The interview was scheduled to take place at 0830, before a job fair. I met with 1 other applicant, 1 FO and 1 lady from HR. Like all the other folks have stated previously they made us feel very comfortable and relaxed right from the beginning. We basically split up and I started the interview with the FO.
He began the interview by telling me a little about Skywest and himself and then asked me to introduce myself. After that he told me that he does not believe in asking rote memory questions, but that he wanted to see whether I could execute a “real” flight (i.e. scenario). He presented me with a flight from Fargo to Minneapolis, which is an actual route Skywest flies (and which he has flown before). He pretty much wanted me to talk him through the flight, what I would do, expect, etc.
- You sit at the gate, what do you do (i.e. make sure you have dispatch briefing, get ATIS, etc.)
- While you’re taxiing out you notice different signs, what do they look like and what do they mean
-You’re accelerating down the runway, what are you paying attention to (i.e. V-speeds). What do they mean, what do we do, etc.)
- what do you have to pay attention to after T/O, while climbing to cruise alt (know the airspeeds within the different airspace Fargo class D, class E below 10k, above 10k, etc.)
What
- what do you do after you get to cruising alt (it’s only like a 30 min flight so you can immediately get the ATIS)
- he gave me a D-ATIS and asked me to read it and tell him what everything means. If you are not familiar with flying up North make sure you familiarize yourself with the things you might expect i.e. snow, runway conditions, braking conditions etc.
- he told me we were cleared for the BAINY3 WINND transition and that we would expect the ILS 12L. Based on the previously read ATIS would we be legal to do the approach? No, the mins on the ATIS were below the mins on the chart
-showed me the ILS 12L CAT II and asked if we were legal for that.
- he asked me to brief the STAR. At LUCCY you have to be at or above 11k with a hard 280kts. After LUCCY you descend to OGLOVE at or above 8k. What could go wrong? ... you blow through the 250kts as you descend below 10k. (He had to probe for me to spit out the right answer, but he didn’t hold it against me. He said if you’re not used to flying anything that can go faster than 250kts or fly above 10k you’re not used to worrying about this kind of stuff, he just wanted to emphasize it and for me to remember it in the future ...)
- he then asked me to brief the ILS 12L
He was happy with my STAR and approach briefing. We discussed some things I missed or took a little longer to answer. He then wanted to see my logbook and all the hours required for the ATP. Very straight forward, no surprise questions, no technical questions. I switched with the other guy and went to interview with the HR lady.
She introduced herself and asked me to do myself. She then asked the “usual” HR questions:
- tell me about your best flight
- tell me about your worst flight
- why Skywest
- what do you bring to the table
- do you feel like you are a lucky person
- Standard stuff like: are you willing to work weekends, holidays, do reserve etc.
- she wanted to see all documents (licenses, medical, fcc license, passport ...)
It really felt more like a great conversation rather than just an interview. She asked me about my A/C and base preference.
After that we rejoined the FO and other applicant and did a quick debrief.
Overall a fantastic experience. The interview took about 2 hours. I might have forgot some of the questions they asked, but there were no trick or hard questions at all. It was really fair. I think we ran a little short on time, that’s why they might have skipped some stuff, like technical / systems stuff. I prepared myself according to the previous gouges and would definitely recommend everyone to do so. Although I wasn’t asked any of the technical stuff I think it’s better to be over prepared than to struggle through the interview. If you’re not familiar with Jepp charts make sure you know how to read and brief them. Just be yourself, be honest and don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. They’ll look straight through you. If I didn’t know an answer I just straight up told them. I was not fishing for answers and I think they appreciated that. Also, keep in mind that they’re probably also evaluating whether they want to spend a 4 day with you or not :)
I got the call the next day with the job offer. |
