Delta Disqualifiers

SmoothLanderJ said:
Makes perfect sense...at OBAP last year the Delta recruiter told me that with my GPA I needed more TPIC time....even though I was a 737 captain flying 90hrs a month to and from Central America.

Little did they know my mother passed away my sophomore year and I took two years off from college to get my life together and yes my GPA suffered. BUT, I guess I took too long to graduate.
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Funny thing... There were 2 things about my application that I was directly told hurt my score at Delta. When I interviewed at your current carrier they took an entirely different viewpoint on it, even so far as being impressed that I had worked full-time while going to school. Very different mindset, but 2 very different companies with different corporate cultures. Again, while I don't agree with Delta's practices, I cannot fault them for hiring the people they want.
 
Dan208B said:
@ATN_Pilot Delta has decided to use a set of metrics based upon their past successes and failures with newhires and flying qualifications is only a small part of that puzzle.
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The problem with Delta (and I say this as a longtime fan and customer) has always been arrogance. There is nothing whatsoever superior about a Delta pilot when compared to a Northwest, United, Continental, Southwest, American, etc. pilot. They all use different processes and criteria, and they all get roughly the same result. Yet Delta will never admit that reality.
 
ppragman said:
\Moral of the story I guess is that sometimes it's better to have a "checkered" past where someone's gone through and cleaned you up a bit and you're better for it than for you to never have had an instance of bad judgment or adversity in your life.

EDIT: Typo
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I can say with 100% certainty that I am the person I am today because of the mistakes I've made. I have learned many valuable lessons from screwing things up and it's made me a much stronger individual now than I would have been without them.
 
Derg said:
Link? Let's see!
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LOL, if you just run my name "first middle last" through google image search it is the first thing that appears.

Even better, if you just run my first and last, a bunch of articles about an executed serial killer that I share a common name with appear, lol. Maybe they'll think the speeder was that same guy and not me.
 
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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The thing is, the current system is not the same they have used in the past.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
The problem with Delta (and I say this as a longtime fan and customer) has always been arrogance. There is nothing whatsoever superior about a Delta pilot when compared to a Northwest, United, Continental, Southwest, American, etc. pilot. They all use different processes and criteria, and they all get roughly the same result. Yet Delta will never admit that reality.
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I mean no offense to anyone here that works there (and I really mean that because I think it's a great organization), but you're exactly right. I was on a jumpseat about 2 years ago and asked to look at a flight ops newsletter when one of the guys was finished reading it. It mentioned the importance of wearing a clean pressed uniform and went on to say that "other pilots in the industry look up to us." Honestly I think a lot of folks at other airlines would be pretty offended by that but it was actually printed and it's part of the mindset I've seen from certain parts of the airline. On that note there are LOTS and LOTS of great people there but that mindset does exist. People easily forget what the history of this industry has been and how quickly things can change.
 
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Gonzo said:
The thing is, the current system is not the same they have used in the past.
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Yes and that's what frustrated me about the process. I tried early on to do everything right, but the system changed. And back to life lessons, I thought Delta was the only place for me. I looked up to it so much and absolutely wanted nothing more in my life to work there. But that's not how life goes. It's SO critical to expand your horizons. Have a goal for certain, but don't bank everything on it and be ok with life taking unexpected turns.
 
Dan208B said:
@ppragman I completely understand what you're saying. And I don't agree with what Delta uses. But it's their company and they are hiring people and can use whatever metrics they desire whether we like it or not. My goal is simply to try to help people understand why they may not be getting a call based upon the information I've received.
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Oh, I get that, the big D isn't really my cup of tea anyway (I'm a medevac pilot, I doubt I'll do anything but this unless something freaking astounding comes along)...but, I think it's wrong, I think it excludes good candidates, I think it has the potential to select for the wrong kind of people, so on, et cetera. I appreciate you sharing the knowledge though - that's what makes JC what it is.
 
ppragman said:
This is not necessarily a good thing. Hell, Chester F-ing Nimitz ran a destroyer aground and was courtmartialed when he was an ensign. He went on to be one of the biggest billy-badasses ever. I feel like people need to be allowed to make some mistakes in their lives to progress - lord knows I've made plenty, and some of the most amazing people of all time made tremendous mistakes early on. Squeaky clean doesn't necessarily equate to excellence in the profession.

