I interviewed with SkyWest on November 4th. I stayed at the Candlelight suites as suggested by SkyWest, it was fairly nice place at a resoanable
price. The day I interviewed there were four of us all together. The day
began at 8AM with Lorraine coming and giving us a brief as to how the day
would go.
We began by filling out some paperwork, after a few minutes she brought us
the tests we had to take. Two tests, one with 50 questions and the other
was the 10 question mechanical aptitude test. Nothing really hard, I did
not even look at the ATP question book and I did fine. The mechaincal
aptitude test was easier than I thought, it involved a lotof physics and
algebra usage. As far as the 50 question test went, I would say that as
long as you actively teaching students, you should be ok. All of us made
it through the test section.
Lorraine came back in to collect the exams, and we were instructed to
finish our paperwork as some check airmen were coming in to talk to us
about the sim profile.
The sim profile was pretty easy they told us to ignore everything and just
use the throttles. They give you a brief run down of what they are looking
for, which is exactly what is mentioned in the synopsis of the interview
paper they send you.
My profile was pretty straight forward they give you hold instructions on
the ground and you determine the entry and brie them how you would do the
hold. Next the flight begins. I took off out of Trenton airport (New
Jersey) and climb up to 3000ft, they give you a couple of vectors to
intercept a radial off of the VOR. You proceed to the VOR and brief them
on the approach which is either the ILS or the VOR appraoch into Runway 6
at Trenton. You will have to shoot the whole approach so do not expect
vectors to final. If you screw up as I did on the first try, realize it
quickly and go missed approach. They will vector you around again and you
will do the approach and excute the full MA where the ride ends. The sim
lasted about 45 min. Keep up on checklists and callouts. I also had
another check airmen come sit down half way through and ask questions about
the approach. I just think they are trying to see how you fly with
distractions. I thought I did not make through the sim, but after 15 min
in the break room Lorraine came to get me for the Tech/HR interview.
For the interview I had Lorraine and two check airmen, but they all made
me really comfortable, so just be yourself. My interview began with
questions about an incident I had and then from there they moved to a few
questions about my logbook. After that I was asked questions about the
aircraft I flew, make sure your aircraft as the guy I had knew all about my
airplane. Questions ranged form speeds,emergency procedures, systems, and
limitations. Then the other captain took out the Jepps and asked me to
brief an approach into SEATAC, asked about minimums and when you can and
cannot continue the approach. I had to read a METAR/TAF and few questions
about temp/dew point spread. What to expect when they are close and far
apart. Also was asked how I would taxi to the runway based on instructions
given by ground. How would you land on a runway that is covered with snow?
Then for the rest of the time Lorraine asked questions like why Skywest?
what do you know about the company? where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Recommendationis say at SkyWest, I have heard that they do not like to be
used as a stepping stone!! Have you applied anywhere else? I had applied
to Eagle and Horizon, so they grill you on this so make sure you convince
them that they are not wasting their time. A lot of yes or no questions
like do you have a passport, ever been arrested for a DUI, stuff like that.
Nothing tricky in this part of the interview, so just relax, it lasted
about 40 minutes. It pretty much ends with any questions for them. I just
asked what was the upgrade time ( 2 years) and present base openings
(Portland, Fresno, and Palm Springs) at the time.
She then gave me a few more papers to fill out and then she said she would
meet me in the break room in a little while. Two of the other guys met me
there a little later and she came in and offered us all jobs right on the
spot and gave a class for Dec 1st. So that was pretty cool. Only one guy
was dropped out of the four, but I do not know why. Overall I thought it
was a really nice atmosphere and I pretty descent place to work. I heard
ground school lasts four weeks. Hope this helps and good luck to you all.

I had my interview with SkyWest on 2-99. It was a great experience. I actually learned more in the interview than I ever imagined. I must admitt that I left feeling really good, and then later on that night I started thinking that I did really really bad. I got the job, however.

Nothing really prepared me better than getting some sim time at American Aviation in Salt Lake City. I had about I hour practice and felt
it was more than enough. I did very very well in the sim portion of the interview.

The written was much different than what I expected. No one was able to really give me much help there other than to study the ATP
written book. The questions that I was expecting were not there!

Air Inc. did not really help me much. The questions they told me to expect did not get asked. Actually maybe only one or two.

