How many Easy Jet Applications ????????

[captainkilner]

Spoke to a good friend today who said to me that he managed to speak to someone from easy jet recruitmant , and aparently they said they had received over 8000 applications for f/o vacancies. . .. .Could this be true ? it's just hard to imagine so many qualified pilots out there unemployed.. .. .I know after 11/9 there were redundancies but this number seems unbeleivable.. .. .Hope this isn't true because i don't think they'll be many jobs for us in the next few years.. .. .Before you do , don't shoot the messenger. .. . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

[Sir Kitt Braker]

My guess is that only about 10% would be suitably qualified - the rest are the ever-hopefull!

[Big Tudor]

Captain K. .. .Perhaps they are not all unemployed, just fed up with the situation they are in at their present employer.

[Wet Power]

Best of luck to Easyjet but they are beginning to sound like Air Europe about 12 years ago - lots of new shiny jets, quick commands, pretty decent salary, bullish approach, every man and his dog (it seems) wanting to join, taking the world by storm, show every other airline how it should be done etc,etc,etc.. .. .Having been in the industry a while now maybe I'm getting a bit cynical in my old age.. .. .Anybody else out there feeling the same way?

[captainkilner]

Sir Kitt Braker . .. .Surely they would all have to meet the minimum standards required to even apply ?. .. .Big Tudor . .. .Good point but it's still a frightening figure. Even if %50 have 2000+ hrs it is still 4000 people, with more experience in front of us all.. .. .Saying that , on the wannabe's forum there's a few guy's got into EZ with only 250hrs through CTC and i know a friend of a friend whose just got into Ryanair with only 250 hrs so maybe it's not all doom and gloom............hopefully

[Dirty Harry]

As previously stated by another member, of the 8000 applications, I suspect many are in the "not qualified" bracket. I went to an easyjet roadshow day recently, and was very disappointed. They only had three people representing the company, stating they did not expect so many people to turn up, (around 300 at 10.00am!). I find this an astonishing oversight on their part given the level of unemployment in the market at present. In the question and answer session that followed the presentation, many people queried the online application process, in particular the lack of replies. I myself know of many good pilots, many of them type rated, who have been rejected by easyjet. In this market, and given the alleged 8000 strong database, they surely have the pick of the bunch, which is why I am still curious as to why they feel the need to run recruitment roadshows. The very fact that they have seemingly rejected some very good operators, would seem to suggest that maybe they should take a good look at their recruitment process, which it has to be said seems to be failing them.

[postern]

There appears to be no logic to the ezy recruitment process. I have been trying to get as far as the first stage -a reply - for close on two years.I have 2000+ hrs turboprop and boeing time and have filled the form in 4 times to no avail. There are many that I know of that have beaten the system with far less experience in a matter of weeks.--I feel its the old "falling on the desk at the right time scenario"

[FL310]

that is certainly one possibility...but I know from first hand that you also have excellent chances if you use the right vitamine C. C = contact.. .. .Not so difficult to get in if you have someone who tells someone to see at an application which just poors in through the wires....I personally know three chaps who made in into the left hand seat (contract-wise) within less than 4 weeks.. .. .But isn't this the procedure all around the places these days? Well qualified and experienced colleagues are sitting and waiting for a job and non-rated and (classified)..... others are employed without any concern.. .. . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Mad]" src="mad.gif" />

[Cumulonimbus]

I can assure you, as fact, that there are not 8,000 suitably qualified or licensed pilots available in the market-place that would meet EJ's requirements. But, let's suppose for one minute that there were, you can rest assured that the same 8,000 applications were sitting on the desk of every other airline in Europe too. . .. .Every experienced Ops Director knows that is how the business is!

[Jonty]

I suspect that if postern is anything to go by, those 8000 applications are made up of alot of dupicates. I have to say, I would think that 8000 aplicants makes up a large proportion of ATPL/CPL hloders in the UK.

[Stelios]

What the hell, who on earth would want to work for easyJet anyway. They seem already out of control. The recruitment is one thing for example. Their management is another. Rubbish I say.

[2500]

The answer is 42.

[RVR800]

The on-line system used by Easyjet permits. .duplicate applications. If the file was filtered. .it would be a lot less. . .. .This is presumably why partly why Ryanair use payments to prevent timewasters and duplicate applications. .. .There are only 10,500 ATPLs with the UK CAA althogh there could be many applications from the Continent now that they are not cut off from our recruitment processes (Good this JAR thing isn't it?). .. .Thought for today... .Why dont the Europeans join the stirling zone. .lower and falling unemployment and higher growth?

