I know plenty of guys with lots of hours and types that I wouldn't want to spend ten minutes with. Any goober can get hired at a regional these days and rack up hours...
Hiring strictly from qualifications would be a disaster!

 

The airline industry is no different than every other industry in corporate America or even our government in this department.

It's never been "what" you know, it's always been "who"you know. People out there can bury their heads in the sand and say they have more hours, more types, etc.

The people they are hiring at the front of this wave are the rare applicants...kids/friends of management, females, minorities, military retirees, APDs at their current regional airline, space shuttle time/Air Force One pilot time.

My list above is hardly all inclusive but a reality in the start of any hiring wave. The point is, applicants have to distinguish themselves from the other highly qualified candidates. Some of the items above are merely a function of a small supply/demand. Once those supplies of the few run out, they will go after the general population.

If you are in the general population and don't have someone calling your name out in the brotherhood of aviation thru networking, how does it make you look as a candidate? Do you want an employee who is engaged and involved with their peers or do u want wallflowers who could be a risk to their organization since no one may like flying with them or perhaps they take a lot of sick time or something similar. True both the wallflower and the engaged person might have the same flying skills/etc, but how do you know as a hiring manager?

Hiring at a big corporation is all a numbers game. If you can get some friends to help raise your number so u get an interview, that is part of the game. Unless you're in the HR department making the hiring decisions, better to grab a bat and step up to the plate than whine about the batting lineup about the team you want to try out for.

This is just a reality in life.

 

FedEx had it right, give every pilot one silver bullet, as their sponsor, you own their performance, they F up, you lose sponsor privelages.

 

I do get the fact of helping friends along the way, as someone who has writen those letters and made those calls yes I get that. I just don't agree with the M&G being worth more than a line pilots recommendation.

I also get the fact that it is more than just qualifications, that you have to get along with people promote and all the rest of it. Does a M&G figure all that with the amount of request a cp gets to have one? Is he qualified to have that part figured out in a matter of minutes?

I doubt I am the only one but sorry did not know anyone at either major airline I have worked for or currently work for.

Either way I am glad to hear that the folks we are hiring are doing a great job during training and on the line.

Best of luck to all those that apply.

 

The few M&Gs I know of resulted from a line pilot's recommendation. Also, I can cite at least one case where a line pilot's recommendation was all it took to get an interview.

I don't think anyone knows why some get called, and some don't. Of the poolies I know, there are some with extraordinary qualifications. There are also some great guys and gals out there who would, no doubt, be an asset to UA. I hope UA continues seeking those applicants. Keep in mind, some of the poolies have been trying to get on for 10+ years.

 

When I went to a M&G the CP told me the only reason he was meeting with me was because he trusted his pilots sponsor a good person. I think it is a good program because there is responsibility of the sponsoring pilot to recommend someone he trusts. There is more riding on it than just writing a letter for someone. You are personally vouching for someone. I can think of plenty of people that are decent people and I would write a letter for, but only a couple that I would ask a CP to sit down with.

As I have said before, I think UAL is doing an incredible job with hiring....every new hire I have met in my short time here is a great person and enjoyable to be at work with. What ever they are doing, I hope they keep doing it!

 

Never did one (or a job fair for that matter) and was hired in the first wave of 300 early 2013.

 

I'm not sure how much all this networking counts. To me I think people are blowing it out of proportion. As I stated earlier I had no M&G or job fairs and had only 3 internal recs from 73 FOs. I didn't know anyone. I think I was very highly qualified from the mil side. That's what got me hired. So my point is: don't lose faith.

Cheers,

HT89

 

Switching gears slightly, I had heard rumors in the past of United getting rid of the sim portion of the interview. (This was from a line guy not involved in hiring, so not a "solid" source.) Anyone in the know have any insight into the future of the sim in the interview process?

 

The last batch of new hires before the furlough did not have a sim portion.

Expect to see a sim portion of the interview until further notice.