Dodgy Impulse Interview

[Ice Tongs]

I recently attended a second interview for Impulse Airlines. Was told on the phone by HR Manager that it would be either a one on one or two on one (as in two Impulse staff and one candidate) however once there it was actually a three on two - that's three Impulse staff interviewing two candidates at the same time. Was very surprised as no suggestion this was going to happen. A friend has since informed me that this change of procedure without informing me prior to the actual interview may be illegal. This isn't sour grapes, although I admit I didn't interview as well as I could as having a second person there did throw me so naturally very disappointed (wouldn't you be?). Wonder whether this was another of those awful but common interview tactics where they throw the unexpected at you to see how you respond. Anyone enlighten me? :confused:

[faar_canal]

People like you make me sick!

A company does not have to tell you their interview techniques prior to an interview, and I am sure it is not illegal to have 3 people interview you.

The more people that can interrogate you, the wider opinion they have on a candidate.

Obviously, you are suffering from sour grapes, because you failed the interview.

It appears that maybe the interview panel found flaws in your suitability for the job.

Get a life, and stop making excuses for not getting a job. Rest assured the courts would laugh at your suggestion of "foul play".

No one likes a sore loser!

:p

[Evacu8]

Well, you dont actually 'make me sick'.... but you have to expect airlines to try different tactics to see how people deal with unexpected situations, after all.... thats what we are employed for as cabin crew.

If you cant adjust your approach in an interview when you come across an unexpected change, how are you going to cope in an aircraft when something unexpected happens?

That's probably the way they approach it.... why do you think QF changes their interview process and interview questions every time they hold interviews? If you knew exactly what they were going to do, you'd have an unfair advantage.... you have to learn to think quickly if you want the job !

And, no it's not illegal to change the way you interview.... an employer has the right to interview any way they wish, as long as they dont break E.E.O law, O.H.&S law, and common law.

[Ice Tongs]

Faar Canal, can you actually READ??? Did you read my entire message? Did you read the bit about NOT having sour grapes? Did you understand that it's not that three people were interviewing me, it was that three people were interviewing me at the same time as another candidate after their HR manager had told me it would be a one-on-one or two-on-one? Of course not getting a job you really want is disappointing, but that's SO not my point. At EVERY airline interview (and there have been many), I've always been informed by the airline's HR (or whoever) what will be involved. It may not be illegal to do what Impulse did but it certainly sucked. Get your facts straight and learn to read before slinging mud. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[ 26 August 2001: Message edited by: Ice Tongs ]

[ 26 August 2001: Message edited by: Ice Tongs ]

[faar_canal]

Looks like Impulse did the right thing, and did not hire someone with an obvious short fuse!

Imagine if a passenger happened to make a remark to this person, and they reacted in the same manner!

Its funny how these people want to get these jobs with the airlines, and soon as things don't go to their plans, they then resort to bagging them, as indicated by the title of the post"Dodgy Impulse Interview".

The fact that you have said other airlines told you how they would interview you, suggests to me that you you have been rejected many times before!

As a pilot, not with Impulse mind you, I am glad that I will never have the misfortune of having to work in a team that involves disgruntled people like yourself.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Sonique]

faar_canal,

As a pilot in Australia can you seriously tell me that you were not at any stage bitter/upset with the airlines for not hiring you or giving you the run around ?

If you were a QF cadet and got straight into the company due to nepotism then I can undetstand !....but surely....as a pilot trying to accumulate the minimum hours required, and getting rejected or even not being invited to an interview would surely make you depressed. I read the dunnunda and godzone forum frequently and I can tell you that there are many others out there ( i.e - wannabe airline pilots) who are just the same.

Biscut chucker - do you think you could start posting something more substantial in the highabove and pprune forums instead of just adding a reply just for hell of it. :)

** Ice tongs baby...I know how you feel - hang in there mate. Your character and personality can not be judged by others in this forum just by a simple pprune posting.

Please take my comments in the spirit of this forum.

Regards,
Sonique - " I wanna touch the Sky, I wanna fly so high "

[Ditch]

Again.......

NOT HAPPY JAN!!!!

Does everyone need to be so immature?? Stop slamming each other for once, and post something interesting.

Im over it :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :confused:

[ 27 August 2001: Message edited by: Ditch ]

[Ice Tongs]

Faar Canal please let us all know which airline you supposedly work as a pilot for so we can all avoid it as obviously you have trouble reading - hands up who wants to fly on an aircraft with an illiterate pilot? Don't make assumptions - yes I've been rejected by a number of airlines but I've also been accepted - have many happy years of working as a flight attendant, both internationally and domestically. I am NOT slamming Impulse, just their INTERVIEW practices. Will now take Ditch's advice and stop boring everyone else by having to spell things out very clearly to YOU. Why is it fellow cabin crew get it but you don't? (Sorry Ditch) And just out of interest, why is a pilot in the cabin crew forum anyway? :eek:

[ 27 August 2001: Message edited by: Ice Tongs ]

[SJ]

Ice Tongs

You can judge a company by the quality of its recruitment team.

