Southwest questions
 

Hey guys I just got an invitation to interview today and I am super stoked and nervous all at the same time. Also I have a lot of questions and I am looking for some help,

Interview questions.
1. What does the interview consist of?
2. What is the best way to prepare?
3. Recommendations for interview services?
4. Do they fly you home the same day as the interview?
5. Holy Crap is really happening?
6. What is the thing that trips most people up in the interview?
7. Any tips?

Company questions
1. What is the junior bases? How long before you can get to DAL,HOU,DEN or MCO?
2. The pay has always been a little confusing to me what can I expect to earn first year if I am lucky enough to get hired
3. How much time is it from interview to class date
4. I know upgrade is a long time(not a priority to me) do you guys overall enjoy your job?/have good overall qol?

Southwest has always been my number 1 choice and it's amazing that this opportunity finally has come around. I have been at my regional just waiting and I want to make sure I put my best foot forward. Thanks in advance guys

Anybody else wondering what the duck? Seems like guys that don't go to job fairs or know anything about SWA get the interviews. I guess the recruiting process is just PFM!

Sorry if I came off the wrong way, just really excited and nervous. I went to job fairs and have some idea but I am just looking for opinions and advice.

The interview is getting to know you. Mostly TMAAT questions. Easy Google search can give you many examples.

Be yourself, read nuts, and have some great stories together. It is a very relaxed interview, and straight forward. They do an incredible job making you feel easy and open.

I didn't do any interview consultation, but certainly went over my stories over and over. I have heard both sides of hiring someone before you interview. Be careful and make sure you don't come out like a robot spitting out what you think they should hear.

I came from Emirates, so it was on my dime for tickets. But I believe they get you to Love Field and home.

The trips is confusing, but there is a ton of information on them. I am on reserve, and have averaged 90-125 trips a month since I started in March. First year is 50 a trip, if the TA2 passes, it will be 67, followed by second year at 97 a trip. Days off flying above guarantee is at second year pay. First year is tough, but Captains do a great job buying beers and sometimes dinner on overnights. Much appreciated.

Junior bases are usually LAS, OAK, and PHX. Always changing though, but plan to be out west for a bit.

It took a month between interview and getting the call. A lot of factors go into it. Heard military guys were just a couple weeks. Depends on availability of getting all your paperwork in order and when they run the get togethers with all the chief pilots for a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Best of luck. Like I said, first year pay is tough, but I love it here and have enjoyed the people and job very much. Best of Luck!

Hey Tom,

First of all congratulations on the interview invite! I'll try and tackle some of your questions and I'm sure some other people will fill in the blanks where I can't.

1. What does the interview consist of?

If there have been no changes, the interview has three parts. A traditional interview conducted by a pilot and a representative from the people department, a logbook audit, and a "line oriented evaluation" (LOE). The LOE is the only part that is a little bit different because you are sitting in a cardboard cockpit with interviewers filling the role of first officer, jumpseater, dispatcher, flight attendant etc... and you are expected to play-act a scenario to determine how you would handle such an event in real life.

2. What is the best way to prepare?

Think of some of your best stories. Especially those that involve customer service, how you dealt with challenging situations or challenging coworkers, or how you handled failure. Make sure when you are telling the story you talk about the situation, how you handled it, and what you learned from it. Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

3. Recommendations for interview services?

I've heard they aren't really happy with pilots using the interview prep companies these days. I'm sure some of the more recent candidates here can recommend companies that they have used though.

4. Do they fly you home the same day as the interview?

Depends on where you live and if SW has flights that can get you home from Dallas on the same day. They'll certainly try!

5. Holy Crap is really happening?

Yup. But don't get so excited that you stress yourself out. It's just a job.

Company questions

1. What is the junior bases? How long before you can get to DAL,HOU,DEN or MCO?

Junior bases have typically been Oakland, Phoenix, and Vegas. But with the amount of hiring that has been happening, most pilots have been able to move further east - HOU, DAL, MDW, and BWI within a few months of hitting the line. MCO and ATL are the most senior bases in the company right now for first officers. There are Captains who can't hold FO in ATL.

2. The pay has always been a little confusing to me what can I expect to earn first year if I am lucky enough to get hired

Kind of depends if the TA passes or not. If it does, the new first year payrate is $67.32 per TFP. You can realistically plan for 90-100 TFP per month without working too hard, so thats around $80,000 per year.

3. How much time is it from interview to class date

Just depends. There have been a lot of no-shows lately. Some pilots have had good luck telling the people department they can show with short notice.

4. I know upgrade is a long time(not a priority to me) do you guys overall enjoy your job?/have good overall qol?

It's a good job. I enjoy the people I fly with. The trips are very dense and until you get accustomed to the pace it can be a little bit exhausting. Even if the new contract passes, it really just brings SW up to industry average pay and retirement. Many of the quality of life (or quality of life on the road) provisions that exist at other airline CBAs are absent at SW. The joke is that its the highest paying regional in the country. You will find the 737 to be a few generations behind your RJ technologically. Even the MAX will not have things that you have become accustomed to such as EICAS, ice detection, automatic bus switching, or air management systems.

That said, there are all kinds of opportunities to make money, especially if you live in base.

Really wish you the best of luck! I hope you enjoy the interview. Us junior folks are just as anxious to have you on the property as you are to be here!

I actually should have said congrats and good luck first! I was just venting on how the selection process has become so mysterious and random these days. I am sure one of your buddies who wrote a recommendation can answer most of your questions. I hope you make it and being based at home will make it a great job.

When is your interview and did you go to the open house they had a few weeks ago? And they tell you now that you will find out if you get hired within two weeks of interview and there are three class dates left this year.

What is your previous experience and times if you don't mind sharing?

Just another hopeful here that might have a chance in another year or so.

My advice: don't do professional prep.
Aviationinterviews.com has the TMAAT question bank.
Be yourself; you don't need to pay someone to tell you how to do that, do you??
Good luck.

It depends on how you use the prep. I personally used it to just get me in the right mindset and organize my thoughts. You definitely don't need it to be yourself but it can be a useful tool. Just be sure you don't become a robot reciting canned answers if you do. Good luck!