Southwest Airlines Application Opening May 15th - May 21st
Posted by Aviator-Intelligence@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 72 comments
Southwest, as expected, purged their application pool with a TBNT to everyone not receiving an email requesting additional information or an interview. Then they announced a new application window opening May 15th - May 21st.
Want to know how your application can stand out? You’re a $2B liability every time you release the brakes, make sure your resume, logbook and application demonstrate the attention to detail deserving of that level of responsibility. Also make sure you know exactly what’s on your PRD, because I guarantee they will.
Good luck!
InformalShow4339@reddit
Their hiring seems to be all over the place. Won’t bat an eye at a regional LCA, but will hire a Citation gear slinger.
Last 3 guys I talked to that had recent CJOs say they plan to resume wash and go to UA/DL/AA.
Good luck to everyone.
0621Hertz@reddit
“It’s all about personality.”
dopexile@reddit
Get on your knees and kiss the corporate boots
0621Hertz@reddit
I would LUV to get on my knees senpei
554TangoAlpha@reddit
My WN interview seemed to be the most personality, "can i hang with this guy for 4 days" type interview of them all.
Skynet_lives@reddit
Did you interview with NJ? Imagine having to vet pilots to spend 7+ days together in a Phenom.
554TangoAlpha@reddit
No cause im above 5’10”
0621Hertz@reddit
Not denying that at all, just seems weird that they claim that yet they hiring people anyway that claim to skip town at first opportunity.
Especially since their recruiters claim they can sniff those people out lol
Murky_Digger@reddit
737 type, 6000 hrs TT. Interview went great, still got the TBNT. Would have been a lifer
Shark-Force@reddit
They are being far pickier than one would expect for an airline struggling like they are. They aren’t at the bottom right now but they certainly aren’t in the top 4.
Negative_Swan_9459@reddit
They turned in top of industry margins Q1 with the best overall balance sheet. Their pilots on average have the most lucrative deal in the industry. You need better info bruh.
BassetCock@reddit
He’s coping.
imme267@reddit
American and JetBlue are struggling
Charming-Accident407@reddit
I’m not arguing but you have to say they’ve turned things around a bit looking at the Q1 numbers?
BeefyMcPissflaps@reddit
My hiring group had 3 out of 20 of us get CJO's and 2 were military single engine dudes and one was a Skywest Captain. Not seeing your citation gear slinger comment as accurate.
I have nearly 4k hours, 2500 TPIC, 700 jet PIC, an ATP and a type in F2TH, international oceanic experience, no checkride failures... TBNT after the interview which I felt like went very well. The only standout from my panel interview was the FO in the group kept asking me part 91 operational questions and wanted to know how I was going to integrate into the 121 world. I found the 121 question really odd. Uhhh. I'm going to learn, adhere to and follow the rules and regulations? Anyway. There were people in my hiring group that I found more qualified than me that didn't get CJO's either.
Found it to be a very odd hiring process. The experience in Dallas was awesome for sure. They flew in a lot of people for interviews to only hire an average of 25% of them with a heavy skew towards military.
SnazzyStooge@reddit
Southwest interview is a serious dice roll. Ask yourself: why bring 20 people to LUV just to show 17 of them the door? An 85% rejection rate for an in-person interview is not normal — same situation for mine back in November, btw.
Good luck out there, friend!
GeorgiaPilot172@reddit
That seems hugely inefficient and a waste of money to fly out 20 people to only hire 3, you think their pre-interview selection would do better than that.
Negative_Swan_9459@reddit
Had to screen personality from applications and resumes people pay others to create.
bigplaneboeing737@reddit
My good friend interviewed there back in January. Former WN ramp and ops agent who left on good terms. Wife is a flight attendant for them. Interview was great, and he had a good idea what they wanted to hear since he worked there before.
Still got the TBNT.
Negative_Swan_9459@reddit
Guessing it didn’t go as well as he thought. Just a hunch.
Swimming_Way_7372@reddit
I would have done the same at frontier, instead they were too busy hiring a guy that only lasted 6 months then went to united. Living in a frontier base I would habe given them about 10 years at least.
Relevant-Train5317@reddit
I thought I’d probably stay at frontier too so I could live in base.
