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Dear Captain,
I have just attended the cadet pilot interview today. It was conducted by Singapore Airlines and I have some questions for you. I hope you can give me some advice.
1. During the interview, I have answered many 'I do not know'. How will these affect the chances of me being selected? The question I answered in the negative are:
i. During your last flight as a passenger (to Singapore), what was the speed of the aircraft and what was the height?
ii. Which type of fleet our airline has recently bought?
iii. What is the speed of a jet?
2. Am I expected to know all these before the interview? Is it necessary for me to know them? Or, are they just provoking me?
3. I was being interviewed for only about 10 minutes. Was it because I have answered so many 'I don't know'?
4. During the interview, I remained calm. I just answered 'I don't know' when I was asked questions that I did not have any clues. I remembered you told us to tell them honestly 'I don't know' when you really don't know the answers. So, did I do the right thing?
5. I know there are 5 stages to go through before being accepted as a cadet pilot. Can I know whether they would reject the candidates after that particular unsuccessful stage or would they continue to evaluate a person until the full process - that is the interview, psychomotor test, psychometric test, medical test and finally, the Tea Party?
Actually, I have done some preparation before the interview, especially the 16 questions in your web site. I have all the answers for those questions but only 2 were being asked by them. I didn't expect I would be asked the questions about the aircraft because these are the things that I need to learn after I have being selected as a cadet pilot.
I hope to hear from you soon as I am really worried about my performance.
Regards,
Ken
Hi Ken,
Competition to get into the SIA is very stiff. If you 'do not know' many of the questions related to aviation or the company, it indicates your lack of interest in the career that you are pursuing. Yes, some questions are provocative. Although they do not expect you to know everything, you should be able to answer well in other questions. You have to be honest to admit that you cannot answer a few questions but you are not going to impress the interviewers with too many "I don't know".
Candidates who are not successful in the first interview would be notified officially by mail. The rest of the hurdles or stages have to be passed before you proceed to the Tea Party.
The few questions I listed in my site are just samples. There are a few hundred likely questions. Performing well in an interview is like everything else in life. You have to practice a lot. The more coveted the position, the harder you have to practice to impress the interviewers. The airline has only that much time to determine if you are likely to be a good pilot employee. They have hundred of aspiring pilots waiting to be interviewed. If you can't impress them in the first 10 minutes, it is likely that an unfavorable judgment may have been made. So the importance of good preparation cannot be overemphasized.
How? Study as much as you can, not just the few samples questions. Ask as many questions as you can from everyone you know. Do detailed research from web sites, books, magazines and other sources. It is also absolutely critical that you know the airline very well. You should also do a thorough research of the company prior to the interview. The company web site generally provides some vital information about the airline. You can never know too much when it comes to something so competitive.
Having acquired all the knowledge, practice doing an interview with an objective person. Practice answering questions very well. Use mnemonics or any tricks you might have to make sure you can memorize the important facts - especially those very common questions like "Why do you want to be a pilot? Tell us about yourself, etc." You will probably be asked if you have any questions at the end of the interview. Have one or two simple ones ready. Do not be too detailed lest you annoyed them.
Now, review through whether you have done some of what I have mentioned above.
I wish you all the best.
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Female Pilots 
