The hardest thing is cracking the code to get a ticket to the interview

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, , American Ride Reports, CJO Offered, 0
Which Airline did you interview with? American
How many days between invite, interview, and listed availability?
Did you receive a job offer? Yes
If you did not receive the CJO why do you think you weren’t chosen to continue in the process? N/A
What is your experience? Military
Total Flight Time 5,000-8,000
Total Turbine PIC Time >2,000
General Overview of Experience Great! Very welcoming and reinforce that throughout the 2 days. The hardest thing is cracking the code to get a ticket to the interview. Some told us that success rate once you get there is 90+%. Day 1 Test is a bear and you feel like you bombed it but that is apparently normal. Day 2 HR is very straight forward and conversational.
How long did you have your application in before you received an invite? 12 months +
Did you attend a job fair? Yes
Did you do anything special that triggered the interview invitation? LORs had been in for several months so do not believe that was the tipping point.
How many internal recs did you have? 1-2
How long was it from the time of your invite to the actual interview? 2 weeks
Did you have any issues with logbooks, application or paperwork? No, all very straight forward.
Please bring the original of the following items with you on the first day:
1. All log books, flight records, etc. In addition to civilian log books, Air Force pilots need to bring ENTIRE Flight History Report, Army pilots need to bring ENTIRE FORM 759 folder and Navy/Marine pilots need to furnish all military log books. Military pilots need to bring your DD214 to cover all periods of service
2. Current Air Transport Pilot Rating (multi-engine) and/or ATP written
3. FCC Radio Telephone Operators Permit
4. FAA First Class Medical Certificate taken within one year
5. Official College Transcripts (sealed envelope) or have electronic version emailed to Pilot.Recruitment@aa.com
6. A valid Passport
7. A government issued ID (i.e. Driver’s License, Military I.D., etc.)
8. Any required documentation needed for re-entry after traveling outside of the U.S.
You will have to complete some PRIA forms one of which needs to me notarized. You can either pay $6 (exact change) to the AA credit union on property to notarize or apparently the hotel can do it too.
How did you prepare for the JKT/COG portion of the interview? For the Day 1 test you can look over some of the examples out there but there is not real capability or need to study. Just know you will be mental mush at the end.
Technical Test Questions Pilot Skills Test
This is the order of the tests I had. Headphones on for white noise throughout.1)Dots in a circle. 25 minutes. 32 circles and one trip around is about 40-45 seconds. Hit green button when it skips. I counted, used the alphabet and made some other twisted devices to keep me focused although I had some false starts towards the end from eyeball fatigue.2)Patterns. This was the hardest part for me. Some of these seemed impossible. I probably hit I don’t know for half of them. It is a 3×3 grid with one space to be solved. You can pick from the multiple options or select “I don’t know.”3)Dots forming a square. 20 minutes. Remember the dots game when you were a kid. 15-30 dots are arranged on the screen. Dots appear and disappear one at a time. If a small square is formed, you tap the green button. Keeping a wide scan and moving your eyes about the screen seemed to work. Again towards the end you are getting fatigued.
Halftime: 10 minute break.
4) Whack-a-mole. 4 minutes. As previously mentioned memorizing the color set up is worthwhile. This goes fast and it is frankly impossible to hit the colors and tones and pedals with consistent accuracy. I focused on colors and pedals and more or less blew off the tones because I ran out of bandwidth.
5) Math. Second hardest part for me. I sat for about 2-3 minutes on some with a solution in the hundreds and couldn’t get it. Hit next for about half. You can skip the hard ones you are stuck on by leaving the variables as blank and selecting “next” twice. Sometimes this makes the numbers easier and sometimes it didn’t.
6) Fly the triangle. 10 minute test. FYI- I don’t remember seeing a clear indicator I was in practice mode and was working like a dog when after about 4 minutes I let the slice drop and it seemed to time out and say now practice was over and the real test would begin for 10 minutes. Ugh. It was kind of fun in a sick sort of way and is tough but manageable. Welcome change from math and pattern matching.
7) Cube pattern. Directions stated there would be 17 questions. I don’t think I timed out. You are shown 3 sides of a cube. The design on a side of the cube will not repeat. You have 6 options to choose from. Most had a solution. I think I chose 2 that did not have a solution.
8) Map and landmarks. I had 24ish map questions. There are only 15 symbols they use. The grid has about 40 geometric shapes that represent the city blocks where the various icons will pop up. The fingers on as many as you can touch and try and memorize the rest worked pretty well. Over 6 symbols and I was not doing so well. Had lots of 2-4 symbols so that was relatively easy.
You are going to feel like you bombed at least portions of this after. Just roll with it and compartmentalize to prepare for Day 2.
What was the hardest technical question or content you experienced during the job knowledge test? Hardest test for me was the math and 3×3 grid patterns.
Cog Test See Day 1 test above.
Cog Math Questions N/A
HR Questions DAY 2:
The interview groups were 0800, 1030, and 1200. Seemed like about 5-6 per session. Brought our bags and stored everything in the lobby area or in the back of the HR workspace. You will not be able to bring anything into the interview, no resumes, paper, etc. HR escorted us to the C.R. Smith Museum to see the DC-3 and met with a CA to discuss pretty much any questions we had. This lasted for 20 minutes as interview teams in suits arrived to pick out one person at a time. Water and coffee available on the table in the far right corner.
