Me too have went for the interview... not so good.. ask bout the usual stuff like how aircraft flies and the current fleet in SIA... The diff between B777 and 747. And engine stuff... The rest of the guys wo got replies for 2nd interview do let us know.

Thks.

...
 

TragicPrince,

What time was your interview today?

I had to wait bout nearly 2hours for my turn. Drove me over the edge and guessed I faltered. Kinda stammering and cant retain my composure... sigh.

Anyhoo... lots of tips here and from cpt lim's webbie. sure helped a lot. regret not knowing the other visual diff wif a 777 and 747 :\

~ Blue skies ~

I also went for the interview. I guess I did stammer alot too.

I answer correctly for qns regarding to the company's news and theory of flight. But i score quite badly with regards to the technical parts of the plane. I nv know that I answer wrongly till I come back and check. haha.

interview over in ten mins.. die.. anyone whose interview is less than 10 mins and got into the 2nd round?

with the impending bird flu crisis, wonder what will happen to the SQ recruitment process... :(

bro, what technical question did he ask you? can share? thanks

I came across this post at another forum (www.askcaptainlim.com) so would like to share it with pilot wannabes here. Seem like there are no 'fixed mould' or 'model character' to pass the interview. There are thousand and one ways to pass the interview and also a thousand and one way to fail. Are we really going to depend on luck?

____________________________________________________________ _____

I thank you for such an informative website which i have benefitted immensely. However, i have a burning question in my mind which i hope you or anyone reading this can share your thoughts on.

I have a fren holding a business degree who failed the second interview conducted last Feb. He was told by the chief interviewer that he was, and i quote ' not academically inclined' This sweeping statement leaves both me n my fren deeply puzzled coz i know there are doctors and lawyers who have zero aeronautical/engineering background who are successfully pilots today.

He was also told that and i quote 'according to our statistics, people from your background have very slim chance of getting in.' Sounds like they have already made their mind there n then in the interview room?

Apparently, he is not the only one getting such remarks. Fellow candidates with business background in his batch also got the same remarks and rejected for the final interview.

Does this mean aspiring pilots with a Business Degree ( me included) have virtually zero chance of getting into the cadet pilot program? I am confused as the prerequisties set by SIA did not specifically mention they only want those armed with aeronautical or engineering knowledge.

Would appreciate if you or anyone could share your thoughts on this

Do you really think SIA has no idea of whom they want? That it is all a lottery?

The fact is that for about the last 30 years ONE person was primarily responsible for saying who would make the final cut. This has produced cadets who are remarkably similar in character, for better or worse, although some other types do slip through.

Contrast this with cabin crew, which has seen a number of senior people responsible for giving the final approval, come and go, thus causing clear changes in the quality of the SIA girl (again, for better or worse) coincident with the changeover periods.

And finally, it is a common interview technique / trick to say things to put you, the candidate, on the defensive. It is to see how you handle unexpected events. So don't just believe what the interviewer says. If you just swallow stuff they throw at you which is opposite to what you believe in, then you are someone insipid with no backbone.

I waited about 30mins quite lucky cos me morning batch. Think my interview last 20 mins.. Kinda screwed up though... haha anyway... hope for the best.

In regards to what type of degree and expertise you have, thermal is right.
Apparently, we have seen many people of various professions and degrees get in. As I have said before, insurance agents, doctors, real estate agents, engineers and such. A business degree "not academically inclined"? maybe the degree is not recognised? The fact is that we have seen people with diplomas and A level holders getting in. So you should know they are out to spite you to see how you would react. Actually, once you have gotten through the first interview, your academic standing does not stand anymore. It shows that your academic standing has been accepted. Actually, whatever that has been submitted has been accepted. The final interview as I have mentioned before is up to the panel whether they like you. Whether they see the pilot in you. It's not up to how much you know, how smart you are, how good you look, but actually on how you handle yourself in all sorts of situations. And at the end of the day, is still whether they like you.

Don't get me wrong, I am just trying to invite more comments thus posting a question "do we really depend on luck". Not degrading the overall standard of SIA pilots by merely saying they qualified because of luck. My apologies and no offence to those pilots being chosen for SIA. I understand and acknowledge that you SIA pilots do have a certain degree of calibre and also I must agree with you that capt M*****y has the experience and foresight to choose the best person to represent Singapore national flag carrier airlines.
Thanks for the advice from you and billkill on the interview technique. It sounds more logical now.

