I helped my sponsoree back in 07/08. He finally got called in 2015. (Shows the impressive pull and credibility I bring as sponsor, right? Gimme 7 years and I'll get you in the door...)

Its a persistence game. My advice is grab the shotgun, not just the rifle. FedEx will hire maybe 400 more this year...good. Delta will hire 1000. UAL will hire 1000. SWA advertises 650. American is hiring 200-300 off the street to go with flow throughs... FedEx has proven they will pilfer good pilots from Delta, SWA, and other places. We all know a few great guys turned down at one of the above, only to get an offer at another on their list. Math, however, says you about 3 times the odds of getting a call from UAL or DAL if you apply, and about 1.5 time the chance if you apply to SWA.

Pay attention to details. I had a friend send me an app from a buddy of his...but he didn't check "English proficient" in the box. Might seem queepy, but that failure will keep the phone silent from Delta. If you half-ass your application, understand that some in the stack will have had their apps reviewed by professionals and checked and triple checked.

Still at another company? Line Check Airman and Evaluator pilot seem to be pretty sexy credentials. 75/76 or -11 experience is also a plus. Not my math--but the shrinks say when you get >10,000 hours you turn into untrainable ball of mush, but then again we've hired some of those guys too.

Show me a "rule" and I can point to someone who probably doesn't fit that discriminator. Apply anyway. But keep an open mind and understand there are a lot of people with impressive quals already in the stack. Try to make your application solid and avoid stupid admin errors.

When did this class of new hires start Basic Indoc?

Related question...

Have the calls gone out for the Basic Indoc class(es) is early Feb 2016?

Thanks

JP

FedEx - TNT merger to be finalized by the first half of 2016. It seems like most of the regulatory hurdles have been cleared, and the EU has also ok'd it. Not much has been said about this as we have been busy during peak, but I wonder how this will affect future growth. Has the VP, or JB, or anyone else commented on this lately? (I asked a friend who has been in the union for a long time, but he said there was very little information shared with ALPA at this point).

Thank you for all the info, everyone. Even if it diminishes hopes, it's good to hear real life experiences and actual numbers. It's also good to hear reminders to go through your app with a fine toothed comb! I've certainly found a mistake or two that I thought for sure I wouldn't make.


This is what confuses me. I don't understand how networking helps when you have to get passed an HR computer app. Am I missing something? I have several internals, like many other people, so what's the difference here? Honestly confused :confused:

Interviewees from this week were offered March class dates, so i'm guessing the Feb class already knows who they are. Supposedly 30-40 a month being hired now.

Awesome... I am going in next week! Very excited!

I also interviewed 2000 and again in 2014. It sounds like we have similar resumes and recommendations. I got interviewed in November and just finished indoc. Keep at it!

The process changed significantly around 2011

It use to be your internal connections got you a "meet & greet", which hopefully got you a "formal interview" later

Sometimes it took 2 weeks in between, sometimes it took 2 years

Since 2011 applicants resumes had to make it thru the "HR algorithm" first

Only then were their internal connections & recommendations helpful

Even then the numbers with excellent resumes & excellent connections exceeded the number Fedex needed to hire, so not everyone was called

It may benefit you to ask your top connection at Fedex to call the ladies in HR and seek some feedback on your résumé as it applies to their "HR algorithm"

No one knows the detailed specifics outside of HR, but as other posters have mentioned your undergraduate education, GPA, years to graduate, total hours flown are all factors they look at...and unfortunately, these are factors a pilot can no longer change or control

Thanks!!
Will do. Wish I would have known how much my college GPA would matter 15 years later, not that it was that bad, but could have been better!

I was called with no internal references, no sponsor, no letters of rec, no job fair. I literally didn't know a soul that worked there. My resume isn't spectacular, probably average among friends (no Millenium Falcon flight time). Maybe I'm just proof that a blind squirrel gets a nut every once in a while, but it does happen.