The Horizon interview is pretty consistant with all the other gouges. You arrive at 7:30, and wait until 8 for them to show up. They go through your paperwork to make sure you have it all. If not, they will help you complete it which is nice because some airlines will send you packing right then if paperwork is not completed properly. You sit in the lounge area and you will be called for the 3 different areas. One is the HR, instrument technical, and the chief pilot. The HR is easy, tell me about a time you had a hostile or upset passenger, tell me about a time you were in a dangerous situation, tell me about how you got into aviation, any crashes or incidents? The Chief pilot is similar but they go more into your flying experiences. The instrument technical is really easy but the weather is a little difficult. There were a few things on there that are not common, for example, P0000, it stumped me but later I remember it is precipitation in the last hour but it was wierd because it is all zeros rather than an amount. Also, the ILS was out of service and I saw that but then later when I was asked which approach I would use, I stated the one that was out of service. Very little feedback is given so you may not know when you make an error. Study METAR and TAF symbology. Know 121 regs for take off, fuel mins, alternates, and rest requirements. That flight scenario is the same as what you will do in the sim. We were given Pasco to Penndleton. Then if you do well, you are off to the sim. The sim is very difficult to fly. If you can, go out there the night before and get practice, Hillsboro Aviation 1-800-547-5630. It will require you to rent a car and it is about a 40 minute drive. The sim is very pitch sensitive but also requires some muscle when maneuvering. The flying will consist of taking off, cruise for about 30 miles, do a VOR approach, then an ILS (remember your METAR reported it out of service but it becomes available after you go missed and report it to approach.) The Pendleton VOR is a DME arc and they use an old approach that looks far less complicated than the current approaches. The route there leads you staight in to the DME arc but then you arc for about 100 degrees so be good at staying on the arc because you will be there for a while. The Frasca has GPS but be careful not to look at it too long or they will fail it which also has your DME on it. There is an RMI and make sure you have it on the correct VOR you want it to read off of. You will have to make fake radio calls and they also want you to do frequency changes for these fake calls. Identify all your navigation frequencies also. You will be in the sim for about 45 minutes and even if you make a few mistakes but recover OK, they still may hire you.
They never say this but you get the feeling that their preference is for their employees to reside in the northeast and not commute. They also require a 2 year contract so maybe they are fearing that there will be some turnover if they didn't have the contract.
I had zero questions about my current airplane but be ready for some very basic airspeed and other specifications.
The routes that have been used in the past are:
Wnatchee to Moses Lake (Grant Co.)
Pullman to Lewiston
Spokane to Coeur D'Alene
Walla Walla to Pendleton
Look over all of these routes and approaches. It will help you if you are familiar with them because you will be asked a few questions about them in the technical and then will fly them in the sim. It would be smart to bring your NW approach charts and maps so you can look over them in the van ride to Hillsboro.
And most important, you will be asked at least 3 times, why Horizon? They expect you to tell the history of the company, fleet, routes, technology, reputation, customer service, every detail you can possible know about how great the company is. Don't say because it is a good company and it pays well, they want DETAILS and they want you to be so much in love with them that you don't mind the upgrade is 8 years.
Horizon is interviewing a lot but not hiring much, so you really need to stand out if you want this job. They are very polite and courteous throughout the intervew but that also helps you to be comfortable, or it could get you too comfortable and you say something stupid. Good experience in spite of not being hired. I actually thought it was much easier than I expected and I know where my mistakes were and also don't take it personal that I wasn't hired. Who knows why they don't select you but you can't let the rejection get to you. I know some really good pilots that have been turned away from jobs and found something better later on.
Good luck |
