whalesurfer

Any feedback from yesterday's job fair in Orlando?


FAPA.aero | Pilot Job Fairs

deliveryman

It was a packed house ! FAPA and UPS did a good job keeping it moving although it ran a bit behind schedule. According to what I heard they were spending "more" time with each candidate than they normally do. No one was complaining. The presentation given by HR led you to believe that the hiring number will be equal next year and they are looking for people who really WANT to be at brown not just there because UPS called first. They re stated the pool was a competitive pool and would not indicate pool numbers. I think word is out to get the interview they want to see you. HR talked about the hogan and why they use it and why they use a pool. All UPS and FAPA folks were very welcoming

FlewNavy

They emphasized recency/relevancy of experience which is why so many of their current candidates come from Atlas.

Dan Thomas (HR Manager - 35 yrs at UPS) briefed for about 45 minutes followed by a pseudo "Q&A" session featuring screenshots from APC. FAPA and UPS are reading this stuff...and apparently getting lots of laughs as well!

Dan emphasized - "You need to demonstrate to us what you have contributed to your company" - He further clarified that this meant they weren't looking for line pilots that have logged 18,000 hours being the best pilot they can be. They want to see that you provided something more tangible and voluntary that contributed to your company's success. Differentiate yourself positively from the other 10,000 candidates they have on file and the 400 people they meet at the job fair.

Volunteerism was discussed during the presentation - what have you given back to your community?

Dan talked about the Hogan. Its not perfect but does screen out some folks they really don't want. He specifically said "high strung" but I'm not sure if that represents the profile they are screening or just his opinion. They will grant a 6 month do-over but not a third try. It was implied that you can reach out to them and ask to take it over after 6 months.

I saw a few business cards being handed out but not many. The business card seemed to be linked to how well they liked you but I'm not sure - a few folks I spoke with got one and they all seemed to be top tier candidates.

Active vs On File on the application was discussed. Application is scored immediately upon submission. "On File" means that you haven't met their internal threshold for review and won't be looked at until you reapply the following year or they change the threshold. That threshold was not discussed but it was mentioned that it was changed last year and could change in the future if they stop getting top tier candidates. Dan admitted that the application system is universal to UPS and not pilot specific which means that some top tier applicants may "slip through the cracks" of their system based on how the applicant enters information. If he meets you at a job fair he might be able to log-in and check your application - not all of his team does this. He mentioned that a few people he met were "close" but not over his criteria. Takeaway is that if you are On File - apply again in 2018 but make sure you can check more boxes and make a substantive improvement on your application in order to expect a different result.

Dan talked about the competitive pool - he puts people in there if they meet most of their CJO criteria. He does give some CJOs at the interview. The pool is to allow them to continue to evaluate you over time - build TPIC - work longer as a check airman - see if they do something new/different etc. Pool letter is not a CJO an you can be kicked out. "Don't stop your job hunt" is what Dan said.

A management pilot position is probably opening in 2018. Hiring will be internal or off-the-street for this position.

Questions that were asked to me:
What can I bring to UPS?
Can I be at UPS short notice to interview (3 weeks)?
If I run a background check will I find anything?
Have you applied elsewhere and why UPS?
Tell me about an emergency you have had?
What domicile are you interested in?

During the resume review she took extensive notes.
Her notes included answers to most of the above. The only hours she circled were TPIC. I have >2000 hours TPIC and that seemed to be a positive.

I saw no secret sauce for getting a Hogan invite. Generally it seemed to be a positive if:
>2000 hrs TPIC
Heavy/International Experience
Leadership Roles
Volunteerism on the job/community
1 or more Internal Referrals (14 is excessive)
Face to Face at a Job Fair

The FAPA folks put on a nice event overall and UPS did a great job spending quality time with applicants.

Shrtfild

Right on flewnavy, also if you have done check airman or instruction in the SIM or checking in the sim emphasize that info. Also they seem to be looking for more than just line pilots they want pilots that have done work above and beyond the line pilot position. Emphazise extra work you have done in the past.

Cudos to FAPA and to the UPS folks, thank you for staying to the end, they did not cheat any candidate from having a detail meeting with them even at 730 at night.

FTFF

Excellent review Flewnavy. I reposted it on a couple of other threads so others can find it easily. Good luck!!

BoilerUP

I hope this drove home a few things for those in attendance:

1. The company is ALWAYS watching
2. You aren't as anonymous as you think you are on forums, especially based on what you post
3. What you post can and likely will be held against you in an interview or the competitive pool (or disciplinary hearing), so use yer noggin before hitting "submit"

May hiring continue strongly into 2018, and everybody interested in working here gets a Hogan/Interview/Pool Letter/CJO sooner rather than later!

Darcy

I was at the fair and was a little nervous when speaking with my rep and I cannot remember her name. She was in HR (not a pilot) and had been there for over 20 years. Anybody happen to take a picture of Dan's PowerPoint slide with their names?

dudemize

Check your PMs

FTFF

Dying to know what they thought was funny. Perhaps an embarrassed chuckle...?

Pinkdog

FAPA used it as a sales pitch to show their expertise in interview prep as well as opportunity for UPS HR to answer a few questions that were misunderstood about the application process.
As I remember it, one question was about the FE portion of the app which HR responded "we don't hire FE's anymore and should probably update that portion of the application".
The other post they showed referenced the on file vs. active status (or being a pool swimmer, can't remember). The answer was consistent with other info previously mentioned on this site. Pool swimmers have no guarantees of hire and active is better than on file.
They made a point to say all of your info must be complete when initially filling out the app because it is immediately scored and if you don't score high enough, you are effectively locked out for a year.

It was a humorous opportunity to remind everyone that these posts are monitored by EVERYONE with any skin in the game (UPS, FAPA, etc.).

I'll look back later and try to find the specific posts mentioned.
Not sure who BYOB is, but he/she definitely got some unwanted attention.