Though very similar, the event was more streamlined than last September. Of particular note was deleting the TOPS walk-around tour and replacing it with the New Hire Liason brief. Also, the anecdotal stories of SWA culture from the NOC CP's was a neat touch. The recruiter one-on-one isn't any different from fairs past, but it did seem to be a bit more direct, i.e., they want/need good candidates.
That said, a few things stuck out as supremely awesome
1) we can finally answer the question "do we get credit for being here today?" A resounding yes. SWA pilot hiring dept guided each candidate into icims, have them complete the requisition, and then(!) "tag" them for attending the event. In my one-on-one, the recruiter even went so far as to say that they would be scoring attendees before the requisition at large. This is a huge deal for those making the effort to be there, are available, and meet competitive quals. No more ambiguity as to whether it matters to attend fairs.
2) New hire hotel. Missed in the shuffle was Rocky's announcement that SWA had signed a contract for the Hilton Anatole to be the sole new hire hotel. Those not familiar with the rota of new hire hotels or with the Anatole may have ignored this little tidbit. Trust me when I say this is a really cool development. It is a reason to pick SWA over another company? Probably not, but it's one of those little things that Southwest seems to get right. One of several examples yesterday.
3) Growth. I get it. Part of these events is a sell job. But the numbers are pretty staggering. 25 airframe/yr net growth is nothing to sneeze at. Nor is the stated route network growth.
4) Approach to hiring. If I heard it once I heard it five times. "Hire good people, train for skill." Or "we're looking for the right people." More than anyone else, SWA genuinely seems to care about what kind of personalities they are bringing on board. I don't see how anyone can look at this as a bad thing.
All-in-all, a good day and well worth the effort. I'm glad I had good internet on sign up day.