My main recommendations to anyone intending to be hired at Continental Airlines are:
1. attend one of their job fairs,
2. have one of their pilots hand your resume to a chief pilot (if you can),
3. have plenty of letters of recommendation electronically posted on AirlineApps (especially from check airmen / instructors / even managers whom you have flown or otherwise worked with).
I think that a combination of these things, and a strong resume, is what got me the interview call, and eventually the job. My times: 7000 TT, 4700 turbine, 1000 PIC under 121 (no jet time).
By the time I was offered the job, I had already traveled to Texas 3 times: job fair (October, DFW), sim prep (January, DFW), interview(February, IAH). Now I'm here at IAH to begin training, and it's March. If it happens, it happens quick.
To prep for the interview, absolutely, positively spend the $550 for the sim prep, and the $300 for the suit and tie. Dress nice and dress conservative, don't stand out as a sore thumb among the other clones. Dark suit, elegant red tie. The sim ride is relatively easy stuff, but they want you to have their CO procedures down. Best 550 bucks I've ever spent. Especially for those of us without 737 experience. The sim CO used was the 737-300, but another guy I know was put in the NG. CO currently configures all their EFIS as round dials for fleet commonality. If you are in the -300 you will have a single cue flight director, but the NGs have a dual cue (crosshair). They are both pretty easy to use.
I used Crew Pilot Training in Dallas, but other companies do preps also. The SWA -300 sim we used was harder to fly than the one I used at CO, so that made the interview ride seem easier. It was quick too, 25 min tops, in and out. My FO was a line captain, and both him and the check airman were very nice and helpful. Very supportive, got lots of pre-ride tips and reassurances. Made me feel at ease. Now, these are my kind of people. I'm glad to be here.
Three interviewees that day, 1 RJ, 1 Turboprop (me), 1 military. I was the first one up, so I don't know how things went for the other guys.
For the sim, study the calls, procedures and power settings really well, because it is easy to miss making calls while you try to fly a new airplane. So even if you have the profile down, keep reviewing it until interview day. The pain paid off. My sim ride went really well, except my landing was bumpy. Ladies and Gents, welcome to Houston...we lived.
The Panel interview was 1 hour, but I think it could have been shorter. When I get going on a story, you have to stop me, because I love flying and all the gee-wiz, adventure, and trivia that goes with it. I had fun telling my stories, and I am passionate about my job. I made sure they noticed. But don't be obnoxious. Once again, you MUST prepare thoroughly for this one. Your effort will be rewarded. Do not try to memorize answers, just have a very, very good idea about which stories to use for each question before interview day. I wrote down every gouge question I could find on 3x5 cards, and practiced over and over simply recalling quickly which stories to associate with each question. Then I just let myself tell them the appropriate stories when the questions came. Have more than one story available for each question, to avoid having to use the same story twice. They asked about 20 of them, 90% "tell me about a time when...", and almost all those questions I had in my stack of cards. It worked very well. The gouge on willflyforfood.cc has most of those questions. Cruise the airline prep virtual world for more. They are all out there. Just like learning procedures, put your due time into it, and it will pay off. Preparation is so important. It will make the interview seem so uneventful. I felt so relaxed, because I knew what was coming every step of the way. One guy was so nervous, I felt bad for him. The more prepared you are, the more relaxed you are, and the more confident and competent you come across. It's just a matter of sucking it up. Besides, you're a pilot, you know how to suffer like a pro! I had a month to prep, and I put it to good use. On trips, at home, all the time: prep, prep, prep. I had the pre-takeoff briefing that crew pilot training sent me posted in front of the toilet. I made myself recite it every time I went, and I didn't even have to use it in the end. But I'm glad I did it all the same. It's all part of psyching yourself up for the big game.
Good luck girls and boys. See you on the line!
Now excuse me as I make my way to the bottom of the seniority list... |
