A little bit confused about what to expect for my CX Cadet interview..
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A little bit confused about what to expect for my CX Cadet interview..
Hi,
I've got a CX cadet pilot programme interview booked in for later this month. When I received the email from CX a few days ago, it said "The interview comprises a forty-five minute technical multiple-choice questionnaire, a reasoning test and an interview of approximately forty-five minute in duration with both personal and technical questions."
I have been in contact with some family friends who are current CX pilots and staff - they have all assured me that the interview is to test my english and a general quiz on my knowledge of CX and that the "technical" part is some aptitude and reasoning tests.
However, having just searched around the forum, it seems that other applicants have had very different experiences- is the interview not like they described at all? I have no flying experience whatsoever, and CX have not sent me any information booklet. I'm working full time at the moment so only a couple hours per weekday and weekends studying for under 2 weeks before my interview (assuming I dont need to take work home..). Can I really cram all the knowledge needed to pass the interview in this short period?!
Thanks for your help!!
I've got a CX cadet pilot programme interview booked in for later this month. When I received the email from CX a few days ago, it said "The interview comprises a forty-five minute technical multiple-choice questionnaire, a reasoning test and an interview of approximately forty-five minute in duration with both personal and technical questions."
I have been in contact with some family friends who are current CX pilots and staff - they have all assured me that the interview is to test my english and a general quiz on my knowledge of CX and that the "technical" part is some aptitude and reasoning tests.
However, having just searched around the forum, it seems that other applicants have had very different experiences- is the interview not like they described at all? I have no flying experience whatsoever, and CX have not sent me any information booklet. I'm working full time at the moment so only a couple hours per weekday and weekends studying for under 2 weeks before my interview (assuming I dont need to take work home..). Can I really cram all the knowledge needed to pass the interview in this short period?!
Thanks for your help!!
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Hey chanch72,
If you don't have any flying experience whatsoever, I would expect the technical questions in the interview to be fairly straight-forward. Why don't you go to the Central Library in Causeway Bay at your earliest convenience, and have a look at the aviation-related books there? I understand that there are a variety of books catering for novices in aviation.
If you are diligent and keep studying for a couple hours everyday, there shouldn't be any reason why you cannot finish the required material within 2 weeks. As I mentioned earlier, the technical portion of the interview should not be expansive or difficult due to your background.
Good luck!
If you don't have any flying experience whatsoever, I would expect the technical questions in the interview to be fairly straight-forward. Why don't you go to the Central Library in Causeway Bay at your earliest convenience, and have a look at the aviation-related books there? I understand that there are a variety of books catering for novices in aviation.
If you are diligent and keep studying for a couple hours everyday, there shouldn't be any reason why you cannot finish the required material within 2 weeks. As I mentioned earlier, the technical portion of the interview should not be expansive or difficult due to your background.
Good luck!
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hmm if the books aren't in my room already...wait, i just returned them for i'm flying off tomorrow!
seriously, read up before you go in, since you have no experience the questions aren't going to be hard, but it's good to equip yourself to impress (and for you own benefit anyway, you'll need these basics as a foundation for your later work).
good luck
seriously, read up before you go in, since you have no experience the questions aren't going to be hard, but it's good to equip yourself to impress (and for you own benefit anyway, you'll need these basics as a foundation for your later work).
good luck
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Hi Guys,
Thanks for the help. Very grateful! I confirmed the interview date and they sent back a confirmation email saying on the day I would need to complete:
English Test (Listening & Grammar
Reasoning Test
Aptitude Test (Eye-hand co-ordination
English Oral Presentation (Maximum 5 minutes)
No mention of technical knowledge nor did they send me any JKI information booklet... how strange.
I will read up on technical details anyways as I'm sure it does no harm. However, the 2 books I borrowed off my cousin "Basic Aeronautical Knowledge" and "The Pilot's Manual: Ground School" are about 400 and 700 pages respectively!! You mention basic aerodynamics as a start.. but for a complete newbie, the content in this book seems a little daunting!
