Interview Prep Services

jhugz

jhugz

Well-Known Member
There’s been a lot of bad information as of late, so I’m going to give my opinion on a couple of things regarding the airline interview process.



First question – Should I get interview prep?



My answer – Absolutely, however with some caveats.



Most power five interviews have a HR portion to their interview and a technical portion. The HR interview consists of a bunch of TMAAT questions. The technical can range from a CRM exercise to more of a mock oral depending on the airline.



When you start looking for a prep service you should interview them. Ask them questions and figure out what you’re getting from them. In my opinion, you want a prep service that’s going to help you craft 6-10 TMAAT stories. These 6-10 stories can be used for about 90% of TMAAT questions on the HR portions of interviews. These are your own stories based on real experiences. They are just helping you to craft them so that they’re coherent, follow the STAR format, and flow organically. You don’t want them to sound scripted and rehearsed, but you also don’t want them to sound like the first time you told them.



I also recommend looking into a prep service that will work with you on the technical interview. This is less important in my opinion, but still a valuable service. This is especially helpful for those interviews that use more of a CRM exercise then the mock oral, but a review wouldn’t hurt regardless.



Second question – Did you use interview prep?



Yes, I did. I had my stories already, but I needed to work them, so they sounded coherent. I’m also a very poor interviewee, so I wanted a confidence boost going into the interview itself. I found that I struggled with certain things like posture and eye contact and these sessions really helped me perfect those items.



Third question – Won’t I just sound scripted if I get interview prep?



If you go to a bad interview prep company, sure. A good interview prep company is going to take what I said above and curate it for you. You’re going to come out sounded intelligent and polished. You’re going to show that you put in the work to be successful at the interview and that work ethic translates downline.



This is your shot at a multi-million-dollar career position. The people that do interviews, do so daily, this is their job. You do a handful in a lifetime. Don’t take this opportunity for granted, swallow your pride, and get help in your weak areas. Put in the work and land the position.
 
I couldn't agree more with what you've said. I used one as well. they also did a couple mock interviews with me. It helped me a lot, the pointed out some nervous ticks I had, helped with telling the TMAAT story well and in the correct way. The good interview companies will also have insights on the company you are interviewing at as well.
 
Agree completely. As I get older (accelerated by the kind of flying I do) my memory has gone into the toilet. Honestly an interview prep company would probably be worth the money just by helping me remember stories that have long been forgotten.
 
I had a lot of misgivings about this whole idea/cottage industry. But at the end of the day, I did spend the couple hundred bucks that it cost to use the very niche company that does prep for my shop. It consisted of a single virtual consult, and the guy honestly didn't have much to tweak. He did tell me to refrain from telling stories about combat, which wasn't really a big plan of mine (telling them that is), other than the fact that the easy answer to one TMAAT question he posed did involve such a story. I didn't memorize any answers, and I didn't really memorize any specific stories, though the process helped me brainstorm a few that could apply to multiple different types of questions. I think the real value was learning exactly what the interview day process was, what to expect at each point, and so on. I could have easily gone in cold, and done the same interview I ended up doing. In the real thing, most of the sample questions they had were not asked. I just answered truthfully and if I got a little long winded with a couple, they didn't hold it against me. My waiting room terror actually ended up being thinking about an answer to a question, where I called the fictional CA "he or she"......and then it hit me, in that timeframe, I might have unintentionally offended someone with that response.
 
Couldn't agree more!

I'd been out of the game almost 9 years when I interviewed again. Things had changed and I need polishing. Plus, I wanted to make sure I answered the "Why do you want to leave XXX?" question in the most diplomatic way possible.

Plus, I definitely needed coaching and calming down for the SBI portion of the interview (also known as the fastest, most grueling 8 minutes of your life)!
 
///AMG said:
I could have easily gone in cold, and done the same interview I ended up doing.
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I’m not trying to discredit your experience, but I would say from an experience standpoint that you’d be an outlier.

I don’t think most average pilots could come into a legacy interview cold, and perform at a peak level.
 
I went with a service who targeted my specific airline and it was well worth it. I was given a list of 60 or so questions to prep and worked on it for 3 weeks. When I had issues on how to frame my answer, I would email and get a response quickly.

The value was the one on one prep at the end. It was a 1 hour mock interview with a one hour follow up that was awesome. I went in super prepared and my answers were concise and accurate. There were only 3 out of 30 of us that got the CJO on that day, and I was one of the 3.
 
jhugz said:
I’m not trying to discredit your experience, but I would say from an experience standpoint that you’d be an outlier.

I don’t think most average pilots could come into a legacy interview cold, and perform at a peak level.
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There was also a rapidly drying up pool of qualified candidates at peak hiring for AS. Not saying getting hired at a major wasn’t an accomplishment. Just that going forward it’s probably going to be a lot more competitive.

When I was hired I was helped by an interview prep process that focused on Corporate to Airline. I don’t feel I would have been hired without their help.
 
Interview prep was great for organizing my stories and figuring out which ones were good at getting the job done. That said, my two interviews where I felt the best walking out in recent memory were ones I didn't really prep for, just went in and had a normal conversation with the interviewers. The one I prepped for the most I failed miserably and probably came across as robotic, not to mention probably looked like I wanted it too bad.
 
