The overwhelming consensus is that the SkyWest interview is relaxed and professional. Unfortunately, I had a different experience.
I had been scheduled for the afternoon at 1pm, and by the time 1pm came, the 3 candidates for the morning interviews were still going. So my interview was pushed back and started about 1:30. No matter, I planned on being there for the rest of the day. 3 other pilots showed up for the afternoon interview too. The interview was supposed to be a 4 part interview: Intro to the Airline, HR questions, technical review, and a 7 minute CRM/simulated flight emergency with the other candidates.
During the Intro part, we all learned the surprise that none of the other pilots except me were actually candidates – they were there for a look-see. I was the only afternoon candidate. This meant there was to be no CRM/simulated flight emergency part. No matter… a quicker interview. During the Intro, I notice the mature HR lady gathering her stuff, to leave apparently. She bailed about 2:30 and I never saw her again. I get it that it was late on a Saturday afternoon, and there was only one candidate (me) to mess with… so perhaps my candidacy was a small return on her Saturday afternoon investment as it were. No matter, I thought, I’ll just be interviewed by the pilots for the HR part. Pilots be cool, right?
Of the two parts of the interview now remaining, I had the HR part first. All the research I had done on the SkyWest interview on WFFF and airlineinterviews.com had consistently described the Skywest interview process as relaxed and professional, yet thorough. Mine was anything but that. The young Skywest captain, “Captain HR”, standing in for the now-departed HR lady, was the badgering and baiting type, and my HR interview reflected exactly that style. After some pro-forma questions…. (Tell me about your interest in aviation… any accidents…TMAAT emergencies…any violations…etc…), he asked ‘have you ever interviewed with Skywest?’ This seemed to be in line with the other fill-in-the-blank questions. I thought nothing of it when I answered, but I was wrong.
Let the badgering begin.
Now, two years ago I applied with several regionals and did phone and in-person interviews… Compass, Envoy, TSA, Endeavor, Skywest, others. I received a CJO with one of them. However I decided not to join any 121 because of a family matter that cropped up (wife moved away for a job, left me with the kid). I answered his ‘did you interview at SkyWest’ question with ‘Yes and No…” and explained that I did a phone screening interview with Skywest, but not an actual in person interview. It was the whole truth, but which turned out to be a big interview error. This is where Captain HR latched on like a bulldog. “I’ve been doing Skywest interviews for two and a half years now and I don’t recall anyone in HR ever doing a phone interview….” “We don’t do phone interviews…” “Were you or were you not interviewed by SkyWest…” I explained again the communication I recalled and considered as the screening phone call. I admitted that I could not recall the date of the phone call, but I did somewhat recall the HR recruiter's name “Monica Poland or Polad”. I could tell he recognized the person, but this was his response: “Well which was it Poland or Polad or Polock?” He actually said “Polock” … as in the ethnic slur for Polish people. The way he said it too, with a chuckle, I was thinking WTF are these SkyWest people about? Maybe he thought it was a funny joke, but I was kind of stunned at the entire conversation we were having. He goes on about my apparent faulty recollection of discussions with SkyWest 2 years prior … “I’ve never forgotten the details of any aviation interview…” Then he dropped the bomb… “What I am evaluating here is your honesty…” I found this insulting because I am the Eagle Scout type when it comes to honesty. I knew the actual interview was over at that point, but I assured him that the communications with SkyWest two years prior were all factual, and that if it mattered I would produce the emails with the SkyWest recruiter from 2015.
Then the baiting. He dives into the logbook, which going back to 1988 (so there’s my approx. age) is filled with 1600 hours of a variety of SEL, MEL, Search and Rescue flying, volunteer flying with cadets, glider towing, G1000 glass cockpit IFR coupled approaches in actual, Part135 passenger airline operates, and an ATP cert +First Class Medical. What does he ask for the HR logbook question? “I see you didn’t fly at all this past March…why?” My response: ‘I’m a weekend-only reserve pilot for the Part 135 operator, and they are well staffed with 6 pilots on hand this year, and also the shoulder of the Winter slow season is just ending. Most of my weekend duty for the Part135 is in the Summer, covering the other pilots who get burnt out during the week.’ Well that answer wasn’t good enough for Captain HR: “But I see that in 2016 you flew quite a bit in March…” As if to say… ‘You’re lying about the Winter weather!’ All I could really do is repeat the truth… I’m a weekend-only reserve pilot and I serve when I am called. Repeating a perfectly truthful and the only reasonable explanation went over like a fart in a cockpit.
