MaverickSawyer
Acolyte of the Probe
Before I begin in depth about the process that got me hired at GAT Airline Ground support, perhaps a little background is in order. I’m Patrick (MaverickSawyer around these parts of the Internet) and at the time that this part takes place, I’ve been delivering flyers door to door for the better part of 2 years. After I got on rollerblades, it started being profitable, but it still wasn’t enough to pay the bills if I moved out on my own. So, I had been conducting a low-level job search for a while, with minimal results.
One night in mid June 2012, I get on the computer at home and go to the local Craigslist, and promptly head to the “General Labor” list of the Jobs section. I start scrolling down, and come across a posting for “Ramp Agent”. As an aviation fanatic, this grabbed my attention. So, with nothing to lose, I opened the posting. It basically asked for anyone who had no drug or criminal history and a driver’s license. Since I met these requirements, I applied, not expecting to hear back at all.
Well, I was VERY surprised to get a phone call the next day from the office administrator at GAT’s Sacramento Station, out at Sacramento International Airport (IATA code: SMF). They wanted me to come in for an interview on (if I recall this correctly, which it may not be) Thursday. I told them “Sure!” So, I go and get the location pulled up on Google Earth to figure out where I needed to go (I’m a visual learner. NEVER give me written driving directions…
), and dig out my button-up shirt and slacks for the interview, then promptly went and posted on Facebook that I had a job interview.
As the time rolled around for the interview, I arrived 15 minutes early, as I am prone to do when I have a job interview or appointment. After a 10 minute wait past the scheduled time, I and 4 others (one other white guy like myself, two Pacific Islanders, and a Japanese guy) all head into the interview room, and we wait a few more minutes until the last 2 people arrive. After this happens, the interview gets under way. It was focused mainly on whether or not we were willing to work in a high-noise- high-temperature, fast-paced work environment. Obviously, I answered “Yes,” since if I said “no,” I wouldn’t get hired! After this, we had a few questions asked of each of us as to what we did right now, and what we wanted from this job. Then the magic words were uttered: “You’re hired. All of you.”
After this, we were given a number of packets of paperwork to fill out, mainly for background checks and employment history. Then, we got fingerprinted for the United States Postal Service background check. (I’ll explain why later.) Afterwards, we were given directions to go to a specific doc-in-the-box for a urine sample drug test. I went right away, and wound up spending an HOUR in the waiting room. I eventually got that taken care of, and then went home feeling good about how the day went. (Fun tidbit: Vice President Biden was at SMF that day. IDK why. :shrug: )
On Friday, June 29, 2012, I was called back to GAT to fill out further paperwork, all regarding my employment with said company. This did not take long, and was informed that I was now officially employed at GAT, and I was to expect a phone call after a few days with further instructions about what would happen next. I was then pulled aside and told that I had caused quite a stir with my FBI background check. Alarmed, I asked why. They informed me that it had to be double checked because it was so clean: No credit reports, no criminal record, no traffic violations, etc. I replied, “What do you expect from an Eagle Scout?”
Coming Next Week… Part 2: I Get Schooled.
One night in mid June 2012, I get on the computer at home and go to the local Craigslist, and promptly head to the “General Labor” list of the Jobs section. I start scrolling down, and come across a posting for “Ramp Agent”. As an aviation fanatic, this grabbed my attention. So, with nothing to lose, I opened the posting. It basically asked for anyone who had no drug or criminal history and a driver’s license. Since I met these requirements, I applied, not expecting to hear back at all.
Well, I was VERY surprised to get a phone call the next day from the office administrator at GAT’s Sacramento Station, out at Sacramento International Airport (IATA code: SMF). They wanted me to come in for an interview on (if I recall this correctly, which it may not be) Thursday. I told them “Sure!” So, I go and get the location pulled up on Google Earth to figure out where I needed to go (I’m a visual learner. NEVER give me written driving directions…
), and dig out my button-up shirt and slacks for the interview, then promptly went and posted on Facebook that I had a job interview.As the time rolled around for the interview, I arrived 15 minutes early, as I am prone to do when I have a job interview or appointment. After a 10 minute wait past the scheduled time, I and 4 others (one other white guy like myself, two Pacific Islanders, and a Japanese guy) all head into the interview room, and we wait a few more minutes until the last 2 people arrive. After this happens, the interview gets under way. It was focused mainly on whether or not we were willing to work in a high-noise- high-temperature, fast-paced work environment. Obviously, I answered “Yes,” since if I said “no,” I wouldn’t get hired!
After this, we had a few questions asked of each of us as to what we did right now, and what we wanted from this job. Then the magic words were uttered: “You’re hired. All of you.”After this, we were given a number of packets of paperwork to fill out, mainly for background checks and employment history. Then, we got fingerprinted for the United States Postal Service background check. (I’ll explain why later.) Afterwards, we were given directions to go to a specific doc-in-the-box for a urine sample drug test. I went right away, and wound up spending an HOUR in the waiting room. I eventually got that taken care of, and then went home feeling good about how the day went. (Fun tidbit: Vice President Biden was at SMF that day. IDK why. :shrug: )
On Friday, June 29, 2012, I was called back to GAT to fill out further paperwork, all regarding my employment with said company. This did not take long, and was informed that I was now officially employed at GAT, and I was to expect a phone call after a few days with further instructions about what would happen next. I was then pulled aside and told that I had caused quite a stir with my FBI background check. Alarmed, I asked why. They informed me that it had to be double checked because it was so clean: No credit reports, no criminal record, no traffic violations, etc. I replied, “What do you expect from an Eagle Scout?
”Coming Next Week… Part 2: I Get Schooled.
Yeah, you gotta be careful of those guys with no background. You never know what those non-criminals have been up to 
