Intro- 

    They brought us upstairs and took us into a conference room. Everyone involved in the interview process was very friendly and disarming. They gave a brief intro and overview of Skywest and what their experience has been at the company. They went around the room and had us each introduce ourselves. They then collected the paperwork that the invite e-mail told us to bring.

Written test- 

    The clicker test wasn’t working so they had us do a bubble test. 50 questions with weather, Jepps, aerodynamics, aircraft systems (including jet systems), FARs. As long as you have studied the recommended material then the test shouldn’t be a problem. Typical questions in a 4 answer (A,B,C,D) format. Stuff like “What is the function of packs in the pneumatic system on a jet”? Other questions were more basic, like “You’re in the lateral boundaries of LAX Class B airspace, but under the actual airspace. What is the max airspeed you can fly”?

    They also asked us to draw a turbine engine (Turbo-fan, turbo-jet or turbo-prop) and the electrical system on our most current airplane. They also had what they jokingly referred to as a “bonus question”. They didn’t expect us to know it, but it was up there for fun. It asked what a Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud formation was. They gave us plenty of time to draw in detail, and then used the drawings later in the technical interview. 

CRM Scenario- 

    There were 5 of us interviewing, and they broke us up into two groups. In my scenario they put me in the jumpseat. As said before, they assign the person with least experience as Captain, F/O has next most experience level and so on. They put us in an CRJ mock-up. They had us going into Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and had a white board they laid everything out on. He drew a map of the area with surrounding airports (and the time to those airports),fuel remaining on board, weather, etc. He explained that we were 5 mins out behind a 737 and that he’d play ATC, flight attendant, etc. He gave us 7 minutes for the scenario, and those 7 minutes went very fast.

    He started the clock and told us that the plane in front of us had blown a tire and that clean up would take a while. We diverted to the nearest airport but the weather went down on our way there. In the role of ATC, he kept prompting us to make a decision. The bottom line of this scenario is the same as previous. Use good communication skills, involve everyone in and outside the cockpit, and come up with a plan to solve your problem. Run the plan past your crew and get their input. Depending on what seat you’re in, involve yourself appropriately. As a jumpseater, I interjected thoughts and ideas into the process without making a decision for them, and offered to take care of telling the flight attendant what was going on. 

HR/Technical-

    It was a one-on-one HR and technical interview. He collected my identification and other documents and quickly reviewed them. He asked what got me into aviation and had me give a brief history of my career up to that point. He started with HR questions… here are some of the things he asked…

• Tell me your biggest strength and weakness.
• One of the requirements to get your ATP is to be “of good moral character”. Tell me about a time you demonstrated good moral character.
• If we flew 4 days together, and said our goodbyes, what impression would I have of you? What things would stand out about you?
• Have you ever broken a regulation? Tell me about it. 
• Tell me about the best flight you’ve ever had. 
• Tell me about the worst flight you’ve ever had.
• Skywest will spend tens of thousands of dollars on your training. Why should I trust that you will make it through and complete ground school.

    He then transitioned right into the technical portion of the interview. He referenced my drawings and asked several questions relating to them. I drew a turbofan since that is the engines all the CRJs have. He asked me to explain how it works as if he were an insurance salesman I was sitting next to on an airplane. I explained it and he asked questions like “what happens to air when it is compressed in the compressor section” or “what do you think bleed air is used for in our CRJs”? He tailored the questions to my level of knowledge.

    He referenced my electrical diagram and asked more questions like “What runs off the battery bus” and asked me to explain the basics of the system (battery info, generators, busses, etc.) They will obviously tailor the questions to your experience level and airplane. 

    He then started asking general knowledge questions about topics from the multiple choice test. Some topics we touched on were…

• Jepp Approach Charts (ILS, glideslope intercept, finger fly the approach, etc)
• 91.175 (items you need to descend from DA/MDA)
• alternate mins and filing an alternate
• 3585 exemption 

Debrief- 

    After all was said and done, I sat down with my interviewer and we went over how he thought I did and how I thought I did. It was nice to know how I performed and what some of my weaker areas were. It wasn't an awkward conversation, but actually rather pleasant. At the end they told he told me he thought I did well and that I would hear something from the company via email or phone in 5-10 days. 

Sim-

    I was told that because of my current job, they wouldn’t need to do a sim eval. Two CFI applicants in the group did the sim eval though.

Take-aways-

• They aren’t trying to trick or trap you, so take a deep breath and relax. 
• Have all of your documents, IDs and  paperwork ready and done. There was one person in the interview group who didn’t have two documents that the invitation email specifically said to fill out and bring. The interviewers played it off (they were able to get extra copies) and they were around for the written test and scenario, however they were gone before lunch. I’m not saying that they were rejected for missing paperwork, but I guarantee the interviewers took notice.
• Follow the recommended studying from the invitation email. 
• I read a gouge that said “be checkride ready for your most current complex/twin airplane”. I would say that statement is a little overkill for my particular experience, but not too far off. Look at all the gouges and be very prepared to explain the systems that Skywest has been asking about. 
• One of the interviewers did make a comment about the way I dressed (I wore a Suit, white shirt and tie). He said that sometimes people come in looking “raggy”. He appreciated that I looked sharp and clean shaven. Everyone else in the group dressed well. Don’t be THAT person who comes looking shabby.