My advice is to study the ATP, Jepps., and most definately get some sim time at American Aviation.

All questions for written from ATP book. Sigmets/Airmets, Cumulus stage of T-Storms,Icing,Frost,Temp medical, Driving incident reporting, Decreasing tailwind/Increasing headwind performance questions,DME,IFR regs,Alt airport mins, Transponder codes, frontal passage, Define fatal injury, Medicals,Altimeter from 29.92 forget to set to 30.32 airport at
800 ft,Hypoxia, Aft Cg effects, V1 V2 Vs, Heavy a/c, IFR currency, MEL, Pallet problem, Mechanical aptitude test (10 questions) gears, fulcrums and one hydro. Easy to figure out.

Sim ATC 810
Takeoff LAX 24R, radar contact lost proceed direct SMO and hold After hold radar contact resumed and told to fly 068 outbound and expect ILS 24R at LAX (Was at 4000 feet question?) You have 16 miles to fly so set up for approach at this time it takes awhile. Normal approach to miss (remember to switch frq to LAX from loc Sim holds altitude well but must watch heading. Rudders not needed.

Interviewed with 1 HR person 2 flt dept people. Standard HR stuff. Make sure you know about any unusual flights in your
logbook they find them! KNOW JEPS!!!! Read over the Jep intro several times. No questions on SIDS or STARS

Have all background info with you for past 10 years There is alot of
paperwork to fill out.

I used your previous gouge to prep for my interview with Skywest and it was very helpful. To assist others, here is my version of events.
Please post as you see fit. Very informative site.

Skywest Airlines

I had an interview with Skywest in 8-99. It was easily the most
enjoyable, and at the same time the most difficult, interview I've ever
had.

The interview takes place at their SLC training center, which is located
at the airport. Most hotel shuttles can take you right to the door.
The big day consists of three formal stages with mounds of paperwork to
keep you busy during breaks: two written exams, a sim ride, and a
technical/HR interview. Fail any stage and you vanish, and they are
selective. Only 4 out of 7 guys in my group were still around after the
last stage and they make you wait 1-2 weeks for an answer. Typical
percentage is around 40% hired of all interviewed but I hear that
percentage is falling.

Written:
You need to get 70% on both tests individually to pass.

50 questions from the ATP test bank
Study your ATP workbook, that's the only advice I can give. Some topics
I saw:
Type II de-ice fluid
RVR to sm conversion
Aerodynamics in a turn
Wind shear
Aoa controls what
Rules for going below MDA/DH - this knowledge will be VERY useful in
later stages
121 requal bounces
61 IFR currency rules
Engine failure in a 2 engine aircraft
DME failure means an immediate report
1 chase-around chart, bring a ruler

10 question mechanical aptitude test
Not too tough, just think about it for most of them. Bring a
calculator.
Hydraulic pressure
Linked wheels turning
Shapes to tip over
Gears
2 story problems

Sim Ride:

This takes place in an ATC-810 sim. Do anything you can to get some
time in the same type sim. I did a few hours in a Frasca and it was
useless. The ATC-810 is very different. For one thing, the attitude
indicator was weird. The card is fixed and the miniature airplane moves
around! Very disconcerting if you've never seen it before. The sim
will hold altitude very well and hold heading somewhat. The evaluator
won't take the controls (there's only one set) but if you get it trimmed
it'll fly forever and never budge an inch while you brief. Watch the
power settings, though. If you get the MAP split between engines the
sim will roll very strongly. Don't touch the rudders.

Don't start studying Navaho speeds and such, they ignore most of that.
No mixtures or props to worry about, just MAP. No v-speeds to worry
about and flaps are either up or down. They give a great brief on what
you should do including exact power settings, attitudes, and such. A
cheat sheet is pasted up in the sim right in front of your face and the
evaluator acting as your FO will answer any questions about flying the
thing.

You depart from 24R at LAX, climb up and do a few turns. Next is direct
to a VOR for a hold. They'll grill you about the entry, get it right
and you won't even have to do it. Then a vector for a transition to the
LAX 24R NDB. Plenty of time to set up, they'll even ID VOR's for you,
but only if you set it right. Just fly the procedures you're used to,
they'll accommodate almost anything but you have to move all the
controls, you can't call for the gear and flaps. Shot the approach and
landed. Make sure to ask what the visibility is when you break out
before you go down, the wx report will go below mins after you cross the
fix.

