Sim profile as advertised on previous posts. Really good guys running the sim. I did the HP 737-200 sim prep which helped a bunch. If you wanted to save the dough, I think having a copy of the profile with Continental call outs would suffice. I got the hold standard on the 180 radial which was a nice teardrop entry from my heading. Never held, just described what I would do. I also did the Int Prep with Judy Tarver. That was a very good practice run for someone who doesn't like to chair fly. She will give you lots of techniques and most every question to expect. I had zero technical questions. 3 really good guys, one was a bit intimidating, but not bad. All former Military which made me feel at ease right away. Why Continental? Why leave where you are? Have you ever had to mediate a conflict between crew members? Where are our bases and why would you want to be/commute to any of them? Where do you live now and how would those locations affect you? What do you think would be the biggest change from where you are now to Continental? Anything you want to add?(don't) Any question you expected that you didn't get? Whole thing took 45 min. They are suspending training until Sep/Oct depending on how this summer goes. I am in a pool which is good for one year. If they don't start my training in that year, back to square one. They are expecting a rough summer with oil prices, so they are being very cautious. Good Luck!
Date Interviewed: February 2008
Summary of Qualifications:
4 year degree 7000TT 4700 turboprop 1000 PIC 121 121 Check airman took part to many projects for my company besides flying
Were you offered the job?
Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
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...
Date Interviewed: February 2008
Summary of Qualifications:
Air Force, 3300, 1500 PIC, all multi turbine.
Were you offered the job?
Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
Sim Eval: Just like all the previous gouge on the web, these guys (Hans runs the sim, Nick was the PM) are very cool, but poker faced. You will have no idea how you did. I did the CPT sim and it was well worth the money for a dude who is used to glass and fly by wire. Here is a quick run down of the profile:
T/O, climb to 4000'. Do standard CAL calls. Right turn, then left turn while descending. Once rolled out given direct to Humble for hold. Turned left to proceed direct. Once on my way to the VOR I called for in-range checklist and slowed. PM then got the hold clearance and I briefed up the entry. Hold NE on the 080 radial left turns. For me it was a parallel entry. I was around 18(ish) miles from the VOR by the time I got turned and was slowing. More than enough time to set up, get slow and stable, then brief up the entry. As advertised before, I was vectored to downwind shortly before the VOR, never entered the hold. Once vectored on to downwind you do slow to 180 and call for "flaps 5" and run the approach checklist. Turned to ILS final and configured as appropriate. Landed horribly hard, but what would you expect? I seriously can't imagine going in cold unless you are way familiar with 737.
Panel: 3 line captains. One Captain looked over my transcripts and logbooks. All three were very nice and professional, but definitely had their poker/game faces on. I never felt super stressed, but also never felt relaxed, it was kind of an odd feeling. Here are the questions I was asked: How did you get here? Why CAL? What can you bring to CAL? Sexual Harassment, WWYD? TMA busted checkride (I had one, you may not have) Who are internal customers and how do you serve them? How did the sim go? Given the choice, would you hire a good employee or a good pilot? (This was the toughest one for me, totally caught me off guard, never saw it before. What do you want to fly? Holding airspeeds Given a Jepps approach plate to a place in Honduras and was asked how to fly it if no radar.
The panel lasted 30-40 min. max. The worst part was waiting for the call and not knowing. I got the call the next day!
Date Interviewed: February 2008
Summary of Qualifications:
all mil attack a/c 2k-ish hrs
Were you offered the job?
Don't Know
Pilot Interview Profile:
Previous gouge is a good start Recommend practicing the CAL profile at either the CPT or HPA joint. Do the interview prep w/ Judy Tarver at HPA.
very straitforward and they want you to succeed. Surprised at NO technical questions in the panel interview. Very CRM and Logistics (ie "how are you gonna make it on 30 bucks an hour year one/ sans medical insurance...") heavy. Not from a heavy (damn thats twice) background, so they put me in my present jet and asked scenario questions based on that. All three on the panel were good folks and consisted of 2 line captains and a retired captain. Got the sexual harrassment and what do you do about it question. Overall impression is that you prove your crosscheck abilities and basic airmanship in the sim, interview for getting to know person but thats just one dude, one interview. Not an overly artificial stress inducing pitsweat-fest like some others.
Sim was as advertised. Plan on flying the 73-300 with the (something w/ a 17 in it) autopilot. The FO evaluator is on the autopilot so don't sweat it to much. Tell him what you want and it'll probably already be done. Both sim evaluators were super-cool and hooked me up with pitch and power techniques before the sim. One in the briefing room, another in the cockpit waiting for it to start. You will handfly everything but the flight director will be full-up. Practice the CAL callouts and do a bit of charflying. When the holding thing came around, I got a PARALELL entry setup after doing the hand-oragami thing to figure it out They WILL NOT LET YOU PASS CONTROL OF THE A/C so you can draw it out/ QC your solution. Ask "do you concur" and they may throw you a bone. I briefed the holding gameplan and got to the VOR on speed and then they just gave me a vector to final w/out having to hold. Did the ILS F/S. Uneventful.
the HPA had only a 73-200 available with different autopilot. Good practice with about 20 minutes extra time. It is harder to fly than the CAL sim and pitch/power setting were slightly different. Did a sim with another dude and the operator let us swap controls to nail down the holding from different aspects. THEY DONT LET YOU DO THAT IN THE SIM EVAL so if you practice, think and fly at the same time.
take a walk around the building and talk to folks while your waiting....ongoing new hire classes were going on and provided good last-minute gouge. eat breakfast!
The sim profile was the same as the sim prep you can get at Crew Pilot Training.
TMAAT Q's When you gave good customer service. Decision you regreted. Made a good decision.
Other Q's Tell us about yourself. How did you get to this point? What can you bring to CAL? Why this degree? You have a bunch of tickets. How do you mentor a low time F.O. Gold seal CFI? Do you instruct still? Biggest challenge being a Captain? Question you prepard for and did not get to answer? Question for us?