More: “I see you logged time flying to the such-and-such Aviation Conference. Why didn’t you log the time flying back?” Me: ‘Because I didn’t fly that leg.’ But really, I had to wonder at this point if this line of questioning had anything to do with my suitability as a First Officer for SkyWest, or if it was just badgering. Was there really a question here in the logbook that I was logging NOT ENOUGH time for my flights?
More baiting. “I see you had a checkride failure on a Part135 checkride… tell me about that.” I explained that during the checkride I had forgotten to memorize a radio frequency needed to report position into dispatch. (It’s a GOM requirement). I explained why this happened – that I had never operated the radios for base check-in during any of my training. I took responsibility for the checkride bust and explained that I now have the freq memorized and also written in a handy place. Captain HR baits: “That seems especially harsh of the POI to bust you for that…” (Aside: the POI himself said it was a ‘training failure’ not a ‘pilot failure’, but I did NOT mention this in the Skywest interview). My response to the ‘especially harsh’ comment (after taking responsibility etc, see above): I described that there had been considerable friction between the POI and airline management, and that the POI was trying to raise the bar on the loose pilot training program at the airline. Oh, there was my error – I had taken the bait. Gotcha. ‘Failure to accept responsibility for own shortfalls’. To be fair he did not say that, but I could see it. The look on his face was like ‘Sweet Victory, and case closed’.
So, my advice is, don’t tell the full truth of any negative situation – describe what you learned and assume full responsibility, even if the truth is more nuanced or complex. Don’t get baited. They want simple, if incomplete, answers here folks.
Here’s another possible bait: In the Intro they say that both career advancing pilots and Lifer pilots are equally welcomed at SkyWest. At my age I would be considered a Lifer, and when Captain HR asked about it, I acknowledged this reality. I got the impression that you’re not supposed to admit to being anything other than a Regional Airline Cinderella waiting for your Legacy 737 Pumpkin Stagecoach, because my admission again produced that frowny-face look, like when someone farts in the cockpit. (That’s Cockpit Fart #2 for those of you counting). I can understand that Lifers are considered the cold molasses holding back the seniority climbers, hogging the best seats in the best airplanes and taking the best schedules from the rest of the deserving junior aircrew, so it’s best not to admit being a Lifer if asked. With young Captains doing your HR interview, you want to mirror them: the Captain Gung-Ho ‘I will Sweep the Seniority List Before Thee’ type!
Here’s some more advice: Don’t admit to having a CJO with a different regional. Captain HR did not like that at all. You are supposed to come to the BRAW (Best Regional Airline in the World i.e. SkyWest) with only one thing dripping from your eager quivering tongue: “I love only you, SkyWest. You’re the only one for me…”
There was more to tell, but frankly it’s exhausting to re-live it. You get the jist. Unprofessional behavior for the HR portion of the interview. Other industry pilots have encouraged me to report this experience into SkyWest HR so other pilot candidates are not subjected to the same treatment from Captain HR when the adults bail out early. (Not sure it’s worth the trouble, as I already have an equally excellent 121 job lined up starting this summer, plus I doubt my interview experience will matter at SkyWest HR).
The technical part of the interview had a different captain, who was professional, and it went as described in other gouge: draw electrical system, write 91.175, when does the SLC ILS approach begin, how do you convert AC to DC, what is a diode, what do you need to see to land, holding speeds, etc. The Tech interviewing captain was about the same age as, but far more mature than Captain HR. He congratulated me for doing well and thanked me for being prepared. Discussions concluded quickly.
Midway during the Tech part, Captain HR did came in and played on his laptop at a different table, no doubt wrapping up his interview notes so to arrange his early departure. The quick and easy Tech part worried me a bit because I had the feeling that it was *too easy* based on interview experiences of others, as if Captain HR had given the sign, pulled his left earlobe, reversed his SkyWest ID card, or whatever, signaling that the HR part was a fail and the Tech portion was for naught.
I got the ‘Thanks but No thanks’ the following week. Based on other interview gouge suggesting a professional approach to SkyWest interviews, it seems my interview experience with SkyWest was not normal, however I hope it’s useful for other candidates in case you see it for yourself. |
