Yet another thread about interview techniques.

Five to ten minutes to determine if an applicant has the chops to go on to the next phase, or he's just delaying your pee break.
 
Derg said:
The key is that the larger overall message is that applicants are going to encounter questions like this because you're going to be validating answers.

"I really want to work here" — says everyone. Because this is the only fast pass you were able to get or the company was the only one to call you for an interview after a long dry spell of no progress?

"I really want to work here and here is why. I flew to LAX on vacation on (airline) but then I flew home on (your airline) and the difference was amazing" — say few. You want to work here and you have clear examples of why. Answer validated. He's being honest.

It's not scoreless soccer where every applicant is equally awesome and every airline is the same. It's not. Several airlines (especially Alaska as they kick major ass at this) are "de-commodotizing" their product. Your high value customers are going to choose your airline not because it's the cheapest fare, it's because you go there and they enjoy your product and consistency and it makes money.

Is the applicant here just to fly jets and go home or are they ready to become part of that system? That's what a question like that is meant to determine.

Or you can slash and dash until you're the absolute cheapest price on the fare grid and battle it out for "value" travelers with the LCC's and ULCC's.

The applicants who understand this is what the evaluator is looking for at carriers trying to 'de-commoditize' their product. If you just want to fly jets and go home, that's cool too but there are a lot of places to do that.

Southwest isn't the least expensive fare, by far, but people love their product and way of conducting business and they charge somewhat of a premium for that and they have pricing strength. Some of the ULCC's, not so much.

I'm rambling.
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Couldn't agree more with this. I know that Delta is my goal after SW. I grew up flying Delta to SLC to visit my grandparents every summer and there is just something about the product that I find intrinsically better or maybe just different than the other legacies. Maybe it's just a lifetime of familiarity. So for better or worse I would hope I could articulate to a recruiter what that difference is to me. Even if it's just that I have been made to feel like it is a better product by good marketing and customer service! If all else fails I will show them my Delta Skymiles AMEX card as proof!
 
PhilosopherPilot said:
I've never understood how someone can say there is no such thing as culture or differences in culture. I see it plain as day, very clearly. Companies do a very good job finding those who fit the desired mold.
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I definitely agree there are cultural differences, but overall the job and expectations from management are the same.
 
PhilosopherPilot said:
I've never understood how someone can say there is no such thing as culture or differences in culture. I see it plain as day, very clearly. Companies do a very good job finding those who fit the desired mold.
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Certain companies breed those types of attitude. It comes from an egotistical standpoint that gets bred into impressionable pilots early on. I have seen it dozens of times, I still experience it from people that work for those types of companies, and it is even evident in this thread. Get trapped in a bubble, and you will only know about different aspects of the industry from others in the bubble which can be a bad combination.
 
Here, let me help you with that, sweetie:

"I definitely agree there are cultural differences, but overall the job and expectations from management are the same, in my humble opinion"

or

"I definitely agree there are cultural differences, but overall the job and expectations from management are the same, from my perspective"

> (a/b/none) ?
 
Seggy said:
I definitely agree there are cultural differences, but overall the job and expectations from management are the same.
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See I can disagree. For somebody coming from the airlines to a place like NetJets, you as a potential pilot may have no clue that the pilot loads and unload bags. Completely different expectations on the pilot.
 
Inverted said:
See I can disagree. For somebody coming from the airlines to a place like NetJets, you as a potential pilot may have no clue that the pilot loads and unload bags. Completely different expectations on the pilot.
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Sure, I can buy that.

But the job is no different at JetBlue than it is at Delta. Neither are management expectations. But, I do agree there are cultural differences.
 
Seggy said:
Sure, I can buy that.

But the job is no different at JetBlue than it is at Delta. Neither are management expectations. But, I do agree there are cultural differences.
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I'm not a pilot at Big D, but the expectations seem to be different. The expectations of captain authority are different, for sure. The pilots are expected to do stand-up PAs on every one of our flights. We are expected to alternate walk arounds between the captain and FO. That's actually in the FOM.

"Flying the plane" is seen as the expectation here, and we try to instill a much bigger role for our pilots. Our "culture" is seen as a competitive advantage. The pilots carry some of that burden, though admittedly less than the gate or counter peeps.

Go take a cab ride in Boston and tell the driver you work for my company. Almost without fail they say, "man people LOVE that airline." That response is no accident. It takes work to make people feel that way about us.
 
PhilosopherPilot said:
I'm not a pilot at Big D, but the expectations seem to be different. The expectations of captain authority are different, for sure.
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Ahh, captain's authority is definable by the FARs. No matter if you are at Mesa or JetBlue, at the end of the day, captain's authority is the same.

The pilots are expected to do stand-up PAs on every one of our flights.
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I have been on JetBlue flights where that doesn't happen, but have been on Delta and flights at my place where it does.

PS-they want us to do it at my place as well.

We are expected to alternate walk arounds between the captain and FO. That's actually in the FOM.
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Happens elsewhere as well.

"Flying the plane" is seen as the expectation here, and we try to instill a much bigger role for our pilots. Our "culture" is seen as a competitive advantage. The pilots carry some of that burden, though admittedly less than the gate or counter peeps.
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So then, when a pilot at your place doesn't do the PA, but a pilot at Delta or American does, what does that mean?

Go take a cab ride in Boston and tell the driver you work for my company. Almost without fail they say, "man people LOVE that airline." That response is no accident. It takes work to make people feel that way about us.
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People also love other airlines in different cities.
 
