What Would You Do If... Interview Questions?

DogwoodLynx

DogwoodLynx

Well-Known Member
Studying for an interview. I'm good with the technical stuff, but I really like the critical thinking of scenarios.

I made some "What would you do if...." type questions for myself to study, but I was wondering if you folks could come up with some as well.


It could be anything dispatch related or anything about working in the office/talking to other workgroups.


Thanks in advance!
 
DogwoodLynx said:
Studying for an interview. I'm good with the technical stuff, but I really like the critical thinking of scenarios.

I made some "What would you do if...." type questions for myself to study, but I was wondering if you folks could come up with some as well.


It could be anything dispatch related or anything about working in the office/talking to other workgroups.


Thanks in advance!
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What would you do if you had no connections?

Sorry, couldn't resist.
 
What would you do if the CA contacted you about having an issue with an aircraft and the gate agent being badgering about having to "close the door on time"? How would you proceed?

Heres another one.

A flight calls you at the gate with an mx issue. Maint arrives and MELs and placards the inop items. However, the mx tech gets on the phone with you and asks that you put the MELs into the computer not mx control. What would you do?
 
A1TAPE said:
What would you do if the CA contacted you about having an issue with an aircraft and the gate agent being badgering about having to "close the door on time"? How would you proceed?

Heres another one.

A flight calls you at the gate with an mx issue. Maint arrives and MELs and placards the inop items. However, the mx tech gets on the phone with you and asks that you put the MELs into the computer not mx control. What would you do?
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My answer to the first one would be that we need to deal with whatever the aircraft issue was and make sure it safe/legal. The gate agent will have to wait.

My answer to the second one would be tell the tech "no" and call the MX Controller and tell him what happened and if he approves the MEL then we are good. If not, we will have to do whatever is called for.
 
Can I play -

What would you do if:

a coworker died while at work - make sure he didnt fall over in the aisle - so the rest of us dont have to step over him
a coworker was late and didnt bring donuts - kill him
a coworker was constantly late coming for work - put "call dispatch for full weather briefing" on all releases that depart after I leave.
the FAA sat down with you and asked how it was going - depends on your next question
your coworker is a complete jack donkey - help them get to super supreme platinum status
if your boss asked why you did that - give him the "you really didn't just ask that" look
a coworker left their wallet on the desk - rearrange everything in it
 
A1TAPE said:
What would you do if the CA contacted you about having an issue with an aircraft and the gate agent being badgering about having to "close the door on time"? How would you proceed?

Heres another one.

A flight calls you at the gate with an mx issue. Maint arrives and MELs and placards the inop items. However, the mx tech gets on the phone with you and asks that you put the MELs into the computer not mx control. What would you do?
Click to expand...
Well since dispatch basically never talks to gate agents and mx techs... these would be 2 questions that you never get asked in a dispatch interview.

That being said... expect to be asked "a captain calls you and says 'why didn't you plan us with any contingency/hold fuel?' how would you handle that?"
 
who'swho said:
Well since dispatch basically never talks to gate agents and mx techs... these would be 2 questions that you never get asked in a dispatch interview.

That being said... expect to be asked "a captain calls you and says 'why didn't you plan us with any contingency/hold fuel?' how would you handle that?"
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That's what the 45 minutes of additional fuel is for. If you have a SKC day (and not too hot to affect take off performance) with no alternates needed, you still have 45 minutes of fuel in case something delays you (ATC delays, ground stops, or otherwise unusual circumstances). I guess this also assumes no MEL fuel penalties, and that the plane is loaded to the gills with PAX and Cargo (but not overweight).

How'd I do? ;)
 
The crux of almost every situational question is having a full understanding of the resources available to you.

"What would you do if ..." should lead you down the path of "who do I have working with/for me?"
 
What is your greatest strength? What is a weakness? Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a coworker. How did you resolve it? Why should we hire you? Why do you want to work here?

Make sure you have answers to these questions. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about the scenario questions too much. Scenario questions are tough to prepare for, especially when you don’t have experience, because there can be any number of “right” or “wrong” answers. The thing about scenario questions is to be able to justify the answer that you gave, or the decision that you made.
 
DogwoodLynx said:
That's what the 45 minutes of additional fuel is for. If you have a SKC day (and not too hot to affect take off performance) with no alternates needed, you still have 45 minutes of fuel in case something delays you (ATC delays, ground stops, or otherwise unusual circumstances). I guess this also assumes no MEL fuel penalties, and that the plane is loaded to the gills with PAX and Cargo (but not overweight).

How'd I do? ;)
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I can’t think of any crew that would accept that little fuel, even under perfect conditions
 
CRJInTheHeartOfTexas said:
What would you do if everybody you associated with tried to bring you down and cause your failure?
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Try to think of things less in terms of adversity facing you and instead as a challenge to overcome. The last boss I had at a regional airline seemed to be actively trying to get me fired, was happy when I put in my resignation, but seemed shocked (and unbelieving) when I told him I got hired by a major. In a crazy sort of way, he was part of the reason I got hired...he was a large part of my motivation to move on! When I finally saw him at an ADF event a few years later I think he finally realized I had told him the truth.
 
CRJInTheHeartOfTexas said:
What would you do if everybody you associated with tried to bring you down and cause your failure?
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Humphrey-Bogart-Captain-Queeg-The-Caine-Mutiny-150x150.jpg


I know exactly what he’d tell you, lies. He was no different from any other officer in the ward room, they were all disloyal. I tried to run the ship properly, by the book, but they fought me at every turn. The crew wanted to walk around with their shirt tails hanging out, that’s all right, let them. Take the tow line, defective equipment, no more, no less. But they encouraged the crew to go around scoffing at me, and spreading wild rumors about steaming in circles and then old yellow strain
 
DispatcherSam said:
I can’t think of any crew that would accept that little fuel, even under perfect conditions
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So the next logical step would be to throw some on as long as it doesn’t put you over weight (and it satisfies the crew)?

This coming from someone who doesn’t have experience, only book knowledge (AKA a pup).
 
DogwoodLynx said:
So the next logical step would be to throw some on as long as it doesn’t put you over weight (and it satisfies the crew)?

This coming from someone who doesn’t have experience, only book knowledge (AKA a pup).
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I would say something along... "well captain, the forecast is calling for greater than 6 and broken at 5,000. If we get into a situation where we feel the wx is going to drop when we get a little closer we could always drop into xyz airport enroute." If that doesn't satisfy him then ask him how much fuel he would like. Personally, I have a policy of not getting into a debate about how much fuel he wants as long as we're not bumping payload. After all, it's his ass in the seat.
 
Flying Saluki nailed it! I've been asked those exact questions for almost every interview I've ever had. Not just in the airline industry.

For what it's worth someone once told me they were asked "What would you do if you noticed one of your coworkers showed up to work intoxicated?"
 
A1TAPE said:
What would you do if the CA contacted you about having an issue with an aircraft and the gate agent being badgering about having to "close the door on time"? How would you proceed?

Heres another one.

A flight calls you at the gate with an mx issue. Maint arrives and MELs and placards the inop items. However, the mx tech gets on the phone with you and asks that you put the MELs into the computer not mx control. What would you do?
Click to expand...

Like someone else said, they'd never get asked because those are not situations you'd ever have to deal with.

I however have a couple minutes and can answer them.

1. The plane doesn't go until you and the pilot feel damn good and ready

2. I'd transfer him to mx control.
 
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