Time for some cramming I think..
Any recommendations on what basic knowledge I should cover would be much appreciated!
Thanks
Thanks for the help. Very grateful! I confirmed the interview date and they sent back a confirmation email saying on the day I would need to complete:
English Test (Listening & Grammar
Reasoning Test
Aptitude Test (Eye-hand co-ordination
English Oral Presentation (Maximum 5 minutes)
No mention of technical knowledge nor did they send me any JKI information booklet... how strange.
I will read up on technical details anyways as I'm sure it does no harm. However, the 2 books I borrowed off my cousin "Basic Aeronautical Knowledge" and "The Pilot's Manual: Ground School" are about 400 and 700 pages respectively!! You mention basic aerodynamics as a start.. but for a complete newbie, the content in this book seems a little daunting!
Time for some cramming I think..
Any recommendations on what basic knowledge I should cover would be much appreciated!
Thanks
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chanch72,
I strongly recommend you become familiar with the contents of "Basic Aeronautical Knowledge". Provided you can learn effectively, this book alone should be enough to cover your technical needs for the interview. As long as you have a clear mind and a basic sense of logic, BAK should not be a problem at all.
Lastly don't forget to brush up on CX company information, as well as details on the cadet program itself.
Good luck!
I strongly recommend you become familiar with the contents of "Basic Aeronautical Knowledge". Provided you can learn effectively, this book alone should be enough to cover your technical needs for the interview. As long as you have a clear mind and a basic sense of logic, BAK should not be a problem at all.
Lastly don't forget to brush up on CX company information, as well as details on the cadet program itself.
Good luck!
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For sure know about CX, aircraft, where they fly, what you will do as an SO, career progression, time to progress, 4 ish years as an so, 6-10 as an fo, why you want to work for CX, what other companies CX has a share holding in, who has large holdings in CX, maybe a bit about oneworld, basically stuff that if you really wanted to work for CX you would know.
Know about the cadet course, be able to answer the question, what will happen if you get accepted all the way through to working as an so. What do pilots do in the cruise? What does an SO do for take off and landing, do they contribute anything to this phase of flight? Will you be upset not getting a housing allowance? Will you want a base? Stuff like this may be asked also.
Technically they may ask how does an aircraft fly or what do you know about thrust weight drag and lift. You are not trained but if you wanted to be a pilot you should have read a bit so a basic answer to that sort of stuff may be expected. Nothing will be too in depth I would have thought but you should know a little bit. I think it may just be to the point of demonstrating that you do know something as the guys who just say dont know when asked about anything aviation related will not get the job If you can say, thrust acts against drag and when you are not accelerating it balances the drag, lift is opposite to the weight and if you are neither climbing or descending it balances the weight. That sort of thing would probably be enough to show you are interested in flying and that is probably what they are looking for, even though there is more to it than that I doubt if they asked about weight, drag, lift and thrust they would be expecting anything more.
Know about the cadet course, be able to answer the question, what will happen if you get accepted all the way through to working as an so. What do pilots do in the cruise? What does an SO do for take off and landing, do they contribute anything to this phase of flight? Will you be upset not getting a housing allowance? Will you want a base? Stuff like this may be asked also.
Technically they may ask how does an aircraft fly or what do you know about thrust weight drag and lift. You are not trained but if you wanted to be a pilot you should have read a bit so a basic answer to that sort of stuff may be expected. Nothing will be too in depth I would have thought but you should know a little bit. I think it may just be to the point of demonstrating that you do know something as the guys who just say dont know when asked about anything aviation related will not get the job If you can say, thrust acts against drag and when you are not accelerating it balances the drag, lift is opposite to the weight and if you are neither climbing or descending it balances the weight. That sort of thing would probably be enough to show you are interested in flying and that is probably what they are looking for, even though there is more to it than that I doubt if they asked about weight, drag, lift and thrust they would be expecting anything more.
