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8 hours ago, WheelsOff said:

Been hearing some rumors about some airlines that have started to not look quite so favorably towards part-time guard/reserve bubbas in the hiring process. I know officially it’s against USERRA to do that, but can anyone confirm/deny this is starting to happen out there?

Not true at AA.

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9 hours ago, BADFNZ said:

If all goes according to plan, I will be applying to the airlines in 3-4 months.  What should I be doing now to help myself out? 

 

You may be late  

My general recommended timeline: 

(Times back from when you want to get your first paycheck from an airline)

 

-Start networking, reading forums, paying attention to peers getting hired, considering a run at the airlines: start of last assignment or two, no less than 3-4 years out  

Hit publish on the 50% solution app: > 1 year out. 

-Have app polished and refined to the 90% solution: 1 year out. 

-Start interview prep in earnest: 1 year out  

-Feel fully prepared, app at 99%, suit ready, resume ready: 6-9 months out  

-Start “practice” interviews, lock down backup jobs at airlines that aren’t #1 or 2 on your list, regionals: 6 months out 

 

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You may be late  
My general recommended timeline: 
(Times back from when you want to get your first paycheck from an airline)
 
-Start networking, reading forums, paying attention to peers getting hired, considering a run at the airlines: start of last assignment or two, no less than 3-4 years out  
Hit publish on the 50% solution app: > 1 year out. 
-Have app polished and refined to the 90% solution: 1 year out. 
-Start interview prep in earnest: 1 year out  
-Feel fully prepared, app at 99%, suit ready, resume ready: 6-9 months out  
-Start “practice” interviews, lock down backup jobs at airlines that aren’t #1 or 2 on your list, regionals: 6 months out 
 


Pile on: Although there are exceptions I’m hearing that the legacies are generally calling 30-90 days out from availability.
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You may be late  
My general recommended timeline: 
(Times back from when you want to get your first paycheck from an airline)
 
-Start networking, reading forums, paying attention to peers getting hired, considering a run at the airlines: start of last assignment or two, no less than 3-4 years out  
Hit publish on the 50% solution app: > 1 year out. 
-Have app polished and refined to the 90% solution: 1 year out. 
-Start interview prep in earnest: 1 year out  
-Feel fully prepared, app at 99%, suit ready, resume ready: 6-9 months out  
-Start “practice” interviews, lock down backup jobs at airlines that aren’t #1 or 2 on your list, regionals: 6 months out 
 

Concur. It’s a lengthy process.
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13 hours ago, WheelsOff said:

Been hearing some rumors about some airlines that have started to not look quite so favorably towards part-time guard/reserve bubbas in the hiring process. I know officially it’s against USERRA to do that, but can anyone confirm/deny this is starting to happen out there?

If true, DAL hasn't gotten the memo.  They've continued to gut our squadron of full timers, even when a fair amount of the previous hires have gone back on 2-3 years of orders.  There are also a fair amount of us who have no desire to go back on orders that are balancing it out for you future hires, come on over! 🇺🇸

Edited by SocialD
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18 hours ago, WheelsOff said:

Been hearing some rumors about some airlines that have started to not look quite so favorably towards part-time guard/reserve bubbas in the hiring process. I know officially it’s against USERRA to do that, but can anyone confirm/deny this is starting to happen out there?

Not true at UAL

Actually the opposite, UAL holds by invitation only job fairs for military members to speed people through the process.  

Buddy of mine was also told during Indoc to please get through consolidation before dropping mil leave.  Once consolidation was complete though, UAL ultimately doesn’t care if you took long term mil leave to possibly reach retirement.  Sounds to me that UAL is playing the long-term game of banking as many pilots as possibly now so they have them once the mass retirement exodus begins.

