Yet another thread about interview techniques.

PhilosopherPilot

Well-Known Member
Ok guys. If you're interviewing for a job, for sweet little baby Jesus's sake know something about the company. My first question is ALWAYS so what do you know about the company. I like to determine right out of the gate what the applicants motivation and preparation is.

Know something, and if it's a phone interview, have google open and read if you have to. It's an open book test in that case!


/rant

Edited:
Decided to keep it generic, given the public nature of the forum.
 
What kind of stuff is good to know? Do you mean pretty much anything, like the history of the company?
 
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Personal experience: I've tried to get a few transitioning military folks hired on at a Cirrus air taxi company. "Is it ok if I just have a commercial multi engine rating?" is a common question I get...

Sadly, most military aviators are phenomenally ignorant about many aspects of civilian flying, especially when it comes to anything regulatory.
 
What kind of stuff is good to know? Do you mean pretty much anything, like the history of the company?

Yeah general information. Know the domiciles, fleet type(s), target market, relative size of the company, vision statements, recent new destinations, etc. If you know something about the history that's cool too.

I'm not looking for in depth stuff, but I am looking to see that you know who you've applied to.

This was an intern candidate, so I wasn't expecting too much from him in terms of "pilot knowledge."
 
Ok guys. If you're interviewing for a job, for sweet little baby Jesus's sake know something about the company. My first question is ALWAYS so what do you know about the company. I like to determine right out of the gate what the applicants motivation and preparation is.

Know something, and if it's a phone interview, have google open and read if you have to. It's an open book test in that case!


/rant

Edited:
Decided to keep it generic, given the public nature of the forum.
Soooooo.....I take it I'm not getting the job?
 
I went to a interview recently and two in the group admitted during the panel that when they jumpseated in the day before, it was their first time on the airline.

ZR90_f-maxage-0.gif
 
I love how on one side of the industry, the onus is on the pilots to be good applicants and to know everything about the company and be as turn-key as possible, while on the other side of the industry they're paying for people to get the required certificates completed. All the while passengers buy a ticket through the internet and ride on both sides of the industry, none the wiser.

This isn't a knock on Blue (in fact quite the opposite, they have one of the more "human" interview processes from what I have heard through the grapevine), but as an outsider, I do find it pretty amusing.
 
I went to a interview recently and two in the group admitted during the panel that when they jumpseated in the day before, it was their first time on the airline.

At least they did jumpseat on the airline they were interviewing for that day.

To be honest, if I had ever interviewed with JB, I would have had to make a serious effort and gone way out of my way to ride on the airline.

To be even more honest, the first time I flew on metal flown by my current employer was when they gave me a space positive seat to the interview. :)
 
Whatever you do, do not lie on your application, make sure that you can pass a background check and don't make asinine posts on any public forum or social media. Don't waste their time. You are just taking up space for someone more deserving who will be thrilled to be hired and actually perform/do what the company requires of them.
 
I went to a interview recently and two in the group admitted during the panel that when they jumpseated in the day before, it was their first time on the airline.

ZR90_f-maxage-0.gif

There's nothing wrong with that if that's the truth. It'd be worse to lie and say, "I have ridden literally dozens of times on Brand X" when you never have.


Why isn't the obvious answer to "why do you want to work for us" acceptable? "Ummm, you pay better than the competition, have better benefits, own your own flying, and provide a retirement, and appear to be a 'cool' place to work?" I always thought it was kind of funny the mental gyrations guys go through to try to prove that they're worthy to hiring departments.

Frankly, I want to work the place that gives me the nicest blend of Fun Flying, Pay, Time Off, Retirement, and Work Environment. It's not simply more money and time off for me. If a company subjects me to a ridiculous process pre-hire, I am going to be pretty suspect of the work environment. If I look at the flying and think, "My God I'm going to be miserable doing that," then the other benes are going to have to be substantially higher.
 
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