a shot, but right now it's a race to get in at the beginning of the wave. If you want a shot sooner rather than a later, it's up to you to prove why you are better than your competition.
 
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GypsyPilot said:
Have you guys confirmed that though? The problem is that a Delta recruiter appears to be (at least in the past) claim timeframe matters...
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Reference Mastermags post earlier about his friend with an interview. Also Reference Derg's post about his chat with a CJO. I also personally know folks who recently interviewed and/or were hired that took alittle longer with their education. We are 100% sure about this.
 
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