Sad to hear about your experience. You obviously expected, like any customer, that what had been represented to you is what you were going to receive. And so you should.

You obviously expected that the airline's recruitment team would deliver your interview process with the level of professionalism you would be expected to deliver to their customers. And so you should.

Its unfortunate that crew recruitment departments never seem to receive customer evaluations the way we do on the line. Aside from loving my job, the flying, my colleagues and the customers I meet, I treat my customers well because they evaluate my performance. Nobody is better qualified to do so than the last person I poured coffee for, or the last person who handed me a sick bag.

No customer evaluations if you work in crew HR, where a qualified human resource manager is a sight never seen. Feedback is always dismissed as 'sour grapes'.

Playing dressups with a CSM badge does not make one a customer service professional. Winning a popularity contest in the local sauna does not qualify one to be a human resource professional. Unfortunatley, add both together and you'll generally find the result giving crew interviews.

As a Flight Attendant with two management degrees and membership with the Australian Institute of Management, I can assure you that there is no evidence whatsoever that bizzarre interview technique measures an applicant's ability to manage situational adversity. This includes passenger management, EPs or the raft of situations that challenge crew to keep good face and the cabin running seemingly smoothly.

I can't find any reason to try and interview two strangers at once except if someone had shortlisted too many applicants, and the interviewers wanted to get home early by doubling up. Rude, and grossly unprofessional, not to mention an insult to your professional privacy. Only a few job related traits can be measured by observing your behaviour. In fact, by putting you in that situation your true behaviour is likely to have been more obscure.

I hate to say it, but what you experienced was just another 'reduce the numbers' exercise. No assessment merit whatsoever.

I've been there myself, on your side of the table. My fifth and successful attempt at getting a Flight Attendant job happened with a first-round interview panel solely composed of Flight Attendants. The panel was 3 on 1 and they earned my respect because they knew what they were talking about, and I knew they knew, so I shut up and listened. I admired their professionalism because they were people who led by example, not by unqualified bitchiness.

Sadly, the same can't be said for others who think they're God because they slip on jackboots and pinstripe for a room full of early-20s wannabes.

I can feel a slight amount of compassion for the poor quality of crew recruitment standards. Line and clerical staff suffer from the same lack of professional development that plagues many company budgets. But, shortcommings inside the company shouldn't be played out on a customer, retail or trade.

A company has the right to recruit its potential employees in any manner the company sees fit, according to law. There's a good reason for that - only a company knows who fits and who doesn't. That's not to say that I haven't looked at some colleagues and thought "how the f*ck did you get this job".

But I would rather be interviewed by fellow crew than a recruitment firm or HR personnel. Those airlines I applied to, who used subcontracted HR outside the company, wouldn't invite me to assessment.

While how a company interviews may not be illegal, Fair Trading law, in most states, specifically prohibits anyone from misleading or deceiving others about the availability, nature, terms or conditions, or any other matter relating to a job opportunity.

I persisted, found an airline with a culture I preferred and I grabbed it with both hands, and they me. If you really want to fly, if you really like working hard, if you can put up with crap from customers, colleagues and come back for more, give as well as take, then keep applying.

Frankly, I'd be thankful you got a glimpse inside the company, saw what it was like and apply elsewhere. Laugh at them, with nothing better to do than try and keep the smart ones out in case they're competition.

I welcome colleagues who can question as well as follow procedure. We need more of you and I hope to see you out there.


:)

[Sick Squid]

Wind your necks in, the lot of you. I'll not put up with any pointless slagging and namecalling; if you've a point to make make it with civility or don't bother to make it at all.

At the moment this thread is a hairsbreadth away from being classed as a waste of server bandwidth, and shut down. Get on topic... it would be a shame to lose this one, as it has a valid basis on the different approaches companies can choose to employ during interviews. At least thats what I read between the bickering.

[ 27 August 2001: Message edited by: Sick Squid ]

[SJ]

*scratching head and trying to figure out why I called Over It, Ice Tongs* :o

[cabin lad]

Well I think some of the group interview techniques used for cabin crew are a waste of time. It's an un-natural environment and everyone is feeling nervous so it's hard to behave normally especially with accessors watching you. If you know what thay are looking for it's easy to play the game especially if you strike a happy medium. I'm sure even with faar_canel's aggressive attitude could manage the challange if they tried - not saying you'd want to but do you get my point? I have been an assessor on group interviews myself and seen how assessors have different views on the same candidate some like them/some don't...it depends who you get on the day!
I'm sure we have all been disappointed with the outcome of an interview before now and if you haven't then your day will come - let's hope people will be sympathetic not pathetic - mentioning no names!!! ;) ;)