What, did I strike a nerve by implying that this job is easy? I'm not old either, but thanks for trying.

 

Nice try, you said his/her quality of work had nothing to do with it……..not this job was easy.

i AM old and i find every FO i fly with to be very professional and well qualified to have this job. I also believe the hiring department makes sure they hire people that have put in quality work and deserve to be here.

theres only one insinuation to make from your comment. That they didnt do the “quality work” and got hired for other reasons. Own it

 

It didn't have anything to do with it. They put in work, a lot of it in a short time, maybe it was good work, maybe it wasn't, but the fact that it was the work is all that mattered.

That work made them qualified to get the interview. Actually getting the interview was mostly luck and timing, not that work. Passing the interview was a matter of preparation and not being a douchebag. Those probably had some bearing on whether the work they did was good or not, but it still doesn't matter if that work was good.

 

I've noticed some of the younger ones, particularly those whose brains haven't finished developing, tend to lack a bit of maturity and often have a hard time sticking to the script. It's kinda like babysitting some 64 year olds.

 

Conversely i have not. Theres 3 FOs i never want to see again. A weird ex bone driver, some guy in his 30s that i swear had asbergers and the personality of a potato, and a lax FO (shes now a captain) that is super senior, awful to fly with, and completely consumed by her politics.

the young folk so far have been just fine

 

This might be a question without a clear answer, but I’m looking for some insight.

From what I’ve gathered, recent interview invites have been going out to candidates in my category (non-military, regional 121) after reaching around 500–750 TPIC. At my current job, an upgrade is still months away. I’ve just passed 3,000 total time and have over 1,000 hours of 121 SIC time. I am waiting for a vacancy at this point.

I’ve followed a pretty standard path, but I also volunteer as a new-hire mentor within the company and in my community (both aviation and non-aviation). I have several strong letters of recommendation from former coworkers and directors of places where I’ve volunteered, but none internal.

Friends and colleagues who’ve recently made the move with similar stats all had internal references. I know two recent CJO holders who were offered positions with little or, in one case, zero TPIC. Both told me that their applications were advanced because a close family friend was able to move their application forward and recommend them for the assessment.

I do, however, have a family member with over 35 years of seniority in Inflight. I’ve talked with them about helping me connect, and they’re willing to write a letter of recommendation. However, since they’re a family member and in a different department, I’m concerned it might not carry the same weight as a pilot reference. They’re well-connected within their department and have offered to speak with FA hiring managers to see what they can learn, but I’m not sure how that process works at Delta.

What would you suggest I do? Has anyone used someone outside of Flight Ops to write a reference? If so, did it seem to help strengthen the application?

Of course, experience is key, and a few more years at my current gig will help give me more experience and time for my application, and left seat time is something that I would prefer to have before making to move to a forever job. Regardless, I can’t help wanting the chance to make the step up, and be able work with my family member before they retire.

 

I had letters of rec from 2 flight attendants and 2 DL pilots, to include letters from my commander and other military superiors. I don't think it'll hurt, specially if the close individual to you is honest about their relation to you in the letter.

 

I personally knew no one at a legacy - at least well enough that I felt ok asking for a reference - when I was hired at mine (not DL). I had two from my mil past (both pilots), one from a business owner I used to fly pt 91, and another one - I think a pilot from my regional. A reference is just that - someone that can speak to qualities that you would bring to DL. The only way I could see this being detrimental - and this goes for any occupation - is if the person providing the recommendation speaks to things they really aren’t qualified to speak on - in flight speaking on your decision making as a pilot, for example. All the other human being stuff that HR swallows up isn’t limited to fellow pilots.

 

Pilot LOR triggers an app review. Also going to a job fair will trigger that app review.

Make sure your app is in top shape and reviewed by a professional company, before asking for LOR or going into a JobFair. You do not want to risk it.