I have an interview coming up. I'm a current ULCC captain. I now know TWO FOs who recently interviewed and were told to go screw themselves. What is United actually looking for?

I assume by “go screw themselves” you mean they simply got a TBNT email. That said, if we knew exactly what they were looking for, everyone would be getting a job. The “fog a mirror and get hired” is a bit of an overblown myth.

FWIW I recently flew with someone on the interview team. He said that the interview pass rate really hasn’t changed much from the “before times”, but it’s just a lot easier to get an interview. He said that not coming fully prepared due to the “fog a mirror” belief was one of the biggest culprits. They weren’t bad people, but clearly didn’t give it their all. Also, arrogance and entitlement is an issue as well, but that was mainly contained within applicants from two particular regionals that I won’t name. One kind of surprised me, the other… well… not so much.

Also keep in mind that whether you get hired or not is based on your total package score. Not just how well you did in front of the interview panel. Now, if you really rub them the wrong way, they may score you so low that not much can save you. Conversely, if they really like you they might score you really high to push the odds in your favor. But at the end of the day, your application scores points, the hogan scores points and the interview scores points. The review board then looks over the packages of all the interviewees from the previous week. Didn’t accumulate enough points? TBNT. Passed the points threshold without any other major glaring concerns on your application? Welcome to United!

Like I said, getting an interview offer is easier than ever these days. But if you have a weak application (low time, no college degree, no PIC time in anything other than Cessnas, maybe only one or two type ratings, maybe even a sloppy app all together with errors and misspellings) and then don’t score well on the hogan either, an applicant will be facing quite the uphill climb at the interview. Conversely, a strong application (high time, 121 turbine PIC, college degree or even a masters or PhD, multiple type ratings, the dreaded volunteer work, maybe even check airman or sim instructor time) and do well on the hogan, you will likely have a good amount of wiggle room in the interview since you’re going in with a high accumulation of points.

At the end of the day, plenty of people are still getting rejected. I know multiple people who have gotten the TBNT. They all landed on their feet at other airlines, but they’re good people and their rejection was surprising.

Treat this interview like it’s 2015 and you’ll be at an advantage. Get interview prep (highly recommend cage Marshall), study, prepare, rehearse, buy a new properly fitted suit, be humble, and give it everything you’ve got.

Good Luck!

well they def aren’t looking for someone who’s mindset is that because someone didn’t get a CJO that they got told to go fornicate with themselves.

This is the way. This advice is right on.

My UAL interview experience was just as I expected: friendly, welcoming, and professional, with the emphasis on professional. I felt at ease, but only because I put a ton of effort into preparing for it. I had the interview study packet memorized, my logbook all printed and tabbed and organized, a new suit, I did interview prep, read every single question on aviationinterviews.com, and so on and so forth. I'm extremely glad I did.

In talking to a few FOs (and even CAs) at my current shop though, I've been a bit surprised at how common it is to hear them say something like "X airline is hiring anybody if you can fog a mirror.' On the shuttle to the hotel for my AA interview, I ran into a guy who boasted he hadn't prepped or rehearsed at all. I wasn't surprised the next day when he didn't join us in the "Congratulations!" area of the lobby next to that 777 model...

I 100% Agree, preparing is key. I didn't go with the new suit because I'm a bit tall and skinny, didn't have time to alter the suit. lol

All the work is worth it, UA is a great place to be.

Still Preparing, in Unity...

Are you in class yet? How's it going out there?

Had a good friend that interviewed at UAL a while back. Our careers were nearly identical and he's a great pilot and person (and would have fit into DEI parameters if you get bent out of shape about that). Interviewer seemed a bit disappointed in his logbook organization and he was sent packing. Be over prepared and sweat the details....the recipe for success is the same as it's ever been. Gotta play the game.

You need to memorize your TMAAT questions so you don't get a TBNT letter and focus on your logbook.

what sort of logbook issues are we talking about? Messy handwriting? Missing info?

Missing info you base a claim on elsewhere anywhere in your app/resume is certainly not going to help. But yeah, it ought to be readable and internally consistent and something a reviewer isn't going to have to take time to puzzle over far less catch you in some glaring error.

But what I thought was key is that they give you interview directions and they expect you to have put in the work to be able to follow them. I wouldn't bet a career on 'close enough for government work. When they give you the questions and answers ahead of time they expect you to have them.