hiring standard...?

adreamer

Well-Known Member
Can any one tell me what basic hiring standard at regional level are?

My instructor went into interview with American Eagle. He was turn down for unknow reason. When he went into interview, he has about 1400 hours total time, 180 multi engine, Gulf stream IV type rating. ATP written pass. I am just wondering what else does an airline looking for when they hire pilots?


adreamer
 
Lots of things, from what I hear. Just because you have the minimums doesn't mean you are a shoe in. I'm sure someone from the inside or more experience than me can give you specifics, but maybe they just saw a quality in your instructor that didn't fit in with what they are looking for.
 
I am just wondering about it. This guy can practically tell you which part 61 or 91 I need to look up for my questions. He is a detail oriented pilot. I always amaze by his knowledge about training aircrafts, ie. Warriors, Seneca..etc, to nuts and bolts. In my opinion, knowledge wise, he should be hired. But I really do not know what airline looking for beside the total hours


adreamer
 
It seems to depend a lot on the company but in general most/all want to see good instrument skills. You can bet that your attitude is watched very closely during an interview. Aviation knowledge of course is important. I'm sure there are other factors too.

I know several individuals who have gone through interviews, felt good about how they did and how the day went, only to get a rejection letter in the mail the next week. Other times you know what you did or didn't do during the interview that caused you to not be selected.

Sometimes you just have bad days and sometimes those bad days happen during interviews, regardless of how well you prepared. (Speaking from a personal experience early this year.)
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The type rating could have been a liability. Having a type in an aircraft in which you have little experience is pointless, despite what many large flight schools claim. At my recent regional interview, there was a guy with a CRJ type but zero hours in the type. They hit him with detailed systems questions, limitations, etc. that he was not expecting. I don't think he got the job.

Getting rejected by Eagle seems to be random, several of my friends have been rejected (rudely at that) at their Eagle interviews for no discernable reason. No wonder Eagle can't fill their new hire classes, they're looking for astronauts. (major props to JDFlight, who did make it through to Eagle!)
 
Astronauts, yeah. I never thought about it until just now, but the airlines and professional piloting in general reminds me of the days I worked at a Ferrari dealership. You were responsible for these cars that were approx $150k and they paid $7/hr.

I guess I can understand that they are looking for the best they can get, but they are probably trying to take advantage of a large pool of experienced pilots.
 
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Getting rejected by Eagle seems to be random, several of my friends have been rejected (rudely at that) at their Eagle interviews for no discernable reason. No wonder Eagle can't fill their new hire classes, they're looking for astronauts. (major props to JDFlight, who did make it through to Eagle!)

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JD got the shaft too. Sucks, don't worry ya'll (JD, ESF, and whomever else) it is a blessing in disguise.
 
I got turned down at the first two majors I interviewed at. World airways I didn't land the DC10 sim very well, flew it okay. Continental, I'm not sure what happened. Got hired at the third one. You just need to be patient and persistent.

You're quals only get you the interview. Beyond that, they don't mean anything.

A G-IV type could look bad cause it makes it look like he might be more interested in a corporate career.
 
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Can any one tell me what basic hiring standard at regional level are?

My instructor went into interview with American Eagle. He was turn down for unknow reason. When he went into interview, he has about 1400 hours total time, 180 multi engine, Gulf stream IV type rating. ATP written pass. I am just wondering what else does an airline looking for when they hire pilots?


adreamer

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There's no methods to Eagle's madness. They've turned down plenty of good people. They may have turned him down because he's got pretty competitive flight time, so he could jump ship to something better after only a short time...which people are doing, and lots more will be soon.
 
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My instructor went into interview with American Eagle...When he went into interview, he has about 1400 hours total time, 180 multi engine, Gulf stream IV type rating. ATP written pass.

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They may have turned him down because he's got pretty competitive flight time, so he could jump ship to something better after only a short time...which people are doing, and lots more will be soon.

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I agree. With just a bit of 121 multi-turbine experience he'd be ripe to jump ship, esp with that type to a corp outfit. Since I heard the cost is about $25K to train one F/O, they probably considered him a risk they'd rather not invest in. If they take someone with mins they don't have to worry about losing their training investment as much.

With the cancellation of the 18 EJMs on order and more AA furloughs & flowbacks on the horizon, things are going to get worse again before they get better. (Damn! And things were on the upswing. It's always feast or famine...) Many junior F/Os are leaving, 3 in LAX alone for SKW in the past 6 weeks. Right now, it doesn't look to promising though as there will be zero growth with out those jet orders and incoming AA pilots taking Capt slots. Since this training & retraining is going to cost the company a bundle I am sure they will find a way around it because they are cheap.
 
A friend of mine interviewed at expressjet when they were known as continental express and had a totally different interview process than I did when I went about a month later. He ended up flying at Eagle then eventually left for World to fly the dc10 and md11. He never upgraded as capt at Eagle, and I believe his class is holding one of the last capt positions on the saab. And currently I have been a CA for 4.5 yrs now. Keep interviewing something better will come along when you least expect it. Everybody interviews differently. I have tried to figure out their techniques and havent seen the method they use on why we had different interviews with the same guy even over 6.5 years ago.
 
I think one of the most important aspects is to have connections within the company you want to work at. I've known a few pilots who screwed up bigtime on their sims but still got hired based on the type of personallity they had and ended up doing great in training. Some people interview better than others and the people doing the interview can easily tell if you're a genuine person especially if a valued coworker has put in a recommendation because honestly the job isn't that difficult to learn and they're gonna teach you how to fly the way that they want to.
 
Never under-estimate the importance of the face to face interview(s).

That's why it is important to sharpen your interview skills and look for any edge possible there.

Even then you are at the mercy of the person sitting across from you. Maybe you remind him of his brother-in-law. If so you're screwed.

The subjective part of the process is where most companies break down as far as doing effective screening. That's why you will see companies hire someone you know is weak and pass on someone you know is stellar. They only get a short time to get their impression, you've seen the person at work and play and know his character.

As a rule, once you've gotten the interview the evaluation of your flight time and qualifications are done. Now you have to "sell" yourself in the interview. And I mean in a subtle way, not like a car salesman.
 
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