 

Edited by Tank
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I wouldn't hit publish on the app until you're ready for the hiring department to go through your app and judge if you're getting an invite.  You don't know what algorithms they use for the computers to ping a person look at your app.  You wouldn't want someone to throw you back to the bottom of the pile because you hit submit before it was really ready.  That being said, I took two solid months filling the app out and sending out the recs.  For the next two months, I pinged guys who didn't send the rec back and had every airline guy who had time to go through my app and find errors.  You'd be shocked at what you'll miss.

Regardless of the airline, start brushing up on your non-mil aviation GK.  Delta's test is a ball crusher.  United is way better, but you may still get asked that one random question that every regional guy knows that you never cared to learn because it didn't apply to you flying for Uncle Sam.

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On 11/11/2018 at 8:33 PM, WheelsOff said:

Been hearing some rumors about some airlines that have started to not look quite so favorably towards part-time guard/reserve bubbas in the hiring process. I know officially it’s against USERRA to do that, but can anyone confirm/deny this is starting to happen out there?

 

I haven't heard this nor seen it in practice either.  However, it wouldn't surprise me though if it were true...too many jackasses out there who use mil duty to scam the system in their favor.  When you are junior your schedule sucks, but using mil duty to get a better schedule or holidays off is noticed by management.  

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On 11/11/2018 at 9:00 PM, Hacker said:

What's the source of this rumor?

A dude who currently flies for them who knows a guy that currently has his app in...lots of 38 time in addition to an assignment or two in a fighter.

 

Thanks for the rest chiming in to dispel the hiring rumors w/regard to USERRA...I too have heard some airlines have been scoffing it for years, but that others also haven’t...just trying to get a current pulse as I get closer to punching! 

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12 minutes ago, WheelsOff said:

A dude who currently flies for them who knows a guy that currently has his app in...lots of 38 time in addition to an assignment or two in a fighter.

 

Thanks for the rest chiming in to dispel the hiring rumors w/regard to USERRA...I too have heard some airlines have been scoffing it for years, but that others also haven’t...just trying to get a current pulse as I get closer to punching! 

Based on experiences and conversations with chief pilots at my airline, I don't think they feel threatened at all by military service. The pay and work related stress disparity is so great for the majority of Guardsman/Reservists now that the chief pilots barely notice the ones who are gaming the system. The incentives to take mil leave are rapidly diminishing.

The insignificant few who are not legitimately showing up for military service during military leave aren't enough to influence hiring practices, and is indicative of a poorly functioning military, which only serves to drive more people out. Those who are showing up to military service, even during holidays, are still appreciated by management.

Pilots are in short supply, so it's in the best interest of an airline to get their hooks into you now even if you aren't immediately productive... because you will be when you either quit, retire, or get smart and realize your airline gig is an all around better deal.

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7 hours ago, Sneedro said:

I haven't heard this nor seen it in practice either.  However, it wouldn't surprise me though if it were true...too many jackasses out there who use mil duty to scam the system in their favor.  When you are junior your schedule sucks, but using mil duty to get a better schedule or holidays off is noticed by management.  

“Noticed by management”?  Curious as to how you know this?

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1 hour ago, slc said:

“Noticed by management”?  Curious as to how you know this?

I can give you my three cents:

I know a few people "in management" and have talked to them on a few occasions, so I know they notice the blatant military abuse. 

One time I went to the chief pilot because my boss emailed me about working an exercise that caused me to drop a trip that was close to a holiday.  I thought it looked fishy, so I just brought it to his attention just to sort of clear the air.  He said, even without the email, that it was no big deal.  He went on to give me a few examples of things that are "noticed by management" and are a big deal such as _____________ (fill in the blanks with the blatant military abuse well documented in the previous several dozen pages of this post - flying TPs while on airline sick leave, dropping holiday trips to do a single drill makeup on the Friday of a holiday, etc).  It is easily noticed and tracked by management from what I have seen. 

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4 hours ago, WheelsOff said:

A dude who currently flies for them who knows a guy that currently has his app in...lots of 38 time in addition to an assignment or two in a fighter.

There are other folks who currently fly for them, ahem, and haven't heard such a rumor.

