Originally Posted by
BarbaPapa
FYI and what my experience was going for an interview at NA.
I saw an ad about the company and decided to give it a try thinking that my experience with turboprop could get me an interview. It worked and a Pilot recruiter decided to call me. It was a simple phone interview and a very pleasant conversation. I remember him asking me if I was a pragmatic person and I answered Yes. I like to be straight to the point.
Two weeks later I received an invitation to fly to headquarters in MS. They would cover the expenses and it was a no brainer to go and do the best I could. By the way, my tickets, and hotel expenses were paid.
Then it came the research part and I became aware of what a couple of people have been talking about. First of all, NA is a very small company, they have 5 planes, but in their mindset act as if they were a 50 plane company. If you look at youtube they have flown high profile passengers and think a lot about themselves because of that. Beautiful office to attract their clients, saw some visitors on the interview day.
What I started feeling was that the company was not an end goal for my career and that if I could get the position it would be like anybody that has been there, just to build time. Let me share how the interview went.
I got there at 9:00am and went upstairs to the office. Was greeted by my recruiter that did not fully introduce himself to say who he was. We went to the conference room where two other people were there, a lady from HR, and the hardcore upper manager guy that also never introduced himself. Why am I making a point about introductions? I think it’s the polite thing to do. Has anybody been in an interview where they make you feel comfortable and not the other way around? I felt uncomfortable and I didn’t do well on the technical portion but my vent-out is more to agree on the comments on the forum about the company and more specific the hardcore manager.
I strongly believe the harsh comments about him to be correct and the way he presented himself and never made me feel at ease reflects what you can expect from his management style. Tell me what you know about our company, tell why I should take a chance to spend money on your training. Oh, I saw that you have visited airline pilot forums, what did you see about us? I saw that maybe the main reason why pilots are leaving the company is because of you, but I kept myself quiet. I am sure he already saw I was not a good candidate.
I will tell you what I did that I don’t regret. I asked for the job because I have good customer service skills and I am a pleasant and committed person to work with. No, this is not going to get you the job, at least it didn’t work for me.
Final comment. Even Though I failed the interview I really didn't feel at ease, comfortable, or welcome. The hardcore manager would not be a pleasant person to work with. I know. Wait until you get the other nasty one in other operations.
PS. I really wonder why they called me. It was on my resume I had no jet time. Maybe this hardcore guy is not a pilot and doesn’t do preflight planning. If the main problem was my lack of jet time, why bother to fly me there? He’d better not be the chief pilot.
Sounds like they didn't want you, and you are coming up with reasons why you didn't want them. Win win situation, right?