I interviewed with a CA and FO, both civilian background. There was a piece of paper with instructions on it on both sides which they went over and explained how to answer questions in a SARR format and also how to answer the scenario question format and to spend 2-3 minutes answering. They said could use the paper to take notes and formulate an answer and the 2-3 minutes was the time I should use once starting my answer
-No Tell me about yourself or other standard questions.
-Small talk
-Read off their sheets about the format and question process to include explaining the sheet that outlines SARR format for TMAAT questions and the thought process and action format for the WWYD question.
-TMAAT you had to influence someone outside of your chain of command/organization.
-TMAAT you had to follow a new policy and how you ensured you complied with it.
-TMAAT you used your vision as a leader to direct the team.
WWYD: They put a small spiral bound notebook in front of you with the scenario that they also read out loud. Then give you a few minutes to collect your thoughts by writing them down. I used a quick outline of the topics I wanted to hit.
1) 3rd flight on the line and 1st day of a 4 day trip in the middle of the night and CA is unresponsive. Half way across on a transcontinental flight to the Pacific NW, somewhere over Idaho.
2) At a party and someone who is a million mile member starts to complain to you about a bad experience on a recent AA flight. (Think it was a delay.)
3) You are #3 for T/O on RWY 27 on a hot and humid day. There is a cell moving from the west with winds 290/14G23. Aircraft before you departed and immediately had to deviate 190 for weather, Aircraft just landed and reported a 15 knot loss of airspeed on final.
HR
Only 2 HR reps so it took a while to get through our group. About 20 minutes.
-Opened up with small talk.
-Confirm availability
-Have you interviewed with other airlines. Gave my why AA speech.
-Explain the WWYD in laymen’s terms.
-How can pilots affect profitability of the company.
-That was is it. Very straightforward and easy going.
Other Questions that have been asked:
-Tell us about yourself.
-TMAT you improved a safety, legal, or other process.
-TMA a person you worked with that you disliked and how you communicated with them.
-Tell us how you keep up on safety matters and what have you recently learned.
-TMAAT you had a disagreement with a supervisor? How did you handle it? What was changed, if anything? What did you learn from the experience?
-TMAAT you motivated a coworker and what was the result?
-TMAAT a time you were concerned about safety and how did you handle the situation?
-How would your supervisor describe you?
-Why should we hire you over that person (pointed to another candidate)
-TMAT had to lead a team towards an accomplishment
-TMAT ever withheld information and later regretted it.
-TMAT you made an improvement on a process.
-TMAT you disagreed with your supervisor and how did you handle it.
-TMAT you had a peer / subordinate disagree with a decision you made.
-TMAT you had to change a policy or procedure.
-TMAT you had to work as a team to accomplish a goal…from start to finish.
-TMAT you had a conflict with a manager or superior
-TMAT you had to make a decision to improve safety or avoid an unsafe situation. What was the result?
-Tell how important communication is, how you communicate and break down barriers to communication.
-TMAT when you had to motivate someone and when it worked and when it didn’t?
-TMA the best and worst briefings you have received.
-TMA a company policy that was difficult to follow.
-TMA the best and worst briefings you have received and why?
-TM how you have dealt with change and what you learned from it?
-TMAT you withheld information and regretted it?
TMAAT that someone you worked with disagreed with one of your decision and how did you handle it?
-TMAAT that you disagreed with a boss’ decision or policy and how did you handle it? Did any of your inputs effect change?
-Situation: Over the Gulf of Mexico an the FA tells you that a passenger on board passed out in the aft galley. A passenger self identified as a Doctor and said they needed to get them to a hospital ASAP. You are the FO. I missed the FO part initially and was answering as if I was the Captain. One of them asked me what the Captain was doing during all of this. I apologized and said I thought they said I was the Captain. I said as the FO, I would offer to take the jet from the Captain. They said, “Good… now you’re the Captain, walk me through what you’d do.”
-Situation: You are #12 of 20 on a max weight Aircraft needing max thrust. Winds and temps change… what do you do.
-Situation: You are the Captain at the gate with the whole crew and all of the passengers waiting to board. A MX rep walks up to you and says the jet needs to be towed to the hanger for a hydraulic system leak and it will be 3-4 hrs to fix it. Then he just walks away… you are the only one who has this information.
Other HR
-Willing to be based anywhere?
-Are you available to start right away?
-Asked if ever been removed from flight status, voluntarily or involuntarily, or failed flight training of any type, or failed any check ride.
-TMAT you had to make a quick decision and what were the results
-Where else have you interviewed / applied?
-Can pilots affect company profitability?
-Describe your scenario in non-pilot terms.
-Would your friends and co-workers say you are a good communicator and what do you think are the most effective ways to communicate.
-Explain the situation of the wind/temp change to a passenger.
-What has been your biggest negative challenge in your career for the past year and how did you deal with it?
How long prior to the interview did you prepare for the HR portion of the interview? 2 weeks
Which HR Prep service did you use and did it help? None used for this interview.
Any additional information you would like to add.
Is their anything you wish you could have done different to prepare you for this process?
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