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During my interview at Southwest, the Captain interviewing me point blank asked me if I was considering Guard or Reserves. When I said I wasn’t sure, she told me that I should find a Guard unit and that my Active Duty time was too valuable to throw away. She then said that Southwest loves their Guard/Reserve guys. I thought they weren’t supposed to ask you about this, but she was just giving me professional advice to do both.

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4 hours ago, slc said:

“Noticed by management”?  Curious as to how you know this?

Let me clarify because I didn't do a good job the first time...sorry.  

For about a year (I am just ball parking the time here) my airline was being fairly "aggressive" at requesting proof of mil duty by people dropping trips.  They were overstepping their ability to do so and were asking for proof of points/duty for a full year to year and a half.  They cannot do this and the union stepped in and said no and if we are contacted about that then we are to call the union and they would handle it.  Didn't get us out of providing documentation, just required it for specific trip or days.  The union was pointing to the fact that people were abusing the system for the increase in requests.  Dropping mil because that would drop your trip or reserve days but then not actually doing any mil duty.  So that's what I mean by management noticing because the number of requests especially around holidays was going up.  I should have said that is in my opinion but I'm not so good at the words sometimes...

When I can look at a monthly award of schedules and see people at the bottom of the list happen to have mil duty a couple days before Christmas, nothing on Christmas day, and then a day or two after Christmas seems fishy...don't get me wrong, if they are legitimately doing mil duty good for them and I am all for it.  However, when every holiday looks like that seems like they are playing the system a bit.  I have said it before and I will say it again for those wanting an airline job, you wouldn't like it if those of us now with one screwed you by trying to game the system...don't f*** your buddy.  I have worked holidays and I have had them off.  I have not and will not use mil duty as a way to get the holidays off unless I am actually doing mil duty!

So no it would not surprise me if the airlines where shying away from Guard/Reserve types.  I don't not believe they are and the pseudo abuse of mil duty at my airline hasn't been prevalent for quite awhile now but that's not to say it won't come back.

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20 hours ago, Smokin said:

I wouldn't hit publish on the app until you're ready for the hiring department to go through your app and judge if you're getting an invite.  You don't know what algorithms they use for the computers to ping a person look at your app.  You wouldn't want someone to throw you back to the bottom of the pile because you hit submit before it was really ready.  That being said, I took two solid months filling the app out and sending out the recs.  For the next two months, I pinged guys who didn't send the rec back and had every airline guy who had time to go through my app and find errors.  You'd be shocked at what you'll miss.

Regardless of the airline, start brushing up on your non-mil aviation GK.  Delta's test is a ball crusher.  United is way better, but you may still get asked that one random question that every regional guy knows that you never cared to learn because it didn't apply to you flying for Uncle Sam.

UAL doesn’t have a GK section in their hiring process.  

- Apply

- Hogan Assessment

- Interview (TMAAT questions) / CRM Exercise 

 

Honestly the hardest part for people is the Hogan Assessment because most think too much or second guess their psych assessment answers.  

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They have a Technical Skills Assessment (TSA, poor choice of abbreviation for an airline).  During the TSA, you basically brief and chair fly a taxi, takeoff, departure, arrival, landing, and taxi to a current captain as if you are the captain.  During the cruise portion will get some minor problem where you have to go through the checklist.  SIDs and STARs are also covered.  During that portion, anything related to the SID/STAR/Approach is fair game.  I got a couple GK questions in addition to the SID/STAR/Approach questions.  By crazy luck, I just happened to have studied those exact questions, so got them right and he moved on to the CRM portion.  You don't have to be a current aerospace engineer like at Delta, but I'd be ready for some quick GK/rules questions as I got some.

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7 minutes ago, Sim said:

Sorry for dumb question.... 

Is it true that airlines only want time if you signed aircraft as AC?  ei, no other, copilot, sim time or drone time. 

No. 

There have been plenty of people hired at the majors with no PIC/signing for the aircraft time. 

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