SkyTest® Airline Interview - The Exercise Book

Interview questions and tasks from real life selection procedures for pilots and ATCOs

Dennis Dahlenburg, Andreas Gall

• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9783744822541
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9783744860222
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Recruiting pilots has developed into a process with a scientific methodology. Airlines base the selection of their pilots on both the aviation and social qualifications of the individual applicants, and ensure their decision using the tools of suitability diagnostics. Cognitive and operational performance tests are the start of most selection processes. These are used to test the basic psychomotor skills a pilot requires in their everyday work. The performance tests include an in-depth psychological screening of the applicant, the focus of which is an extensive interview. Airlines (and passengers) expect absolute reliability and professionalism from pilots. The interview is therefore in place to determine a pilot's motivation and to make predictions about his or her probable behaviour after being hired. Leadership skills in teams, communication skills and decision-making skills are just three of the characteristics that airlines value highly and which are examined at interview.In SkyTest® Airline Interview (ISBN: 9783744822510) we have presented the theoretical basis of the interviews for pilots and air traffic controllers. We have created SkyTest® Airline Interview - The Exercise Book for practice-oriented and tailored preparation for an interview with an airline or air traffic control centre.SkyTest® Airline Interview - The Exercise Book chronologically takes you through typical sections of a selection interview with an airline. The book gives you deeper insight into common interview questions. A variety of examples and exercises will help you to respond spontaneously and confidently in future interviews.Both authors of SkyTest® Airline Interview and SkyTest® Airline Interview - The Exercise Book added years of industry experience and expertise to the books.

1 Introduction

Airlines have high standards when it comes to selecting their pilots. The often multi-stage tests usually begin with a computer-based cognitive and operational performance test.

The following chart shows the characteristics often sought by airlines in their pilot selection tests:

Table 1: Basic aptitude evaluation

Applicants who have demonstrated their basic suitability for the pilot profession will then be invited to undergo subsequent psychological tests with an interview. In the past, these interviews were more focused on technical and theoretical topics. However, modern selection processes go deeper. Today, the interview should not just provide information about qualifications, but more about the applicant’s motivation and probable future behaviour in their intended work environment.

Reaching the interview means you have made it to a select pool of applicants. The airline is now particularly interested in seeing the applicant's social skills and personality-related characteristics.

Table 2: Psychological suitability assessment and interview

Various approaches have been developed and optimised for use by airlines in order to carry out the psychological suitability assessment and interview. As a rule, airlines carry out what are known as half-structured, mixed interviews, which essentially follow an internal guide and progress on the basis of biographical and situational questions. As part of the selection process, the interview is regularly accompanied by psychological analytical methods, such as group exercises or computer tests. The supplementary tests are there to ensure the results of the final interview are correct.

We examined the theoretical approaches behind the methods of interview-based selection diagnostics in pilot tests and their practical implementation in selection processes in the SkyTest® Airline Interview book. SkyTest® Airline Interview – The Exercise Book was specifically developed for the purpose of targeted preparation for meeting the interviewer.

The book will help you to find answers to possible questions about your professional career or biographical background before the interview. The verbal and syntactic presentation of your answers during interview is at least as important as confident content preparation. There are notes on this in the individual chapters of this book.

2 Before the interview

Invitation to interview requires more than just successful participation in any cognitive and operational performance tests. You must also pass two formal hurdles – the written application and, in many cases, a preliminary telephone interview.

2.1 Application letter and CV

The application letter is the first impression the airline’s HR department gets of an applicant. Your covering letter should be no more than one page of A4 and your attached CV should provide all the essential information about your qualifications and experience. The covering letter should also convey that you are a motivated employee with good social skills who will integrate well into a new team. You can achieve a good blend of conveying information and motivation using the following structure:

First paragraph: Your current situation and motivation

A good introduction to a covering letter sent to an airline is a detailed description of your current employment status and collected flight experience. You should outline why you have applied to this particular airline in the last sentence of the first paragraph.

Applicants applying for flight training roles should describe their current professional or educational situation in the introduction, and then go into detail about why they have chosen to become a pilot.

Second paragraph: Your aviation training and qualifications

Stages of training, licences, flight hours on individual routes and simulator experience all belong in the second paragraph. The focus here is purely on getting the information across.

Third paragraph: Training and career outside the cockpit

Academic degrees and professional roles outside of the aircraft cockpit can be covered in the third paragraph.

Fourth paragraph: Professional ethics and social skills

You should end your covering letter by showing your positive and professional attitude towards being a pilot and by emphasising your social skills. You may also refer to activities you undertake in your spare time.

2.2 Example: Covering letter for a pilot position

Subject: Application as a First Officer in your B737 fleet

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to apply for a role as a First Officer in your Boeing 737 fleet. I am single, 30 years old and currently live in Melbourne, where I have been flying the 737-800 as a F/O for Jetstar for the last two years. Before this, I spent four years flying ambulance flights for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS) on a Beechcraft Super King 200C. I gained a lot of valuable experience from my time with RFDS. I learnt to react flexibly and make quick decisions on flights in difficult weather conditions, in night operations at unknown airfields and during emergencies in the care of patients on board. As a pilot for the RFDS, I was responsible for planning the deployment, preparation and tanking of aircraft, as well as instructing new crew members. These experiences made it far easier for me to move over to commercial air travel. My contract with Jetstar will end this September. After it ends, I would like to return back to Europe after my time in Australia. I would like to continue my career with your airline, as I would enjoy being part of a company and environment that opens up new opportunities for me.

I completed my flight training in June 2006 at the Hamburg flight school. I have a current ATPL with Commercial Pilot and Multi-Engine certificates. I passed the ATPL theoretical tests with an average of 94.5 percent. Including 200 hours of multi-crew training in the simulator, I have 2,100 hours of flight experience, of which 1,200 were spent on the 737 NG.

Before my flying career, I completed a degree in Business Management with a focus on aviation at the University of Hamburg. I completed my Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree with an average grade of 1.8 after six semesters. After completing my degree, I worked for a year as a trainee at Airbus in Hamburg and Toulouse before I decided on a career in aviation. I learnt a lot about business management, customer relations and finance in the multi-faceted Airbus trainee programme.

I like being a pilot because I value working as part of a team. I am responsible and reliable when it comes to taking on leadership tasks. Safety and professionalism are the principles of my work in the cockpit and when preparing to fly. I strive to live a balanced lifestyle in my free time. I learnt to play cricket in Australia and have been training a youth team for a year on a voluntary basis. I am convinced that my qualifications and social skills would make me a valuable employee at your airline.

With thanks and best regards,

…

Your CV is attached to the covering letter. The most important information about you, your qualifications and roles from your career and training should be highlighted on your CV.

1. Header

You can put your qualification “highlights” in bullet po...

Table of contents

• Foreword
• Table of Contents
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Before the interview
• 3. The interview
• 4. Group exercises, discussions and debates
• 5. After the interview
• Further information
• Copyright