[DeltaT]

yes I agree, lots of duplicates, and many may not be intentional. When you do a update, it does not replace your previous application. Explains why I get about 3 or 4 emails when they do those broadcast news updates they send out.

[Miss Kitty]

I thought I would get online and put the record straight. Yes, there are around 8000 applications on the EZY recruitment database but this made of all the people who applied since the database was created back in 1999. Furthermore these people have applied from all over the world (not just the UK) and many of them did not or do not meet our requirements at the time of application.. .. .Regarding duplicates, we do encourage people who do not meet our requirements to send us updates when their hours increase or if they start flying on a new type. This enable us to keep a track record of their career.. .. .Finally we receive more applications that meet our requirements that actual vacancies we have available and in all fairness we can not invite everybody to a recruitment workshop.

[HugMonster]

Thanks, Joyce <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" /> . .. .PS - how are you off for chocolates? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />. . . . <small>[ 21 March 2002, 17:29: Message edited by: HugMonster ]</small>

[TTT]

When I attended the ezy interview process, I felt a bit like a monkey by the end of the day - they are obviously not looking for monkeys...

[Dirty Harry]

Miss Kitty,. .. .Your response makes interesting reading, may I invite you to answer the following:. .. .My previous post on this thread asks the question; why do so many good pilots fail the easyjet selection process? I know of many very, very good pilots who have passed through your doors, but fail to satisfy your exacting requirements. Could it be that your selection process is failing the pilots, rather than good pilots failing your selection process?. .. .And before anyone says it, I do not have a current application in with easyjet.

[dot.con]

Harry. .. .Are you suggesting that the recruitment process at other airlines or any airline for that matter is perfect? . .. .Are you aware of the failure rate at easy in comparison to other airlines?. .. .I think you will find that its not all that bad. It is not in the interests of the recruitment team to fail candidates for the hell of it in fact if everyone passed there would be more time for the BBQ beers!. .. .Take it easy.. .. ..con

[cruella]

Our 48 hour selection process is designed to assess not only a pilots capability on the flightdeck but also their cultural fit with the company. Whilst no selction process can be completely foolproof we have a success rate which is consistently above 80%. However, as with any assessment, there is always an element of how well someone performs on the day - and we all have the occasional bad day!. .We are aware that it is frustrating to complete an on-line application form and then have to wait to hear from us which is why we send regular e-mail updates and one of the reasons we have the open days. . .We are constantly reviewing our recruitment and selction process and striving to improve it, which is why we actively seek feedback from the open days.

[Silvertop]

Cruella,. .Since I eventually completed the on-line application for ej late december, I have received ONE update. Once every 13 weeks! hmm I suppose that is regular. I have also e-mailed ej recruitment twice, asking for an update with no joy. Is this because you are simply overwhelmed by applications? ,if so just own up. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Confused]" src="confused.gif" />

[Jumbo Jockey]

IMHO Dirty Harry has a very good point here. Like him, incidentally, the following comments are not motivated by sour grapes, since I've never applied to easyJet. However I have been amazed by the "easyJet selection process" stories I have heard from pilots I've flown with lately, and I believe that for easyJet's own good they desperately need a dose of common sense injecting into their hiring programme - before they reject too many more good people..... .. .Lots of pilots in my company were given leaving dates with varying degrees of immediacy in the aftermath of 9/11 and our Chief Pilot (who's matey with his opposite number in EZY) apparently put in a good word for our lot - an excellent bunch of chaps and chapesses, a truckload, in fact, of experienced, jet-qualified, already-psychometrically-tested pilots who had been honing their airline-crew skills flying heavy jet airliners around a large portion of the globe until they found themselves suddenly on the wrong side of a line on our seniority list. Officially, EZY's response was to warmly welcome this opportunity and praise our airline's reputation for the excellence and professionalism of its pilots. So how did EZY go about availing themselves of this offer? By making them all go through the entire nauseating selection process - group exercise, logic tests, the whole nine yards. And some, sure enough, have failed - despite it being blindingly obvious to anyone who had the good fortune to fly with them that these individuals are GOOD AIRLINE PILOTS (sorry to shout).. .. .Logic tests and building stuff in a group out of lego or whatever it was are, I'm sure, handy things to assess young people whom you are considering for ab-initio sponsorship, but look here - these people typically had a couple of years and a thousand hours or more as second-in-command of a large jet airliner, being exposed to the various situations which tend to come your way in that time. I think that's enough to earn you the right to bypass this nonsense, don't you? If they were short in the logic or getting-on-with-a-crew departments, they wouldn't have been able to stay the course in a long-haul crew in my opinion.. .. .EZY, your selection procedure is wasting you a lot of time and money. How have we reached this bizarre situation where the people who consider themselves best-qualified to assess pilots, are not pilots?. .. .There, that's a load off my chest!

