saywhat

Hi All,

I spent a little time going through the SWA threads looking for info on Letters of Recommendation and didn't see anything. I have a couple questions for anyone willing/able to respond.

1. Can/Do the letters make a difference in getting the interview? or are they considered after the interview as part of the hiring decision?

2. Do letters of recommendation from Pilots outside SWA help or should they be limited to SWA employees only? ( I have friends at other airlines but I am really targeting SWA and don't want to look like SWA is just another airline on my list)

Thanks in advance for the help.

Proximity

LORs don't help you get the interview. Once you get the interview you will need to submit LORs. You don't necessarily need LOR's from Southwest employees if you don't know anyone here, go with the LORs that are the strongest.

moflyer

You do not need any internal letters to get hired, but make sure the letters you do have are strong.

flensr

Everyone says LORs won't get you an interview but they might help afterwards. Thing is, SWA requirements specifically say you need at least 3 LORs, and how would they know if you meet a stated requirement if you don't upload them with your resume? I personally submitted 3 LORs and maybe it was a coincidence but that next app window was when I got my interview (after 3 previous apps).

After your interview, one of the biggest things that can change how the board looks at you is internal recommendations. I've had chief pilots tell me that they seriously consider internal recommendations after the interview. Again personally, I had 3 non-SWA LORs submitted online with my application and one internal recommendation who filled out the internal form and followed up with the chief pilot after my interview.

barabek

What everyone is saying is correct. You don't need a single recommendation letter to get an interview. Nobody looks at them until after interview. I specifically asked. I also never had a single rec letter uploaded before I was selected for my interview. Then, after I got invited, all I did was I downloaded 3 letters on pilot credentials and brought the printouts of the same 3 letters to the interview. None were internal. I didn't know any SWA pilots back then and still got the job without any internal recs. All 3 people who wrote the rec letters were called after my interview during the background check process. I've also recommended myself a handful of pilots in the last couple of years through the internal process. Several of them failed the interview, and I'm sure nobody at SWA had even seen my rec letters. Simply, you have to pass the interview to trigger the background check process. For those who passed, I got a call to verify their credibility. Simply said, you can get a rec letter from Herb himself and it won't help you get pulled. There were times pilots here were hired mostly through connections and personal recommendations. People were "walked in" to the CP office, whole squadrons were hired that way. Those times are long gone, I only heard the stories. I guess the company wanted to end this practice. I'm personally glad it's done that way, I wouldn't be here otherwise.

saywhat

Thanks to all who responded. I appreciate the time you took to leave comments. Fly safe!

RhinoBallAuto

I don't work for SWA. I wrote an external LOR for a former colleague, and received a phone call from SWA hiring after his interview to follow up / verify what I had written. Sounded like they were compiling the interview notes and application package for final review.


It was a two min conversation, half of which was "how are you liking American?", though I think it would have been longer if the letter was less substantive.

FWIW...

SCMW

This is very informative, thank you. I want to understand completely.
When you received an interview offer, you just downloaded the three LORs that you had PREVIOUSLY listed on Pilot Credentials, so....PRIOR to getting the interview, you did have three LORs on file that they could see if they desired.

Also, on the Southwest Pilots icims dashboard, they ask:
“How did you hear about the opportunity at Southwest?”
One of the selections is “Referral “ is that what most of you are putting? If so, that is a recommendation already since they ask for employee number, if not, what are you putting.
Thank you

barabek

No, prior to receiving the invitation to the interview, I did NOT have any letters of recommendation downloaded on pilot credentials. I downloaded those 3 letters (none from Southwest employees) after the invite as I was preparing and gathering required documents. I also printed those same letters and brought them with me to the interview.

As far as your second question is concerned, I don't really remember what I put down or what options there are. I don't really think it's important at all.

SCMW

Understood, thanks again!