I am a civilian pilot with roughly 6,500 total time and have failed 4 major airline interviews. Here's a little more about me. I am 35 yrs old and have been flying for 17 years. When I was 22 yr old I was fired from my first CFI job at a part 141 flight school over a scheduling error. I went on to instruct at a different 141 with no issues. I then went to a 135 cargo company and worked my way up to become the Assistant Chief Pilot and Check Airman. I then flew for a 121 regional cargo feeder. I upgraded with approx 200 SIC and failed the upgrade checkride, but passed on the second attempt. I flew as captain until obtaining the coveted 1,000 PIC turbine but it was turboprop and I didn't get any calls so I moved on to a 121 charter airline flying 737's as FO. Did that for 3 years before deciding the best thing for my family was to relocate and fly for a regional airline with a quick upgrade. I am a Captain and Line Check Airman on the CRJ 200/700/900. To date I have interviewed and failed to land a job at JetBlue, FedEx, Southwest, and Delta. I'm now eligible to re-interview at all but Delta and have not received any 2nd attempts. I update my apps daily and in each window for JetBlue. I'm pretty burnt out and frustrated trying to get on at a major. I'm just wondering what to do from here. Any suggestions?

 

Keep trying? Practice interview sessions? Volunteer/community service? Any feedback as to why you were not successful? Don't give up yet.

 

Have you done any interview prep?

Since you keep getting calls, I doubt the minor hiccups in the distant past are the problem...otherwise you wouldn't have got so many calls.

I would suspect it's something in your interview technique. Here are some things I've seen that stood out like sore thumbs...

Cheap/old/out-dated/ill-fitting/wrinkled suits. Drop coin on a GOOD tailored suit. Get new white poly shirts, tie, belt and shoes.

Grooming. Get an expensive haircut 5-7 days prior to the interview (actors have to bring proof of this to the set). Trim nose, ear, eyebrow hair, etc. Got moles like Lemmy? Get them lasered off.

Physical fitness. Not a deal breaker by any means, but it does help with first impressions.

First impression. Utterly vital. Better to be just a little bit too assertive than not assertive enough. Remember names, and use them.

Attitude. DO NOT bad-mouth anything or anybody. Beginning when you leave your house until walk back in the front door. Your regional is a great employer and you love your job, but you'd like to make more money and fly international (if applicable).

Skeletons. When asked about these, in a succinct manner tell what happened, what you learned, and then shut the hell up. Don't go on and on in hopes of positive feedback (this is not confessional). You need to move the process along to other, better topics. Whatever you do, don't blame anyone but yourself for failures. Interviewers may let silence drag out, this is a technique to get you to confess something, don't fall for it.

TMAAT. These are an opportunity to earn points. For each known TMAAT question, have a story ready to go...do not do a deer-in-the-headlights. Pick a story that reflects well on you. Neutral stories are a waste of time and they may wonder why you wasted an opportunity to represent yourself. Negative stories are obviously bad. This is not confessional.

Logbook. Find and account for ALL errors, no matter how far back or how small. If you sucked at logging years ago, at least show you've turned over a new leaf.

Social Media. Lock it down like alcatraz, and clean up anything you can. Unfortunately friends may have tagged you with pictures from parties, etc. If you find any of that, try to get people to remove it.

There are obviously many other factors but this covers some biggies.

 

Thanks. I did interview prep. I've done multiple volunteer work. Been involved in the union and taken on extra projects like doing an FOM audit for management. I bought new suits and had them tailored to fit properly. I wa groomed. I am fit. I don't get checkride anxiety but I do get interview anxiety and I don't always follow the prep. I'm pretty even keeled emotionally and don't act gung-ho because while I am excited that's not really me. Maybe I need acting lessons. The only feedback I've ever received was that they didn't feel like they got to know me.

 

I've seen a lot of people post cringe-worthy things on TPN/RST. I very rarely post there and assume that recruiters from every airline lurk on those pages. Anything you post using your real name that is perceived as being negative or sketchy can really screw you. I know for a fact that at least a couple of airlines have dudes/dudettes monitoring RST. Not saying this is your situation but I see it happen all the time. I'd look through all of your posts on those pages and self assess.

 

Quote:

"I'm pretty even keeled emotionally and don't act gung-ho because while I am excited that's not really me. Maybe I need acting lessons. The only feedback I've ever received was that they didn't feel like they got to know me."


^^^THIS^^^. Is the key to success here. If you fix this, particularly the last sentence, you will succeed.

 

The airlines do have people that monitor all the social media sites including this one. Just because you have a different name doesn't mean you are anonymous. Don't post stupid things that will put a big target on your chest.