- Everyone at Delta was very professional and nice, it was an honor to be called in for an interview much less given a conditional hire. However, it is an intimidating and ominous feeling being there, however, they do a great job putting you at ease but taking time to prep will keep this in check. - All previous gouge is good to study for the test. - Used luminosity.com to study for the cog testing. - Used ASA ATP study book, AFM 11-217 vol 3, Chap 3 for 60-1 rule, Air Force Meteorology 11-230, CG and stability, sections of a jet engine and what takes place when it starts, lots of stall questions, pros/cons of swept wing aircraft, types flaps, hydraulic theory. I heard Aviation for Naval Aviators is a great study resource but I didn't have time to get my hands on one; they also have a Meteorology for Naval Aviators book I heard was good too. - Used Aaron Hagan at Emerald Coast for interview prep. Although much of the interview questions are common sense and are published on this site and AirlinePilotcentral.com, I highly recommend Aaron due to the fact that he can help you remember things that happened in your career that you may have forgotten and will help you to formulate your answers in a way that is acceptable to the interviewers. His fee is good for multiple interviews and is refundable if you don't get hired. - Stay calm if the interviewers get confrontational or put you in a tight spot with a question, they just want to see how you react....calm, cool, collected, and unemotional. Standard Air Force Standup EP games to be expected. - Say "Yes, Sir"/"No, Sir", and don't get too familiar although they are going to put you at ease. They asked me if I wanted to take off my coat but I decided to leave it on. Not sure if this was just me over analyzing things but I try to find meaning behind every question/comment and always ere to the conservative....too much riding on an hour or so interview.....just me. - Stick to your guns in the interview - Never throw the Capt or FA under the bus - All answers to interview questions should keep safety first, airlines rep second, however, you are not just a pilot but a salesperson for the airline - Shave at lunch if needed - Wear dark blue suit, Red tie (no tie clip), white shirt w/o buttondown collar, plain black shoes, black belt, black or blue socks - 6 interviewed, 2 hired....real tough competition out there, however, they told us at the beginning they would not have called us in if we weren't qualified and they wanted to hire everyone. However, the interview was yours to lose. I prepped for approx 3-4 weeks for the interview for about 4-5 hours a day. Needless to say, it was stressful but something I will always remember. - Another guy in my squadron was hired two days before me as well, also heavy airlift exp and IP. - Stay at the Hilton and ask for the Delta rate....way cheaper than the gov't rate. - I'm looking forward to training and flying the line for the next 20 years
Date Interviewed: July 2010
Summary of Qualifications:
5000TT, 1300PIC turbine 121, 135
Were you offered the job?
No
Pilot Interview Profile:
Everyone was courteous and the interview was relaxed. My experience was much harder than anything I've read on the gouge or from previous friends who have been interviewed and hired in June. 12 interviewed, only one was military. Not sure how many were hired or not. I was second out the door. Previous gouge's for test's was good. ATP test prep is good, but don't just memorize the answers because they are obviously not the same. The interview is what I failed. They started out by going over my application and talking about my education and work history. Lot's of personal style questions. What is it about flying that made you decide you were going to make it a career? What do you like about it? Was there a moment when you knew for sure this is what you wanted to do? What criteria would you use to determine if you need to call in fatigued or not? Check in time for your trip is 10:00am tomorrow morning, tell me about how you would prepare for your trip starting the day before? Now it's check in time and you meet your FO, what would you do now? How would you brief the crew? Tell me a time you had to deal with a difficult passenger? Have you ever gone above and beyond to help a passenger? Captain in the bar at 8hrs prior to show, what are you going to do? Captain and lead flight attendant get in argument at the gate while in the cockpit, then captain looks at you and says "I'm not going to talk to her anymore." What are you going to do? What was your hardest checkride? There were a few more but I can't remember. Delta has some quirky hiring practices. They'll ask about a time when you had to deal with a difficult passenger and then hire an FO with no experience at all.
Date Interviewed: July 2010
Summary of Qualifications:
Civilian Regional Jet Pilot. 5700 Total Time 1300 PIC 0 PIC Turbine 4500 Turbine Time. ATP Written.
Were you offered the job?
No
Pilot Interview Profile:
Right now it seems that Delta is interviewing pilots who are about 28-34 years old who have between 5500 and 6000 total time. That was the case for the 12 people in my group who interviewed (with maybe the exception with the military guys and their total times). We were told that currently there is a need for 305 pilots to be hired and in training between August and October. 8 out of 12 were invited to the second day of the interview process. Unfortunately, I was one of the four who was not invited. Our group consisted of 10 RJ pilots (both FOs and Captains) and 2 military pilots. Of the 12, four of the pilots being interviewed were able to check the minority box on the application. The entire process is not the most pleasant even though all the Delta people are nice to work with. Stress levels are high and there are many uncertainties of not knowing what to expect throughout the day.
I failed the panel interview. It typically lasts about an hour. There were three people on the panel to ask questions. Two were pilots (both former Air Force), one pilot was active Delta, the other was retired Delta, and the other guy was Delta HR. The bulk of the questions were about high school, college, my attendance at my current job, speeding tickets. More time was spent on what I did 15 years ago than on anything related to flying. They asked who paid for my college? Why I chose it? If my high school was private or public, etc.? If I was involved in any sports or activities in high school? Just a few tech questions. How would I handle a captain who does not want to use checklist right from the beginning of the flight? How would I handle it if this captain does not respond to my desire to insist on using checklist? How would I handle receiving an ACARS message from the company that there might be a bomb on board the aircraft while we were in cruise flight? What makes a good captain? What makes a bad captain? Examples of each?
