Let's talk personality.....
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Let's talk personality.....
The question I want to ask has three parts and is aimed at those established pilots and/or those working in selection/recruitment who are kind enough to spend thier time writing advice in this area of the forum for hopefuls such as myself.
What are the personality traits of a pilot from these three perspectives:
1 - The common hard reality; are they arrogant, tight, disciplined, and cold but confident and effective good leaders? Or are some slightly more timid and humble?
2 - The interview room; whatever the interviewer wants no matter how much BS that might be? And lets face it, although an interviewer will normally see through this, some people are just very good at being what an interviewer wants them to be for a purpose.
3 - The outer extreemes of current graduates who've made it into employment through to the Senior Captains of flag carriers; with regard to the latter, I already know one, and he's my uncle, but is he typical of what you find at that end of the spectrum? (and he doesn't live in this country, and he doesn't give a damn about my ambition nor does me offer ANY, and I mean ANY advice on becoming a pilot - I'm not bitter, really I'm not! - hence, don't bother telling me I should ask him, because that's a futile exercise)
Thanks in advance, MO.
What are the personality traits of a pilot from these three perspectives:
1 - The common hard reality; are they arrogant, tight, disciplined, and cold but confident and effective good leaders? Or are some slightly more timid and humble?
2 - The interview room; whatever the interviewer wants no matter how much BS that might be? And lets face it, although an interviewer will normally see through this, some people are just very good at being what an interviewer wants them to be for a purpose.
3 - The outer extreemes of current graduates who've made it into employment through to the Senior Captains of flag carriers; with regard to the latter, I already know one, and he's my uncle, but is he typical of what you find at that end of the spectrum? (and he doesn't live in this country, and he doesn't give a damn about my ambition nor does me offer ANY, and I mean ANY advice on becoming a pilot - I'm not bitter, really I'm not! - hence, don't bother telling me I should ask him, because that's a futile exercise)
Thanks in advance, MO.
Last edited by Mouse Organ; 10th Dec 2004 at 16:17.
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My view is that pilots are - stop press - human beings!
Despite what we may love to think, we shouldn't be taken in by the stereotype silver fox with the gold braid, hostesses at his feet and a god-like aura. That is a movie image which is at best out of date...
In my experience, pilots are pretty much like any other group of professionals - there are some arrogant ones, some humble ones, some masters and some disasters. You can probably put them into broad categories (technically-minded, literate etc) but then you could do that with doctors, lawyers, engineers, IT folks and a lot of other professions.
I'm not in airline recruitment but I do recruit in my own field. You can generally tell someone who's acting if you ask the right questions - modern airline interviews stand a much better chance of finding those folks out than in previous times.
The best thing you can do is be yourself. There's nothing wrong with emphasising traits that are desirable, which is best done by way of evidence rather than claims (see Pilot Pete's posts on that subject) but having faith in your own character is probably going to be more effective than trying to turn yourself into what you believe the recruiters are looking for (they're human too remember)...
Despite what we may love to think, we shouldn't be taken in by the stereotype silver fox with the gold braid, hostesses at his feet and a god-like aura. That is a movie image which is at best out of date...
In my experience, pilots are pretty much like any other group of professionals - there are some arrogant ones, some humble ones, some masters and some disasters. You can probably put them into broad categories (technically-minded, literate etc) but then you could do that with doctors, lawyers, engineers, IT folks and a lot of other professions.
I'm not in airline recruitment but I do recruit in my own field. You can generally tell someone who's acting if you ask the right questions - modern airline interviews stand a much better chance of finding those folks out than in previous times.
The best thing you can do is be yourself. There's nothing wrong with emphasising traits that are desirable, which is best done by way of evidence rather than claims (see Pilot Pete's posts on that subject) but having faith in your own character is probably going to be more effective than trying to turn yourself into what you believe the recruiters are looking for (they're human too remember)...
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Thanks EGBKFLYER for your response. I posed the question for the simple reason that, as a starter, one has no practical idea what interviews are like in reality and how intense or not they are.
When I imagine myself in an interview with a chief pilot of an airline for example (am I wishful thinking??), I think of two things: I could either as you say, be myself and be completly honest with said interviewer and be as open and forthcoming about myself, or I could still be myself, but just not as generous with the truth and divulge only the bits that shine out and that are going to impress an interviewer, and by this I refer to being econimical with the truth, as opposed simply to lying. The problem with the latter is that everyone has small things about themselves which are not at the top of one's list to share, but could an unwillingness to show one's humanity hinder you?
