GA Interview Questions
GA Interview Questions
Hi all,
I'm about to head up to the Top End to look for my first GA gig this coming March.
I just wanna know from anyone who has gone through the interview process themselves, from CP's or anyone else involved in the interview process - is there a particular area of theory or set of questions that I should look at studying to prepare for the technical side of any interview? I've been having a read of the VFRG, Part 61, 91, 135 MOS etc and I just want a bit of guidance on what type of questions to expect during an interview.
I understand that the interviewer may ask questions regarding the type of aircraft I have flown recently, their operations, etc however are there any parts of aircraft technical knowledge, principals of flight law etc that I should put more emphasis on?
Thanks in advance
I'm about to head up to the Top End to look for my first GA gig this coming March.
I just wanna know from anyone who has gone through the interview process themselves, from CP's or anyone else involved in the interview process - is there a particular area of theory or set of questions that I should look at studying to prepare for the technical side of any interview? I've been having a read of the VFRG, Part 61, 91, 135 MOS etc and I just want a bit of guidance on what type of questions to expect during an interview.
I understand that the interviewer may ask questions regarding the type of aircraft I have flown recently, their operations, etc however are there any parts of aircraft technical knowledge, principals of flight law etc that I should put more emphasis on?
Thanks in advance
You may already be past this, but make a good first impression.
A cover letter addressed to "Dear Sir" will go straight in my bin. "Dear Sir or Madam" is even worse. "Dear Ms Prop" would mean I would keep reading.
Research what the company does, its origins, take a genuine interest, talk to some of their pilots.
To me as an interviewer, the ability to get on with your work colleagues trumps a lot of the other skills which can be honed along the way. No point having someone who is the most accurate in a check flight and best exam results but is clearly going to be a bully and could cause you to lose other staff.
Good luck.
A cover letter addressed to "Dear Sir" will go straight in my bin. "Dear Sir or Madam" is even worse. "Dear Ms Prop" would mean I would keep reading.
Research what the company does, its origins, take a genuine interest, talk to some of their pilots.
To me as an interviewer, the ability to get on with your work colleagues trumps a lot of the other skills which can be honed along the way. No point having someone who is the most accurate in a check flight and best exam results but is clearly going to be a bully and could cause you to lose other staff.
Good luck.
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You may already be past this, but make a good first impression.
A cover letter addressed to "Dear Sir" will go straight in my bin. "Dear Sir or Madam" is even worse. "Dear Ms Prop" would mean I would keep reading.
Research what the company does, its origins, take a genuine interest, talk to some of their pilots.
To me as an interviewer, the ability to get on with your work colleagues trumps a lot of the other skills which can be honed along the way. No point having someone who is the most accurate in a check flight and best exam results but is clearly going to be a bully and could cause you to lose other staff.
Good luck.
A cover letter addressed to "Dear Sir" will go straight in my bin. "Dear Sir or Madam" is even worse. "Dear Ms Prop" would mean I would keep reading.
Research what the company does, its origins, take a genuine interest, talk to some of their pilots.
To me as an interviewer, the ability to get on with your work colleagues trumps a lot of the other skills which can be honed along the way. No point having someone who is the most accurate in a check flight and best exam results but is clearly going to be a bully and could cause you to lose other staff.
Good luck.
no wonder the industry is a backwater.
the fish rots from the head.
Clare, I would agree. If only more people realised that there’s no “I” in “Team”.
No company has any use for a Chuck Yeager with the personality traits of Josef Stalin.
The fact is a freshly minted 200 hour CPL, has no real useful skills to offer. All he or she has is a piece of paper allowing him or her to fly fare paying passengers.
Thus fitting in is, as you say, the primary criterion. Let’s hope that there are more CPs who are mature enough to recognise this.
I’ll wish the OP the best of luck,
No company has any use for a Chuck Yeager with the personality traits of Josef Stalin.
The fact is a freshly minted 200 hour CPL, has no real useful skills to offer. All he or she has is a piece of paper allowing him or her to fly fare paying passengers.
Thus fitting in is, as you say, the primary criterion. Let’s hope that there are more CPs who are mature enough to recognise this.
I’ll wish the OP the best of luck,
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Fitting in as the others have mentioned is number 1, shortly followed by how you would interact with customers/clients, then flying ability. In that order. All three of those areas have to meet a minimum standard.
In terms of the interview, some topics can include from my knowledge/experience:
Hope this helps.
In terms of the interview, some topics can include from my knowledge/experience:
- Aircraft speeds/limitations etc
- AIP knowledge such as VMC, ENR 1.1, flight planning, weather, alternates
- Fuel planning requirements CASR/MOS P135 etc
- Typical CPL flight test ground component items
- 'What would you do' type questions of typical issues faced in day-to-day operations
- Last light/latest departure time calculations
- Passenger operations- including pax brief requirements, seating capacity, emergency equipment, and items along those lines.