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WheyPCRocks
I am pretty much on the same level as you are, only I have done my BAK already. I don't think anyone can accurately predict the range of technical topics in the interview, but I am going to do the PPL syllabus for my study. Personally I think BAK and PPL aren't so different anyway, and the extra bit of knowledge could bring you a bit further in their books. It would also help if you read up on the specifics of the aircraft you flew, plus CX company info (for obvious reasons).
Read Bob Tait, his manuals are simply awesome.
Best of luck!
Read Bob Tait, his manuals are simply awesome.
Best of luck!
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Hi Guys, I just had the initial test- no real technical questions but they said if I passed the initial testing, the technical interview will come.
Just a tip for anyone who is having this test in the near future. Although it mentions nothing about an interview, they will ask you some general questions about what you said in the presentation - so dont just memorise facts!!
Know how long the programme is, where it is, facts about the aviation school. I was asked about some specifics of the school itself because I talked about it.
Thanks for all the help and good luck to anyone else who is going through this!
PS Gazwannafly, I applied almost back in August so not to worry if they havent got back to you yet!
Just a tip for anyone who is having this test in the near future. Although it mentions nothing about an interview, they will ask you some general questions about what you said in the presentation - so dont just memorise facts!!
Know how long the programme is, where it is, facts about the aviation school. I was asked about some specifics of the school itself because I talked about it.
Thanks for all the help and good luck to anyone else who is going through this!
PS Gazwannafly, I applied almost back in August so not to worry if they havent got back to you yet!
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Forgot to add..
In the BAK, there's 2 "levels" of knowledge- pre-solo and BAK. Is the Pre-solo level of knowledge too little for the CPP technical interview?
Thanks Guys!!
In the BAK, there's 2 "levels" of knowledge- pre-solo and BAK. Is the Pre-solo level of knowledge too little for the CPP technical interview?
Thanks Guys!!
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Is the Pre-solo level of knowledge too little for the CPP technical interview?
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Just a heads up on anyone wondering what do you need to know...
The Interviewer can ask you anything and everything about aviation during your interview. They will definitely take into consideration on your background and ask questions accordingly. However, you have to be prepare. This is a job interview after-all, the interview is there to pick the best candidate not just any candidate that should make the grade. At the end of the day, if you do run into situation where you can not answer a question (which you will), just politely tell the interviewer that you do not know the answer (and not try to BS your way through) and tell the interviewer that you can try to make an educated guess. This give the interviewer a chance to understand your thought process and see if you are a logical person who can works things out. No one is perfect and the interviewer does not expect that either, if they do expect perfection, than they won't be able to hire anyone. As I am pretty sure the interviewer themselves ain't perfect either... So at the end of the day, it is all about your interview techniques.
Good luck everyone!
The Interviewer can ask you anything and everything about aviation during your interview. They will definitely take into consideration on your background and ask questions accordingly. However, you have to be prepare. This is a job interview after-all, the interview is there to pick the best candidate not just any candidate that should make the grade. At the end of the day, if you do run into situation where you can not answer a question (which you will), just politely tell the interviewer that you do not know the answer (and not try to BS your way through) and tell the interviewer that you can try to make an educated guess. This give the interviewer a chance to understand your thought process and see if you are a logical person who can works things out. No one is perfect and the interviewer does not expect that either, if they do expect perfection, than they won't be able to hire anyone. As I am pretty sure the interviewer themselves ain't perfect either... So at the end of the day, it is all about your interview techniques.
Good luck everyone!
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holdmetight: Yes you're right. I pretty much realised the stupidity of my question as soon as I posted!! The more work the better I guess
wowpeter: Hey man. Just wanted to thank you for your informative website! (unless its another wowpeter that set it up...?). Its really helpful!! Keep up the good work mate!
wowpeter: Hey man. Just wanted to thank you for your informative website! (unless its another wowpeter that set it up...?). Its really helpful!! Keep up the good work mate!
