To say the least...Undergraduate, Military, Regional CRJ FO, Furloughed, but still on the low time side.
Were you offered the job?
Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
The previous posting is accurate. My run down/version:
I have jet time, but not enough to qualify everywhere. I would not have been able to apply with my times had it not been for an internal reference/recommendation from a collegue at the old regional. ***Thank You P.S...You know just who you are***
Hence the reason for choosing Commutair over others. They were the first ones to offer me an opportunity, and I am greatful, and accepted it.
The interview was fair, and selection criteria justified. An ATP written, 40 questions to start with. I had this at the first regional as well. About the "No time limit," if you know the answers, you will be done in a matter of minutes. (very good first impressions). If someone comes to check on you the second time around and you are not done or just going over your selections, then it just adds unnecessary pressure you know.
And YES, the score does matter. You fail, you go home. I saw it before, and saw it happen here too. A last tip on this ATP, unlike the FAA version, this one has not 3 choice answers, but 4. So that's the catch.
About the interview, from the first call till the face to face meeting, that IS your HR interview. A little about your past, present, and future. Favorable first impression here, will make for smooth flying throughout.
I emphasize this because you have to understand...unlike other regionals with 3000 pilots, this is a very small Part 121 Operation. I need not say more about that.
Favorable HR impression = Favorable starting for the technical portion. It will be with the Chief Pilot, with another management official. Details about the resume, flying history, past experiences, why CommutAir and not others?
Less about TMAAT, more about personality. In my case, they desired a thorough picture of the furlough, entry into avaition, and future plans. Then came the technical as discussed previously. Discussing the last aircraft flown, pick a system (since its been some time for me), aerodynamics questions, weather interpretations and then the charts and the KBTV plate.
No trick questions.
A brief private discussion followed. I was called back in, and offered the position, the study materials, and a class date.
For not having done anything avaition for quite some time, my preparation received high marks, while I saw someone with instructor ratings not make it past the ATP written. Come on pals!
Come prepared for a Part 121 job interview like you are not leaving without it. And if offered, be sure it is what you desire. Integrity check. No one is going to chain you to the Dash. I too plan to move on, and they are aware of it. If they want 6 pilots, they are only looking for 6, and you show them you are one of those 6 pilots here to stay, learn, perform, and make it happen.
Date Interviewed: March 2011
Summary of Qualifications:
1100TT/200ME, some turbine, 4 year degree
Were you offered the job?
Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
CommutAir flew me up the morning of the interview into Cleveland. Picked up from the airport, interview starts as soon as you arrive at the building. 40 question basic knowledge test, aerodynamics, some regs, nothing wild or 121-based. 80% to pass, no time limit. Everyone was very busy during our interview day around their building, gave us an hour lunch break. Good cafeteria downstairs. Met with the Chief Pilot and an HR representative. Fly from Montreal - Burlington, VT. All Jeppesen charts. Know everything on the low alt enroute charts and ILS 15. Lots of lost comm scenarios (lose them here, what do you do). They seemed to focus a lot on the situational decision making, so just be smart about it. No TMAAT type questions, a little bit of aviation background stuff, why CommutAir, can you live with FO pay, preference on base, tell us about an aircraft you've flown previously (gave you the choice). Good decisions/bad decisions, Capt is breaking a company reg, what do you do? They do everything they can to make you comfortable during the interview and are very happy to answer any questions you may have. Get the offer, get a class date, get the study material, get on the flight home.
Date Interviewed: November 2007
Summary of Qualifications:
Commercial/Multi, Instrument Current, 500 Total Time, 110 Multi., ATP Written.
Were you offered the job?
Don't Know
Pilot Interview Profile:
Well, where do I begin? I received an interview offer about 3 weeks prior to my interview date. Was flown to Cleveland and told I would be picked up at a set time. I sat outside the pickup point as long as I could, as it was about 15 degrees outside. I was picked up an hour late by a woman that looked 15 with a carseat in the back and packs of smokes up front. I am not one to judge people but this girl looked like she just got in from a night at the club. She was pretty "out there" on the ride to Commut's headquarters, driving while writing and on the phone at the same time, etc. This was my first impression of Commut and honestly, I was not too impressed. Oh, another guy was picked up with me too, he sat in back...next to the carseat :)
Interview: As soon as we walked in she pulled 2 written tests out of some folder and literally threw them in our hands and told us to go down the hall, take a left and start on the tests. No company intro., no "briefing", no nothing. Took the test and she came in and said, "OK...whose first." I went first. REALLY basic information and questions.
Basic Human Resource questions: Why Commut?, How did you get into flying?, What makes you a good candidate?, etc. Oh, by the way...the same girl who picked me up and threw the test at us was the second half of the 2 person interview. Next was the technical questions.Describe one system on your current aircraft, what is Vmc and some factors, what did you do when you had a simulated engine failure in your multi. training on takeoff., blah blah blah. Was asked about IFR minimums and fuel requirements, as well as shown a Low Alt. Enroute chart. Had to describe basic info. on the chart and brief the ILS 15 into Burlington. REMEMBER THIS, they try to catch you. When flying south from Montreal, on the airway, the interviewer asks...OK, you are cleared for the approach HERE and lose COMMS, what do you do? Fly direct to the IAF for the ILS 15 and just fly the freakin' thing. I think they try to see if you will fly the procedure turn but right at the IAF it states NO PT...so be careful there. OK, what do you do if you don't see the runway at DH, when can you go below MDA, and what do you do if you lose the localizer inside the middle marker?...
