Integrity is not an MEL item
04-17-2016, 01:26 AM
#1
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: May 2006
Posts: 2,889
Integrity is not an MEL item
In the last six months, I’ve seen two disturbing trends while preparing pilots for major airline interviews. The first trend a disturbing lack of integrity with regard to airline applications. The second trend is not approaching the interview with a sense of urgency and effort to fully prepare, even when the resources are readily available. I will share some thoughts on preparation in a later piece.
“Integrity First”. Since the middle of 2015 I’ve seen a rash of clients omit or deliberately put incomplete or misleading information on their applications. Whether it was a deliberate omission, careless application preparation, or poor memory skills, the results for the pilot have been equally dismal.
Its not a military/civilian thing. I've seen it from both. It does appear to be a bit generational, with most of the offenders under 40 and looking for their first big break to a major.
Imagine the embarrassment of being escorted out of an interview at United Airlines or FedEx express. It has happened. And...it was completely unnecessary.
Here are some recent examples I have heard:
--Having about 8 traffic tickets. Reporting zero. The rationale: “A friend told me to leave off tickets ‘cause they don’t really care....” I completely get the “I moved three times, the state has no record of it, and I cannot find it” answer. The solution is simple—write down what you can remember. Not putting down 8, when you have 5 that are discoverable on a driving record search, because “ a friend told me I’d get called sooner without them....” is just dumb. Airlines will hire you if you speed. They don't hire liars.
--Not disclosing a busted checkride because “there was no pink slip” The evaluator flew again a few days later with the same pilot and passed him, and the entries are in the logbook. How about something like “you won’t find an FAA record of it, but I had to retake my private checkride two days after the first one. The examiner threw me a bone and just said he wanted to see an event one more time, and never even charged me a fee. But if you look in my logbook you will see a two day event”. Why hide something that showed you've been interested in flying since you were a teenager? A bust in GA won't stop you from getting hired. A bust (or even a couple) in the military or your regional won't stop you from getting hired. Lying does. Don't do it.
-- Terminated from a major airline and didn’t disclose it the interview. (Yep...this one is usually pretty easy to sneak by someone. Ever heard of PRIA?
)
--Got called by United call "before I had a chance to update my application with the arrest - but it's on there now...” (Too bad you won’t get the chance to tell them about it. They just cancelled your interview and banned you from reapplying).
I could list more examples, but I think the theme is clear. At the recent WAI Conference, the head of UAL Hiring mentioned specifically how he will deal with ethical breaches. The solution in simple—he will escort you off the property, and instruct HR to never call you again.
What is driving these lapses? I understand the strong desire to become an airline pilot, and I know firsthand the stress and frustration of waiting for “the call”. Sometimes, those calls do not come as quickly as we want. Taking shortcuts on the application, however, is a foolish way to try to rush the process. All you will ultimately do is get your application tossed permanently if succumb to the siren’s song of lying. We are just into the first couple years of a major wave of airline hiring. Just because you haven’t been called yet doesn’t mean you won’t be called eventually. Don’t let impatience lead to poor ethical decisions.
Pilots are type A, and we typically do not like to make mistakes. We are ego driven, and we don’t like to reveal our errors or blemishes. Nobody is perfect, and even great pilots have had events that need to be addressed. I’ve never had a job where I didn’t make a few mistakes. I can remember very well walking in to a commander’s office to explain a job related mistake or something I had done at the club or downtown, and feeling like pretty stupid. But I owned the mistake, and usually within a day or two some other squadron mate would do something equally stupid or worse and wedge you out of the penalty box. Looking back I had a remarkably successful career where I always got my first choice of assignment, and later was offered a job by two major airlines in the weeks following 9/11. I was a solid pilot and a good work ethic, but just as important the commander always knew he could trust me to be honest and do the right thing. Trust is vital when someone tosses us the keys to that jet—regardless of whether its an F-15, C-17, CRJ-200, or 757. Airlines will put the keys in the hands of a pilot who has busted a checkride, gotten a few tickets, or even a DUI. I have helped pilots get hired that had some pretty rough stuff in their applications, but they were truthful when the issue had to be discussed. Conversely, airlines are loathe to put lives in the hands of a liar or someone they feel cannot be trusted.
While we often come to these boards to complain about our pay rates, layover hotels, and the day in and day struggles of our profession, we can’t forget that have literally put hundreds of lives in our hands every time we come to work. This profession requires an attention to detail and integrity that separate it from many other professions. Demonstrate you don’t abide by that set of standards, and its not going to work out very well for your career aspirations.
Sorry if I come off sounding like you dad or your preacher. I'm not a saint, and you don't need to be one to get hired. But you do need to be confident enough in yourself to admit when have you been less than perfect. The folks interviewing you don't need perfection. They do need integrity.
“Integrity First”. Since the middle of 2015 I’ve seen a rash of clients omit or deliberately put incomplete or misleading information on their applications. Whether it was a deliberate omission, careless application preparation, or poor memory skills, the results for the pilot have been equally dismal.
