DHL

[FlyingFox37]

:) Hi All,
Just a quick question to all you knowledgeable types out there regarding the DHL selection process. Having been invited to interview soon Im wondring if anyone here has attended one of their interviews recently and if so would they care to share their experiences of the event. I have recieved guidance on how to get there and thats it so thought I would do some investigative work before hand.
many thanks.

[SinBin]

Hi FF37

Can I ask what your experience is and how DHL approached you for invitation to interview? Also did you send them a CV or was there an application form?

SB

[ramshorn]

Hi
I'm afraid i don't know anything about the DHL selection process but I would be interested to know what experience you have and your TT??
Regards
Ramshorn ;)

[future captain]

Looking at his profile, he is a helli pilot ex mill.

[angelorange]

Expect good natured chat with HR and Chief Pilot. Most of it is a questions cover DHL lifestyle - do you want to live at night and sleep in the daytime, rostering, Ts&Cs etc....

Then a sim ride.

All the best

[FlyingFox37]

Firstly a big thanks (:ok: ) to angelorange for the information. Nice to know what you are letting yourself in for.
To SB and ramshorn, as FC says Im Ex Mil with 3000 hours mostly rotary with some fixed wing experience. I approached the DHL rep at last years BALPA conference who took my CV and I kept updating them. Was offered an interview over the phone. I must add there was some persistence on my part.
Best wishes and once again thanks.

[Mr Angry from Purley]

FF37
There is a test also at interview stage, see if your normal etc :\

[Dom Joly]

Would be interesting to see if they favour applicants that can speak German ;)

[Donkey Duke]

Flyingfox,

Would that be for an FO position on the 757? Is that out of BRU? Where would you be based, and do you know anything about the type of rosters?

Cheers!

[gazelle341]

Go to www.pilotjobsnetwork.com for info on salary, contact details etc for all airlines (worldwide). DHL is listed under UK cargo operators.

Interview is with HR manager and then management rep (usually chief pilot). Quick psych written test is next. If you get through this stage you will be invited to a sim ride. Clacton 6B departure then landing on rwy 26 at LTN. The usual stuff.

DHL will take ex-mil, ex-cargo, low houred, ex-anything. Main thing is the personality and whether you will 'fit in'. German not required. We do however have a lot of pilots whose first language is not English.

send CV to [email protected]

Good luck

[Mr Angry from Purley]

Donkey
Based EMA on B757, lot of flying ex BRU, soon to be LEJ when DHL empire switch to mega new hub 2008
Gazelle - i'd take the email address off if i were you, if she finds out who you are she will have you strung up (or maybe you want that?) :\

[Donkey Duke]

Donkey
Based EMA on B757, lot of flying ex BRU, soon to be LEJ when DHL empire switch to mega new hub 2008
Gazelle - i'd take the email address off if i were you, if she finds out who you are she will have you strung up (or maybe you want that?) :\

Thank you for the response. Do you always go back to EMA, or do you layover in slightly nicer climates in the Winter, like Spain? Sounds interesting indeed. Cheers!

[Mr Angry from Purley]

DD
In theory you report at EMA then go away for anywhere from 24hrs to 9 days and not come back so in many ways its similar to a long haul lifestyle. Destinations range from Scandics to Spain / Portugal with plenty of time spent in CGN/BRU and soon to be LEJ these all being major DHL hubs.

If you hours hunting or looking for a glamerous job then don't apply. :\

[MaxBlow]

If LEJ becomes the main hub in 08 why is DHL using two airlines (EAT/DHL UK)?

Does anybody know if they will keep it this way in future? What is the reason for this? Are T&Cs any different?

Quite a few questions I know but any answer is much appreciated.

[Turkish777]

I know Im going off the original enquiry somewhat but below is a reply I recieved from DHL on the 24, OCT 2006, just to give you an update on their recruitment status:

Thank you for your application, which I received recently. Unfortunately we do not have any vacancies and do not anticipate any further recruitment this year.

:ugh: Is this a template on most Airline Recruiters PC's....

[727Man]

I to got the same response! about the same date, I sent mine to one email address and it came back with a totally different email address!

[Mr Angry from Purley]

Maxblow
Yes (i hope) , all eggs in one basket, similar.