Thats it really. Too simple. But honestly, I have friends that fly at Commut and I hear mixed things from all. Some good, some bad. You will find that everywhere. But I refuse to fly for a company that seems as Mickey Moused as Commut. I asked the guy where he sees Commut in 5-10 years and his answer was..."I really don't know." I dont think there will be much growth because we need some investors to spend some money." Nice guy and all, but I am all set.
Date Interviewed: September 2007
Summary of Qualifications:
1200 160 multi
Were you offered the job?
Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
Amy is great and very helpful, in fact she is very very helpful could not as for a nicer lady. in fact the whole place is nice everyone was nice paul is an easy going guy makes you feel at home. i was given a 40 some question test i had plenty of time to do it was not rushed. the oral interview was relaxed and consisted of a little about the company why do i want to work here, and then moved on to aviation about my aviation experince and then to questions most was ifr related charts and approach plates metars and tafs, no real supprises just good old ifr knowledge. over all a very good experince, certianly a company worth taking a look at. good luck
Date Interviewed: September 2006
Summary of Qualifications:
1200 TT, 1000 ME, CFI/II/MEI.
Were you offered the job?
Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
Met Mano at the Air Inc, Seminar in Atlanta (June 2003), dropped my resume off with him. Got a call from Amy about 10 weeks later. CA flew me up to Plattsburgh via Newark, Albany, Plattsburgh. While in Albany about 5 1900s rolled in, met quite a few of the FOs and Captains, had a great initial impression of the people. Got in late that evening, stayed at the West Bestern, a maze if you've ever been there. My interview wasn't until 2pm the following day. Arrived a little early, waited in the break room with 2 others. Started with a 40 question test, pretty straightforward EXCEPT that "the individual that wrote the test did not use english as a first language". NOT MY WORDS! Those are the words of one of my interviewers! What should have been straightforward was made a little difficult because the answers seemed about the same. In any case, was told that I scored in the high 80's, I'll take it.
The interview portion was very nice. If I was on the outside looking in, at one applicant sitting across from 2 people at a conference room table with charts, plates, my application and logbooks opened wide, I would be intimidated, but that's not how I felt while sitting there. Doug and Mano put you at ease and turn the interview into a conversation about your career. The questions flowed into the conversation, so it was very easy to relate the information they needed into your answers. Some of the questions after reading a sample METAR and TAF, and a thorough review of JEPP plates and charts...tell us about a difficult student, any scary moments, tell us about the hydraulic system in your aircraft, what is Vmc, how does CG affect Vmc, what is a low pressure system like, visibility, stability etc. I walked out there thinking that they gave me a very fair opportunity to sell myself without making me sound cocky. I was told that letters will follow by the next week and that, if chosen, I will have to return to take the Cog test. I received the good news letter the next Tuesday.
Approximately 5 weeks later I got the call that a class was scheduled for the beginning of December, I needed one more trip up to finish the interview. They brought 9 of us in for 5 spots. Everyone arrived the day before, and showed up at 8am for the Cog test. Some one read that you should play Tetris and eat lots of Protein before the test, I guess it worked he's in the class too.
In any case, the test is an internet based cognitive skills free-for-all. It's divided into 3 sections, in the first section they display a range of numbers on a tic-tac-toe board, say from 3 - 8 (not all of the squares will have a number). The numbers appear in random order in random squares on the grid. You task is to, starting from the upper left corner, recreate the numbers in the appropriate squares on the grid. It's difficult because you have to remember the placement, range, and number, but you can't fill in the blanks in the order that you saw it. The second part of section one is the same task, except one of the numbers is missing, you must correctly identify it before filling in the placement, misidentify the missing number and you don't get to fill in the blanks. It is nearly impossible to get everything correct. I concetrated on getting the missing number and range correct, then I got as many of the blanks as I could. Section 2 is much easier, they give you patterns of numbers and you guess the next number, 2 2 4 2 2 5 2 2 x, or 7 8 9 3 8 9 10 4 9 10 11 X. Section 3 is easy as well and you get some feedback. F1 - F5 are color coded, Red, Green, Yellow, Blue Black. Roughly four rows of squares appear on the screen, they are colored, you guessed it, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Black. A little triangle appears below each square, you press the correspnding key. There are 3 parts to section 3, the squares, then the colors written in black ink, they the colors written in colored ink. It tells you how long it takes and how many you missed, you must then guess how much of a time improvement you will have and how many you think you'll miss, you then repeat it.
We all finished in less than an hour and Amy took us over to the terminal to make the 9:20 flight. We all made it out to Alabany and then on to our connecting flights. I recieved the call from Amy the following Monday morning for a December class date. I'm looking forward to it.
