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BA Direct Entry Pilot.

Old 9th Jul 2014, 10:36
  #321 (permalink)  
 
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+1 Plastic787

Appears I'm not good enough to fly or to serve either. Alas, good luck to the remainder.
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Old 9th Jul 2014, 10:46
  #322 (permalink)  
 
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Don't give up hope if you haven't heard anything.

When I did BA selection some of my colleagues got a positive answer within hours whereas it took a few days for me to get a yes.

Borderline candidates perhaps...
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Old 9th Jul 2014, 11:13
  #323 (permalink)  
 
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It took me almost two and a half weeks to receive a yes from BA when I went through initial selection. 2 weeks for the sim result.

Be patient, because it's a HUGE prerequisite if you are serious on BA. The whole thing takes time and you can still end up with nothing even if you pass through the hoop jumping.

Good luck
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 08:11
  #324 (permalink)  
 
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I'm excluded on the basis of stupid tests of limited relevance aimed squarely at those with no experience. If these tests are so flawless then why the need for a sim assessment? But like the Murphy's..

It's their train set after all.
The aptitude tests and the sim ride are looking at different things. Yes they don't want you to fly the sim badly but the main focus in the sim is on capacity and CRM.

BA is peculiar, a law unto itself, but, as has been mentioned, it is their train set and you have to play by their rules. No system is ideal but the selection does tend to provide BA with a fairly uniform and reliable product with very few oddballs. it may not be everyone's cup of tea but it does seem to be what BA wants.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 08:59
  #325 (permalink)  
 
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Sorry you failed to pass the assessment

Your arguments or otherwise as to BA's choice of how they assess potential recruits are irrelevant - BA believe they ARE relevant and you were trying to join BA, BA were not trying to headhunt you, therefore their assessment of relevance of tests or otherwise is the only opinion that counts. It does not matter how good you have been told you are previously - you failed this assessment and recruitment process, and I'm sorry that is the case.

BA are looking for whatever it is they look for and you must not have displayed enough of that quality. It's a bit like the old RAF pilot assessment, the are a great many of very talented and gifted pilots who failed this, it does not make them any less gifted or able, it just shows they did not display whatever talents the RAF were looking for.

I am truly sorry for any one who has put their hat in the ring for this recruitment and has got through to the assessment days and been rejected, it must be unpleasant in the extreme to be turned down. That rejection though does not invalidate the recruitment and assessment process.

Last edited by Juan Tugoh; 10th Jul 2014 at 09:11.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 09:16
  #326 (permalink)  
 
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At the risk of coming in half way through the conversation here........
I'm not sure I would describe BA's selection process as tough. I think the candidates that BA want fit a certain mould and have the potential to obtain a particular skill-set.
Looking at myself and some other flight crew colleagues , we are certainly not " gifted, natural pilots", but possess other skills that BA are looking for. Apologies to the couple of ex Red Arrow guys we have flying for us, but we are not necessarily looking for 3500 ex display or test pilots. Just ordinary people that achieve the BA standard. All IMHO.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 09:17
  #327 (permalink)  
 
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Anyone heard anything from the assesment days this week yet?
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 12:06
  #328 (permalink)  
 
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It does sound a bit bitter though Plastic. Gave it a go, didn't make it, apparently you didn't show what they were looking for. Sure it doesn't make you a less able pilot, but you just might not be making their grade in whatever they're looking for. And they look for whatever they look for.

I still have to go and do the first day. I've passed it before (screwed it on the sim seven years ago when in flight school), but definitely might not make it again now. I'm not going to hold it against them. You do what you can and see where it ends up. I'm most definitely not going to view a potential rejection as somehow a statement of my quality as a professional and as a pilot. Failing anything always sucks because normally you set out to succeed but come on, it's still just a job and if you would have passed a highly doubt you would have been debating the merits of the assessment program on this forum.

Last edited by drfaust; 10th Jul 2014 at 12:17.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 13:08
  #329 (permalink)  
 
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I wouldn't worry about too much Plastic.

