Chuck,

Interviewed - 7 Nov
Cleared to Train - 16 Nov
Called for 21 Jan class (call came on 8 Dec)

Mr B just sent out the e-mail to our entire class which I am pretty sure means the entire class has been notified. So all else equal I think you might have to wait until Feb. Also, when I was interviewing he had told us to expect 7 Jan and it turned out to be 21 Jan, he said there were some military guys that got cleared to train earlier this year but weren't available until January that pushed folks back.

See you in Atlanta.

The Jan classes are full. There are 33 in the 7 Jan class and 34 in the 21 Jan class. Mr B is planning to make calls for the Feb classes and get caught up while over the holidays. In the future expect calls to go out about 30 days prior to class start. He says the Feb classes will be two classes of 35 each. For aircraft and base assignments expect a mix but mostly New York.

I know there are several others from the Dec class that are reading the forum but not posting. I hope they will stop lurking and start posting to make sure what I say isn't just a load of BS! :eek:

OK, OK, here it goes... Mr. Razor is NOT BS'ing. I was in his class and can assure you he is on top of it. To further clearify it, his post as quoted above, is straight from Mr. B and is 100% correct. Look forward to two awesome weeks filled with very good people if you are scheduled for indoc!

Can't let this one die yet. Anyone getting a call for February yet? I'm in the (thankfully) shallow pool, and am waiting on a call. Do I understand you to say he will be making the Feb calls over the holidays? We were told to expect February classes.

I just got my cleared to train letter and was originally told I should hear something before Christmas.

That's right. Mr B said he will be making calls for the Feb classes over the holiday break. In the future you can expect the call for a class to be about 30 days from the class start date.

Good Luck.

My 2 cents on the interview process
 

Interviewed 20 Dec -- 2 of 8 were selected. One had a civil/military background, the other was all military (heavy). The 6 who weren't hired consisted of 3 civil commuter types and 3 military (2 heavies, one fighter). From what I understand, all 6 turned down did not pass the HR interview.

The Pilot Recruitment Team at DAL is a super nice and relaxed group of people. They really put you at ease and help make you relax during this difficult hurdle in your career.

Knowledge Test: We were officially the last group offered the old test. The new test will come from a question bank of 500+ questions. For those of you only studying the gouge, you will need to study something else. Even with the old test, I prepared by studying questions from the ATP prep, Aero for Naval Aviators, and a prep book for people trying to become military pilots. I did have some questions on the test that I had seen in the gouge; however, there were many that I had not seen on the old test. Therefore, the key here is study and know your formulas.

Psych Test #1 (240 questions) 45 min time limit: Be truthful and try not to out smart the test or over think the questions. LISTEN to the test proctor ... he will foot-stomp several things during his speech. He is trying to help you succeed.

Cognitive Test: For those with military backgrounds, this is essentially the Basic Aptitude Test (BAT) that you had to take before pilot training. Your kids will love it -- it is going to drive you crazy. I have read somewhere online where you can pay $500 to an Atlanta shrink who will let you take the test beforehand. You do not need it. However, I HIGHLY suggest you speak with someone who has taken this test for tips and tricks. The test proctor will also have many tips for success.

HR Interview: 45 mins - 1+20. You are in a small room with a circular table. Water bottles and breath mints are provided. The interview team consists of a retired Capt., a line Capt., and an HR person. If they have their jackets off (most likely), then ask to take yours off and hang it up on the back of the door (there are hangars). My interview team took my jacket and hung it up for me. We sat down and they explained in detail what was about to happen. First, they will review your application you submitted thru AirlineApps and then they will ask behavioral and situational based questions.

Application Review: I cannot stress this enough -- double, triple, and quadruple check your application and make sure it is corrent and up-to-date. Cut-copy-paste the text into MS Word use the spell and grammar check. Print out your application and have others read it and look for problem areas; bad grammar, omissions, breaks in training/flying, extended periods of education more than normal -- be ready to speak to these and have solid answers. If you have an error, they will make you correct it on the spot (write-ins) and you will have to initial any changes. Then you will sign it as the official application with DAL. You WILL be asked about your attendance behavior and your sick call history--be ready to speak to it.

Behavioral/Situational Questions: For military guys, we have the Safety and CRM areas covered; however, you need to include customer service and efficiency into your responses. For those of you who remember SERE training, think of Safety, CRM, Customer Service and Efficiency as your circle (safe areas). Try to naturally incorporate these into your response and remember, airline pilots are not hauling bombs or pallets of cargo in the back -- bring the cabin crew and passengers into your responses.

I highly suggest you video tape yourself being interviewed by a friend or family member. DO NOT HAVE CANNED ANSWERS. Instead, I would have bullets or areas I would be able to speak to when being asked certain types of questions. When you have canned answers and you practice them, you get faster and faster. When you get nervous, you will be even faster. They will watch your body language and see that you are recalling your answers from memory. They want you to be yourself and react naturally. Make sure your answers are no longer than 3 minutes if able (the HR person actually told me this at the beginning).

Whenever you have to talk about bad things (for example ... tell us about a time where you had bad CRM on the flight deck), limit the conversation so you answer the question and then stop. Do not ramble on. Always, turn those negative situations into a positive -- always try to go back to back to the circle (Safety, CRM, Customer Service, and Efficiency)).

Here is an example:

Would you ever fly sick? One could answer this with a simple Yes/No answer. A better answer would be something like this.

No, I would not fly sick. I could become incapacitated during flight or I could be distracted by my illness, which could lead to an unsafe situation (SAFETY). Additionally, I could make other crewmembers sick which could jeopardize future legs on our trip (EFFICIENCY). Finally, we will lose the confidence of our passengers if they see ill crewmembers operating the airplane and that could affect their loyalty to DAL (CUSTOMER SERVICE).

Remember, DAL is in the business of hiring future Captains and your responses should be as such unless they tell you that you are a First Officer. Never take the jet away from the Captain unless they've told you for sure he is dead or passed out.

I hope this helps. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to send me a Private Message.

KC10:
Awesome post there, thanks for the info. Congrats if you made it.

I'm very familiar with the folks in recruitment and can honestly say all of the above is solid advise.

And as if it needed... I will also state that he is dead on! Good post and congratulations! Welcome to Delta, you will love it!