airspeed1974

I read on here that Delta asks you for your work history all the way back to high school?? I am sure there are jobs I worked 20 years ago I wouldn't even remember.

Is this true and why so anal?

Scoop

Lets suppose that you are hired and are in the cockpit of a DAL jet parked on a taxiway somewhere with the parking brake set minding your own business and a "Air Fly by Night" jet comes along and smartly clips your wing.

In such a case a team of salivating lawyers will be bombarding every DAL passenger telling them how they were not only screwed, probably emotionally if not physically injured, and why DAL owes them money. You know the type, the guys with their big smiling faces on billboards along the interstate.

Next this team of piranhas that graciously combines the traits of cunning and over-ambition will delve deeply into the past of both CA and FO looking for anything and I do mean anything that might explain the reason you were audaciously parked exactly were ATC told you to park.

Now considering the legal climate we operate in don't you think it is reasonable the DAL wants to know as much about you as possible?

Scoop

airspeed1974

I don't know of any other company that asks all the way back to high school. No I don't

Flying Elvis

I think it's in the addendum. Regardless, it's what I was told when I was offered a CJO in 2010 but training stopped before about 10 of us got out of the pool.

Over the next 3 years, I was reminded to keep 100hrs in my 12-mo lookback to stay eligible. I was up front and told AK the only way I'd be able to do that was SEL, and he was up front in telling me that was OK in my case. Still cost me a pretty penny - or lots of them - but it was worth it.

BTW, "up front" was the name of the game the entire time. I was impressed by the frequent and transparent updates about the expected hiring picture, as well as answers to questions I had as I made assignment, retirement, and other career decisions, even when the news wasn't particularly good. Hopefully they were impressed by me staying honest with them as well, including when I told them I couldn't hang on any longer and was taking a job with B6... and of course, a couple months after that I got an invite back.

Flying Elvis

Don't know of another airline, but the job I got right after I retired from the military did.

Failure to perform due diligence in hiring is a major factor in a successful liability lawsuit.

I had over a dozen military assignments (each listed individually), two jobs afterwards, a business, four jobs during college, a couple during my summer after HS, and several significant volunteer positions. Did my best to find names and contact info for all of them, but ended up putting "unknown" in a few blocks. My AirlineApps printout needed an extra-length stapler.

PITA? You bet. Worth it? Yup.

Every decision in life comes with costs and benefits. If the former outweighs the latter in your case, there are likely other quality options to pursue.

airspeed1974

I'm here not to agree or disagree. But I don't see how delta would get sued because I didn't put down that pizza delivery job I had when I was 17. Again I don't know of any other airlines that ask more than 10 years. Anyone wanna add to this?

gloopy

I think people may be over estimating the liability angle. On the same token, good luck to some ambulance chasing scum bag lawyer trying to find your pizza delivery job a quarter century ago as well, let alone linking that to his junk lawsuit. Non event.

The real reason IMO is two fold. First, it tells your "life's story" which is a big deal to many HR departments, especially DL. You read a lot on the forums about "red flags" such as tickets or taking a certain amount of time to get your degree, etc, but it isn't really about any of that specifically. Your life's story is what puts everything like that into context.

The other reason is that its a great way to make sure you're detail oriented, or at least that you can be for a critically important known event like for (in most cases) the biggest job interview of your life. They also put a lot of emphasis on spelling and grammar, etc, not because they care so deeply about it on their off days, but because it helps show how seriously you are approaching the particular hugely important task at hand.

You'll need nice looking, shined shoes as well. They are big on that, mostly because they know that you know they are, so let's see how seriously you take this, etc.

A different major airline had (still has?) a hard on for the right color socks. Another made (still does?) you poop on a stick to get hired. The insane trivial pursuit knowledge tests many of the foreign airlines put you through blow away anything you'll ever see at a US airline selection process. Every place is different.

Its one of the more comprehensive apps in the US at least. But nothing they ask or expect is really that hard. Its just what they require, no big deal.

Flycameron

Make sure you read the application correctly. The application says;

"Please complete an entire work history."

The next sentence says for those requiring a background check please complete the last 10 years. Don't mistake where the period is placed. These are two separate sentences.

The rumor I heard was that they want far enough back so that they can see where you did your flight training. A lot of regional pilot guys have been at the regionals for 10 years so if they just put the regional, it will not tell Delta enough about the applicant. I would guess as long as you listed your employment back to where you got your flight hours, they might consider that complete.

Flycameron

This might sound like a dumb question but does an RJ count as a;

Large Aircraft other than Lighter-Than-Air?

I know it's not a heavy but it should be a large since it's over 12,500 lbs. any thoughts?

Albief15

I put my Tobacco farming, my job at Hardees, and my work in a family business on my 1999-2000 Delta app.

First--it wasn't THAT hard to remember what I did was I was 17. The experiences helped shape me into the person I am, and I was proud of a long history of working.

Next--I hope it showed work ethic and grit.

Why would you NOT want to tell your employer you were working all those years ago? Although the Hardees I worked at closed and was torn down, I put the info down anyway. And…when I tracked down my old boss at an FBO in LaGrange, Ga…a retired Delta Captain…guess who asked if I needed a sponsor?

All the more reason for young guys to put down the X box, get off mom's tit, and go get a job. The more you work, the better you application will look. My oldest has worked since 15 and has cleaned barns, worked in a restaurant as a hostess, washed dogs at a groomer, and now works at an FBO. Think she is going to have any trouble convincing anyone of "work ethic" when its time to ask for a job?