Now, I am one of those people who kind of has blinkers on when I am going for something I really want. All or nothing, my way or the highway, you know the type, really annoying? Anyway, I digress, I made sure I was fully prepared for these group exercises and interview, and I will share with you my learning process. I am almost renowned for having a bad memory, ‘When was our anniversary?’ Around November? ‘What did you do yesterday?’ Ermmm. You get the picture. But I managed to learn the answers to about 100 revision cards, I know, incredible right? Not really, it is actually pretty easy. I like to categorise things, so I went through the possible questions I could be asked, based on the guide I was sent by the academy (you should get one too – hold that thing close like your life depends on it, the information in there is priceless) but you can also find great info for interview questions on PPrune and on some of the paid sites where they have banks with thousands of practice questions.
So, I’m sure what you all really came here to find out is how did I prepare? Well, I did a few things. Firstly, I did my research, thoroughly. I visited the airline and academy’s websites and trawled through almost all of their pages, noting down anything of value, which ranged from fleet sizes to the course structure – I wasn’t about to let myself get caught out. What I will say is that you may find conflicting figures online, so choose a source you believe is the most reliable and stick with it, a few of the other interviewees and myself had different stats and numbers, but the assessors quickly told us not to worry too much about the specifics and to just stick with what we know.
Anyway, back to the research, so typically I would then research a specific topic I knew would come up, the airline’s fleet for example. I would colour code a couple of revision cards and dedicate them to the fleet, listing the engines, the number the airline has, how many passengers and crew it seated, you get the idea. I did this for every possible topic I thought would come up. That covers the factual side, but there are two parts to this interview, your knowledge of the industry as well as your life experiences. This one is a little trickier as they could ask you a million different questions on this. This section effectively wants to pry out the real you, how you deal with real life scenarios. A few of my example questions asked things like, ‘name a time when you made a bad decision’ or ‘when did you take responsibility for others.’ I would definitely recommend having thoroughly thought out answers for this as the last thing you want to be doing is umming and ahhhhing in front of the interviewer. So, again, I wrote down as many different questions I could think of and racked my brain for good, and true examples, this is not the time to be making stuff up. If you are still in school, I’m sure you can find plenty of examples from sports teams, lessons and may any extra-curricular activities you do, I would definitely try and use examples from outside of school, perhaps you have a hobby or encountered a scenario in your wider friendship group? The more examples you have, the better. If you have been in the working world like me, then you should be able to draw on a host of experiences. Although, I actually used a school example in my interview as it worked really well for the question they asked, so you never know!
Now, how to structure your answers, I used the STAR method: Situation Task Action Result, this ensured I explained my scenario well and then clearly defined my role within it. I would definitely suggest using this technique as it ensures your answers properly answer the question. There are loads of other methods out there though, so go and find one that suits you if you aren’t keen on my one.
It might be worth noting that these life experience questions should be relatively hard to answer, no one wants to admit what they are bad at, or what their weaknesses are, but you should expect to be asked about them. So, give the subject a good old think, and if you are struggling, your friends and family are great memory banks for your life, so just ask them. I did, multiple times, and they really helped.
By now you must be thinking, great, I’ve written down all of these examples and answers, how on earth do I remember them all? Don’t worry, I had the exact same thought. I found this method worked wonders, and even now I can recite how many seats are in the A320. So, here is the secret to my success… are you ready?
Once you have written out all of your answers, hold the stack in your hands and begin to answer each question, out loud. You need to speak it aloud, do it in weird voices, songs or tunes at first to get the facts into your head. Then, once your recall starts to improve, start trying to speak your answers the way you would want to present them in the interview. This is a great way to get familiar with the subject matter, and to rehearse your answers so you don’t stumble over your words. I carried these revision cards everywhere with me, doctors’ appointment, yep, petrol station, you bet ya. You never know when you will get a spare minute. I would then walk around the house, like a crazy person, reciting my answers until I no longer needed prompting. Yes, you will have to put a lot of time into this, but it honestly is so worth it. Also, I found walking around meant I didn’t get bored quickly, I would go everywhere doing this, plus it gets those steps in.
Another technique I practiced was a mock interview. I made sure I found a person who wouldn’t hold back and would take no prisoners, so I chose a family friend who is also a pilot, but don’t worry if you don’t know any pilots, anyone who can play hard ball will be perfect. I sent him my booklet that the academy sent me and then let him ask random question and boy did he. He also asked really difficult questions that I wasn’t expecting. This meant I had to think on my feet and search for possible examples. This was great as it gave me a glimpse of to how I would respond to a difficult question, and it also showed the holes I had in my research. You can bet I then went and wrote down that question on a revision card and made sure I had a good answer ready. Once he had grilled me for a good 45 minutes, he then gave me a debrief of how I did and what I could improve on. This process helped me calm down a little, as even though I was a bit unprepared, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be.
There you have it, my secret recipe for interview success. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you ASAP. Alternatively, I have recently posted a video on the same subject on my YouTube channel if you would like to check that out too at Ella the Aviator.
ELLA THE AVIATOR 
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