My qns are
1) Tell me abt urself (pilot)
2) Explain the lift of wing (pilot)
3) SIA Fleet (HR)
4) Engines used in SIA planes (HR)
5) The meaning behind the serial no like... (Pilot & HR) The meaning of 553, 884 in Roll royce trent 553 and 884. ( I said I dunnoe but I told them I think the last 2 digits seems to be the same as the power of thrust of engine.)
6) Headquarters of roll royce. (HR)
7) How a turbine engine works (HR)
8) wing structure difference between 777 and 747 (pilot) I ans wrongly. I said 777 got winglet. kns.. and I told them i nv research on 747.
9) Purpose of winglet. (pilot)
10) Ask me abt rudder (HR. I ans correctly abt the position. But not the purpose.)
11) Ask me abt my favourite plane. I said I dun have. haha. I mentioned that I only have a general interest in flying. Ask me why i dun want to be air steward. I said I like to control plane.
12) Inflight system. (HR)abt avonics or stg like that. I said I don't know.
Ask me whether i got qns for them.. i said no.. I shld ask some intelligent qns to impress them.


Mine over in 10 mins.. I think i am dead...

...
 

Jee... I dont even know which one was HR and which was the pilot...

looks like u got more questions than me... not sure if we should benchmark the amount of time spent inside the interview room as a measure of our chances???!!! because the guy before we was quite chatty and took about 30-45 minutes... i think i spent only half of it...

are they looking for someone who is more engaging/chatty? should we be concerned if the interview was dry and questions just came one after another and that's it?

:eek:

Guys,
Don't worry about the time you spend in there. It does not gauge whether you move on or not. It's the quality of answers you give. Some spend a lot of time talking about themselves or explaining a point. Some get more questions than the rest. Some have flying background and may be asked more technical questions even.

From what I know, people with no flying experience will have very limited flying knowledge. They don't really penalize you on that but as I said, it is how you answer. They don't expect you to know everything.

Hello everybody

I´m currently toying a lot with the idea of moving to SG again, wanting to join SQ. I have several questions about the cadet pilot programme and TR / employment with SQ. I noticed there is quite a number of very informed guys in here, so if you could please help me out... :)

thats what i have:

- JAA (European) ATPL (1500 hrs airline experience)
- can get a PR anytime (Singaporean wife)
- did flight training with high standard airline
- Multi Crew on Airbus
- i lived and worked in Spore before
- i do definitely not qualify for any current direct entry scheme into SQ


1) is the only way for me the cadet path?
2) if i take the cadet path, do i go to the lear training or straight to a TR? and how long would i be in training?
3) obviously i would go through all the selection steps. how many of them?
4) does the hiring outlook at SQ have an upward or downward tendency?
5) do you know anybody with a similar career history/career plan?

Thank you very much for any helpful comments / information. :ok:

Greetings! :cool:

Hi Majulah,
I have heard the guys who have flying experience, but insufficient to get in as Direct Entry FOs, do join as cadets. However, they skip the majority of the training as much as CAAS permits. So joining Learjet phase directly does sound reasonable.

Rubber

thank you rubber, that was fast...:O

learjet phase is how long and where?
and how many hours are required for DE? Typerated pilots only?

Yup, me.. heehee~.. don't be despair.. 10mins doesn't mean you are no good or doesn't make the cut. It all depends on the interviewers as well as your answers and performance. I have friends who went in for 30mins but wasn't granted an 2nd interview. Good luck! :ok:

I'm out... Unsuccessful... Better luck next time :{

Tragic Prince, that's fast you got a reply from them.. in just 3 days!! (interview on 17th march, results on 20 march)...

Well, I got mine after 1 week in my email.... During that 1 week, I was just anxious n nervous.... Funny thing is, when I received the mail from SIA that I was unsuccessful, I had no feelings at all... I guess deep down in my heart, I knew I wasn't going to get in that time anyway..

...
 

I think we should do a post-mortem of the interview and brush up on the things that we knew we were lacking during the interview.

