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The Complete Airline Interview Work Book
The Complete Airline Interview Work Book
AIRLINE PILOT
INTERVIEW WORK BOOK
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
THE PHONE INTERVIEW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
SKYPE OR VIDEO INTERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
THE PANEL INTERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
First Impressions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The format of a typical panel interview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What the interviews are looking for. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5. HOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The three most important questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
QUESTION 1. Can you tell us about yourself?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
QUESTION 2. What attributes will you bring to this company?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
QUESTION 3. Why do you want to work for our airline?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6. OTHER POWERFUL QUESTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Negative style questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Weaknesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Overcoming Negatives and the F Word. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7. BEHAVIOURAL QUESTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Tell us about a time ...? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
8. TECHNICAL QUESTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
How to answer open ended technical questions.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Scenario style technical questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Sample technical questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
9. SCENARIO BASED QUESTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
10. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
11. TOP 50 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
12. GROUP EXERCISES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
13. RESUME AND COVER LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
14. HELP DESK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
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1. INTRODUCTION
Airline pilot interviews have evolved dramatically over the last decade. Gone are the days of
two check captains rigorously probing your aerodynamic technical knowledge. Nowadays
the interview team will generally consist of at least one member of the human resources
department and representatives of flight operations.
The modern airline interview is now centered around the behavioral based concept developed by human resource
teams around the world and can seemingly have very little to do with aviation. Behavioral based interviews work on the
premise that how you have conducted yourself in the past is indicative of how you will perform in the future.
There are three general categories of behavioral questions:
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Tips!
M
ake an appointment for the phone interview and ensure you can take the call at a time that will allow you not to be
distracted and you are in a quiet location.
Remain professional, remembering this is an interview.
Refer to your notes but dont read from them, use bullet points for reference.
Stay upbeat, positive and passionate.
Smile when you talk, this will alter the tone of your voice conveying a friendly, positive demeanor.
Use short, clear and concise answers.
Turn Call Waiting OFF!
Whilst the interview will normally last 10- 15 minutes, be prepared to clear an hour of your time so as not to be time
pressured. There are several standard questions that must be asked and this will allow you to prepare in advance.
During your preparation write your answers in point form. During the interview this will allow you to refer to your notes
whilst still ensuring your answers are fresh, natural and unscripted.
The opening questions will normally confirm the information that they have about you is correct. Your contact
information, licenses, ratings and flying hours. Know your CV and make sure it is up to date.
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THE COMPLETE AIRLINE PILOT INTERVIEW WORK BOOK Flightdeck Consulting 2013 - 5
Notes
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Tips!
D
ress should be neat, tidy and appropriate. There is no such thing as over dressing in a job interview, however it is
best to be conservative.
A confident handshake, but not too firm, making eye contact with your opposite.
Have a pleasant and warm smile.
Make positive small talk, this will help to settle your nerves.
Be courteous and attentive.
Have a positive, confident outlook on the day.
Y
ou have worked hard for this day, dont blow it by making a joke thats taken the wrong way. I have seen too many
jokes back fire on the candidate, its not professional and has no place in todays professional job interview.
Use common sense
Be yourself, but be the best version of yourself possible. We all like to work with people we like and who like us.
Turn your phone OFF, dont just leave it on Silent.
Watch your small talk, So your just the recruiter? Wont go down very well.
E
veryone you meet is part of the interview process. Dont tell jokes to the secretary or ask where the little boys
room is. Maintain your professionalism throughout.
Notes
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1. Overall personality, will you fit in, are you what we are looking for?
2. How you cope under stress, particularly when you have made an error or mistake.
3. Can you be trained, i.e. are you able to take direction?
4. Your ability to use reasoning and logic
5. Your command potential
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Do Not:
Make excuses
Become defensive
Continue to try and justify your answer
Act dejected
Continue to dwell on it to the point where you lose your concentration.
There is a point to all of this, it is essential to demonstrate to the panel how you perform under pressure. In the Human
Resources world there is a theory on behavioural patterns. The theory is that how you have behaved in the past is
indicative of how you will perform in the future. i.e. when your backed into a corner do you problem solve using logic,
experience etc and how well do you recover from errors.
Do:
Work with them and follow their guidance, take the new information with enthusiasm and a positive approach.
I hadnt thought of it like that?
Of course, that makes sense now!
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Do Not:
Allow yourself to be put into a position where you might be seen as argumentative
Become disagreeable or show lack of interest.
Justify your lack of knowledge in the area.
I havent flown the 747 so I really cant answer that question
Tips!
Remain positive
Take your time
Apply your knowledge of your current aircraft type and apply it to your answer.
Break your answer down, keep it simple.
Use reasoning and logic in constructing your answer.
Example:
Describe to us the new Airbus A370 fuel system
OK, I havent had the opportunity as yet to fly the A370 but I will give it a go, Being that the A370 is an ultra long range
twin engine aircraft capable of flying up to 19 hours I would imagine it would have a fuel capacity in the vicinity of 160
tonnes ( nineteen hours plus one hour of reserve at say eight tonnes an hour ), two wing tanks plus a centre wing tank
minimum, at least one stage of fuel/ oil heat exchanger and would be delivered pressurized to the engines
OK, anything else
Yes, there would certainly be a cross feed system, a jettison system and a fuel management system
Do Not:
Justify your lack of knowledge of the aircraft or systems
Be embarrassed to have a go.
Notes
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NOTES
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