I've been deemed suitable to fly BA's planes twice now........still not wearing the uniform and now don't even meet the criteria to even apply this time!

The BA recruitment process is the most protracted, inefficient and just damn right ridiculous process there is, so it's no wonder why good pilots don't get in and others do.

The only purpose it serves is to degrade the achievement of getting into the UK's flag carrier airline as it's based on small percentage of skill, and a large percentage on luck, timing and paperwork.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 13:44
  #330 (permalink)  
 
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It’s easier to quantify differences between candidates with aptitude tests than anything else, and I suspect that’s the reason the tests are carried out in addition to the simulator assessments. If there were only x available jobs and x + 30 candidates met the minimum requirements in everything, how would you objectively determine who was going to make it and who wasn’t? Using the scores obtained in the aptitude tests is a reliable way of making the decision; even if what they are measuring is not raw piloting ability or necessarily any use whatsoever on the job.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 14:14
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My turn soon
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 22:32
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I have not applied BA myself, however I do agree regarding the nonsense of the Aptitude tests.

These tests does slightly favour younger people, I know from past experience, these set of skills requires more a quick fresh brain, than actual set of amazing skills!

Set a 10 year old child, who is a computer game wizzard to try to perform these tests, I am pretty sure he will outperform most able pilots with massive margins!

I have seen some of these tests, and played around with some of them too. These cross hair test can be practised so many places now, and based on this should not be a valid test, as practice makes master, no doubt!

Play, Repeat, Sleep, Play, Sleep, Repeat!

Enough times, and you will master this multi - tasking test! So what does this say about the applicant, if he has practised for 3 weeks before he arrived?

You need to understand the reason these tests exists, it is because somebody claims to have an innovative idea where they claim that this will provide the best candidates for such recruitment.
An HR company has sold the idea, that this will help get the best people!

Will it? Maybe, maybe not! There is no positive proof that it works or not! But there is one winner, the HR company that provided and made these tests!
Money money money!
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Old 11th Jul 2014, 06:09
  #333 (permalink)  
 
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I don't fly for BA, but would you care to explain this:


so it's no wonder why good pilots don't get in and others do.

How exactly do you define this? That's a bit disrespectful isn't it?
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Old 11th Jul 2014, 06:59
  #334 (permalink)  
 
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Psychometric tests are, unfortunately, a very blunt tool. As noted above, they can be practiced...ensuring skewed results.

But...they cut recruitment costs significantly when there are thousands upon thousands of suitable applicants.

The tests will predict outcomes with reasonable efficacy over a large sample size but sometimes get it very wrong.

This is where a competent and well resourced recruitment department will use a human touch to rule in (or as importantly, out), candidates that otherwise did not score within the required parameters.

The tests will always keep some excellent pilots from joining an airline and unfortunately allow some mis-hires through the front door!

But that's life in general, isn't it? No one said it would be fair!
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Old 11th Jul 2014, 08:29
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I don't fly for BA, but would you care to explain this:


Quote:
so it's no wonder why good pilots don't get in and others do.

How exactly do you define this? That's a bit disrespectful isn't it?




sorry, something going on with the 'quote' function... but with regards to the above post, surely folk who might have been in a hold pool that was 'dissolved' (as one of the previous guys said) or who have never had the opportunity to apply for BA because they were in the 'wrong place at the wrong time' e.g sept 11th or financial crisis 2009 (and now flying for numerous airlines around the world e.g emirates, cathay etc) may lay claim they are of an 'appropriate fit' for BA but have been excluded. These folk may no longer wish to join BA but we are merely debating the merit of the assessment process. On the other hand when BMI was absorbed by BA, there were folk in BMI from P2F schemes... who correct me if i'm wrong never had to do an assessment with BA. Of course that's not to say, they are of an inferior standard or wouldn't get and pass an assessment if they applied directly but they were in the right place at the right time - this is just one example.


