Yet another thread about interview techniques.

They're also going to ask a question about something sticky in your background. Chances are, they already know the answer to it, but want to see how you recovered.

Failed a checkride or two, no big deal: "I learned a lot that day and this is how I grew…" no matter what happened.

Launching into a tirade, and many do, about "the system being after you and how the check airman was a jackwagon" means that you do not handle conflict resolution easily and will be a liability. Game over. Done-zo.

Comportment is a thing.
 
ppragman said:
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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Part of going to an interview and saying "i want to work here" is that it's a career destination, so how could you make a decision for yourself and family about choosing an employment home based off of one jumpseat ride in the day before? If you really were interested in the company and wanted the gig you'd be more familiar with the product than just what you can read on the internetz. Maybe it shows motivation and interest on the part of the candidate to see the operation to the best of their ability prior to the interview, so you can actually comment on it.
 
Another interview tip which is really easy to tell if you're BS'ing or not is when someone flies for, say, Skywest, you can ask "Can you compare and contrast flying Delta Connection to United Express?"
 
Skåning said:
Part of going to an interview and saying "i want to work here" is that it's a career destination, so how could you make a decision for yourself and family about choosing an employment home based off of one jumpseat ride in the day before? If you really were interested in the company and wanted the gig you'd be more familiar with the product than just what you can read on the internetz. Maybe it shows motivation and interest on the part of the candidate to see the operation to the best of their ability prior to the interview, so you can actually comment on it.
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Payscales, benefits packages, company reputation, etc. I get exactly what you're saying and kind of agree, but there are plenty of "career" jobs out there where this sort of approach simply isn't possible. Consider some other aspects of the industry. A lot of people will trip over themselves to go to work at FedEx or UPS or Atlas who literally cannot possibly have ridden on their aircraft before, and that's not really a bad thing. How can this be possible with most corporate jobs? Nah, man, it's about the culture, the reputation of the company, the satisfaction you'll get from the work, etc. and then also the pay scale. Sure, someone who's ridden on Brand X a bunch of times will know if he likes the product, but let's be frank, liking the product does not an excellent work environment make. I freaking love that I can get practically everything delivered to my front door by Amazon, but I hope I never have to work for them.
 
ppragman said:
Payscales, benefits packages, company reputation, etc. I get exactly what you're saying and kind of agree, but there are plenty of "career" jobs out there where this sort of approach simply isn't possible. Consider some other aspects of the industry. A lot of people will trip over themselves to go to work at FedEx or UPS or Atlas who literally cannot possibly have ridden on their aircraft before, and that's not really a bad thing. How can this be possible with most corporate jobs? Nah, man, it's about the culture, the reputation of the company, the satisfaction you'll get from the work, etc. and then also the pay scale. Sure, someone who's ridden on Brand X a bunch of times will know if he likes the product, but let's be frank, liking the product does not an excellent work environment make. I freaking love that I can get practically everything delivered to my front door by Amazon, but I hope I never have to work for them.
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While you can't always jumpseat, you can certainly learn quite a bit about a company by the people they hire and what they say about the environment there.
 
Something else too, if a person asks "I see you have an internal letter of recommendation, how do you know first officer Smith?"

The answer is never "Well, he is still in indoc and said he would write me a letter".

When you get hired by an airline, your popularity explodes for a few months and all sorts of people come out of the woodwork to ask about letters of recommendation so the question is, "do you simply know someone who works here or does someone that works here think you're a perfect match for the corporation". Very different questions.

Sometimes, tenure is very helpful because a 15 year employee is going to know more about what the environment is than a five week employee.
 
Derg said:
Another interview tip which is really easy to tell if you're BS'ing or not is when someone flies for, say, Skywest, you can ask "Can you compare and contrast flying Delta Connection to United Express?"
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Ahhh, isn't it the same?
 
Derg said:
Stuff.
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Both have snacks in coach, internet, meals in First on the larger aircraft for the premium flyers, Economy Plus seating (at least at UAL). Soooo, once again, not sure there is a difference.
 
Seggy said:
Both have snacks in coach, internet, meals in First on the larger aircraft for the premium flyers, Economy Plus seating (at least at UAL). Soooo, once again, not sure there is a difference.
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Congratulations! :)

But it wasn't the question.
 
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