They will ask you about mins for takeoff and landing, giving you RVR and
asking if you can go. Know this stuff really well, they ask you about
it every stage of the interview process. Don't worry if you do very
little in the sim. If you get it right they'll move on. In fact, the
less you do the better you did.

I've recently heard from others in my initial class that Skywest has
changed the sim ride. It now takes place at Teterborough(sp), NY. I
have no other details to offer but I expect their standards and
procedures will be much the same. Just practice your BAI.

Interview:

I had 2 guys, but there can be as many as 5. They are very casual and
do everything they can to be friendly and make you relax right from the
start. There was a constant stream of jokes and they made fun of each
other and of my nervousness all the time. I made a few wisecracks, at
appropriate times, and they liked that. Remember, you're not hanging at
the bar with your friends, but they are trying to make you open up and
show your personality. Make sure to put your suit coat back on when
they take you away for the interview. Gotta look professional.

Be yourself, have fun, and relax. Some questions are just for fun and
some they ask are downright impossible. I finally figured out that they
want to see how you act when you really don't know. DON'T even attempt
to BS and certainty don't start crying. Admit it and take it like a
man, or woman, as appropriate. On some things I missed 1 out of every 3
questions and I got hired.

They mix HR and technical stuff. On the HR side there's literally a
list they have to ask you, then they ask some more. Standard stuff
about your work history, any firings, accidents, drugs, convictions.
Who was the person who influenced you most? Ever failed a checkride?
Have you had a poor/belligerent captain who did something
unsafe/illegal? What did/would you do? Why Skywest? Know bases and
company history. I practically memorized the Air, Inc. article about
Skywest and they knew it as soon as I got started about the history.
They stopped me and moved on almost immediately but that's a good
thing. Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years? What did you do to
prepare? What if you lost your medical? Lots about CRM. Define it,
have some examples. Make it personal, don't recite the FAA definition.
Don't forget to include the FA in your CRM loop. They do a deep logbook
check. If some dates or other things don't mesh up, be ready to
explain. And of course the big one: Why should we hire you?

What was also significant were the things that were not asked of any of
us who made it past the final stage. No worst flight story. No which
job did you like/hate most. No why are you leaving your current job, in
fact nothing about my current job. Another shock: No will you go to a
major! They know everybody wants to so they don't ask. However, every
one of us who were still around at the end volunteered by themselves
that they see Skywest as a place to have a career/long term commitment.
Don't lie about this. If you want to bounce around you'd best go
somewhere else.

The technical stuff was very thorough. Each topic starts out with hard
but manageable questions and gets more in depth from there. Don't
expect the "standard" questions. These guys know their stuff scarily
well and they ask some real tough ones. They actually got miffed when I
got a lot right in a row and started asking more esoteric questions that
I had no idea how to answer just to knock me down a peg. Of course I
probably had it coming since I was grinning and making smartass remarks
about when the "real" questions were going to start. By this time
things had become very cordial and it was almost a game, them seeing if
they could stump me. Of course I had no delusions that they were just
playing around, but it made things much more relaxed.

Know your current aircraft like the back of your hand. They don't ask
anything as simple as V-speeds or box items. I got grilled on the
details of how a PT6 is put together, not ITT limits. For Jepp charts
they drag out the world's ugliest ILS approach with terrain everywhere
(which they fly to no less) and start asking. Approach segments, find
all the IAF's, how can we get on the approach from here, DME arcs,
obstacle clearances, where's the FAF on an ILS, more about going below
MDA/DH. Low enroute charts were next. Airspace dimensions, detailed
symbology, define MEA/MOCA/MORA/MRA/MCA, and the usual gotcha about VFR
above 18,000. Thunderstorms, wx radar, and even more on IFR regs. Fuel
requirements, MEL/CDL usage. If you have an OM, know it.

They will test your conviction and ask you a lot if you're sure. Stick
to your guns, even if you're wrong. They want to see how you react and
behave. After one particularly savage beating where I got 5 wrong in a
row I made a crack about sadistic check airmen (the interviewers were
all check airmen). They laughed and moved on to another topic. I think
they were fishing for it. Be yourself and be someone you'd like to fly
with on a long day when nothing's going right. Humor won't save you if
you really are deficient in your knowledge but nobody likes a whiner.
Remember the old HR maxim: We hire attitude, everything else we can
train.