Never used a prep service. The part-time 121 gig I do, in the interview I didn’t mention one flying story, as my flying quals and hours were already on my resume. All the situational stories were Fire/EMS and LE related stuff, which they actually seemed to enjoy more than hearing yet another cockpit or flight deck story of some kind.

Was easy as pie and little to no stress, probably because I didn’t really care if I got the job or not, and that was probably apparent, as it was just part-time 121 work for some easy extra side cash since I already had a type, just supplementing my full and other part time gig.
 
BEEF SUPREME said:
There was also a rapidly drying up pool of qualified candidates at peak hiring for AS. Not saying getting hired at a major wasn’t an accomplishment. Just that going forward it’s probably going to be a lot more competitive.

When I was hired I was helped by an interview prep process that focused on Corporate to Airline. I don’t feel I would have been hired without their help.
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Damn that's cold
 
MikeD said:
Never used a prep service. The part-time 121 gig I do, in the interview I didn’t mention one flying story, as my flying quals and hours were already on my resume. All the situational stories were Fire/EMS and LE related stuff, which they actually seemed to enjoy more than hearing yet another cockpit or flight deck story of some kind.

Was easy as pie and little to no stress, probably because I didn’t really care if I got the job or not, and that was probably apparent, as it was just part-time 121 work for some easy extra side cash since I already had a type, just supplementing my full and other part time gig.
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You make a really good point Mike. A lot of your TMAAT stories can be outside the flight deck. For example, I had about 5 that were related to my union volunteer work and regular volunteer work. It’s a good way to show that you’re a well rounded applicant and more than just the pilot.
 
I did not hire an interview prep company prior to my interview. I didnt go in cold having not thought about any of this, but looked at some online debriefs and mentally got some of my TMAATs squared away. I had been trying to get that job since I was about 12 years old, clean record, 4 year degree, 8K+ of flight time with about 5K 121 PIC. I figure people with that amount of flight time have had enough situations happen to them that having enough stories shouldnt be an issue. I wouldnt disparage anyone who did, but I didnt feel it necessary for me. I was just honest and my everyday self and hoped my sincere desire to work there would come through. This is just what I did, and not necessarily what I would recommend. I hope I never had to interview again.
 
I agree, it was a really easy time to just pop into an interview, in a historical sense. Many of my peers were hired at all 3 bigs, one after the other, and settled at their preferred one after just a few months and as many indoc classes. Most are in the left seat now. People also look at me, some of those people, like I have a dick growing out of my head when I tell them I'm planning to stay here. I spare them the "I never applied to your airline and still don't want to be at it" line.
 
Interview prep was vital for me throughout my transition to 121. If you study Italian grammar, you'll see that run-on sentences are not just normal, they're almost expected. In grammatical analysis class you're often presented with a paragraph to analyze only to find out it's really only two sentences. This means it's easy for me to ramble on about something if I'm not paying attention, and in English it's a big no-no. The prep company taught me how to avoid that, helped focus my thoughts on what topic of TMAAT stories I needed to make sure I had available, and gave me a general philosophy with which to approach technical questions and "what would you do Captain?" scenarios. I used it more as communication coaching rather than strict interview prep, and began my relationship with the company well before it was time to put on a suit and ask for the job. It helped my networking skills, storytelling skills, and overall made me a better communicator. Even a nerdy engineer like me can be taught some social skills, just like old dogs and new tricks. I highly recommend it for anyone that's not naturally charismatic or has innate people skills.
 
///AMG said:
I agree, it was a really easy time to just pop into an interview, in a historical sense. Many of my peers were hired at all 3 bigs, one after the other, and settled at their preferred one after just a few months and as many indoc classes. Most are in the left seat now. People also look at me, some of those people, like I have a dick growing out of my head when I tell them I'm planning to stay here. I spare them the "I never applied to your airline and still don't want to be at it" line.
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You probably could have gotten hired anywhere with your background alone and not talking too much at an interview at the time. It was a really short window. Staying at a relatively conservative airline, where you have managed to do well seniority wise and one that works for you commute wise isn't a bad thing.

Hard economic times will return and the bigger the airline the harder they fall.
 
BEEF SUPREME said:
You probably could have gotten hired anywhere with your background alone and not talking too much at an interview at the time. It was a really short window. Staying at a relatively conservative airline, where you have managed to do well seniority wise and one that works for you commute wise isn't a bad thing.

Hard economic times will return and the bigger the airline the harder they fall.
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Yeah, I am a very conservative person when it comes to finances, and I do appreciate this part. I know it frustrates people (rightfully so) at times as well, so there is a trade off. I also dig the smaller size, even if SEA is a huge base. I like seeing people again, flying a trip with someone I've already flown with, etc. And 100% on the convenience. I drive a couple hours to do CQ or a landings sim every now and then, rather than across the country. It is also the last airline I could ever imagine pulling out of the PNW. I think Delta is probably here to stay at this point in time, but you never know what an industry wide setback could cause. They did already pull the 7ER out during COVID, though I suppose that had more to do with their fleet restructuring than it did commitment to this base.
 
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