Things like theory of flight, airplane specs and history and the stuff...
Apart from that also I guess we should reflect on shining the best of our qualities to the panel and then thus we could then walk away knowing that in a few days time the awaited favourable e-mail would come.

Keep on trying!

:ok:

Any Replies
 

hey mates..

I went for my FIRST interview on the 17th of March and i guess it went alright but you can never be too sure. I just wanna know whether any of you guys got any replies (positive or negative) from SIA yet??

Im freezing my arse and squeezing my balls waiting for a reply!!!!

PS: Any hints about what to expect for the 2nd interview?

"Jee... I dont even know which one was HR and which was the pilot..."

i just hope that you are joking !

1) is the only way for me the cadet path?
Most likely.

2) if i take the cadet path, do i go to the lear training or straight to a TR? and how long would i be in training?
Could be either. Lear training is about 70 days in Maroochydore, near Brisbane. Fleet conversion is anything up to 12 months to being checked out as First Officer. Research either the Singapore Flying College website or the SIA website.

3) obviously i would go through all the selection steps. how many of them?
Research this thread.

4) does the hiring outlook at SQ have an upward or downward tendency?
Each intake of cadet pilots every 6 weeks now, is about 25, more than compared to the same time last year. How long this will last, who knows?

5) do you know anybody with a similar career history/career plan?
Yes. The slight differences was that he was a Captain on MAS but flying Twin Otters (no jet time). Joined as a cadet, jumped through ALL the hoops, got credit for hours where possible, and became Captain faster than normal because of his previous job experience.

Some comments:

If I understand you correctly, according to the questions you have listed, whatever the answers are, they have no effect on your decision to join, correct?

Joining SQ (like any other airline) is not like buying a knock-down bed from Ikea where you just screw all the bits together and then you WILL get a bed, one way or the other. There are many "failure points" in the cadet / DEFO selection process, and since yours is unusual, all the more so do you need to just get out there and do it. Therefore asking who has done this before, and trying to clone THEIR process, is no sure bet to say the least.

The trick therefore is how to do it with the least risk and disruption (if possible without quitting your present job) so that if the process fails, you have not yet started something painful or difficult to undo but merely have just lost a bit of time investment. For sure, saying "but I read on PPRuNe that so-and-so succeeded, so why not I?" will do nothing to help you even if there are 100 similar cases to yours which have succeeded. If your application fails you can't bring up those cases and insist that they choose you.

The sequence to this application process is therefore vital, to say the least. Get your PR first.

The people in Flight Ops HR admin have no imagination and will not give you advice. If you don't meet the specs, you fail, pure and simple. They will not be bothered to tell you how to fix your problem. They will not look into the future and say to you, if you do this, then we might hire you, because they are just too afraid that they will become cornered by their own advice.

It is possible to get PR whilst overseas; search the Singapore immigration website for the procedure on this. It is not costly either. At least this will let you continue with your life in parallel while you start the process going.

Remember that cadetship hinges on the PR requirement - no PR, no cadetship. (If you qualify as DEFO, then there is no PR requirement.) So that is the first thing you need to settle - the PR issue. This way you can avoid the stigma of being a "reject" if you apply for DEFO (without yet being a PR) and fail. If you have PR and you apply for cadetship, and if they decide to fast track you to DEFO, you have lost nothing and gained everything. Of course, mere PRship is not a guarantee of selection, merely eligibility.

And finally - as a cadet, you have no control over where you go. Could be mainline, cargo (SinCargo) or regional (SilkAir). Mentally you must accept that. Of course you can reject their offer, IF they tell you where you are going at the offer stage. But even if they do, the contract has a clause that lets them change their mind. So know that.

Good luck.

Anyone got any idea if there is a course starting in April or May? I know the coming one is 24 Mar 06(that is tomorrow). Thanks alot.

Lasik Query
 

Hi,

Is there any aviation examiner or CAAS staff who can advise the criteria set for those who had done Lasik ops? Is 500 deg pre-ops the max that SIA would take for their Cadet Pilot training? Is there also a 1 year separation requirement, from time of operation to the time of acceptance to training program in SIA? I love flying and I had my Lasik done.. in hope of a flying career.. But my pre-ops is above the 500 deg mark..