Paperwork:

The paperwork starts out right from the beginning with a briefing at the
start of the day. Bring your spare hand, there's a lot of it to fill
out. Have your 10-year work history ready down to the day, with
addresses, phone numbers, and names to contact. They will answer piles
of questions and help you all they can but if you're not prepared it
reflects badly on you.

You will be filling out:
1 page for every employer/school/period of unemployment over 30 days for
the last 10 years, no gaps allowed
1 page for every flying job held on top of that
1 page for every flying job that included DOT drug testing
An NDR and a FAA record request

Here are some of the written and interview questions I got. Every one in my group of five passed both the sim and the writtens; they really
were easy. Please disseminate this to all who ask. For the record, my
interview was 3/98. There are 50 questions, here are 20.

Written (multiple guess):

Required reports: vacating an altitude, FAF outbound/inbound,
entering/leaving a hold
Which TRW is more likely to spawn tornadoes: squall line/cold front or
airmass?
A type rating is required: above 12,500#, or when two crew members are
required
What is the on-G/S indication for a PAPI? (a four-light PAPI was not one
of the choices)

The smallest size of water droplets produce what kind of ice? rime
What speed is the stalling speed or minimum controllable speed: Vso Vs1
Vs
When cleared from off an airway for approach, when can you begin
descent?
Dual white lights indicate a military airfield.

The airplane with a given HSI presentation is which airplane in diagram
G?
There’s a max pallet weight question that requires a calc. The answer is
B.
Here’s a date on which both crew members got their first class medical.
On which date can they still legally fly together?

Lost com procedures question, the answer reads a bit like: Altitude is
the highest of the assigned, minimum or expected, the route is assigned,
expected, or filed.
Angle of attack determines lift and drag.
What are the minimum requirements for instrument currency (new Part 61).

The question hints at the airplane class requirement for instrument
currency, and the degree to which a ground trainer may be used in
substitution of an airplane. Just know it.

Some question about a clogged pitot tube and drain hole acting like an
altimeter.
Vmc is determined in what weight/CG condition?
METAR/TAF deciphering, but oh-so-very easy.
What are the VFR cloud clearances in class E at 8,500’?

The most out-there question was this: What is the VFR fuel reserve for a
4-engine recip for domestic supplemental ops? I guessed :45. Another
choice was 3 hours.
Failure of what equipment requires IMMEDIATE notification of ATC?
Engine failure, DME (the right answer, no joke) and one other thing.

Interview Stuff:
Over all they tried their best to put me at ease. I didn’t cross my
legs until everybody else had. (OK so call me a little obsessive) After
about :20, we all really started having a good time. I wasn’t a
laugh-a-minute, but my answers became more candid, and the questions got
less specific. There grew to be an easy rapport among the six of us (me
+ five interviewers). There was some ribbing between the interviewers,
and all were friendly from the start. Be yourself that we all like, (or
you wouldn’t be reading this), but remember: they will act like your
friends, but they are not your friends.

What are the limitations on a procedure turn?
METAR/TAF deciphering, including conditional language. Can you depart?
What is mach buffet? Critical mach number? (I interviewed with jet time)
How does your engine anti-ice work?

What would you do if you experienced an inadvertent icing encounter?
What approach category is your current airplane straight in/circling?
What are the symptoms of tail icing? what does it mean to you? what
would you do?

What does CRM stand for? What does it mean to you?
Capt briefs he will bust mins, what will do? Capt unexpectedly but
purposely descends below mins, what do you do?

What would a captain you’ve recently flown with say about you?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
What is the engine failure procedure in your aircraft? (ALWAYS ask which
phase of flight)
What three words describe you?

How is Vmc determined? How/why does it change with altitude? What is Vmc
in current a/c.
Do you like flying at your current job?
How do you handle conflict in the cockpit?
Have you ever failed a check ride? Why did you fail?

On this approach, we see the approach lights. What does that mean? how
low can we go?
Say we then see the runway CL lights, what then?
Do runway CL lights count as runway lights? (I said yes quite
decisively; I was wrong. Oops)