[TTT]

Could not agree with you more,. .. .Any others?....

[pilottom10]

I CAN SEE WHERE YOUR COMING FROM WITH THE ABOVE AS THESE PEOPLE WERE VERY EXPERIENCED.. .. .BUT AS HAS BEEN SEEN IN THIS AND OTHER INDUSTRIES EXPERIENCE IS NOT THE ONLY FACTOR IN WHETHER YOU HIRE A PERSON OR NOT.. .. .I QUITE LIKE THE IDEA THAT EVERYONE GOES THROUGH THE SAME PROCESS. AT THE TIME IT MAY HAVE SEEMED LUDICROUS BUT WHAT VIEW DO YOU THINK THE PILOTS WOULD HAVE TAKEN IF THEY WERE UNEMPLOYED AND THEN GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR SUITABLILITY TO JOIN THE COMPANY. MOST WOULD IM SURE JUMP AT THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO FORWARD TO THE SELECTION PROCESS.. .. .EASY JET HAS A PHILOSIPHY WHICH STARTS AT THE TOP AND RUNS THROUGH THE COMPANY. EVERYONE HAS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY WOULD FIT INTO THAT ETHOS( AND NOT EVERYONE DOES). HORSES FOR COURSES..... .. .BUT AGAIN I DO SYMPATHISE WITH YOUR COMMENTS..... .. .GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE WHO IS OUT THERE LOOKING FOR THEIR DREAM. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="tongue.gif" />. . . . <small>[ 28 March 2002, 19:25: Message edited by: waitingforclearance ]</small>

[Mentaleena]

What a dreadful thought - working for easyJet, no thanks. They have taken some real NUTCASES that I know, the chance of working with them again fills me with chunky sick!. . . . <small>[ 29 March 2002, 09:22: Message edited by: Mentaleena ]</small>

[Budgie69]

Jumbojockey - I take issue with you on the usefullness of group lego exercises during a selection process.. .. .A few years ago I was part of the selection team for BA. I used to mark application forms, do interviews and observe the group exercises. To my surprise, the group exercise gave me far more info about applicants than anything else.. .. .Like you I was very sceptical about lego etc. until I started to watch what happened. It very soon became apparent who could work well with others, who sulked when their ideas were rejected, who was unable to make their views heard, and who just HAD to be IN CHARGE. In short it gave a reasonably good pointer about who could work well as part of a team. There is no point in hiring a copilot who can fly an immaculate ILS engine out in a 30 kt crosswind if he is not going to speak up when he sees his captain about to do something stupid, and there is no point in hiring a captain who can do an even more immaculate ILS in an even stronger crosswind if he is going to refuse to listen to the voice of a concerned copilot.. .. .I interviewed both cadets and experienced pilots - some very experienced with several thousand more flying hours than myself - and in all cases I found the group exercise the most revealing part of the selection process.

[HOMER SIMPSONS LOVECHILD]

I'm sure the guys who were rejected from Virgin(Whats all this secrecy stuff,we all know who they are!)were perfectly acceptable candidates.However ,thousands of hours shouting at Mumbai on the HF while your quadrapufic scarebus flies itself along is one thing.Handling an engine failure in some prehistoric clockwork sim is another.Five sector sub orbital jaunts are yet another.It doesn't make them good or bad pilots .It just means that a lot of them crashed the sim(Oh yes they did!!)

[cruella]

As I said previously, no selection process is completely foolproof, however, we do have a high success rate. We deliberately put everyone thorugh the same selection process, regardless of experience, as we see people with a wide variety of experience and want to treat everyone as fairly and professionally as we can. The feedback we get from the pilots we assess suggests we achieve this as far as the majority are concerned. The process is run by recruitment specialists and Line Captains/Training Captains and I can assure you that everyone involved knows what they are doing!!