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Interview class had eight people. 5 out of 8 were offered conditional employment. Two military, five commuter, and one corporate. Three didn't make it. Two for the interview and one for the Cog Test. All great people. Put in my application middle of October and was emailed two weeks later to set up an interview. Thoroughly impressed with everyone I met at Delta. All had great attitudes and went out of their way to make the process as pleasant as possible. You will enjoy everyone you meet.
Stay at the Comfort Inn. All of the new hires stay there during indoc so it is good to have the chance to speak with them. I also did the Air Inc interview prep. Being a military guy, my interview skills were definitely lacking. I did my practice with Rob Moser. I hear A.W. is just as good. They don't give you canned answers to say, which is good, but they do help you articulate your thoughts in an honest manner. That rang true during the interview...just be yourself.
On the day of the interview, I did the job knowledge test first and then interviewed after. The job knowledge test was being changed the day we were tested. It will now be questions pulled from a 650 question bank vice the 150 question bank. I believe the gouge is still good on what areas you should study. It was not too difficult. Aerodynamics, holding patterns, mental math, and simple situational questions on wake turbulence, descent profiles, fuel burn while holding, wind shear, etc. I studied Mental Math for aviators for the descent profiles, drift angles, etc. and Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot as a refresher to ATP flying in general. I also studied Acing the Technical Pilot Interview which may in fact go into a little too much detail, but it boosted my confidence.
As far as the interview, just be yourself. It is nothing to get worked up about. Think of it as a great opportunity to speak with guys and gals who have lived the experience. As it should be, safety is paramount. Just think logically about what you would do if you felt safety was jeopardized. No one will fault you for taking a conservative approach. There is only one answer when safety is an issue...do whatever is in your means to keep the aircraft, crew, and passengers safe. Customer satisfaction/impression is next. I don't know if there is any right answer to these questions. Bottom line, be a human being. Realize that your paycheck and the life of Delta relies on customer satisfaction and perception. If you don't know the answer then at least tell them how you would go about finding the answer and rectifying any customer satisfaction issues.
I was asked:
Why do you want to be an airline pilot?
What traits do you think are important in a good captain?
Tell me about a situation where you said,"I'm never going to do that again."
WWYD if the Captain says he will not fly the published noise abatement procedures?(Think about safety and/or the effects on CRM if you contradict a Captain in a non-safety related issue. How would you follow up?)
WWYD if a passenger swore he/she saw a flight attendant hand you a gin and tonic?
It's your leg to fly, wx bad, and the captain says he'll take the landing. WWYD?
Why do you want to quit the exciting life as a fighter pilot to fly people from point to point?
Most importantly, be humble. Everyone makes mistakes and I would not be willing to fly with anyone that thinks they are perfect. Making mistakes is fine. Just make sure that you highlight how you have learned from them and will continue to learn from them in the future.
After the interview was the personality test and the Cog Test. Be honest during the personality test. Don't overthink it. That goes for the MMPI the next day. The bell curve is wide my friends so answer the test honestly. I was really anxious about the cog test and it turned out to not be that big of a deal. My impression is that the people that fail it may be a little too anxious about it which may lead to mistakes. Too be honest I thought I may have failed because nervousness led to stupid errors. Remember it is a combined score of all of the tests. Do your best, rely on the piloting skills that got you to this interview, and you'll do fine. I did use the free two week trial at www.lumosity.com which I believed helped sharpen a rather sedimentary mind. Give it a shot. All in all, just relax.
Captain Kraby gives you the nod or rejection at around 1400 to 1600. Being called in a group is good, however we did have one guy called as a single that made it. If your last name is at the end of the alphabet, you will be waiting. No worries though. They are just compiling all of the scores and it may take a while for the last interviewers to hand their scores in.
If you get the offer you do a drug test, finger printing, and a photo for your I.D. which you get the first day of indoc. Plenty of bottled water is available.
The second day was the medical and psych eval. The medical is thorough. The eye test is challenging. You do have to do a piss test again for diabetes, density, etc. so don't go to the bathroom before you are called. Eye test, weight and height, blood pressure, draw blood, and ekg before you see the doc. The doc sees you for about fifteen minutes. She is cool. Standard coughs and probing. If you are a male, you will have to drop your shorts with a male witness present.
The psych exam lasted about 45 minutes. All women psychiatrists and everyone of them was very cool. Again, be yourself. Don't screw around with the 567 question MMPI. Don't over think it. Answer honestly. It should only take you 40 minutes to an hour tops to finish the questionnaire.
My overall impression...great experience. They called you to an interview for a reason. The people are great and they want you to succeed. I got the feeling that they could cut right through a person that wasn't genuine. Be yourself, relax, study hard, and you'll do fine.
Cleared to train letter came 3 business days later. Our interview class will probably start indoc in early February. The last two classes were all 767 ERs out of new york. They found out the first day and did not fill out a preference sheet.
Good Luck!
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