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Don’t let pilot interviews catch you off-guard, learn these tips!

When it comes to acing an interview and getting that dream job, wishing for good results isn’t enough, it is hard work that actually pays off.

There are a lot of possible questions that may be asked during a pilot job interview, they may vary from personal to technical. But there’s a trick to win these challenging questions: it starts by preparing your answers beforehand.

Here’s a guide that will point you to the best path when coming up with your interview answers:

• Personal Questions

There’s a difference between personal and intimate questions. Intimate questions are rarely given in an interview. It probes about your reflections, emotions, and opinions which are not much of a use in gaging one’s abilities.

Personal questions, on the other hand, tackles about your skills, abilities, educational background, and other qualifications that you can offer related to the job. These personal questions will be asked a lot.

Your answers will dictate whether you’re good for the position or not, so it’s very important to prepare for this. Here are ten questions that you’ll have to think about:

Tell us something about yourself.

Start by sharing general facts about yourself, then connect them to your experiences that may interest the interviewer. For example, you can talk about your participation in a certain training program or you could talk about your leadership experiences.

Keep in mind that this is an interview, not a talkshow. So as much as it’s easy to get carried away by the questions, always remember to share only what will make you stand out from the crowd.

Why do you want to become a pilot?

You wouldn’t get into that interview stage without a bit of that passion in flying, so go tell them about it!

Start by listing as many reasons on why you want to become a pilot. Your reasons may be because of your fascination with flying machines, it may be because of your desire to be part of a prestigious industry, it may be even just because of their uniform–just list them all!

Be sure to be honest about your reasons, but not too honest to the point of crudity. Pick the top three reasons that go close in your heart, then expound on them. You now have your answers.

Why do you want to work in our company?

Before everything else, make sure that you have a concrete reason as to why you’re applying in a specific company.

But if you don’t have a solid answer to that, as soon as you get that interview schedule, try searching the net about the company that you’re applying for. Take note of the important facts and remember them. This will give you a general idea on the company that you’re getting into.

What are your good and bad qualities? What are your weaknesses or strengths?

When engaging with this question, don’t just answer pronto. Give your interviewers some information as to why you have those qualities. It’s easy to boast about your strengths and assets. But when it comes to weaknesses, don’t fret! Try taking a light approach to your shortcomings. Also, tell how you’re turning them into strengths.

What is your greatest accomplishment?

What is the work or output that you’re most proud of? You can accomplish many things in your experience, but there are only few things that you can proudly say that are yours. List those accomplishments. Pick the one that has the greatest and broadest impact. Share them and related them to the characteristics that they need for the position.

What are the languages you know?

It’s a big plus if you can fluently speak in English, but it’s even more impressive if you can speak other languages as fluently so. Pilots who can speak in a foreign language are considered assets in any aviation company.

What are your expectations?

Be positive in answering this question. Tell them how you are hoping that they can help your career grow as you work for them. Also, tell how much you are hungry to learn new things.

Why should we hire you?

Summarize the good qualities that you’ve already told about yourself. Then tell them the cherry on top of all those qualities–the ones that they’ll never expect! This is to add another dimension to your personality and professionalism. For example, you may say earlier that you are a follower, that you follow rules. Then add later that you are an out of the box thinker.

What do you want to know about our company?

List the things that you are curious about the company–the things that cannot be found in their website and in the internet. Show your interest.

Do you have any questions?

Try asking unconventional things about the company–and even the interviewee. Ask about the company culture, about the leadership style of the bosses, about recreational activities, if there are any. Just remember to ask questions related to how the company works, like as if you’re about to have your first day tomorrow.

• Technical Questions

Pilots are trained to operate a big machine. So the interviewers might ask you something about your knowledge on these. Be sure to write your answers on a paper and practice speaking them to make your responses seem more natural.

These are some of the common technical questions:

• What is the process for takeoff?
• What is the process for landing?
• How would you respond during an emergency during the flight?
• If needed, how would you modify the flight path?
• When should you increase your final reserve fuel to 45 minutes?
• Can you define V1?
• Can you define balanced field length?
• Can you define SOPs? Have you broken an SOP? Why and when?
• Have you even flown an aircraft with mechanical problems? If so, how did you handle it?
• What would you do if you lost an engine during take off?

We hope that these questions have helped you to prepare for your pilot interview. Aside from these lessons, don’t forget to dress well, emanate good vibes, and wear a big smile.

Have you decided where to start your career? If so, then WCC Aviation is one of the premier pilot schools in Southeast Asia that will let you do just that. With its latest pilot training facilities, you can that you’ll get the growth and experience you need to get in successfully in the industry. For more information, visit wccaviation.com