The number one way to get your info out to prospective pilots is word of mouth reputation. This may sound cliché, but it is true. I instructed at two different schools, and it was the same thing. As soon as the weather went bad, all the instructors sat in the instructor office discussing which regional was good and which was bad. Former instructors are contacted continuously and an overall (pretty accurate) impression is made by the instructors.

You saw that RAH had a huge spike in applicants when they introduced their training bonus. C5 had a huge spike when they announced that they were getting Dash 8's and upgrade would be less than a year. Now that they are changing their cue on growth, they cannot get anyone to call them back. Pilots are avoiding XJT like the plague considering their uncertainly of survival. And Mesa only gets pilots that got turned down at three interviews already, or at such low times that no one else is interested yet.

I hate to make things look dark for you, but getting pilots is really out of HRs control. It is mgmts.

I had lunch with two instructors in the DTW area today and posed the question to them. They said their priority was in order:

1. Company reputation in industry (especially how they treat their pilots)
2. Upgrade time
3. First two year FO and first four year CAPT pay
4. Jet time over prop time
5. Training situation (ie, training pay, single occupancy hotel, bonus, etc)

I asked what airlines they feel are at the top of the list at their flight school and they collectively said:

1. Pinnacle
2. Mesaba
3. RAH
4. SKW
5. AWAC

The places to avoid where:

1. XJT
2. Mesa
3. ASA
4. Comair
5. Great Lakes

You can see where location always plays a big role with Pinnacle and Mesaba being at the top of the list in the DTW area.

Hope all of this helps.