Congratulations, you’ve made it to the interview stages with a major airline, and are preparing to be interviewed, but what can you expect? Typically, a job interview for a pilot is linked heavily to health & safety and security legislation, but you may find that you come up against a few questions that you might not expect. Here’s three challenging questions and advice on how to answer them.
Question one - What are the simultaneous responsibilities of a pilot during a flight?
Whilst this may seem obvious to some, it is important that you clearly illustrate exactly which responsibilities you have as an airline pilot. Whilst you can word this yourself, we suggest you stick closely to the below.
Suggested answer: "Pilots take responsibility to navigate the flight, view and guide the activities of the team, check instruments, and keep track of the weather, control the height and air traffic. Pilots are required to perform all these duties and more, often at once, besides, they are requested to have salient abilities in performing multi-task and strong concentration."
Question 2 - How would you act as the pilot of a plane during an emergency?
Here you will need to prove that you can retain calmness and self-control during what could be a stressful time.
Suggested answer: "In a calm, controlled manner, I would assess the situation quickly & efficiently before determining the best course of action before assigning tasks to the various members of the team."
Question 3 - What experience do you have in this pilot job?
And finally, to answer the inevitable 'experience' question that will crop up in your job interview, you will need to highlight your understanding of the job specification of the role that you are interviewing for. Keep it relevant in this section as to the experience directly relatable to the role. Remember, airliners are looking for the perfect pilot for the role, so don't deviate.
Suggested answer: "I have more than the minimum required experience as a pilot in this field; in that time I have gained extra qualifications as highlighted in my CV. I understand the importance of safety, knowledge, & composure in emergency situations and the importance of sticking to airliner protocol at all times – as highlighted by the training qualifications that I have attained before and throughout my career."
