Interview was held at The Red Lion in Denver. All the HR questions from previous gouges are correct but there was a curveball thrown. We were given a written exam which you have to score 80 or higher to proceed. Questions were fill in the blank and included: -Holding speeds/altitudes -light gun signals -Notams -airspeed restrictions Class B,C,D -VOR service volumes -components of ILS system -Right of way procedures -Apprch fixes -climb gradient for ODP -What must you ALWAYS notify ATC of -Know the ILS system inside and out. Localizer Full deflection distances.
After the test you wait for HR and a line captain for the sitdown. Again, two interviews took place at once which was very annoying. The questions asked were pretty basic and quick. A few of the tech questions I had missed (not being familiar with Jepp charts) Those were "Hot Sections" which in the AF don't exist. I tried looking it up in the Jepp legend and in FAR/AIM but nothing is listed under this term. I txt a buddy after the interview and was told it means a high volume taxi area or intersection which you must use extreme caution. There were a few other terms I wasn't familiar with and they just moved onto other questions which I nailed. At the end they asked which aircraft I'd like to be on, EMB 120/BE1900. I chose the 1900 for ease of commuting. The EMB 120 base is Willingston ND, and only Great Lakes flies there. Overall, good experience. The pay isnt the best as you know but its a great platform to move onto the majors.
Cheers.
Date Interviewed: May 2010
Summary of Qualifications:
CFI CFII MEI 1900 TYPE
Were you offered the job?
Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
It was at the Red Lion hotel in Denver, CO. The place was ok to find, but give your self plenty of time to find it, it gets a little tricky at the end. Got there almost 45min early so I relaxed a little and Prayed I'd get the job. Then about 30min prior to my interview I went to the room the interviews were being held and found out that the interviewers were out to lunch. Then they cam back about 15min late, oh well, their the boss. Quickly got my 20,000 pages of paperwork turned in and 15min later got called into the room. The thing that caught me off guard the most is that there was another interview going on about 5 feet away from where mine was, that bugged me, we could hear each other talk. Weired!!! The second I sat down they started fiering off HR questions left and right -tell us about yoursel -how'd you get into flying -why GLA -what are your attributes -what are your strongets characteristics -what was a time you DIDN"T achieve a goal you tried for -why should we hire you -why SHOULDN"T we hire you -what have you heard about GLA -what do you expect to get from GLA Thats about it. Then came the techinal part Finnaly!!! I know how to fly a plane, but the HR questions I'm not so sure about, so I was glad to get to the techinal part.
-jepp charts jepp charts Jepp charts. That's about it.
Then HR questions involving flying -when have you had a chalenging student -what do you like least about instructing -when have you been scared or in an emergency -when would you take the controls from your captain
I had a coupple "dings" on my driving record, but I was up front and honest and reveald all the suff on my app and was just real sincere about the change in my life and honest about my past mistaks and remorse about those mistakes and how I've grown to be a better man now and they seamed to like my honesty, so if you have any issues with that stuff (which most of us do) make sure you're up front about it all and just tell them everything from the beginning cause if you don't you can guarentee you won't get the job.
Then they let me ask questions. They're really good about answering them, so really ask some.
all in all it was pretty ok the people were nice and I'm excited to start work for the company.
Date Interviewed: April 2010
Summary of Qualifications:
Around 1200TT, CFI, CFII, MEI.
Were you offered the job?
Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
The interview was again at the Red Lion just like the previous gouges. The previous gouges were a great study tool to prepare for the interview. I was the first to go on that day. The interview was really relaxed and they made it fun for me. I was nervous until I sat down and started talking to them. Great people. The first set of questions were HR... -Tell us about yourself? -Why Great Lakes? -Have you had a disagreement with a superior? -Have you ever been scared in an airplane? What was it? -Are you multi-enging current? proficient? -What would you do to stay proficient? -Most significant emergency? -Most challenging student? There were a few more but not many. Second was the technical portion. I was handed a Jepp Low Enroute chart and a VOR-A approach plate into Cheyenne, WY. I was asked to briefly explain how I would conduct a flight from Denver to Cheyenne and fly the approach. I was asked to describe what was pointed to on the approach plate (VORTAC). Basically all the information from the info box and I went into detail about service volumes of (H) VOR's, etc. That was it for the technical portion. A few more HR questions and that was it. Overall about 35 minutes. As I previously said, the other interview gouges are pretty much dead on, but there had not been one in a while (Jan., 2009). Study Jepp enroute and approach plates and know the symbology, grid MORA's, etc. From everything I have heard this company is an excellent place to work and you will get some of the best (real) flight experience here. As previously said in another gouge there is room for growth at this airline.
Date Interviewed: January 2009
Summary of Qualifications:
750 and change total time, 100 and change multi
Were you offered the job?
Don't Know
Pilot Interview Profile:
Interview was at Red Lion Denver Central. Great Lakes will offer to fly you in on a pass, but only on great lakes flights...if its a united or frontier flight with a great lakes connection or something, you have to pay for the united/frontier portion.
Interview was set for 2, i was there early, and the interview started around 230. First did some HR things...then went into the tech portion...then some more HR. No sim ride.
HR Questions: Tell us about yourself
Why great lakes
we saw (problem area) on your application, tell us about it (they will go into some hard core details about that...example, they asked how much i was going over the limit on a speeding ticket two years ago. They wanted to know all the details about it, and any other problem area on your resume/application)
tell us about a disagrement you had with an instructor/coworker/etc
if your captain seemed inibriated, how would you handle it
if your captain tried to descend below minimums on the ILS, what would you do (tower and non tower)
Why SHOULDN'T we hire you
what would you do if you weren't flying
tell me about your grades in high school/college? Why were they good/bad?
what makes you qualified to fly a twin turboprop full of passengers
do you know what CRM is
what do you want us to remember about your interview
TECHNICAL
Study the hell out of jepp charts, thats all it is!
What is this red shaded area? Why does this localizer have shading on one side? what is the DME from (vor) to (intersection)? You're at FL200, you need to be down to 10.000 before this point, when would you start decending? finger fly this approach (ILS into manhattan, kansas for me)
I had some issues with my driving record and my grades from high school that seemed to be a sticking point for them, so i have a feeling i'm not gonna get the job. They want a 10 year history of employment and education, even before high school. So you younger guys, make sure ya got the address and info of your middle school!
Date Interviewed: January 2008
Summary of Qualifications:
355 TT; 28 ME; 296 PIC; 15 ME PIC
Were you offered the job?
Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
Interview was at Crystal Inn, near Denver International Airport. Interview was scheduled for 1600, but arrived at 1315. Interviewers were impressed about the punctuality. An initial review of application, paperwork, and logbooks to ensure everything was in order. BE SURE THAT YOU HAVE EVERYTHING COMPLETE. Nothing hurts your cause more than showing-up unprepared.
Interview with an HR representative and a pilot. For the HR questions be prepared to answer for anything in your ten year history (i.e., "why did you major in this" or "describe an emergency or a situation in which you were uncomfortable, and how did you react?") About 15 minutes worth of HR questions. Technical questions consisted of basics about current aircraft flying (the Seminole for me) and a breif of Jepp En-Route and Approach Charts. Then it was my turn to ask questions. Research the company and be prepared to ask questions. There was no simulator session, be prepared for one just in case. There is plenty of access to simulators in the Denver area.
Interviewers only have a short period of time to get to know you, so just be yourself, be honest, prepare, and most of all...relax.
Great Lakes is in the process of acquiring the EAS routes in Montana formerly held by Big Sky, so there is opportunity with Great Lakes.
