Recurring themes

Candidates see the interview as a crucial phase of selection, where the aim is to get to know the candidate and assess them on the competencies of a pilot. Experiences range from a pleasant atmosphere to a real ordeal. Questions can cover motivation, personal qualities and technical knowledge. One pilot reported in 2006 that the Cathay Pacific interview included technical questions on Vmc, critical engine, windshear and operational matters, alongside HR questions about Cathay and Hong Kong. A candidate in 2006 found the NetJets Europe telephone screening easier than expected, with questions on motivation and JAR-OPS chapter 8. The actual selection day later included a tech quiz, an interview and a simulator grading. In a Ryanair interview around 2008, a candidate's age came up; leadership work experience, references and motivation partly worked in their favour.47812131415

In their words

"It is not a cross-examination". A candidate who had a cadet selection interview in 2006 said: "I found my interview one of the hardest tests". A pilot in 2006 found the Cathay Pacific interview "not as extremely difficult as everyone on the internet makes out". According to a pilot in 2006, the interviewing captain at the Cathay Pacific interview helped candidates with follow-up questions in the right direction when an answer was not correct. A candidate described the one-day Emirates FO pre-selection in London in 2011 as relaxed, with a short interview of about 10 minutes alongside written tests. According to two applicants in 2007, the interview with the admissions board, the final phase of a cadet selection, lasted about half an hour, and the candidates could not tell anything about the outcome from how it went.4681217

Positive and negative

Some candidates find the interview pleasant and focused on getting to know them, while others consider it one of the hardest parts of selection. A candidate who had a cadet selection interview in 2006 found it a tough test, with the board barely letting him finish his sentences. An applicant who did not pass the European Flight Academy selection in 2018 called the interview in Holten and the interview in Hamburg key pillars of the selection. Another applicant who did pass the European Flight Academy selection in 2018 reported being told in one of the interviews that applying via ATC was not necessary. According to an applicant in 2008, the second selection phase of the Etihad cadet programme included an interview on day two, after psychomotor tests and personality tests on day one. Of the 22 candidates, two dropped out after the first day.35812

Candidate experiences

According to a pilot in 2020, at a Flybe assessment all foreign candidates were sent home after the COMPASS test, so only the English candidates went on to the interview. In the NetJets Europe telephone screening in 2006, a candidate was asked about his CV, salary information and motivation, plus a specific question on dealing with a bodyguard who refuses to hand over his weapon. A successful candidate in the KLM FA selection in 2022 prepared for about seven months, including interview training and a lot of self-reflection on strengths and weaknesses.21113