Dear AIR, Inc. members and ALPC readers and subscribers:
TAs I answer the phones and take counseling calls at AIR, Inc. each day that I am not flying, I often hear from stressed-out pilots who believe that they have a serious problem. Sometimes they are right but many times they are overreacting. Their overreaction can be as big a problem as the problem itself.
Whether you have an FAA violation, a recent speeding ticket, logbook errors, or a training failure, the first step in handling any problem is to make peace with whatever happened. You must realize that if you cannot get comfortable with what happened there is no way the airline interviewers will be able to get comfortable with you.
So how do you get comfortable? Talk about the problem enough to get over the initial fear of the unknown: What will they think of this and how does it affect my chances of getting the interview or job offer? Then form a plan of attack. You are in control of what you say and do in the interview. They will eventually check your background so what you say needs to match any official records of your problem. (Horizon pilot recruiter Joanne Williams talks about this very issue in our Horizon feature) You need to review those records to be sure your story matches the information they will receive.
We recommend that you construct a short factual description of the scenario leading up to the event (problem). Give enough detail so they can understand the contributing circumstances, take responsibility for your part in what happened, and do not place blame on a company, supervisor, or co-worker. Give the outcome—violation, ticket, corrected logbook entry, or training failure. Do not stop here even though you may have answered the question.
Continue the discussion by explaining what you learned from the experience and what you have done to ensure it does not happen again. One of the airlines’ concerns is that this problem is not just a one-time event but may be a trend that will recur in the future. Tell them about your history before and after your problem to emphasize where this fits into the big picture: i.e., lots of previous training without a problem and training since that event successfully completed.
Be sure to talk about what you do now to ensure that this problem doesn’t happen again—i.e.: getting your manuals to study in advance, prioritizing emergency procedures, abnormals and irregulars. Put your memory items (limits and emergency checklist) on flash cards, use home study materials like CDs and Web-based training etc.—whatever works for you.
Be sure to note any circumstances that may have distracted you from your normal course, such as life events, illness, family problems, lack of sleep—you get the idea. These things are important to show why the problem developed then but will not happen to you again because you are older and wiser now.
After you have answered the question—shut up! They may ask additional questions and when they do, answer those questions and shut up again. Don’t go on and on about this problem. Give the scenario, event, conclusion, what you learned from it and how you will prevent future problems, then STOP. You must stop talking to move beyond this question to other areas where you can score points and get the job.
If you have problems in your background, get practice before the interview. Coaching really works. We cannot change your life, but we can change the way you present yourself and help you get the job!
PRESIDENT'S
