Originally Posted by
Pinuz89
I would like to write my (sad) experience about my preparation and assessment in Ryanair.
I will try to be brief, if I can.
I really don't want to discourage people having the interview soon, or people willing to have one.
This is just my experience, and I want to tell you how it has been for me.
Ok, so I've created my profile on CAE, adding all my details and CV / bla bla bla, sending my application from there.
The day after they sent me the invitation to do the online assessment (it was Monday).
Fine, they've been so quick !
I completed the online test on Wednesday, with a lot of preparation before (latestpilotjob is a wonderful tool). I was a little bit concerned about some tests, because I didn't have the feeling to have done some logic exercises very good (especially the new one).
During the video interview I had the following questions:
1- Why do you want to join Ryanair ?
2- What are your weaknesses ?
3- How would you deal with an emergency ?
Very common and straightforward questions.
Anyway the day after I received an email stating that they were "moving to the next step": the phone call.
I was really happy because at least I passed the step 1.
I set my mobile volume to max those day, because you don't want to miss that call. (they said that the slot for the call should have been between 9:00 and 17:00).
I received finally this call after 6 days from the email, from Netherland, where a very nice lady confirmed that all my application was ok, no documents missing, and she made an appointment for me, in Ryanair headquarter in Dublin.
It was 2 week in advance, so plenty of time to organise the travel and the accomodation.
I was so happy, finally an official interview, and considering that they have been so quick sending the invitation, the result and the call, I really felt that they were looking for me (my mistake !).
I received a confirmation email, stating that they wanted a payment of 350€ for the assessment (considering that I had paid 55 for the online test earlier), so that was the first thing that did sound very good : 405€ for being considered by Ryanair.
The day before the assessment I went to uPilot (very very good guy and well prepared for Ryanair), in order to refresh my mind about the 737.
Ok, finally the big day came, I went to Ryanair main entrance, meeting other guys there; they were there for the same reason.
Very nice group of 7 guys hoping to get the job.
We were welcomed in a briefing room, where a short presentation has been held, regarding how that day would have been structured.
Some guys had the sim assessment first, others (including me) the interview first.
After having been paired with a sim partner, we had plenty of time to discuss about the chart (it was Liverpool).
Finally, I've been called for the interview, so I went inside a room with the HR assessor together with the technical one.
The HR guy started asking some common question:
Tell me about yourself, why Ryr, where do you see yourself in 5 years, ecc. Something related to my CV, my previous job, my education, ecc.
I answered honestly, maybe my tone of voice hasn't been very assertive, but I said everything I wanted to say.
Then the other guy started asking some technical questions, like why should we mount the winglets, Which is the best position for the COG, why ?
What is the difference of DA and MDA ? What is the max altitude for the b738, and which is the altitude inside the cabin.
I really answered to all question very well, and the assessor was impressed, in fact, after the last question, he said: “oh, that because you are an engineer” (I have a degree in engineering), and I replied “yes, that the reason”, laughing together.
It was a nice chat, then I was free to go. I shook their hands and I went back to the briefing room with a very good feeling, waiting for the sim session.
Finally me and my sim mate have been called, so we made ourselves comfortable, organising the charts, and all the instruments inside the cockpit.
I was the PF first, so I gave a departure briefing to my partner, including the SID, the clearance, any possible threat, and an emergency brief, involving him asking for any suggestion or comments.
I took off, following the SID, all perfect, and after having reached the waypoint, I was told to practice some exercises (steep turns, climb descent, radial intercepting), all went really fine.
At some point the assessor, acting as a cabin crew, said that there was a sick passenger on board, with a suspected heart attack.
So I gave control to the PM, I briefed him, following DODAR, evaluating that an immediate landing in liverpool was the most suitable option, of course asking my partner if he agreed with this option. (claiming also, we are under our max land weight, so we are ok for an immediate return).
Then I briefed the cabin crew following NITS, so stating the intention, time available, and other special instructions, such as “we'll be taxing quickly to the gate, waiting for medical assistance”.
My PM made the Pan Pan call, all good.
We landed the aircraft under radar vectors.
My landing hasn't been very soft, but it was not a requirement, at least it was quite stable (not perfect but within limits), and on the centreline. (Considering that if you have to come back with a sick passenger, you are not looking for the best landing in your life).
My PM has been very helpful and prepared, then we swapped the task, PF to PM.
I tried to help my mate as much as possible, making the callouts, giving some tips if necessary, ecc.
He flew very good as well.
After the sim session we were free to go, my sensation was that we nailed it.
Very good chat during the interview, very good sim session, of course I could have done some mistakes, we are human, but overall I thought it went very very good.
So I went back home the day after with a very good feeling, very satisfied about my performance.
3 days after I received the long-awaited email, saying that “your assessment has been unsuccessful”, and I might be called after 12 months, (might !).
I spent all that day thinking what could have been wrong, what did they expect from me, ecc.
I heard the other guys, only 1 over 7 got the job.
So, I realised, I wasn't bad, they only needed 1 or maybe 2 pilots, and they call 100 in order to raise money with the interviews.
After the email, I felt that they played with us, and just to mention, I spent for the travel, the accommodation and the interview something like 1000€, and I think that's not fair with the people, that are looking for a job after hard work.
And just to mention, a lot of mates of mine went through the same assessment, failing as well were the pass rate was around 2 over 7.
All the people working for Ryanair that I know, they got the job at least 1 year ago.
So, it was a different period, now they might be slowing down.
That's my opinion, you can have a different one.