I recently was sent home after failing a systems test for a 121 carrier. I was told it would also be shown on my pria paperwork. I do have previous 121 experience and am curious how this will hurt my future in getting my next 121 job. I have only worked for a regional as an fo on the saab 340 and have about 1000hrs in the saab and 2300 total. Am I going to be looked down upon because of this failure or should it be possible to overcome and get with another regional?

 

As always depending on how you explain the situation and who you are talking to there is always hope. If you can find a way to explain the situation in a proffessional manner and spin it into the greatest learning experience in the history of aviation AND the company is short on FOs and needs your experience than you should be all set.

Why this is very bad:
Airlines look at this as they rightly should as lack of initiative and discipline which are major red flags. You, knowing that you had this systems test coming up should have had the initiative and discipline to be the most overly prepared in the entire class. You need to walk into any training oppurtunity so prepared that they could throw any question in the history of the airplane at you and you will know it. Until you start preparing for the worst, you have to settle and accept for the worst when it happens.

I approach every training event as it is my last and with the mentality that failure is not an option and I WILL be number one in my class. Am i always number one? NO, but I have never been in the lower half in danger of failure.

 

I agree with the above statement. You will need to find a way to spin this off as a learning experience. Make sure to take full responsibility for it if even if you think otherwise. The hard part will be when you are trying to get another interview and they ask this question on the application. In this case you will need something extra i.e. a good recomendation from someone on the inside willing to go to bat for you. All is not lost though, there are ways around this.

 

Not in the slightest. If I had a nickel for every person who failed training and then went on to a successful career, I would be a rich woman!

The other guys are right in you need to thoroughly explain what happened and what you learned. However, I disagree with the "spin" recommendation. "No Spin Zone" is what I call it. Meaning, when people are concerned about "spinning" a situation they often become too focused on that spin and forget to tell a succinct, thorough explanation of the facts.

You are not alone in your circumstance, there have been many more before you and will be many after. But when you are interviewing for your next job focus on telling them completely what happened and of course that you learned from the experience. Why? Glad you asked! Because the interviewers want to know they aren't going to waste their training dollars on you for repeating the same mistakes.

Hope that helps! Good luck!!

 

Thanks for the help!