Hello everyone,
I know it’s no longer fashionable in this forum.. but I thought it would be nice to leave you an impression of my assessment experience.
First day of the assessment you just go there 10-20 mins before 08:00. Stay in the lobby with the other candidates until someone comes get you.
Stage 1
From 08:00 to 09:00 company presentation, you will go to a computer room where they will explain you everything. Will be the same room for the technical quiz.
60 questions as you may already know. I got:
- Engine on A320 ceo
- Engine on A320 neo
- Who’s the CEO
- 4 question about the workers that do a job in a x amount of time, find the time or the workers will be needed for a different number of workers or a different amount of time
- Given diameter of a wheel, calculate how much distance will be covered in 2 rotation
- Some super easy equations, like 4y + 5x = 5, solve for x
- A fleet composed by 60 A320, 5 A350, 30 A330. Find the % of A330.
Concerning the ATPL quizzes, which were roughly 45 out of 60 I think, they are pretty straightforward. Not some deep web level questions. Just the basics but a bit mixed (a few about altimetry, Vmd, induced drag, parasite drag, some basic AGK).
But if you prepare fully for the Technical Interview you won’t have any problem with the quizzes.
For the group test both of the groups had the Lego one. It is just as it is described everywhere.
Just try to help, don’t talk continuously. Don’t monopolise the scene, don’t be the big leader guy. Don’t interrupt. Basically act as a normal polite person would.
After this stage you will be asked to go back to the lobby, where you will just have to wait like 15 mins for the results. The ones who succeed, will be given a time slot for the HR/Technical Interview.
Stage 2
The HR/Technical interview last approximately 30 mins. I had a First Officer asking me mostly HR and a Captain asking me technical. They are super nice, you can feel there is nothing sneaky and they make you feel comfortable.
It starts with the basic “tell me a bit about yourself”, “what are you doing now?”, “what is your background?”. He asked me if I ever had any moments of conflict during my training. What I like to do in my free time. Which bases I would like to chose.
Then they asked me about my ME (DA42). De-ice System, fixed pitch vs constant speed propeller, in which direction does the propeller spin (DA42), which is the critical engine and why. Vs and Vmca always from the DA42.
They asked me about taxi light (expect a question about airport lights), swept wings (everything in detail).
There was also a decision making question and it was: Flying single engine piston from A to B. Just a bit beyond halfway (still having 40 NM to run), the engine quit. You have an abandoned military aerodrome on your left. What do you do?
For these decision making type of question I think they know that there is no wrong of right answer (within the limits, of course). They wanna know how you analyse the situation, so don’t rush into conclusions. Maybe states all the available info you have and then try to figure out some options and then draw a conclusion. A DODAR approach may be useful. I’m telling you this because I don’t think I choose my answer wisely because I was rushing just to answer. So, no big deal if you wait a sec before replying.
Stage 3
They start at 07:00 on the next day. First part will be a briefing. But, as they said as well, it’s just for details and it’s worthless to try to learn a take off profile there. So be sure you do a few hours on a A320 sim with someone who knows. It really really helped me a lot.
Still, really nice guys. Very helpful. If you are struggling with something they may help you or give you some suggestions. But if they do they wanna see if you are able to improve.
Just a normal take off, RWY HDG 4000 ft, acceleration alt 1000 ft, 250 kts target speed.
After take off 30 45 degrees turns, accelerations and decelerations. Asked me to intercept a radial (for any inputs on the fmc don’t worry they will do it for you) and go inbound the VOR for a holding. They asked me which entry. It was a teardrop. I just did the turn, intercepted the radial inbound and they cleared us for the approach. Vectored ILS. They tell you when to reduce speed at first, but then it’s up to you on how you wanna plan to be fully configured on glide. So understand how S and F speeds means. Try to do a stabilised approach and be stable before 1000 ft. If you have to go around, go around. They will probably reposition you on a 3-5 miles final.
No charts given, no briefings, no checklist. Have a good scanning technique.
For pilot monitoring, be as much supportive as possible. Always think in advance, because if the PF does an error and you don’t recognise it, it’s kinda bit your fault as well. Just brief before with your colleague.
Stage 4
If you survive everything you still have a psychological test (really long), a CRM test (basically choose the best course of action for you), a FAST Adapt test and a cognitive reasoning test.
You will be tired as hell at this stage so maybe don’t leave the thing you consider most difficult at last. It takes roughy 3 hours to do everything and you are free to take breaks in between.
There it is, nothing more, nothing less. Try to prepare as much as possible, be confident with the the theory and if you don’t know something just say it.
My preparation
It took me one month and a half to get prepared, but I was working 40 hrs a week so if you live on your parents’ expense (just joking) it will probably take less.
I subscribed to pilotassessment which is quite useful especially because they have a forum that actually helps. I did the quizzes there, and the interview questions were actually spot on. Concerning the theory, I review the ACE and basically all the things that I was considering of practical use.
For the sim I did like 4 hrs in a local A320 sim with a EasyJet first officer.
That’s it ladies and gentleman,
Help each other and hope you the best.