Thanks!

Love4Flights

Thermal Image,

Thank you very much for your comments and information. Highly appreciated!

Of course i dont want to clone anybody's (successful) hiring process. I also know that - as anybody else - i could fail the very first interview. But I like to have an optimistic approach on things, whilst being safe with taking wise decisions.

Yes, i will settle my PR first.

I hope one day i will be able to help out other people with SQ matters, just as you did.

Good luck to everybody, hope to see you at Changi one day. :ok:

Greetings!

Love4Flights,

Eyesight is key to being a pilot. That's the first criterior. Lasik, even though accepted by SIA, they are still very careful in their screening as even though after one year, your eyes are perfect, it is not proven that it will be such forever. That is why those that had gone through lasik need an optomologist clearance every year. However, SIA frowns upon people who have more than 500 degrees for pre-op. That's what it's set. (even the CAAS people advised that.) I don't know of any cases that have advanced yet. Anyone care to shed more light on this?

Recently, I went for my 2nd interview.
But, on the following day, I was told that I need not go for my medical checkup.

Does anyone know whether SIA will reply us with a letter/email stating that I have been rejected? Now, I don't know whether I am under KIV or forever rejected. Thank you.

My fren was also told he did not need to go for the medical. He did not receive any letter...

Was your phone call from someone called Joyce?

120
 

Does anyone know when 120 will be starting?

Best Regards and Best of Luck.

Yes, it was.

Better luck next time. This is not a disaster by any stretch of the imagination.

Well then, looks like nothing has changed for the better after all these years.

In this day and age of e-mail (which has been in widespread use EVEN in SIA for the last 5 years) and how easy it is to set up a standard rejection e-mail script, it's comforting to hear that some folks are still resorting to human touches like conveying bad news by telephone.

Nah, I'm dreaming.

Must be one of those creative look-busy techniques that Joyce is famous for (among other things). After all, making phone calls takes at least three times longer than slinging out rejection e-mails by the dozens, what with having to play telephone tag, spend at least 30 seconds per call, dear-oh-dear, there's just simply too much work to do!

I'll go for the truth - she's just too lazy or backward to learn such productivity enhancing skills. She also relishes being in charge and telling cadidates - YOU FAILED!

:) How long after the medical checkup will SIA inform you if you've been selected? My med. was a couple of weeks back and till now, no news at all. :( If however, one fails his medical, will SIA inform the person straight. Is there any form of rejection letter or just another waiting game? Thanks.

Very true. Unfortunately, there are some higher up the mgmt ladder who think highly of her. I guess there's quite a lot of brown-nosing involved there. Reminds me of that story of the monkeys in the tree. The monkeys looking down only see smiling faces. The monkeys looking up see only asses.

You can actually call CAAS up youself to see if you've passed the medical. They should have the results in about a week. But whether SIA accepts you or not, even if you've passed the medical, is a different matter. Whatever the result, SIA will usually inform you thru email, sometimes with a call.

Hi Knight, I've called CAAS last wk. Was informed that they cleared my med. and submitted it back to SIA on 23 Mar. Now only waiting for SIA to decide whether to take me in or not. BTW, if they want to reject me, will they send me a rejection letter soon? Thx.

Normally, most of the time, once they have sent you for medical, you are considered in already. (this is because your medical is not free, they won't let you have a free medical for the sake of it, under their expense.) However, the current batch may have enough people and they may just bump you to a later batch. You may not be of age yet, They also can check up your medical history and if they find any fault, they won't take you in. It's a waiting game yet again. But don't despair, just hope for the best and be patient. All the best.

greetings ppl,

I just got an invitation for an interview in Hotel Nikko@22nd April 06. I sent in my application in December. Finally, the wait is over I'm overjoyed! Gotta start burning the midnight oil again. Anyone who is attending the interview on the same date kindly drop me a PM k! Cheers and good luck!

This might be a more accurate version of the fourth floor:

The cadets looking up see nothing but darkness - because her fat ass just totally blocks out the light.

Her boss looking down at her just sees her smiling greasy face.

The screeching from the monkeys below are muffled by same said fat ass.

Nobody is none the wiser.

Joyce keeps her job.

Can visualise?