Both of the above I would consider "being myself", but does it only depend on the character of the interviewer as there will likely be good and bad reactions to both scenarios above?
I know I might be accused of nit-picking here, but when the competition is fierce, these are important matters, no? The experience of those who've been through interviews a number of times would be welcome...
Many thanks,
Mouse.
When I imagine myself in an interview with a chief pilot of an airline for example (am I wishful thinking??), I think of two things: I could either as you say, be myself and be completly honest with said interviewer and be as open and forthcoming about myself, or I could still be myself, but just not as generous with the truth and divulge only the bits that shine out and that are going to impress an interviewer, and by this I refer to being econimical with the truth, as opposed simply to lying. The problem with the latter is that everyone has small things about themselves which are not at the top of one's list to share, but could an unwillingness to show one's humanity hinder you?
Both of the above I would consider "being myself", but does it only depend on the character of the interviewer as there will likely be good and bad reactions to both scenarios above?
I know I might be accused of nit-picking here, but when the competition is fierce, these are important matters, no? The experience of those who've been through interviews a number of times would be welcome...
Many thanks,
Mouse.
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Totally agree - it's pretty much what I was saying. You wouldn't say 'well I hate small spaces and I collect knives' if they asked you an interview questions about your likes and dislikes! There is clearly a balance to be struck between 'being yourself' and showing your 'best side'. It's good to stay away from emotive subjects (religion/ politics etc) as they can bias an interviewer, though of course nowadays some interviews deliberately try and provoke a situation by asking awkward questions on these areas!
In summary, the conclusion you are coming to is that this isn't black and white - you don't want to be showing warts-and-all but you also don't want to lie or say nothing for fear of 'giving something away'. There are shades of grey and it's down to you to judge the situation and come up with what you believe is an appropriate response. If you are concerned about how you would handle an interview, why not get some practice through one of the many courses around?
In summary, the conclusion you are coming to is that this isn't black and white - you don't want to be showing warts-and-all but you also don't want to lie or say nothing for fear of 'giving something away'. There are shades of grey and it's down to you to judge the situation and come up with what you believe is an appropriate response. If you are concerned about how you would handle an interview, why not get some practice through one of the many courses around?
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One of the exercises had to do at the end of training was to have a group discussion on the IDEAL qualities of an airline pilot.
It is an interesting exercise, particularly if you have some friends at the same stage as you.
Consider whether the qualities you choose are IDEAL qualities or just something that a pilot could have.
All those of us who fly know of Captains who we both like and respect and those we don't.
Have a think about people in your own life who you like and respect and consider what qualities they have.
Usually things like confident but with humility, humour without arrogance, well you get the idea...
As for interviews, as said above, I think you need to be yourself but bear in mind pilots are generally considered conservative. They need to be decision makers but also need to be teamworkers.
Consider what questions you may be asked in an interview and what answers would you give.
Like: "Would you consider yourself a risk taker" "No" "Why not?".
One BA type question might be "have you ever operated outside of SOPs" (Standard Operating Procedures).
A good question.
Because I would reckon that about 99% of pilots have. And the interviewer, being a pilot, knows this.
So if you say "no, never, I wouldn't do that, blah, blah" they know you are fibbing.
But then again you wouldn't say "all the time, everyone does, its fine".
So it comes back to being yourself, not lying, but considering your answer before blurting it out.
ie. you could say that there have been one or two occasions where you have operated outside of SOPs because of XXX but safety was never compromised.
It is an interesting exercise, particularly if you have some friends at the same stage as you.
Consider whether the qualities you choose are IDEAL qualities or just something that a pilot could have.
All those of us who fly know of Captains who we both like and respect and those we don't.
Have a think about people in your own life who you like and respect and consider what qualities they have.
Usually things like confident but with humility, humour without arrogance, well you get the idea...
As for interviews, as said above, I think you need to be yourself but bear in mind pilots are generally considered conservative. They need to be decision makers but also need to be teamworkers.
Consider what questions you may be asked in an interview and what answers would you give.
Like: "Would you consider yourself a risk taker" "No" "Why not?".
One BA type question might be "have you ever operated outside of SOPs" (Standard Operating Procedures).
A good question.
Because I would reckon that about 99% of pilots have. And the interviewer, being a pilot, knows this.
So if you say "no, never, I wouldn't do that, blah, blah" they know you are fibbing.
But then again you wouldn't say "all the time, everyone does, its fine".
So it comes back to being yourself, not lying, but considering your answer before blurting it out.
ie. you could say that there have been one or two occasions where you have operated outside of SOPs because of XXX but safety was never compromised.