After two years of seeing how pathetic of an employer they are, I’m going to go to literally the first company that calls me.
Handag@reddit
I think there is a portion of this about optics. There was a time not too long ago SWA was taking people with 250-500 121 time. They can simultaneously look like they’re aggressively hiring to keep the shareholders happy and get their reputation back of being extremely picky by sending out mass TBNT and only hiring a small portion of interviewees to meet attrition and growth needs.
I had a buddy that went through the interview process with tons of TPIC get a TBNT. He claimed to have had a rock solid interview, but there was something just off about the whole experience that he couldn’t put his finger on. Interviewed at Delta a few months later and got the CJO. According to him it was night and day difference. We came up with the above conspiracy theory to explain it.
OrderSuper2542@reddit
Has anyone heard of anyone getting hired with 500-1000hrs 121 SIC time?
BassetCock@reddit
Sure. Destination 225 pilots.
Pilot0160@reddit
It doesn’t make any sense to me in the industry for them to purge their applications and open yet another window days after.
dopexile@reddit
The applications are probably overwhelming; they are sitting on 10k+, I bet, no way to tell how many of those are serious people still looking without a significant time investment.
SnazzyStooge@reddit
Ah, but this one is the Spirit Captain window, you see.
Flimsy-Ad-858@reddit
Meh. Half of the apps on file have probably been hired elsewhere by now anyway, might as well do an "if you're still interested, resubmit" and see what sticks if you're an HR department trying to trim some workload. Especially now with the app volume being presumably pretty large to begin with.
Aviator-Intelligence@reddit (OP)
Agreed. I’ve been told they want to purge the list to clear out pilots who’ve been hired by other airlines which I guess would save them from requesting additional information from pilots who are no longer interested. What was more surprising to me was pilots who received the email requesting additional information and a TBNT instead of an interview, were told they could reapply in 12 months.
Relevant-Train5317@reddit
Yay. Now I can reapply, again.
flyemerica@reddit
I started applying sometime in 2018-2019ish when I hit 1000TPIC, and I didn’t get an interview until 2022. Granted hiring stopped in 2020 and then I went through a few more application windows before I got the interview invite. Keep reapplying!
Relevant-Train5317@reddit
Oh yeah, just some joking around, at this point in my career I’d be shocked if they wanted to interview me. I’ll keep asking for a job until the answer is yes.
Gabriel_Owners@reddit
We can go back to forcing you to pay for a 737 type rating to apply if you'd prefer that.
Relevant-Train5317@reddit
If it will get me the job I’m down.
Skynet_lives@reddit
It didn’t The 737 type was just to get your application accepted. I know three guys that hold a 737 type just so they could apply to WN.
None of them work for WN or fly a 737.
Relevant-Train5317@reddit
Dude that is ROUGH
Aviator-Intelligence@reddit (OP)
Or 1,000 TPIC
al_andaluz@reddit
5th times a charm lol
gavinvi7@reddit
Not for me it wasn’t. For me, six times was a charm.
Negative_Swan_9459@reddit
Welcome to normal hiring world.
Aviator-Intelligence@reddit (OP)
My understanding is that most of your information should still be on file if you’ve applied in the past. Please let me know if that’s not accurate.
Relevant-Train5317@reddit
No youre right. It’s as easy as updating flight hours.
Ok-Cryptographer7080@reddit
Spirit pilots to the front of the line.
Responsible_Zone_116@reddit
Southwest hiring process is bonkers. They bring in 50 a day in two groups of 25 (200+ interviewees a week!), dangle this amazing job in your face like you already have it, give you three blocks of 10-15 minutes to interview with the weirdest mouth breathers at the company who stare at you like homeless people on public transportation, then make you wait 2+ weeks to get a heartbreaking TBNT, try again in a year email.
Yeah I'm bitter and crying moar. I wanted this job so bad. It's an amazing life changing job. And I'm not blaming them for not picking me specifically, because I'm a moron when I interview. But when looking at the rest of the group? We all had 1000+ 121 multi turbine jet PIC, and the one they hired was some single engine turboprop kid who was way weirder than me. And the rest of us all get thrown to the trash for a year. "While you were a good candidate, we chose a more qualified one, please don't be mad bro" OH REALLY MORE QUALIFIED HOW SO? Brand new regional FO's who barely survived training via special tracking get the multimillion dollar career, LCAs get shown the door.