Its not a military/civilian thing. I've seen it from both. It does appear to be a bit generational, with most of the offenders under 40 and looking for their first big break to a major.
Imagine the embarrassment of being escorted out of an interview at United Airlines or FedEx express. It has happened. And...it was completely unnecessary.
Here are some recent examples I have heard:
--Having about 8 traffic tickets. Reporting zero. The rationale: “A friend told me to leave off tickets ‘cause they don’t really care....” I completely get the “I moved three times, the state has no record of it, and I cannot find it” answer. The solution is simple—write down what you can remember. Not putting down 8, when you have 5 that are discoverable on a driving record search, because “ a friend told me I’d get called sooner without them....” is just dumb. Airlines will hire you if you speed. They don't hire liars.
--Not disclosing a busted checkride because “there was no pink slip” The evaluator flew again a few days later with the same pilot and passed him, and the entries are in the logbook. How about something like “you won’t find an FAA record of it, but I had to retake my private checkride two days after the first one. The examiner threw me a bone and just said he wanted to see an event one more time, and never even charged me a fee. But if you look in my logbook you will see a two day event”. Why hide something that showed you've been interested in flying since you were a teenager? A bust in GA won't stop you from getting hired. A bust (or even a couple) in the military or your regional won't stop you from getting hired. Lying does. Don't do it.
-- Terminated from a major airline and didn’t disclose it the interview. (Yep...this one is usually pretty easy to sneak by someone. Ever heard of PRIA?
)--Got called by United call "before I had a chance to update my application with the arrest - but it's on there now...” (Too bad you won’t get the chance to tell them about it. They just cancelled your interview and banned you from reapplying).
I could list more examples, but I think the theme is clear. At the recent WAI Conference, the head of UAL Hiring mentioned specifically how he will deal with ethical breaches. The solution in simple—he will escort you off the property, and instruct HR to never call you again.
What is driving these lapses? I understand the strong desire to become an airline pilot, and I know firsthand the stress and frustration of waiting for “the call”. Sometimes, those calls do not come as quickly as we want. Taking shortcuts on the application, however, is a foolish way to try to rush the process. All you will ultimately do is get your application tossed permanently if succumb to the siren’s song of lying. We are just into the first couple years of a major wave of airline hiring. Just because you haven’t been called yet doesn’t mean you won’t be called eventually. Don’t let impatience lead to poor ethical decisions.
Pilots are type A, and we typically do not like to make mistakes. We are ego driven, and we don’t like to reveal our errors or blemishes. Nobody is perfect, and even great pilots have had events that need to be addressed. I’ve never had a job where I didn’t make a few mistakes. I can remember very well walking in to a commander’s office to explain a job related mistake or something I had done at the club or downtown, and feeling like pretty stupid. But I owned the mistake, and usually within a day or two some other squadron mate would do something equally stupid or worse and wedge you out of the penalty box. Looking back I had a remarkably successful career where I always got my first choice of assignment, and later was offered a job by two major airlines in the weeks following 9/11. I was a solid pilot and a good work ethic, but just as important the commander always knew he could trust me to be honest and do the right thing. Trust is vital when someone tosses us the keys to that jet—regardless of whether its an F-15, C-17, CRJ-200, or 757. Airlines will put the keys in the hands of a pilot who has busted a checkride, gotten a few tickets, or even a DUI. I have helped pilots get hired that had some pretty rough stuff in their applications, but they were truthful when the issue had to be discussed. Conversely, airlines are loathe to put lives in the hands of a liar or someone they feel cannot be trusted.
While we often come to these boards to complain about our pay rates, layover hotels, and the day in and day struggles of our profession, we can’t forget that have literally put hundreds of lives in our hands every time we come to work. This profession requires an attention to detail and integrity that separate it from many other professions. Demonstrate you don’t abide by that set of standards, and its not going to work out very well for your career aspirations.
Sorry if I come off sounding like you dad or your preacher. I'm not a saint, and you don't need to be one to get hired. But you do need to be confident enough in yourself to admit when have you been less than perfect. The folks interviewing you don't need perfection. They do need integrity.
04-17-2016, 06:21 AM
#8
On Reserve
Joined APC: Feb 2007
Position: C-130H2 IP, 737 FO
Posts: 11
Could not agree more. I'm the Chief Pilot at my Guard Unit and unfortunately had to rescind a job offer for a UPT candidate for that very reason. The issue itself wasn't that big of a deal. It would still have resulted In him being offered the position. The problem was the fact that it was not disclosed initially and we found out about it later so it turned into an integrity issue. If he wasn't forthcoming with that information at the onset, how could I trust him with much more important issues later in his career?
04-17-2016, 06:41 AM
#10
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2007
Position: Window seat
Posts: 5,205
Bingo. I guess you saw this thread last night?
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ca...xperience.html
I wondered what the ethical issue was about being honest on your resume?
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ca...xperience.html
I wondered what the ethical issue was about being honest on your resume?
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