kirkuk
25th Mar 2008, 19:32
It is rare for me to post a comment on these forums, but today I make an exception.
GSS approached me to attend an interview, after I had submitted my CV to them. I have 4000 on the 400, and worked for a major carrier for 20 years, without any incidents. Never failed a Sim or Route check. On the phone they gave me the impression that the interview would be “fairly informal”
I turned up early, in my Sunday best etc. Barely having sat down, their “quality manager” thrust an application form at me. Now,I have no problem in filling in forms, so long as I am given adequate time to do it properly, not 15 min before an interview, and not a form that required info that I just did not have on me, nor had permission to give out i.e. referees etc. When I pointed out that they had a very detailed CV, I was told they had never received one from me. How and why did they find me then!!
I suggested we reschedule the interview (I was now feeling very uncomfortable, but they persuaded me to stay.) Big mistake. I have no axe to grind, but I can honestly say this was the worst interview experience of my life.
Bearing in mind that I hadn’t been near a cockpit for 2 years,(I am retired) 2 of the 3 interviewers pumped me with a string of technical questions,(would you remember in detail the rapid decompression drill after 2 years not thinking about airplanes!) questioned the total hours in my logbook(whose counting when you have over 10000 hours, ) were heavy handed and I though quite rude. My opinion. 3 managers behaving like they were running a big airline with a big pool of pilots to pick from, when actually they were lucky to have me there. I am a normal guy, but experience like me does not walk through the door every day. Never once did they ask to see my training records that I had brought with me.
Anyway, they never even bothered to write to me with an outcome. Now, what does that tell you.
PS the logbook issue: Interviewer thought I should have had more hours than I did, for a pilot with 25 years in the airlines. I went home and thought about this, then realised that for many years I had only counted “takeoff to touchdown” This was the way I was trained in Australia. But who’s counting………
GSS approached me to attend an interview, after I had submitted my CV to them. I have 4000 on the 400, and worked for a major carrier for 20 years, without any incidents. Never failed a Sim or Route check. On the phone they gave me the impression that the interview would be “fairly informal”
I turned up early, in my Sunday best etc. Barely having sat down, their “quality manager” thrust an application form at me. Now,I have no problem in filling in forms, so long as I am given adequate time to do it properly, not 15 min before an interview, and not a form that required info that I just did not have on me, nor had permission to give out i.e. referees etc. When I pointed out that they had a very detailed CV, I was told they had never received one from me. How and why did they find me then!!
I suggested we reschedule the interview (I was now feeling very uncomfortable, but they persuaded me to stay.) Big mistake. I have no axe to grind, but I can honestly say this was the worst interview experience of my life.
Bearing in mind that I hadn’t been near a cockpit for 2 years,(I am retired) 2 of the 3 interviewers pumped me with a string of technical questions,(would you remember in detail the rapid decompression drill after 2 years not thinking about airplanes!) questioned the total hours in my logbook(whose counting when you have over 10000 hours, ) were heavy handed and I though quite rude. My opinion. 3 managers behaving like they were running a big airline with a big pool of pilots to pick from, when actually they were lucky to have me there. I am a normal guy, but experience like me does not walk through the door every day. Never once did they ask to see my training records that I had brought with me.
Anyway, they never even bothered to write to me with an outcome. Now, what does that tell you.
PS the logbook issue: Interviewer thought I should have had more hours than I did, for a pilot with 25 years in the airlines. I went home and thought about this, then realised that for many years I had only counted “takeoff to touchdown” This was the way I was trained in Australia. But who’s counting………