What's the point? They hired maybe 5 out of the 50 that day. You seriously telling me the other 45 very experienced jet captains wouldn't work for your company, but the next day there'd be another 5 chosen ones that will be the perfect fit? I've jumpseated with you autistic sobs! I think the rejection is some sort of power kink for them.
SnazzyStooge@reddit
Putting emotion aside, yes, their process is not normal. An 85% rejection rate for an in-person interview is not normal.
People give the “hoops” at the other majors a hard time (personality tests, etc), but at least it helps narrow the window a bit for the in-person interview.
Negative_Swan_9459@reddit
I’d say the process is working as intended.
Responsible_Zone_116@reddit
"And I'm not blaming them for not picking me specifically, because I'm a moron when I interview."
one after another, man you're dense
Negative_Swan_9459@reddit
And then you follow it up with calling them autistic. Cope however you may, but guessing this underlying attitude shows and that’s why you got rejected. Sounds like things are working just fine over there.
Responsible_Zone_116@reddit
you're too sensitive, it's a silly rant, name calling is in jest. taking things too literally is a sign of autism. welcome to the club.
Negative_Swan_9459@reddit
No sweat off my back. Keep up the good work!
f1racer328@reddit
Indeed. I was going to comment the same thing and glad someone beat me to it.
Every SWA crew I’ve ever jumpseated on has been the most normal and down to earth pilots I’ve met.
I’ve run into more weird guys at DAL, along with grumpy old men that are seemingly past the retirement age yet somehow still flying for AA.
dagassman@reddit
I understand being upset but if this is your experience the problem is you. “Weirdest mouth breathers at the company” is an interesting way to describe the people you’re trying to convince you’d be a fun person to fly with and I’m betting they picked up on some sense of your personality they didn’t jive with. You’re a moron when you interview? Then change that. If you haven’t you should be using an interview prep service and if you have you need to do more then.
Responsible_Zone_116@reddit
struck a nerve huh?
if reading comprehension was something you had ability in, you'd see I already specifically said I'm a moron and am not surprised I didn't get hired. thanks for pointing it out to me again; must be those astoundingly astute perception skills you have that got you hired!
but the other 80% who got rejected despite being very qualified and seemingly quite cool? that's who I was defending.
SnazzyStooge@reddit
Ah yes, the “Spirit Captain” special window. Good luck, all.
oranges1cle@reddit
What company have you guys used for Southwest resume review?
bcr76@reddit
I had a great experience with Centerline.
Aviator-Intelligence@reddit (OP)
DM me and I will share the resume template that we recommend at Aviator Intelligence.
onewordbandit@reddit
OP of this post is literally an interview prep company
oranges1cle@reddit
Targeted ads these days am I right
brodie34mills@reddit
Anyone know if I have to get an LOR for each new hiring window? What a headache for the nice people writing them, if so.
Aviator-Intelligence@reddit (OP)
Yes, that is my understanding. If you get past the first round of screening they will contact you for additional information and ask for LORs at that time.
BasilProfessional09@reddit
Why not just change the date? I’ve been using the same ones for like 2 years
Fast-Display-111@reddit
Not a well timed photo… 😬
htnut-pk@reddit
CLEAR PROP!
goatfuckersupreme@reddit
Not anymore, it ain't.
hartzonfire@reddit
What do you mean?
ginamegi@reddit
They’re referencing the accident in Denver the other day
Gabriel_Owners@reddit
He's referring to the homeless man that was just turned into red paste in Denver.
hartzonfire@reddit
Ahhh.
SensualPuma@reddit
it’s not that serious.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Southwest, as expected, purged their application pool with a TBNT to everyone not receiving an email requesting additional information or an interview. Then they announced a new application window opening May 15th - May 21st.
Want to know how your application can stand out? You’re a $2B liability every time you release the brakes, make sure your resume, logbook and application demonstrate the attention to detail deserving of that level of responsibility. Also make sure you know exactly what’s on your PRD, because I guarantee they will.
Good luck!
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