Cptnchia
Dissatisfied Customer
The Delta style interview = No sim, but technical questions on the computer, one part HR interview, one part MMPI, one part psych interview, one part medical evaluation.
Interview Questions That Drive Me Crazy
- Thread starter FL900
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The Delta style interview = No sim, but technical questions on the computer, one part HR interview, one part MMPI, one part psych interview, one part medical evaluation.
bravoalphakilo
Well-Known Member
Rightly brought out. To add to my thread in technical talk section, wherein I have posted questions from a recent interview I faced, there were certain ethical questions exactly similar to the ones that is being discussed here in this thread or more accurately, those were exactly the same questions albeit the pilot questions. Is it a trend these days for interviewers and HR's to look for people with knowledge and management skills??? or do they take some course and memorise these questions and just shoot them one after the other everytime a person is interviewed??
:dunno:
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
And here we go back to the fact that 250 hours guys shouldn't even be getting interviews with airlines (whether they be majors or regionals).
By the time you 1000+ hours you WILL have a story to tell for each of those questions. It's what experience is all about.
(and I'm not knocking you for being a low timer at all, I'm just pointing out that the fact you don't have an answer to those questions means you don't have a huge amount of experience.)
RRPower
Well-Known Member
Personally, I think the whole interview process is jacked. I interviewed with ASA when I got out of college and I was given the knowledge test (which I am sure I bombed b/c I never instructed, nor was I up to date with all the questions) and then the interview was nothing more then a guy telling me all about the sim ride the next day and how to pass it. Needless to say I was not called back for the sim ride. How is that a reasonable way of telling if someone needs to be hired?
The sim rides are stupid because you have never flown the airplane. I have a few thousand hours in the CRJ, but every year I go to the sim, it is like a drunk 4 year old trying to fly for the first few minutes. I couldn't fly the sim raw data to save my life so how is someone expected to be able to fly it that has never been in it?
Now before I say the Delta interview is bad, let me preface by saying that Delta is a different animal. They know they are good and people are just lining up to take the job. They make you jump through hoops to get hired and rightfully so. I don't agree with the tech questions they ask. I would fail so bad if I took that test blind because non of it (or at least most of it) has nothing to do with how we fly on a day to day basis. Same goes for the cog test...what does that serve? Most people say if you play video games then you would be fine...so what is it supposed to tell them?
With all that said, let me stress to everyone that they are wanting to see you play the game and I can respect that and if I ever get the chance to interview, you better believe I would study my butt off...which is exactly what they want to see. How far are you willing to go to get hired by us?
The sim rides are stupid because you have never flown the airplane. I have a few thousand hours in the CRJ, but every year I go to the sim, it is like a drunk 4 year old trying to fly for the first few minutes. I couldn't fly the sim raw data to save my life so how is someone expected to be able to fly it that has never been in it?
Now before I say the Delta interview is bad, let me preface by saying that Delta is a different animal. They know they are good and people are just lining up to take the job. They make you jump through hoops to get hired and rightfully so. I don't agree with the tech questions they ask. I would fail so bad if I took that test blind because non of it (or at least most of it) has nothing to do with how we fly on a day to day basis. Same goes for the cog test...what does that serve? Most people say if you play video games then you would be fine...so what is it supposed to tell them?
With all that said, let me stress to everyone that they are wanting to see you play the game and I can respect that and if I ever get the chance to interview, you better believe I would study my butt off...which is exactly what they want to see. How far are you willing to go to get hired by us?
Cptnchia
Dissatisfied Customer
You don't calculate 3:1 glide slopes or fuel burns on a daily basis? Or do you just sit there and wait to follow the magenta line blindly.
RRPower
Well-Known Member
Asu usual, please finish reading my sentence. I said most of it. When is the last time you calculated VOR range capabilities? How about the last time you considered to yourself what parasite and induced drag was? Hmm, if I stall my plane full of people at low altitude compare to high altitude, which would take more power to recover?
Yes we all still use 3:1 rule, however it is hard not forget a lot of this stuff when your aircraft will tell you most of it. And no, I don't calculate fuel burns. I know from experience what our average fuel burn is, so I know if we are close, but I am not out with a sheet of paper working my own fuel loads so I can double check dispatches work. And before you say anything about that, I haven't had a single person that I have flwon with do that either.
Cptnchia
Dissatisfied Customer
So you just assume that you have enough fuel on board because that is what the dispatcher said you need and don't check how your burn is going en route?
