How to get the facility you want!

LawnGnome

Well-Known Member
Per request...I have re-posted this information on this forum:

How do get the facility YOU want!

Once your name is referred to a state here is a quick rundown on what happens:

For example...if you get referred to Texas this is what happens:

A team that is led by a person from Washington, D.C. actually meet in OKC.

The person from D.C. meets with a group of people to include one person from the state you are being selected for. This person...you will have to find out for yourself who it is...

They spend five days in OKC to sift through the apps. The DC person spends the first couple days instructing them on the process of what is going to happen, then flys back to DC. The last two days are spent selecting the people that will be assigned to the individual facilities.

So...Texas needs 5 controllers for DFW, 8 for I90, 1 for DAL, 3 for ZHU

The panel takes all the applications and halfway picks people that may be best suited for those facilities depending on what you stated in your application.

Then you get notified of what facility they assigned you to within a few weeks.

Here is what benefits you to know:

The person from DC that comes down to OKC with the team.

The person from the state you are being assigned to.

The dates they are meeting in OKC

You can get by with knowing just two of these.

Call around your state to some facilities and see if you can find out who in your state goes to OKC to help select candidates....sell yourself to that person, send them an application, tell them where you want to go....what also helps is if you sell yourself to the facility that you want, then have that person at that facility contact the guy that is going to OKC and tell them he wants you for the job....of course the guy going to OKC will pick you for the job rather than a random name on a sheet of paper.


Why does this all work? Cause I did it.

I know the person at DC, found out who the person in Texas was, found the facility I wanted to be assigned, plead my case and walaa!

Obviously, I'm not going to tell you everything....but that should give you a good start!

Happy job hunting!
 
that's some serious social engineering.

couldn't hurt to try.

By "Send them an application" do you mean send them a resume about your training and why you'd like to join their team @ the facility?
 
Thank you for posting this.

I am definitely going to put this to the test, if I make the referral list.
 
I'm telling you...I did it...what ended up happening is I went to school online with someone that worked at HQ in the FAA....they gave a quick bio...and I was "hmmm...this person is probably someone I am going to want to talk to." So I asked if I could give them a call and they said no problem....they actually turned out being a partner in an assignment we had for class...so we got to talking about the process and what happens...and it was all history from there.

I would prefer not giving out the name as I don't want their desk flooded with calls...but...I even think that bypassing the contact in DC would work fine as long as you have the contact for your state that is going to OKC to make the decisions...as well as the contact at the facility you want to go to.

Bottom line is...it's your career...do what you have to do...you watch that movie with Will Smith...what is it...Pursuit of Happyness....this guy didn't just sit back and blend in with the crowd...you saw what he did to get the dream job...and that's what you guys need to do...don't get complacent in being just another applicant....get out there and sell yourself...people still respect that and will honor that you are throwing yourself out there....besides, you would be suprised at how many people will sit and chat to you for 30 minutes about you wanting to be a controller....

let me know if i can help anymore.
 
that's some serious social engineering.

couldn't hurt to try.

By "Send them an application" do you mean send them a resume about your training and why you'd like to join their team @ the facility?

Nah...I would save that for the talk back and forth with the ATM....I would ask the ATM if it would be alright to send him a resume...just something with all your work history on it....

Though as dry is it may look...follow the OF-612 resume...its the federal resume...they like this as they are used to seeing it and can relate to it....even if you write your own resume...try to follow the OF-612 step by step as it has all the information the FAA really wants to see.
 
HE is not kidding I did the exact same thing but I did mine by only knowing the person going from to OKC from the state I wanted. I then met with that person, and sent him resumes. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Just some pleasant friendly advise from LG.
 
I used to have some reservations about this approach, not wanting to be considered "pushy". But on further consideration, the job we're going for is called "Controller". If you're going to be any good at being a controller, you need to be assertive and "controlling".

So yeah, do what you need to do to get the ducks lined up the way you want them.
 
I'm telling you...I did it...what ended up happening is I went to school online with someone that worked at HQ in the FAA....they gave a quick bio...and I was "hmmm...this person is probably someone I am going to want to talk to." So I asked if I could give them a call and they said no problem....they actually turned out being a partner in an assignment we had for class...so we got to talking about the process and what happens...and it was all history from there.

I would prefer not giving out the name as I don't want their desk flooded with calls...but...I even think that bypassing the contact in DC would work fine as long as you have the contact for your state that is going to OKC to make the decisions...as well as the contact at the facility you want to go to.

Bottom line is...it's your career...do what you have to do...you watch that movie with Will Smith...what is it...Pursuit of Happyness....this guy didn't just sit back and blend in with the crowd...you saw what he did to get the dream job...and that's what you guys need to do...don't get complacent in being just another applicant....get out there and sell yourself...people still respect that and will honor that you are throwing yourself out there....besides, you would be suprised at how many people will sit and chat to you for 30 minutes about you wanting to be a controller....

let me know if i can help anymore.

Please tell me how do I go about getting the information?
 
Call around to the facilities in the state that you were referred to and ask them if they know the person in their state that goes to OKC on the selection board and makes the selections...get their name and sell yourself...also sell yourself to the facility that you want to go to and then have the facility that you want to go to send a request to the guy that is going to OKC, stating we want this guy...they can do this over email...obviously, the person going to OKC would rather pick someone up for a facility that the manager is actually requesting than some random person.
 
I'm going to give it all away. LG don't be mad... here it goes!




The job title of the person you want is Hub Manager. Get his name and follow the rest of LG's post.
 
I started emailing union reps for each facility that i want...they have put me in touch with their managers......and the forcast looks good.:nana2:

so we will see if my plan works...
 
Also if you somehow can arrange for the facility you want to request you it works as well. Best way to do this is forgo the PEPC (I know pros and cons to that)and schedule your interview where you want to go. Make it known you want that specific facility during the interview.


In the federal government despite the claims to the contrary, it is "not what you know, but who you know".
 
This is all great info but has anyone been successful having their facility changed after receiving the FOL? Can it be done at the Academy?
 
Or you could just sit & do nothing. That's what I did & I got my dream facility.

Consider yourself lucky...though the FAA is hiring anyone these days and pretty much all the facilities are understaffed.

Congrats...are you going to ZKC? I have a few buddies that have worked up there for years...They also used to run our approaches when I worked contract tower in Missouri.
 
oh yes I am very blessed to have gotten exactly what I wanted. Yes I am going to ZKC. I took a tour there about 4 years ago & doing so is what got me excited about ATC. I know that a lot of people didn't get what they wanted, so do whatever you need to do. Hopefully people will be happy with their assignments.
 
Back
Top