Turkish and 727 man

DHL Air has few vacancies. They look at the CV's they have and invite for interview out of those applicants. They then close recruitment again until another batch of jobs come up. I suspect that unless your 757 rated you won't go to the top of the pile. In theory recruitment is closed for this year as courses are Jan-Feb so with you needing to give 2-3 months notice etc:\

[Pilot Pete]

Selection as already mentioned. Biggest thing is how will you adjust to the lifestyle change (assuming you aren't a night-freight dog already). You either love it or hate it. I hated it. In my opinion it is worse than a longhaul lifestyle as ALL your flying is at night and you will spend more hours hanging around dingy crew rooms (portacabins) than actually flying and that was more tedious and tiring at 3am than any flight I have ever done!

They obviosly have a retention problem due to it not being everyone's cup of tea, so they will need to hear good, well thought out reasoning about how you will fit in, how you will cope if you have family and how you will STAY. Unless things have changed since I was there you only get about 300hrs flying a year, but many, many more duty hours.

On the plus side, they are a decent employer, the hotels were mostly very good and they always paid on time....

Enjoy.

PP

[Donkey Duke]

Pete, where did you go from there? Any improvement? Cheers!

[Pilot Pete]

Britannia, now Thomsonfly and IMHO yes, much better. Plenty of day time flying, some away from base in hotels though, much better package including basic pay, duty and sector pay, pension, PHI and LoL insurance, more varied route structure with challenging little aerodromes and visual approaches, mix of fleets and long/short haul and a command after two years, which I wouldn't have got at DHL as it would have taken me 5 years to get the required hours at 300 per year! Oh, and the opportunity to sell back days of if I want at a favourable rate to increase take home pay should I choose.

And finally of course, food and cabin crew!;)

PP (failed Freight Dog:E )

[stansdead]

I can back up what PP says.

DHL is a good employer, but it is a lifestyle that you love or hate.

I quite enjoyed it, but did only last about 20 months before I moved back to charter flying. However, I hate that even more, so am now doing scheduled long haul for a certain UK airline.

I didn't find it tiring at DHL, but some guys did who struggled to sleep.

Think carefully if you like nights, they do age you rapidly.

[Canada Goose]

Am I being naive, but couldn't you grab a bit of shut eye whilst hanging around in dingy crew rooms ?

[IRISHPILOT]

Hello all,

do DHL do part time? If so, immediately or after a year?
Can I pay tax in the country of residence or does it have to be where my base is?
The salaries mentioned on PPJN show an SFO rate. - Is that for during the training or also a while after?
Time / hours to upgrade?

I know, many questions, but maybe someone can enlighten? cheers, IP

[Daysleeper]

Part time yes, at the moment I'm not aware of any FO's doing it and only a couple of captains, you would need someone to jobshare with.
Your personal tax affairs are your own so as long as you don't break any laws pay tax where you like, non UK residents get some less benefits.
FO becomes SFO after er, ATPL and min 1 year in company I think, makes no difference to money.
Non typed pilots have about 5K less pay in year 1 than typed, after that its the same. Cadet entry have different pay scales for first 4 years.

For you last question - if you join now - how much do you like sauerkraut?

[Honest Fr@nk]

Pilot Pete,

Those dingy crew rooms (ie the portacabins) have long gone.


It all depends on what you want. I go to work 3 to 4 times a month. That means low mileage. I travel to work at night and come home at night. That means I dont have to trawl around motorways at rush hour. I'm away from home for no longer than 5 days. That gives me and the missus breathing space. Money is ok, some argue that it should be better. Good hotels with transport sorted. Good blokes to fly with. I'm getting good time off. Some will argue that. You can live where you like( at the moment live abroad and pay little tax/no tax/claim it back etc.

But for the glamour boys----theres no cabin crew, no passengers to announce "this is your captain" (c'mon how very cheesy) and very little strutting about in daylight fully striped up.

There are quite a few people looking to get out of DHL at the moment--Why you ask? Its all down to the attitude of the MD.
But it can only get better.

Good luck.

[Obe one]

Well Put Honest Frank,

It's a shame that Pilot Pete didnt stay much longer than a couple of months at DHL, maybe then he would of seen the change to those "dingy crew rooms!"

On the other hand i suppose he is enjoying the quality of flying "shell suits" to the sun at a very low cost these days! erm... one feels that the "Britannia Royal service" has now gone...not quite same standard as it once was!