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Seggy said:
Sure, I can buy that.

But the job is no different at JetBlue than it is at Delta. Neither are management expectations. But, I do agree there are cultural differences.
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Again, in your opinion.

At Skyway, it was largely fly the Hondo, land, clean the plane, go to the gate, bring the paperwork down with the passengers, board, fly the Hondo, land, clean the plane, go to the gate, bring the paperwork down with the passengers, board, fly the Hondo, land, clean the plane, go to the gate, bring the paperwork down with the passengers, board,Don't engage your customers, keep your mouth shut, refer them to corporate communications or a gate agent.

The current gig, well, lets just say there is a significantly higher expectation of customer engagement compared to my last shop.

So a lot of people came from carriers like the environment from Skyway. This isn't Skyway with, well, solvency and big airplanes. Everyone in line has an ATP and can safely fly an airplane. You have five to ten minutes to evaluate if the applicant has the personality profile of a person with exceptional customer service skills and a host of other traits.

@Seggy, you have a job, you really don't have to get it or alternatively continue to pretend that you don't (because you do), but there's someone out there that may appreciate the discussion because ain't no one else out there forwarding "Well, my friend in pilot recruitment" stories… Especially for free.
 
Seggy said:
Ahh, captain's authority is definable by the FARs. No matter if you are at Mesa or JetBlue, at the end of the day, captain's authority is the same.
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The captain has ultimate authority, but does the company recognize this or do they throw up 'protective barriers' at all opportunities to minimize that authority.

"I want 2,000 additional fuel because of traffic congestion on the eastern seaboard" — Do you get it or is that the opening volley of negotiations? That's corporate culture that is different at each carrier.

I have been on JetBlue flights where that doesn't happen, but have been on Delta and flights at my place where it does.

PS-they want us to do it at my place as well.
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Cool, it's good customer service to do it. However just because an applicant flies jets does not mean he also has the skillset to recognize when to do it and how to do it. Is he trainable? Does he see the importance of this? Is he just going to grab the PA and say, "I'm just here so I don't get fined" like a grumpy ath-a-leet? :)


Happens elsewhere as well.
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Good.


People also love other airlines in different cities.
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We'll chat about Houston one day over a beer.
 
Derg said:
Again, in your opinion.

At Skyway, it was largely fly the Hondo, land, clean the plane, go to the gate, bring the paperwork down with the passengers, board, fly the Hondo, land, clean the plane, go to the gate, bring the paperwork down with the passengers, board, fly the Hondo, land, clean the plane, go to the gate, bring the paperwork down with the passengers, board,Don't engage your customers, keep your mouth shut, refer them to corporate communications or a gate agent.

The current gig, well, lets just say there is a significantly higher expectation of customer engagement compared to my last shop.

So a lot of people came from carriers like the environment from Skyway. This isn't Skyway with, well, solvency and big airplanes. Everyone in line has an ATP and can safely fly an airplane. You have five to ten minutes to evaluate if the applicant has the personality profile of a person with exceptional customer service skills and a host of other traits.
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I came from one of the crummiest fee for departure carriers out there, however, they were super anal about providing exceptional customer service and folks heard about it when they did a good (or bad) job. I would say *most* fee for departure carriers will follow up if their employee makes the brand look good (or bad).

@Seggy, you have a job, you really don't have to get it or alternatively continue to pretend that you don't (because you do), but there's someone out there that may appreciate the discussion because ain't no one else out there forwarding "Well, my friend in pilot recruitment" stories… Especially for free.
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You know folks go to these career fairs and speak to multiple airlines. The rock star candidates have their factoids about different airlines ready to go. What will set them apart about working at JetBlue would be similar to them to get on at Virgin America. Others as you say, step on their crank in front of your friend. But they also probably step on their crank at other airlines as well. That is all I am trying to say.

Your pilot recruitment stories are valuable. Thank you for that. I am just saying the skills that would get one hired at one place are transferable to another airline.
 
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Seggy said:
Ahh, captain's authority is definable by the FARs. No matter if you are at Mesa or JetBlue, at the end of the day, captain's authority is the same.




.
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Captain authority is not expressed the same at my company, regardless of the FARs. I could go on about this, but not publicly.
 
Seggy said:
You know folks go to these career fairs and speak to multiple airlines. They probably have their factoids about different airlines ready to go, but I would argue what will set one apart about working at JetBlue would be similar to someone trying to get on at Virgin America.

Your pilot recruitment stories are valuable. Thank you for that. I am just saying the skills that would get one hired at one place are transferable to another airline.
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That's a different claim. The skills required might help getting hired at different carriers, but that doesn't mean the company's expectation of the pilot is the same between various carriers.

I know for a fact that my company is looking for a different type of pilot than Big D. And that's okay. There's something for everyone.
 
Let me sum it up a little differently.

I have been told, folks step on their cranks VERY badly at these career fairs. If one is going to step on their crank BADLY in front of airline A (I am talking to you because I got a fastpass to only your airline), they are more likely predisposed to step on their crank BADLY in front of airline B (Do we really have to make an announcement in front of JetBlue passengers?).
 
Seggy said:
Let me sum it up a little differently.

I have been told, folks step on their cranks VERY badly at these career fairs. If one is going to step on their crank BADLY in front of airline A (I am talking to you because I got a fastpass to only your airline), they are more likely predisposed to step on their crank BADLY in front of airline B (Do we really have to make an announcement in front of JetBlue passengers?).
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Like I said, that's a different claim than your original claim.
 
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