I arrived at the F2F in Atlanta looking polished in a tailored Anne Taylor blazer and skirt, with sheer dark hose and conservative high heels. My hair hair was pulled back in a loose chignon, my nails freshly manicured, and my outfit finished off with small, gold studs and a gold watch. (The man next to me on my flight in assumed I was a "stewardess" already.) I had done all of my homework, and new what to expect. I was ready. As it turns out, so was everybody else.
I walked into a room filled with people dressed in a similar, dark-suited, fashion. Everybody was smiling, friendly, and outgoing. There were only a few young girls in the room who did not look put-together, and who seemed to hang back. I was truly impressed with the crowd gathered there. I thought almost any one of them would have done a better job than the young Delta FA who had served everybody beverages and snacks with a cold snare on my flight to Atlanta that morning.
The interview process was what everybody said it would be: they did a silly dance, divided us into three groups, gave us all a reach test...etc. They told us all that they were looking to hire 400 more people, and that they could technically hire all 54 of us. But, of course, they did not. They hired 4 people. They hired 4, shy, disheveled-looking girls, who all appeared to be under 25. One of them had only been in the military, and another had announced that she is a housewife and has never had a real job. Really? They literally seemed to be the youngest girls in the group.
That moment proved everything I had read online about how to prepare for an interview at Delta was false. I feel like I aced every portion of the interview. I was my professional, friendly, personable, sweet self. I have a true passion for taking care of people, and I would have done a stand-out job as a Delta FA. Not to mention, I brought to the table years of experience in customer service. Too many years it turns out.
I'm 39-years-old, but people often say they are shocked, because I look younger. I'm 5'8" and a size 4. I take great care of myself. There were so many people in that room who were funny and kind and experienced. The truth is, if ANYBODY from the over-30 group had been hired, and more people, I would be disappointed, but I would feel the process was at least fair. Instead, I feel robbed of my time and energy, and I feel foolish for participating in the whole charade. Delta had seen our video interviews, read our applications and talked to us all on the telephone before the interview in Atlanta. Why do they waste so much time and money to choose a tiny percentage of people?
I can only go on what I personally observed, and maybe it's been different in other groups, but I'd be willing to wager that if we had a demographic pie chart of Delta's hires this round, it would be hugely represented by women in their 20's, and that is not a proportionate representation of the applicants—definitely not in the group I was in.
My advice to Delta: Narrow the candidate pool down more significantly before conducting the F2F interview in Atlanta.
Coulcould.