These are the questions for the motivation-based interview that I can remember:
- Why would you like to be a commercial pilot?
- How does an aircraft generate lift?
- Can you briefly describe how a jet engine works?
- What do you know about the course? How many weeks are in the first stage? How many exams do you sit in the first stage? Where do you take stage 2 training? What license do you get after you complete stage 2 training? How many weeks is stage 4?
- What problems do you see the airline industry encountering in the future?
- Can you describe an aviation-related article that you've read recently?
- Have you taken any steps already to becoming a commercial pilot? Have you taken any formal exams, done or are doing a PPL, had a medical, etc?
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
And a couple of more "personal" questions:
- How much does the course cost? How much can a type-rating be?
- How will you be paying for the course? Will it be self-funded or with a secured loan?
- Are you in a position where you can afford the course?
- Do you realise that a career as a commercial pilot may require you to relocate to anywhere in the world? Do you understand the implications of this?
And if you're applying to a sponsored scheme:
- When was the airline formed?
- How many employees does the airline have? How many pilots?
- What are the "core values" of the airline?
- How many aircraft does the airline have?
- What types of aircraft does the airline have?
- How many bases does the airline have, and to how many destinations?
- What do you know about the plans for the airline in the near future?
- What are your first impressions about the airline? What do you and don't you like?
The better and more positive you answer, the more points you score, so if you don't know an answer, or your facts and figures are wrong, you'll lose marks, so prepare carefully!
The lack of hobby flying experience shouldn't make much of a difference, given that the courses are ab-initio, it's the way the interviewers interpret this into motivation for a flying career. Having zero experience puts you in a bad position, as it can give the interviewer the impression that "He wants to spend £80,000 on a course, for a career that he doesn't even know that he'll like yet, and he can't even be bothered to have a trial flight!" It certainly doesn't look good, and the questions they ask in accordance with this are very difficult to get out of and answer well.
If you've had a trial lesson, you should be fine, as like said before, just say that you've had a go, you loved it, and it would be silly to pay for something twice, that seems a fair answer.
I was talking with the assessor for quite a while afterwards, and he mentioned that the girl before me had 150 hours of private flying experience, so they cut her interview short, because this was all the motivation she needed. You need to get a certain mark to pass the interview, so if you fall short on something, let's say a lack of flying experience, you'd have to make it up with excellent knowledge of the course, the aviation industry, as that would show that you're equally as motivated. Preparation is key, with a bit of preparation, even your weaknesses can be twisted and turned into positives, or nearly!
I do a lot of interviews at work, and my other half is an interviewer and recruiter for a big bank, so I know a bit about interviews. Just talking to her is a like an interview!