On another point what annoys me, is people bang on about the 'required fit'/stereotype and that personality is essential i.e skills you can train personality you cannot, so it suggests as long as you meet the minimums (and our aspirations are to achieve the best we can, over and above the minimums!) there is so much more that they are looking for. However Stage 1 really seems to be a bit random and an elimination process as BA or any other company for that matter simply wouldn't have the resources to interview everyone.... so if you happen to be on assessment where everyone was performing highly then you might get chopped even if you scored very highly and there was someone else better than you. The response is always the same though... 'you failed to demonstrate the skills BA is looking for' - could handle it if they just said you did well but there was someone else better than you! So while personality is important you might not even be given the chance to demonstrate this through interview, even if you meet the minimum standards - you're being judge purely on tests despite having an 'x' year incident free flying record... Anyway that's life, it doesn't just happen in Aviation assessments.
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Old 11th Jul 2014, 08:31
  #336 (permalink)  
 
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I know plenty of more than able pilots, that would fit the BA mould and much experience, who would be happy to join BA!
However from the start of making an essay and Aptitude tests before you get to the interview stage, they are not even bothered to apply!

There is a lot to be desired, and we do not live in a perfect world! That some basic computer game from the 80's decides what way you career is heading is for me beyond a joke!

But those are the rules of the game! I seriously doubt that there was somebody from background from aviation who seriously promoted these obsolete games, however there are HR companies who needs to make money, so they create such products first to the companies for their recruitment, and then training packages to the applicants!

End of the day, it all comes down to MONEY!
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Old 11th Jul 2014, 09:30
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Interestingly, people don’t seem to complain nearly as much about having to sit maths or physics tests. Surely if you can fly a plane and do all the required calculations in a simulator then maths and physics tests are as redundant as computer-based aptitude tests at determining your ability to do the job? I mean, is it any more valid that you can calculate the volume of a hemisphere than it is that you can demonstrate positional awareness in an unfamiliar situation? I’d argue not, and yet it’s the aptitude test that gets slated.

But we can debate the efficacy of aptitude tests until we’re Smurf-faced. Whichever way you look at it, it clearly works for BA as there will be no shortage of high quality candidates for them to pick and choose from as they wish. So if it’s whoever can jump on the most Goombas wins then that’s what it is; and if you want to join them then you should practise doing just that.
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Old 11th Jul 2014, 10:01
  #338 (permalink)  
 
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Come on guys, it's just a way of picking the 'best of whats on offer. Just because you didn't get invited to stage 2 it doesn't make you a bad pilot at all.

It doesn't mean BAs standards are the highest of all airlines either, its just a way for them to fairly cut down the numbers.

I'm sure there are loads of guys who didn't even get an invite to assessment who are great operators and would be an asset to BA and its customers.

I'd be a bit pissed off and perhaps even anti-BA if I was un successful too, its a perfectly natural human reaction.
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Old 11th Jul 2014, 10:24
  #339 (permalink)  
 
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I'm not in recruitment but from conversations from those that are, I'm led to believe that the aptitude and psychometric tests are used as discriminants in borderline applicants. You're not being selected on the basis of these tests but if there are doubts about you at the interview stage, they'll look at the tests to assist in their decision-making process. The truth is that if you can't be bothered with the aptitude tests, there's probably a lot of other stuff about BA you won't like either so perhaps it's best for all parties. Doesn't mean to say you're an inferior pilot but BA want more than just pilots these days. They are painful but since it's uneconomic to put every applicant through a full flight sim, BA obviously consider them useful. Furthermore, these tests have been running for many years now. If BA was unhappy with the results, don't you think they'd have ceased using them long ago?
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Old 11th Jul 2014, 10:25
  #340 (permalink)  
 
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I do enjoy all this harping on about cost and money. If the ATOs charge a couple of hundred bob to sit the same process, why not BA? They are not using the aptitude test to determine whether or not you can fly. Your EASA licence and type rating(s) demonstrate that already.
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