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With geographic preferences out for PUBNAT8, there's been a lot of questions about what the people at the selection panels do and don't see. So, two things from the source itself. This comes from Review of Screening, Placement, and Initial Training of Newly Hired Air Traffic Controllers, a study by the Assistant Inspector General released by the FAA this April.
FAA currently assigns new controller candidates to facilities by considering candidates’ location preference, a summary of information from their employment application, and a list of job openings. ... The facility placement process is conducted by a Centralized Selection Panel, consisting of managers from selected air traffic facilities, that assigns candidates using a referral list. As shown in figure 3, (an actual referral list used in January 2009), these panel members have only limited data on candidates’ AT-SAT results (column C). They primarily base facility assignments on applicants’ geographical choices by state (columns E and F) and applicants’ choices on their desired type of facility—either en route or terminal (columns G and H).
(Full sized image available here or here).
As you can see, it's short and to the point. Who you are, what category the AT-SAT placed you in, and where you want to go. It's all they need to know, because it's all that matters when you don't have any experience to bring to the table. Note that they also list where you live currently, as people who live in the place they want to work are more likely to actually accept a position there (and stay once they start).
There's been a lot of speculation as to whether the selectors can access your full application in case they want to go into more depth. Nothing that I've ever read has said anything about it, and it's not mentioned as part of the hiring process in this report, which was pretty thorough. In any case, it's clear from both the description and image of the list itself that whether or not that can be done is largely unimportant -- there are hundreds and hundreds of names to sift through, and considering a mostly irrelevant background (because nothing but past ATC experience is of much use in predicting future success) would be time consuming and unhelpful.
So, the best thing to do is what's been advocated by the online community all along -- score well on the AT-SAT, pick wisely, and cross your fingers and hope for the best. Personally, I've always advised getting to know people where you'd like to be, since it's helpful on many levels (beyond just trying to get picked here), but most people are too lazy to try to do so and it's a little late to get started on that game by now anyway. Still, for those in the position of selecting, it's nice to be able to look for a name you recognize.
One more thing worth mentioning from the report (which, by the way, is a good read and worth checking out if you want to know more about the hiring process):
During the last round of hiring, initiated in July 2009, FAA received 9,072 applications for a limited number of openings. Of these, 6,378 candidates passed through initial screening processes and FAA ultimately referred 5,516 for testing. A total of 3,148 scored 85 or above and were considered “well qualified.” The FAA must consider all 3,148 prior to selecting individuals who scored below 85. Ultimately, the FAA will select and hire about 500 of the very best, most qualified candidates from this list, thus screening out 95 percent of the original applicants.
Regardless of whether the FAA plans on picking up a few more or less this time around, the odds are sobering. There's a lot of luck involved. Here's to hoping that it goes well for as many JetCareers users as possible.
FAA currently assigns new controller candidates to facilities by considering candidates’ location preference, a summary of information from their employment application, and a list of job openings. ... The facility placement process is conducted by a Centralized Selection Panel, consisting of managers from selected air traffic facilities, that assigns candidates using a referral list. As shown in figure 3, (an actual referral list used in January 2009), these panel members have only limited data on candidates’ AT-SAT results (column C). They primarily base facility assignments on applicants’ geographical choices by state (columns E and F) and applicants’ choices on their desired type of facility—either en route or terminal (columns G and H).
(Full sized image available here or here).
As you can see, it's short and to the point. Who you are, what category the AT-SAT placed you in, and where you want to go. It's all they need to know, because it's all that matters when you don't have any experience to bring to the table. Note that they also list where you live currently, as people who live in the place they want to work are more likely to actually accept a position there (and stay once they start).
There's been a lot of speculation as to whether the selectors can access your full application in case they want to go into more depth. Nothing that I've ever read has said anything about it, and it's not mentioned as part of the hiring process in this report, which was pretty thorough. In any case, it's clear from both the description and image of the list itself that whether or not that can be done is largely unimportant -- there are hundreds and hundreds of names to sift through, and considering a mostly irrelevant background (because nothing but past ATC experience is of much use in predicting future success) would be time consuming and unhelpful.
So, the best thing to do is what's been advocated by the online community all along -- score well on the AT-SAT, pick wisely, and cross your fingers and hope for the best. Personally, I've always advised getting to know people where you'd like to be, since it's helpful on many levels (beyond just trying to get picked here), but most people are too lazy to try to do so and it's a little late to get started on that game by now anyway. Still, for those in the position of selecting, it's nice to be able to look for a name you recognize.
One more thing worth mentioning from the report (which, by the way, is a good read and worth checking out if you want to know more about the hiring process):
During the last round of hiring, initiated in July 2009, FAA received 9,072 applications for a limited number of openings. Of these, 6,378 candidates passed through initial screening processes and FAA ultimately referred 5,516 for testing. A total of 3,148 scored 85 or above and were considered “well qualified.” The FAA must consider all 3,148 prior to selecting individuals who scored below 85. Ultimately, the FAA will select and hire about 500 of the very best, most qualified candidates from this list, thus screening out 95 percent of the original applicants.
Regardless of whether the FAA plans on picking up a few more or less this time around, the odds are sobering. There's a lot of luck involved. Here's to hoping that it goes well for as many JetCareers users as possible.
