{"id":3564,"date":"2026-04-10T15:49:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=3564"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:49:10","slug":"united-airlines-ceo-judges-candidates-by-whether-pilots-would-want-to-go-on-a-four-day-trip-with-them-if-not-they-dont-get-hired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=3564","title":{"rendered":"United Airlines CEO judges candidates by whether pilots would want to go on a four-day trip with them\u2014if not, they don\u2019t get hired"},"content":{"rendered":"

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CEOs who have climbed to the top of their industries have an eagle eye for talent who drive success\u2014and many have developed their own tricks to find the right hires. In finding the right workers to steer the business to success, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has implemented an unusual test to find the right match.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked our head of flight operations to select a dozen of our pilots who were well-liked by everyone,\u201d Kirby said in a recent interview with McKinsey and Company. The leader of the $31.7 billion airline giant explained that after being selected for an interview, part of whether or not they move forward depends on if they\u2019d be good company.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI told this group of pilots, \u2018Your job is just to assess: Is this interviewee someone I would like to take a four-day trip with? And if you say no, then they\u2019re out. You get a veto vote,\u2019\u201d the CEO continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is to pick people who care about others, who you want to hang out with, who you want to be with.\u201d<\/p>\n

The competition is fierce for jobs at United Airlines<\/p>\n

The hiring hack is just one layer of the competitive process to land a job at United Airlines; a spokesperson tells Fortune that it\u2019s part of the larger process of hiring pilots, aside from the standards set by the business and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).\u00a0<\/p>\n

And this vibe test could serve as one way to separate the best talent from the rest of the pack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kirby said that whenever they open flight attendant hiring for around 3,000 positions, the company receives 75,000 eager applicants within a matter of hours\u2014hovering around a 4% acceptance rate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also reasoned that the business is \u201cone of the few places left\u201d where workers without a college diploma can work in a multitude of roles\u2014from flight attendants and tech ops, to ramp and gate agents\u2014and can still earn six-figure incomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo for us, the question is: How do you find people who have the right mentality and customer service attitude?\u201d Kirby said. \u201cWe can train them to do the jobs, but how do you build a process to pick the right people and keep them excited?\u201d<\/p>\n

The CEOs have their own interview tests\u2014from the car commute to the dinner table<\/p>\n

Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn doesn\u2019t even wait until a candidate arrives to start his assessment. The moment a job contender gets into the car, the hiring process is already underway; Ahn says how a candidate treats their driver on the ride to the office plays a part in whether they get the role. And he\u2019ll even slip the taxi drivers some extra money to weigh in on if they\u2019re worth hiring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The billionaire cofounder recounted a time when Duolingo had been on the hunt for a chief financial officer for a year. Ahn really liked one candidate who had an impressive r\u00e9sum\u00e9, but he turned down the applicant after learning they were \u201cpretty mean\u201d to their driver from the airport to the office. Similar to Kirby, Ahn believes personality can make or break a hiring decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur belief is if they\u2019re going to be mean to the driver, they\u2019re probably going to be mean to other people, particularly people under them,\u201d Ahn said on The Burnouts podcast earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Twilio CEO Khozema Shipchandler may put the company\u2019s senior job candidates through multiple rounds of interviews, but their success could hinge on one single question. After having a 45 minute dinner with the interviewees, the leader of the cloud communications company will pose a question back: \u201cDo you have any questions for me?\u201d If they pass on the opportunity or offer a blank stare, their odds of landing the gig drops instantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number one red flag for me is when someone doesn\u2019t ask questions towards the end of an interview,\u201d Shipchandler told Fortune last year. \u201cI think that\u2019s a pretty significant mark against them being curious about what they\u2019re interviewing, the company, the way we might work together, chemistry, culture, all of those things. That\u2019s a pretty big red flag.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Indeed CEO Chris Hyams has also stuck behind one pivotal interview question in assessing more than 3,000 candidates over the past 15 years. Instead of testing their personality, he had tried to gauge their decision-making skills through their responses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might seem strange, but I ask everyone, \u2018Do you have an iPhone or an Android, and why?\u2019\u201d Hyams told Fortune last year. There is no \u201cwrong answer,\u201d but the leader uses it as an icebreaker that opens up conversation on their passions and product sensibilities, also engaging their reasoning skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s actually a long 15-minute series of back-and-forth on this, where I get to learn a little bit about the human being, and about how they make decisions,\u201d Hyams continued.<\/p>\n

#United #Airlines #CEO #judges #candidates #pilots #fourday #trip #themif #dont #hired<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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