Well everybody, the day has finally arrived that I can say that I am officially a SkyWest pilot! The interview yesterday couldn't have gone much better. . .but talk about a long day.
Three of us from UVSC were interviewing, so we car-pooled up there at 6:00 am just to be sure not to be late for the 8:00 am interview. It only took us about 45 minutes to get to the SkyWest hangar, so we had about an hour to do some last minute cramming. The SkyWest interview process is known to be one of the most grueling interviews out of almost any other airline. To put it into perspective, the JetBlue interview process is pretty much a BBQ in a park where they evaluate if they would be able to stand flying with you. That would be nice.
Anyhow, the SkyWest interview has four parts:
1. A Simulator session to evaluate your instrument flying skills. I was the first one to do the sim. They had me fly to Ontario California and do an instrument approach. I wasn't perfect, but I was able to do a lot of preparation prior, so I felt content with my performance. The interviewer seemed to be pleased with my flying. . .I think.
2. A technical oral exam where they ask you anything from thunderstorms, to the systems of the aircraft you are currently flying, to navigation charts etc. They can pretty much ask you ANYTHING during this portion of the interview, so you better know your stuff! I have been studying for this part of the interview intensely for months, so I felt prepared. But they dig and dig until they hit your knowledge limit. So there were a couple of questions he threw out that I didn't know. But all and all it seemed to go well.
3. An HR portion, where they ask you questions like, "What are your worst attributes?", or "Tell me about your favorite flight." This portion of the interview is probably the most important part because they really see if you are the right fit for the company, and if they would like to fly with you. Being cooped up in the cockpit with a complete jerk for three days straight would not be the most fun thing in the world. So they have to like you.
4. The last portion is what they call a Crew Resource Management scenario. They put you in a simulator-type cockpit with another applicant and give you seven minutes to work your way through some problem they give you. The one I got was that there was somebody who had been in the lavatory for a while who refused to get out. Strange, but not much to worry about right? Well, the next curve ball they threw in was that our dispatch called us up and alerted us that there was a possible terrorist plot involving two passengers on our aircraft.
Anyhow, they don't care if you resolve the problem or not, they just want to see how you work your way through it, using all resources available. That seven minutes goes by pretty quick!
Anyhow, there were six applicants altogether. Two of them seemed to have a hard time with the simulator. One of which is already an airline pilot at another regional airline. I don't think he is going to get the job, because he had a pretty bad attitude. He didn't come all that prepared either. He seemed surprised at some of the basic questions they asked him. I don't know why people come to these interviews unprepared. Waist of time if you ask me.
The interview went until about 5:30 before we were all finished. The two that had a hard time with the simulator were told that they would be getting a letter letting them know if they had gotten the job or not. After they left, they told the remaining four of us that they wanted us to come to the November 19th CRJ class, which means that we were HIRED THERE ON THE SPOT! The CRJ is a jet like the one here. . .
I'm happy that all three of us from UVSC got hired, or it would have made for a pretty crappy ride home if one or two of us didn't get hired. I can't believe that it's finally here! I have been looking forward to this day for ever it seems. So maybe the next time you fly SkyWest, I will be at the controls in my awesome pilot's hat.When I got home, Julie, Brooklyn, Mom and Dad were waiting for me with balloons, flowers, signs, and all sorts of nifty celebratory paraphernalia. That's right, I said nifty celebratory paraphernalia. Here are some pictures of the celebrations.
Anyhow, thank you all for all the help and support you've given. You know who you are. And Kyle, they told me the only reason they hired me was because my suit was so sweet. We'll keep you all posted on what goes on from here. The next 8 weeks are going to be crazy. They do all their training in 6 weeks, so as you can imagine, it's going to be pretty intense. I'm going to be living in SLC literally during training.
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah baby!!!!!!!