Look, there is a reason that airlines ask certain questions in interviews. It ususally has to do with ascertaining an individual's knowledge level and personality. If you can remember all the little things, that people don't necessarily use anymore, then you will have an easier time remembering things needed to pass the SV. Same reasoning behind having a college degree. All it means is that you are educatable and can retain and regurgite what you learned.
As for the questions that rankle people, it is exactly to rout out those people. If the questions bother you, it will show in the interview which means then you probably won't like the corporate culture and shouldn't waste your or the interviewer's time.
RRPower
Well-Known Member
I am not quite understanding why you are taking what I say and adding a non existant statement to the end of it and then pointing that out as an arguement. I never said I start a flight or continue to fly because my dispatcher said I could and we never got to talking about en-route operations. Let me explain, everyday aviation is not that hard. We are not all sitting there during the flight with our E6B's out crunching numbers. We get a detailed legs page with fuel burns and expected fuel over any given navaid. We crossreference that with what our detailed fuel page that gives us that same info for each given navaid. On top of that, I know that if I have 400nm to go, then 3000lbs of fuel is not going to cut it. It is basic rough estimate math that is done in my head and comes from experience in the airplane plus a little book work. So no, as I said before there is a lot of information located within the FAA banks of testing that I do not use on a daily basis.
Now, if you would mind not continueing to put words in my mouth and make me seem like a worthless pilot who just warms a seat I would certainly appreciate it.
On a side note, who stores all the answers to questions that we take on written tests. If we did that, then you could just show up to an interview and not worry, but I assure you, no one in their right mind is going to walk into a Delta interview, or any other that means anything to them knowing that a knowledge test is coming and not study their butts off. They have to study because they do not remeber this stuff because it is not used. Sure, if you gave me 50 questions on decent profiles and questions about when to start a decent to cross a certain fix whenever then that would be fine....but that is not all they ask.
BrewMaster
Well-Known Member
What's the point though?
SlumTodd_Millionaire
Most Hated Member
That is the argument, but in my experience, it's a bunch of BS. Sadly, many pilots who have thousands of hours of experience couldn't tell you how to properly use the radar in their aircraft, how to calculate a rough estimate of how long they can hold, how to determine a holding pattern entry without drawing it, etc. You would think that these things are basics that every airline pilot should know, but that's just not the case. You can't assume it.
I agree. From what I've heard, the UAL interview was also very well done. Unfortunately, that seems to be the exception nowadays.
Hacker15e
Who am I? Where are my pants?
Valid point -- that being said, however, what is gained by asking someone to explain a system or procedure on their current/past aircraft?
If I were being interviewed, what's the likelihood that the interviewer is an F-15 guy? I could tell him that the engines worked on pixie dust and that the bombing system was derived from the Norden Bombsight, and he probably wouldn't know any better.
Is it one of those things that, as long as I sound confident and competent and like I know what I'm talking about, that's all they need to hear?
SlumTodd_Millionaire
Most Hated Member
Depends. If you're interviewing at AirTran, there's a decent chance that one of the interviewers flew F-15s. We've got tons of Air Force guys here, including management pilots. They also write down summaries of your answers for reference later, so if they want to check your answers, odds are pretty good that they know a pilot that can verify.
TXaviator
Well-Known Member
i think you should reconsider. the person youre speaking to has well over 1000 hours experience.
cmill
Cold Ass Honky
I think the real problem is, most experience comes from bad decisions, and who wants to walk into and interview and admit to all their faults?
contactground.9
Banned
I thought he was talking to me... Who has 950 short of 1000 hours...
Hacker15e
Who am I? Where are my pants?
If someone has to go "check my answers" after the interview, that's probably a good indication that I'm not going to be offered a position.
TXaviator
Well-Known Member
waaaait a second. maybe youre not who i thought you are!! hahahahaha. damn the internets, i lose track of who is who. haha sorry
*foot -> Mouth*
anyway, im at 135 mins now, and i dont have any story about running a plane out of gas. i can think of maybe once that i chose to stop in a bit early at a different airport because the winds left me with an uncomfortable margin for reaching my intended fuel stop, but nothing even remotely resembling emergency stuff. i try my best to avoid emergencies.
:yeahthat:
Exactly!! I had an interview once where they said "Tell us about a time when you violated a regulation." First of all I couldn't think of any, but I wanted to give them an answer without seeming too cocky, so I said something about how I had probably accidentally violated some airspace at some time. I thought, OK that's vague but honest and humble. Later I realized maybe I should have gone with "never!" I didn't get the job, by the way.