Hope this helps.
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and study the local airport
Look competent. Prepare.
study ERSA
know runways, taxiways, special procedures.
”bump” into the refueller for a chat
listen to radio procedures on a handheld,
watch how they start up, taxi and secure aircraft.
make it look as seamless as you can, if a check ride throws itself your way
study ERSA
know runways, taxiways, special procedures.
”bump” into the refueller for a chat
listen to radio procedures on a handheld,
watch how they start up, taxi and secure aircraft.
make it look as seamless as you can, if a check ride throws itself your way
Here's a thing then woke brigade won't discuss: Three people turn up for a job interview, one is around 75kg and slim, another is around 100kg and the third is obviously over 100kg. All have similar experience. Who is more likely to grab the CP's attention?
Bear in mind that the CP operates 206, 210, Airvan or similar aircraft, or the operator has a skydiving or seaplane operation.
Do I need to spell it out? Sorry, but it is true, weight makes a difference, a huge difference to operators that wish to remain legal.
Of course, this question is not asked anymore but the judgement is still prevalent. Dress slim, loose weight if need be.
Bear in mind that the CP operates 206, 210, Airvan or similar aircraft, or the operator has a skydiving or seaplane operation.
Do I need to spell it out? Sorry, but it is true, weight makes a difference, a huge difference to operators that wish to remain legal.
Of course, this question is not asked anymore but the judgement is still prevalent. Dress slim, loose weight if need be.
Last edited by Aussie Bob; 17th Jan 2024 at 20:11.
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Here's a thing then woke brigade won't discuss: Three people turn up for a job interview, one is around 75kg and slim, another is around 100kg and the third is obviously over 100kg. All have similar experience. Who is more likely to grab the CP's attention?
Bear in mind that the CP operates 206, 210, Airvan or similar aircraft, or the operator has a skydiving or seaplane operation.
Do I need to spell it out? Sorry, but it is true, weight makes a difference, a huge difference to operators that wish to remain legal.
Of course, this question is not asked anymore but the judgement is still prevalent. Dress slim, loose weight if need be.
Bear in mind that the CP operates 206, 210, Airvan or similar aircraft, or the operator has a skydiving or seaplane operation.
Do I need to spell it out? Sorry, but it is true, weight makes a difference, a huge difference to operators that wish to remain legal.
Of course, this question is not asked anymore but the judgement is still prevalent. Dress slim, loose weight if need be.
Mind you this was coming from a guy who i'm pretty sure hadn't seen his own knees over hit guts even when sitting in years....
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Ran into this back in '07. Got asked my weight by an interviewing CP. When told him the response was along the lines of "That's alot of freight I can't carry if I hire you over someone smaller...."
Mind you this was coming from a guy who i'm pretty sure hadn't seen his own knees over hit guts even when sitting in years....
Mind you this was coming from a guy who i'm pretty sure hadn't seen his own knees over hit guts even when sitting in years....
“More weight less freight” was the mantra I heard back in my day. At 6’ and 72kg then (😩 ) I was OK and got the hours. .
Last edited by compressor stall; 17th Jan 2024 at 22:09.
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Know your current type. Be prepared for a question on it to see what you know, especially if the interviewer has flown that type before.
Know the operation you’re applying for and the rule set under which is going to operate.
Embrace the “tell me about a time when you….” question. I like these as it tells me about a candidate’s ability to tell a story, communicate, and what they took away from it (lessons learnt etc). Its not really about the event.
Know the operation you’re applying for and the rule set under which is going to operate.
Embrace the “tell me about a time when you….” question. I like these as it tells me about a candidate’s ability to tell a story, communicate, and what they took away from it (lessons learnt etc). Its not really about the event.
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For someone who went straight from high school to flying school with nothing else to say about what makes them stand out in the crowd it would be difficult to tell, so unlikely to get to interview. It's the non aviation things on a resume that I would generally be interested in, eg previous jobs, sports or qualifications that show dedication, teamwork, commitment and attention to detail, most of all loyalty, not going to backstab their employer or work colleagues to further their ambitions. Pretty easy to tell that type if you have effective interviewing skills. So I'm not sure what your point is. I'm just trying to answer the OPs question.
Last edited by Clare Prop; 18th Jan 2024 at 01:44.
That is something that you can glean from a resume and confirm in an interview.
For someone who went straight from high school to flying school with nothing else to say about what makes them stand out in the crowd it would be difficult to tell, so unlikely to get to interview. It's the non aviation things on a resume that I would generally be interested in, eg previous jobs, sports or qualifications that show dedication, teamwork, commitment and attention to detail, most of all loyalty, not going to backstab their work colleagues to further their ambitions. Pretty easy to tell that type if you have effective interviewing skills. So I'm not sure what your point is. I'm just trying to answer the OPs question.