As an anecdote, I worked across the field from an outfit that ran float planes around. The nicest one they had was a beautiful beaver that had "never been crashed or wreck or sunk - no, not even once!" It was immaculate. The others had all been crashed multiple times in their lifetime and had been gone through thoroughly and put back together with all the love and care a beaver mechanic could give, but they all looked and flew a little bit worse. This one had never had the "special treatment" and when it finally got a minor ding that required a more hardy working-over than the usual annuals and 100-hrs it'd been getting, they ended up checking deep in places that probably hadn't been touched in 30 years. What they found on the inside was scary - corrosion city. Moral of the story I guess is that sometimes it's better to have a "checkered" past where someone's gone through and cleaned you up a bit and you're better for it than for you to never have had an instance of bad judgment or adversity in your life.

EDIT: Typo
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Yep. That's a really big problem with the computer age. We need our youth to eff up a few times, grow from it, and move on. These days you'll be answering questions about that Facebook pic of you holding a joint every time you interview for a job. Forever.

Disclaimer- I do not have a pic like that "out there." It was just an example.
 
Dan208B said:
I mean no offense to anyone here that works there (and I really mean that because I think it's a great organization), but you're exactly right. I was on a jumpseat about 2 years ago and asked to look at a flight ops newsletter when one of the guys was finished reading it. It mentioned the importance of wearing a clean pressed uniform and went on to say that "other pilots in the industry look up to us." Honestly I think a lot of folks at other airlines would be pretty offended by that but it's true and it's part of the mindset I've seen from certain parts of the airline. On that note there are LOTS and LOTS of great people there but that mindset does exist. People easily forget what the history of this industry has been and how quickly things can change.
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Lol, wut?

That's hilarious to me. I don't even...what? Seriously that was printed?
 
ppragman said:
Oh, I get that, the big D isn't really my cup of tea anyway (I'm a medevac pilot, I doubt I'll do anything but this unless something freaking astounding comes along)...but, I think it's wrong, I think it excludes good candidates, I think it has the potential to select for the wrong kind of people, so on, et cetera. I appreciate you sharing the knowledge though - that's what makes JC what it is.
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No problem. I hope everyone understands that's what I'm trying to do here, share knowledge. And I understand it's easy to get misinformation about the hiring processes at these airlines. I had a unique opportunity through networked to get very well connected and learn some great things about the internal process. And I still have those connections. But networking isn't always everything, it couldn't overcome some things on my application that I never thought were abnormal or a bad thing. I'm happy with my life and career decisions and I think it's important for other people to be as well. Keep trying and pushing forward for wherever you want to be. I won't tell you with 100% certainty you will make it to the airline of your choice because that's simply not how things work, but if you give it your all, you will have a successful career and be happy.
 
Trip7 said:
Folks also keep in mind that hiring has just hit the tip of the iceberg. Just because your score is not high enough now doesn't mean it won't be soon. GPA and time to graduate will be much less a factor later on.
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I've heard this before. Hell, I've said this myself over and over.

But I was hired at my first airline 8 years ago, and I've been hearing it ever since, only to see no changes in hiring practices at the upper levels. It eventually becomes hallow, ya know?
 
Dan208B said:
@ATN_Pilot Delta has decided to use a set of metrics based upon their past successes and failures with newhires and flying qualifications is only a small part of that puzzle.
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I know one of the people who built that database very well. It's very good at predicting if you'll "fit the Delta mold." We can argue about whether it is fair or not, but it's not really up for debate that it is good at selecting for a particular type of person.

BTW the system deducts points for being too smart also. Those pilots tend to get bored and "start acting out," according to the person I mentioned before.

They have reams of data over the past 20 years. It's a very interesting way of going about pilot selection. It's not really the way I would go if I were in charge, but it is what it is.

They consult with FedEx, Endeavor, among others. I'm not sure of the entire list.
 
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