Seek out every possible interview opportunity. If the situation can be avoided, your first interview should not be for your dream job; a botched first interview is all too common. The more practice you have at interviewing, the better prepared you will be for your next interview.
After the interview, be sure to get the name of the interviewer and follow up with a thank-you letter. The letter should highlight one or two items discussed during the interview. Interviewing is very strenuous on the interviewers as well the interviewee, and the interviewers appreciate the applicant who takes the time afterwards to send a letter of appreciation. In many cases, this has made the difference in getting a job. Additionally, the after-interview letter gives you one more opportunity to sell yourself (but be brief).
Also, the pilot should read the daily stock market reports to obtain information on the financial stability of the company. For general information, The World Aviation Directory, Aviation Daily newsletter, and Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine are good sources.
A pilot should make sure to be up-to-date on current events. You may be asked to comment on certain topics, such as domestic or world events. Reading the local newspaper and/or watching television news will help.
While at the airport, pick up a current flight schedule. Most of these schedules include a map tracing the company route structure and outlining its operating fleet.
If you are flying to your interview, read the company's complimentary in-flight magazine. At this point, if you still do not know who the company president is, you can try looking for it by reading the foreword. Many times, this essay is written by the president. If it is not, then as a last resort you can ask a crew member the president's name.
You should talk to employees of the company. They will be able to tell you about the company's scheduling, salaries, benefits and training. Most employees are helpful and will be happy to talk. However, while en route to an interview on the company's plane, you should not interfere with the working crew's duties. At the beginning of the flight, you can let crew members know that you have an interview and would like to talk with them at their convenience.
FAPA's telephone information center offers career counseling to all pilot full-service members. This service includes extensive interview preparation and will provide the pilot with information about the interview screening process of specific companies.
FAPA's counselors are qualified airline pilots. They will give you a complete rundown on your upcoming interview, including company history, salaries, benefits, fleet, interview questions, written exams, physicals and simulator checks. Additionally, they will provide you with the typical "new hire" qualifications, enabling you to evaluate how you compare to the competition.
An automated interview briefing service called JET-LINE also is available for full-service FAPA members 24 hours a day from any touch-tone phone nationwide. It provides helpful interview details.
In general, be sure that you:
- Review the application and correspondence with the carrier that has called you offering an interview.
- Brush up on current events.
- Read about the company.
- Take along some extra resumes.
- Stay in a hotel that offers a courtesy car to and from the interview, if this service is available.
- Get a good night's sleep.
- Are clean-cut, neat, conservative in appearance.
- When called for the interview, introduce yourself if you are not introduced and shake hands with the individuals if possible. Your handshake should be firm, but not a "bone crusher."
- Smile and be pleasant, even if the interviewer is not. Some tend to be intentionally unfriendly to see the applicant's reaction. Never get into an argument with an interviewer. You can only lose.
- Carry a freshen-up kit (toothbrush, breath mints, etc.) in case you have to wait several hours to be interviewed.
- Arrive 15 minutes early.
- Have some questions ready to ask the interviewers.
- Use good eye contact and good posture and speak with confidence. (Good eye contact is about a 75/25 split. No one can stand to be stared at all the time.)
- Are not distracted by things the interviewer does. Some will write while an interviewee is talking, and others may look out the window, seeming not to pay attention to the job seeker. Others may seem extremely bored. You should not be fooled or let such behavior shake you. The interviewers are listening to every word.
- Are professional.
- Are positive and confident without being cocky.
- Are not too solemn. Let a little personality show and reveal your enthusiasm.
- Are polite.
- FAPA's Directory of Employers
- Career Pilot Job Report newsletter
- Piloting Careers Magazine and Pilot Salary Survey.
- Out-Interviewing the Interviewer, by Stephen K. Mermar and John F. Maclaugh-lin, Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
- The Evaluation Interview, by Richard Fear, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, NY 10020
- Sweaty Palms-The Neglected Art of Being Interviewed, by H. Anthony Medley, Ten Speed Press, Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707. (Book most read by pilots hired by major airlines. This book can be ordered through FAPA. Call 1-800 JET JOBS.)
- Airline Pilot Interviews: How You Can Succeed in Getting Hired, by Irv Jasinski, Career Advancement Publications, P. 0. Box 271409, Escondido, CA 92027. (Also available via FAPA.)
