The interviewing process was pretty rigorous. Alaska takes the time to completely assess each applicant to be sure you will be the right fit for the job. I applied online through their website, a day or two later I got an email with approximately 5-6 questions, I filled that out and provided a day and time that I could receive an 'over the phone interview', during the phone interview I was asked about previous employment, and about specific experiences. I was told I would be moving onto the next step of the hiring process. She emailed me a date/time/location for the next part.
I showed up 15 minutes early, there was an alaska recruiter waiting to check me in, I got my name tag, and took a seat in the conference room (there were approximately 30 people there for the same reason) we watched a 15-20 minute informational video about alaska and then 4-5 supervisors from the call center came up and introduced themselves and answered questions, after the presentation they asked everyone if they were still interested and if they weren't they felt this job wasn't for them then they could go (they gave us a 15 minute break to decide) after the break we all came back into the room where they randomly drew names and assigned a time that the one on one interviews would start (that same day) - we all moved down the hall into a bigger conference room, and waited for our assigned time.
Once the assigned time came up we went into another room where I was asked about job history, dates of employment (they need a 10 year work history - which isn't easy due to the time, they're flexible with date range as long as you get the gist of the information down) we discussed roles in previous jobs and she asked me a few situational questions. She sent me back to the main room, where I waited around 10 minutes. After that, another supervisor got me, took me into a different room where there was a computer and a piece of paper with information written on it, she wanted me to book a trip departing seattle arriving in Sitka Alaska, basically they want to make sure you know how to navigate a windows based computer, and you can type and also read and comprehend information. After that she asked me more situational questions, this one on one lasted about 10 minutes, then she asked me to go back to the main room.
I waited about 15 minutes and then she came back and handed paperwork to one of the recruiters, they called me name, offered me the position as long as my background check, drug screen etc. came back OK. They gave me an appointment date/time to go have my drug screen done, also they handed me the city code sheet, you have to memorize all city codes that alaska/horizon fly too, there are approximately 115 codes, it seems a little overwhelming but as long as you buy flash cards and take the time to do it, it's not that bad. I also used the quizlet app on my iPhone which helped me a lot!
On the day of the drug screen, I went in, checked in at the front, and was taken downstairs to provide the urine sample. Alaska is also a nicotine free company (it reduces the cost of healthcare for all employees) so after the urine sample, they give you a mouth swab to put between your gums for 10 minutes, after the wait they seal it and both samples get sent off for testing. If you have used nicotine in the last 6 months then you have to wait 6 months to apply again.
I waited a few days, and received several emails from different HR personnel and supervisors, theres a few work sheets you need to complete before your first day.
In my experience from previous jobs, there is quite a bit of stuff you need to complete and hoops to jump through before the position is yours. At first it was a little overwhelming, but if you just stick with it, and complete each task as it comes, you'll be ready to start in no time. Since alaska puts this much effort into hiring the right people, the turn over rate is almost zero and the dedication from employees is amazing.