The Cog test was a challenge and everyone seems to end it feeling like they did not do well on it regardless of how one actually does. I feel that it is rather difficult to study for it. Memorizing letters of the alphabet with their associated numbers would help with one of the sections. 1A, 2B, 3C,....21U, 22V, 23W, etc. Making flash cards with a guy holding a flag and having him face you or face away, inverted and up-right. Which hand is the flag in?
The psychology test was (I think) 250 questions. Not to worry easy questions so it is quick to answer all 250. Answer honestly and you will be fine. Example: Do you always read questions twice? Do you ever cheat when playing solitaire? Strongly Agree, Neutral, Strongly Disagree, etc.
The knowledge test was 60 questions in 60 minutes. I have been told that they take questions from a random 500 question bank. Tough test. Some questions have what seems as two right answers. Questions that come to mind: In a thrust limited airplane, when does trust equal drag? 30 50 70 or 90 degrees of pitch, ATC Light gun signals. True airspeed with respect to ALT and temp change. Load Factor and effects on it. CG and handling with an aft loading. EPR measures pressure of what to pressure of what? Flammability and compressibility of a gas versus liquid? Runway lighting? Beacon lighting? Holding questions, entry, headings to fly, speed to hold? What is dihedral? What is angle of incidence? What do Fowler flaps do? What affect hydroplaning the most?
Panel interview is half of your day and the computer testing is the other half. The problem was you do not receive a schedule and when you are done with a portion, they just leave you in a lobby. Nobody knew when to eat, when to be ready for the next portion of the process, etc. So everyone just had to figure out the schedule on their own, ask someone, or just wait in the lobby. Could be ten minutes, could be three hours... Same thing happened when they informed us of the results of the day
If you fail the computer testing, you are eligible to reapply in 6 months. If you fail the panel interview, you can never interview at Delta again. In my opinion, getting hired by Delta is like is like winning the career lottery. Good luck!
Date Interviewed: March 2008
Summary of Qualifications:
4000TT 1500PIC MIL
Were you offered the job?
No
Pilot Interview Profile:
Everyone was very professional and courteous.
Knowledge test was straight forward, study gouge and you will do fine. I looked through it once, thought I didn't prepare enough and did fine.
Personality and Cog Tests went fine as well. I don't know what you would study for these and really no reason to. Just do your best.
Interview, I thought went quite well, but you never know. I had 2 Captains and 1 Human Resource person. Went over the application in detail, I had a few minor discrepancies. Situational questions...First was, as FO what would you do if the Captain refused to fly a strict noise abatement procedure, wants to fly his own departure? Second situational question was...now you're the Captain and some VIP pax board the aircraft fairly intoxicated sitting in First Class, F/A feels uncomfortable having them on-board but the Gate Agent says they're friends of mine and they're fine, what do you do? (I would definitely talk with other fellow pilots/captains and see what their take is on these situations. There are many different answers and I honestly think it depends on who is interviewing you that particular day).
Asked what your boss would say about your attendance. Asked for an example about your customer service skills. A flying situation where you said "I will never do that again". What would your co-pilot say about you. What is your biggest accomplishment? What is the hardest thing you've ever done? What is one word that best describes you? Any organizations you belong to? A few questions about the military.
All in all a great experience, very professional and courteous. Just be yourself and do the best you can!
Date Interviewed: March 2008
Summary of Qualifications:
4100 total 1100 PIC turbine 3 internal letters of rec
Were you offered the job?
No
Pilot Interview Profile:
The gouge is still right on. I found the interviewers to be friendly at first. They questioned all my answers quite extensively.
Have you ever had any moving violations? Me - No Interviewer - Are you sure? Me - yes Interviewer - Do you own a car? Me - yes Interviewer - That is hard to believe.
Questioned at length about attendance record (only two sick calls in the last 12 months)
Captain asks you (FO) to lie to the pax and tell them a mx delay is actually weather, what do you do?
I told them I would not lie to the pax for the Capt.
They questioned my judgement about this BIG time. I told them if the Capt. wants to lie to the pax he can do it himself.
Retired Capt. asked me if I really wanted to make a big deal about something so small. I said I did. Lying is against my morals. They all gave me a look like I was nuts.
The Capt. continuously arrives at the marker 100 feet low. It is a visual approach and the landings are good - what do you do?
I said I would not make a big deal about it other than making the standard calls. They are not dangerous and it is a visual approach. They questioned me again. I said if I really had a problem I would take it to Professional Standards.
Looked through my logbooks extensively - no major questions there.
Asked about a difficult day - My response was concise and explained a time I thought I did a lot for the pax. They questioned how much I did and told me that ANYONE at their airline would have done the same (which I know not to be true).
Asked about flying with low-time FO's. Asked about ever wanting to be a Check Airman at my company.
Overall they seemed to be quite full of themselves.
Cog test was easy. Don't freak out about it or pay to practice it. Study the gouge for the knowledge test.