For someone who went straight from high school to flying school with nothing else to say about what makes them stand out in the crowd it would be difficult to tell, so unlikely to get to interview. It's the non aviation things on a resume that I would generally be interested in, eg previous jobs, sports or qualifications that show dedication, teamwork, commitment and attention to detail, most of all loyalty, not going to backstab their work colleagues to further their ambitions. Pretty easy to tell that type if you have effective interviewing skills. So I'm not sure what your point is. I'm just trying to answer the OPs question.
you raise a good point that because you need no more than a year 10 education (if that. does anyone check?) to get a license, you’re likely binning a large number of eminently capable people at the first line because of “dear sir”.
I assume you do actually read beyond the first 2 words and look for a few more clues.
I was probably a bit harsh. Apologies.
you raise a good point that because you need no more than a year 10 education (if that. does anyone check?) to get a license, you’re likely binning a large number of eminently capable people at the first line because of “dear sir”.
I assume you do actually read beyond the first 2 words and look for a few more clues.
you raise a good point that because you need no more than a year 10 education (if that. does anyone check?) to get a license, you’re likely binning a large number of eminently capable people at the first line because of “dear sir”.
I assume you do actually read beyond the first 2 words and look for a few more clues.
Not that difficult to understand, surely. In an industry with hundreds of homogenous people coming out of the "big schools" all the time then I understand the OP is looking for advice from people involved in the interview process, which I have been for the last 35 years, but instead of sneering at me why not give the OP some of your good advice?
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The point is, that if someone is using a scattergun approach to sending out resumes, particularly to operators who have not advertised, then they will have less of a chance than someone who has actually bothered to find out the name of the person they are sending it to and what kind of operations they fly.
Not that difficult to understand, surely. In an industry with hundreds of homogenous people coming out of the "big schools" all the time then I understand the OP is looking for advice from people involved in the interview process, which I have been for the last 35 years, but instead of sneering at me why not give the OP some of your good advice?
Not that difficult to understand, surely. In an industry with hundreds of homogenous people coming out of the "big schools" all the time then I understand the OP is looking for advice from people involved in the interview process, which I have been for the last 35 years, but instead of sneering at me why not give the OP some of your good advice?
Aviation is a lot like Hospitality at the beginning, a good CP can teach you most of the things you need to know and will do that before letting you loose, they expect you to be a raw CPL and have to be taught a bit before being happy to let you go, what I didn't have time for though was correcting a couple of decades of bad behaviour, poor attitude, and unwillingness to take that just little bit of extra effort to at least look at who we were and what we did which was as simple as going to the website and reading the job description.
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Agree with Clare, If you haven't got the time to at least ring reception, ask for the CP's name, (and confirm the spelling) you don't really want to work there do you?
And following on from ixixly, even worse than rabbiting on about why you really really want to fly for an airline when you're applying for a C210 job, for god's sake don't put an image of a 747 on the front cover of your resume.
And following on from ixixly, even worse than rabbiting on about why you really really want to fly for an airline when you're applying for a C210 job, for god's sake don't put an image of a 747 on the front cover of your resume.
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Blimey, this all seems a bit harsh !
New pilots looking for their first job are probably going to be young and a bit "innocent" about the world of work, and it seems a bit punitive to expect them to know exactly how to address people and the command structure of companies. Or how to go about impressing people.
How many good people have been 'put in the bin' because of some perceived but unintentional sleight, I wonder ?
At least "Dear Sir/Madam" is respectful and polite, (and non sexist). And how is a prospective new pilot employee to know if it is OK to directly address the CP, or if the CP will be personally opening their letter ? It might be the deputy CP, someone in admin or HR.
Using someone's name without knowing them might be regarded by some as being a bit over-familiar or a bit cocky.......? Maybe it is different over there.
Good luck to the OP.
New pilots looking for their first job are probably going to be young and a bit "innocent" about the world of work, and it seems a bit punitive to expect them to know exactly how to address people and the command structure of companies. Or how to go about impressing people.
How many good people have been 'put in the bin' because of some perceived but unintentional sleight, I wonder ?
At least "Dear Sir/Madam" is respectful and polite, (and non sexist). And how is a prospective new pilot employee to know if it is OK to directly address the CP, or if the CP will be personally opening their letter ? It might be the deputy CP, someone in admin or HR.
Using someone's name without knowing them might be regarded by some as being a bit over-familiar or a bit cocky.......? Maybe it is different over there.
Good luck to the OP.
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It’s normally a little piston Cessna operation with half a dozen aircraft, not Easy Jet. These companies are not normally infected with HR.
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