Interview stuff

[birdofprey]

You'd have to be orange to match the Frosties!

Is there ever a right answer to these questions?

[checks-complete]

No, their not interested in your actual reply to a question like that.

They're looking at you as you struggle to answer it. Are you amused by the question and smile? Or totally phased and panicked by it? Can you look at them while you think of an answer? Do you give them an equally silly response? Or do you feel you have to turn it into a sensible topic. Do you feel able to ask for help?

A question like this can be a very simple way of getting an insight into your personality type, how you may deal with the unexpected and what you might be like to spend 8 hours with.

[JetABro]

So what do you answer to "why do you want to fly for us?" without sounding boring and brown nosed.

[NeoDude]

How about "Yes please"?

[Dude~]

"why do you want to fly for us?"
reply
"yes please"

hmm, not sure that would work neodude

[A320rider]

"why not????"

to all recruiters: ask stupid questions like that , so we can make fun of you...

[haughtney1]

The question I got asked once.....

"What is your favourite airliner?" (with an obvious pointed reference this airlines fleet of T/Props)

My answer....."the biggest..fastest..and furtherest flying jet someone will let me get my hands on!" (couldnt resist it as I had a job!)

needless to say the reply was negative

[monkeyboy]

Again, from the Britannia shrink:

"Do you think you're a good pilot?"

What do you say to that?

YES: Arrogant tendancies
NO: Lack of confidence

[haughtney1]

"Do you think you're a good pilot?"

My answer would be..."Do you think your a good Psychologist?".....probably put down..cynical tendancies..HES HIRED!!

[A320rider]

"invite me in your jet, I will show you"

or

"no ,I am bad and dangerous, but as you (your airline)have already a bad reputation, it can not be worse"

or

"yes, I am the best, what was my salary you said ???ad 1000 euro a month"

or

"of course, I am the best, I am a CAA JAR pilot"

or

"you want bet?"

or

"can I get a jokker?"

or

"hey this is You on this picture,you look great in your uniform???"....(with this "answer" I got the job!!!!)

etc,etc.


praise your recruiters, they love that!!!(they are so stupid anyway)

[Betaranger]

"how old are your parents and have they been sick lately?"

recruiter was trying to figure out if there was a "risk" of me going back home if anything happened to my parents......pretty sick question!

br

[The Devil's Advocate]

The Obvious Interview Questions!!!

I was at an interview recently, and something tells me they didn't like the reply I gave to the obvious interview questions they asked. Some of these questions are standard in every profession.

So I'd like to ask everybody on the I,J&S forum (Including the mods ) What responces you would give to the following questions:

The Setting:
First Officer interview for B737 or A320. You have just completed a good sim assesment and technical interview. You now sit with the personell manager and they ask:

Q1. Why do you want to work for this airline?

Q2. What can you bring to this airline?

Q3. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Q4. Your captain turns up smelling of alcohol, what do you do?

I'd appreciate other peoples opinions/answers to these questions, and if anybody who knows what type of specific answer there looking for, could they explain why

D.A.

[Luke SkyToddler]

There isn't a one-size-fits-all here, you know they're going to ask you those questions and it's where you are supposed to differentiate yourself from the rest of the applicants with your answers to those questions ... why are YOU special??!!

- Why do you want to work for this airline?
OK for most of us the answer is "because I am bloody desperate for a job and you were the first ones to call me after 3 years of fruitless applications" but you can't exactly say that or it's game over.

Use this question to show what you know about the airline. If you have a mate on the inside then you have an easy answer.
- "I've been targetting this airline for a while because I have a few friends who are very happy here, they tell me it's a happy company that treats its staff well etc".
If they've got a base that particularly takes your fancy then talk it up a bit about that perhaps?
- "I have a lot of friends and family in the xxx area and so a job with this airline is particularly appealing to me because I'm looking for a long term career with whatever airline I join and I know that living in xxx will offer me and my wife the stability we're looking for".
At the very least tailor your answer to the sector of the industry that they're in.
- "I particularly want to work in a low cost airline because it's obviously the market sector that's expanding the fastest and that naturally means better career progression for me".

- What can you bring to this airline
There's no right answer here, that is for you and you alone. Remember though that you've ALL got professional licenses and good marks in flying school etc, so that isn't really a point of differentiation. If you've got previous commercial flying experience then I guess it's normal to talk it up about all the experience you've gained in your career to date. If it's your first job then you'll have to think of some particular skill set from elsewhere in your life.

- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Sitting in the left seat at this airline, of course. You may be lying through your teeth, and if you're aged under 40 and it's a crap turboprop airline interviewing you, then they KNOW you're lying through your teeth, but they still want to hear it

- Your captain turns up smelling of alcohol what do you do?
This has been covered a few times on this forum but I would say something along the lines of 'have a quiet word to him/her and suggest they go sick today, have another quiet word with the base captain later'. Then if they say the captain insists on flying then you have to of course get your company ops involved. Don't whatever you do, agree to fly with the captain.

[Sandy Wings]

Tech and maths notes for interview

Can anyone point me in the right direction reference tech and maths notes for an up coming airline interview? After 16 years in the Airforce I have dumped it all from my long term memory!

[Sky_Captain]

I'd say get your hands on "Preparing for your Cathay Pacific Interview" by captains X,Y and Z. You'll find it from the usual pilot shops like transair etc. It has a good section on tech questions with multiple choice answers and interview questions alone.

I know some airlines that have used questions from this book in their interviews.

Hope it helps,

S.C.

[Sandy Wings]

Thanks for that will check it out.

[ONEWORLD_86]

Hello all,

Have got my first interview coming up with a large national airline and have already found many usefull tips and bits of information on the site, but as of yet have not been able to get an idea of the balance between 'company knowledge' and 'personal experience' questions that come up at interview.

Where should i concentrate my efforts or is it generally a lottery every time, or do they just want to check that you have done your homework and have a good idea of the environment in which the company operates?

Any advice and questions that are likley to come up would be much appreciated,

Thanks.

[Bootylicious]

First of all it helps if you say which airline you've got an interview with. Every airline has different interview procedures - some will ask a lot of tech questions, others none at all. Some will want to see a lot of company knowledge, others won't.
Some will have you do psychometric and aptitude tests, others won't.

Tell us which airline it is, and you'll probably get a lot more help.

[ONEWORLD_86]

Airline

Hi,

Sorry, prob was the most important bit wasnt it?

Its British Airways and is for low hours pilots.

Thanks

[dlav]

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...n&pagenumber=6

Have a look at that mate, might be helpful.

Would you mind PM me your details, im assuming you were put forward by your FTO? Id be interested to hear about it.

Thanks
dlav