Oh well....happy days, :ok:

[Pilot Pete]

Guys

It has nothing to do with glamour, or 'stripes in the terminal during daylight', or cabin crew, or shell suits in low cost, it just comes down to lifestyle choice for the individual; you enjoy flying away from home for 6 days at a time and not seeing your family. You enjoy only flying when it is dark. You enjoy not getting fed or watered when at work. You enjoy living out of a suitcase for those 6 days away. You enjoy having the equivalent of jet lag to start your days off. I didn't. So the crew rooms are not portacabins any more, great! That wouldn't swing it for me. The 'Britannia Service' is gone; so what? I didn't join the airline for the service to it's passengers, I joined it for the lifestyle option. When I joined it was 15 years to command, but flying out and back getting home each day suited. I was converted immediately on entry to the 767 and flew that for less than 12 months before I got the CHOICE of longhaul (if you don't want it you don't have to do it). I chose to do it and thoroughly enjoyed it; much more enjoyable spending 5 days in Barbados on the beach than 5 days around the EU changing hotels every morning.

I took a (basic salary) pay cut to move from DHL, but earnt £19k more than the DHL F/O salary in my first year at Brits. 18 months in they started the low cost arm and were short of captains. After 2 years with them I had a command on a 737. I was years away from having the hours for a command with DHL at circa 300 per year.....

We have block window protection on our roster, at plus or minus 2 hrs, Flexible working at £530 per day for a captain, a salary scale with over 20 increments, a final salary pension scheme (which I am in), duty pay and sector pay, loss of licence insurance, death in service insurance, PPP for me and the family, the list goes on. I get home most nights or days, with very little deep night flying (which I hate), I fly about 700hrs per year for about £90k as a year 2 captain (including Flexi Work), have flown 3 flights in the last 28 days and have fitted out my ensuite bathroom (and done all the work to make it into a wet room) AND had excess time available for my sideline business and the kids.

So obe one and honest Frank, it does indeed depends on what you want. I HATED deep night flying, out of a suitcase, being away from home ALL the time with you and A N Other, who might just be a Tw@t who tied fishing flies in his room for 5 days (know him?) and I made my choice. The Britannia service may have gone (your opinion), but it doesn't make it a crap company to be employed by.;) And let's face it, I am an employee, not a passenger (shell suit or not).

Don't degrade other people's opinions just because you don't agree with them. You like night freight, then fine. I don't and I just told those who want to know the other viewpoint, having been there and done it for 6 mohths.

Enjoy, as will I.;)

PP

Canada Goose

Yes you could indeed, if you liked sleeping on bunk beds with paper sheets. The older you get the more fussy you get and also the harder it is to do this. I personally used to stay awake as I really felt like sh1t after 2hrs having to wake up and go back out in the freezing cold to operate another sector.....if you were in a deep sleep when you woke you would be in the cockpit half set up before you were fully awake....and that wasn't good.

[Canada Goose]

....if you were in a deep sleep when you woke you would be in the cockpit half set up before you were fully awake....and that wasn't good.

I can imagine !

Cheers. CG

[Banzai Eagle]

Pilot Pete

You missed one minor point, why did you join them in the first place then if it was that bad ???

[Daysleeper]

why did you join them in the first place then if it was that bad ???
I rather suspect his expectations were somewhat different.

[neil armstrong]

Like Pilot Pete (hello) there have been more people who have tried it but didnt like the life style ,if you dont try you dont know!
He moved on to a place he enjoys so good for him.
More people will make the move ,some because they want a lifestyle change some because (like honest frank mentioned before) problems with the MD.
Everybody joining good luck with the training ,everybody leaving the same!!

Neil

[Alvin]

Who is the new MD?

Is it his holy reverence the bishop?

I thought people spoke highly of him?

Alvin

[Min Drag]

I thought people spoke highly of him?
They probably do but they won't be pilots working for DHL Air:eek:
MD

[Pilot Pete]

Pilot Pete
You missed one minor point, why did you join them in the first place then if it was that bad ??? Not through choice, it was because of a bloke called Osama Bin Laden.;) They were the ONLY UK company employing pilots with 757 ratings and experience when I was being made redundant. They are a good employer, don't confuse my dislike for the lifestyle and package........

PP