Competency-Based Pilot Interviews

A competency-based interview (CBI) is the structured interview that many airlines now use to judge how a pilot behaves rather than what he or she knows. Each question aims at one of the competencies the airline needs, such as communication, leadership and teamwork or decision making, and asks for evidence from a real past event: "tell me about a time when...". The answers are scored against descriptions of effective and ineffective behaviour, so that different interviewers hearing the same story should reach similar marks.

The format appears by name in many published selection processes. easyJet's non-technical assessment includes a competency-based interview, Turkish Airlines' screening of experienced pilots includes a competency-based panel interview, flydubai's assessment days include competency-based interviews, and British Airways' first assessment day pairs one with a group exercise. This article covers the interview itself; its place among the other stages is described in airline pilot recruitment and selection.

Why airlines use competency-based interviews

The method rests on a simple idea: the best available evidence of how a pilot will behave on the line is how he or she has behaved before. A hypothetical question ("what would you do if...") invites the textbook answer; a real event, examined in detail, is harder to polish and shows habits, judgement and attitude. Structure also protects the decision from impressions. Human performance texts warn that first impressions are often wrong and yet tend to persist, which is one reason to score an interview question by question against defined behaviours rather than judge a conversation as a whole.

Where an airline also trains and checks its crews against the pilot competencies, the interview looks for the behaviours its instructors will later grade in the simulator (see competency-based training and EBT).

The competencies behind the questions

Frameworks differ in wording, but many build on the competencies of evidence-based training described in ICAO Doc 9995: application of procedures, communication, flight path management, leadership and teamwork, problem solving and decision making, situation awareness and workload management. Flight path management belongs mainly to the simulator; the interview looks for evidence of the others, along with qualities such as self-awareness, resilience and customer focus. Each behavioural question is chosen to draw out one or two of them:

Most of these are the non-technical skills of crew resource management, and the leadership questions draw on the same ideas as flight deck leadership. One story can serve several competencies, but each answer should be steered towards the one being asked about. A question about a conflict with a colleague is about communication and teamwork, not about proving that the colleague was wrong.

Answering with STAR

The standard structure for a behavioural answer is STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result. The situation and the task, the candidate's own role or problem, take a sentence or two each; the action, told step by step in the first person, is the longest part; the result gives the outcome and what the candidate now does differently. A short example shows the proportions. Situation: a first officer on a turboprop, third sector of a long day, cleared to cross a fix at 11,000 ft. Task: setting the altitude while handling a frequency change. Action: set 10,000 ft by mistake; the altitude alert sounded passing 10,600 ft; called it at once, levelled off, told ATC and corrected to 11,000 ft, then filed a safety report the same day. Result: no conflict with other traffic, and a lasting change of habit: never setting an altitude while transmitting, reading the value back from the window, and briefing that practice at the start of each trip.

View full schematic

Panels score honesty, ownership and the lesson, not the size of the event. They also probe: what exactly was said, what the other pilot did, what the candidate would do differently now. A true story survives that questioning; an invented or borrowed one rarely does. Using "I" for the candidate's own actions and "we" only for what the crew did together keeps the evidence clear.

Choosing and preparing examples

Candidates are generally advised to prepare eight to ten true stories that between them cover the common themes: a mistake, a disagreement with a captain or supervisor, a conflict with a colleague, a decision under pressure, an unsafe act seen and stopped, leadership, a failure, criticism received, a difficult customer and teamwork towards a goal. Good examples are:

• Real and recent, so that follow-up questions can be answered in detail;
• Owned: the candidate's part is central, and nobody else is blamed;
• Safe to tell: a mistake that mattered but was not a casual violation, with a clear lesson;
• Varied: from flying where possible, but also from instructing, study, work or volunteering. Leadership does not need a title, and a cadet's best example may come from a part-time job or a university team.

Anything in the candidate's records, such as a failed check, an accident or a dismissal, deserves a prepared story of its own: what happened, the cause and what changed afterwards. A simple grid helps: themes down the side, stories across the top, and a mark wherever a story fits, so that gaps show before the interview rather than during it. The stories should then be rehearsed aloud until each comes out in order without notes.

Technical interview questions

The technical interview checks knowledge, and it is often held on the same day as the competency interview or combined with it. Ryanair's assessment day includes a technical interview alongside the HR interview, and its cadets sit a 30-minute technical assessment on current or previous types; TAP's last pilot competition set a written aeronautical assessment with a 75% pass mark, and Finnair sets an ATPL technical test. The subjects, from the systems of the type flown to ATPL theory asked as open questions, are outlined in airline pilot recruitment and selection.

The question type that comes closest to a competency question is the operational scenario, such as "an engine fails at V1 minus 5 kt" or "cabin smoke is reported at FL 370", in which the candidate talks through actions, priorities and communication. Such answers gain from a visible structure: aviate, navigate, communicate for the first moments, then a decision model such as DODAR (diagnose, options, decide, assign, review) or FORDEC once the aircraft is safe (see aeronautical decision making). A question that cannot be answered is best admitted at once, with what is known and where the answer would be found: panels generally score honesty first, then reasoning, then raw knowledge.

Motivation and company questions

Motivation questions test whether the candidate has chosen this airline deliberately and intends to stay. The common ones:

• "Tell me about yourself." About 90 seconds, told as a story with a direction: the start and why aviation, the key steps, the present role with the numbers that matter, and why the candidate is in this room. It ends on the airline, not on the candidate.
• "Why this airline?" Three specific reasons true for both sides, such as the fleet and network, the training reputation or the culture current pilots describe. Not led by pay, and never a criticism of the present employer.
• "What do you know about us?" Fleet types and numbers, bases, history, recent news, partners and safety programmes.
• "Where do you see yourself in five years?" Growth within the company: command, a training or a safety role.
• "Why are you leaving?" Growth and fit, never complaint.
• "What questions do you have for us?" Two or three prepared questions about training, support for new pilots or the operation, not about leave or pay.

What is said must match the written record, since panels compare the answers with the CV, the application form and the logbook (see pilot CV and application).

Panel format and follow-up questions

A panel interview is conducted by two or more people, usually a recruiter and one or more line or management pilots, sometimes with a psychologist. Published examples include Norwegian's 2:1 interview, Pegasus's board interview with HR and two captains, Thai Airways' interview with senior pilots and HR, and Virgin Australia's with management pilots and recruitment. TAP's last pilot competition ended with an interview by a selection jury of the flight operations director, the training director, the chief pilot and the HR director, which made the final decision; KLM's last interview, before security and medical checks, is with its hiring committee. A psychologist interviews candidates in KLM Flight Academy's cadet selection, and Edelweiss's assessment day includes psychological interviews.

Early rounds are often remote. Emirates opens with a short video interview and a live digital panel interview, and flydubai and Delta also use video interviews.

In a panel one member may lead a question while another listens for detail and returns with follow-ups. The answer goes mainly to the person who asked, with a glance at the others; it stays concise; and a question that was not understood is asked again rather than answered as a different one. Nothing is off the record: airlines may ask the receptionist or the driver how a candidate behaved.

Common mistakes

The mistakes recruiters cite, and a few that follow from the method, are:

• Lack of preparation: not knowing the airline, basic regulations or instrument procedures.
• Hypothetical answers to behavioural questions ("I would...") instead of a real event.
• Rambling: no structure, too long, or not answering the question asked.
• Blame: stories in which others are at fault, or criticism of a former employer.
• Arrogance or defensiveness, especially under a follow-up challenge.
• Inconsistency with the application, logbook or records, and problems such as a failed check or a driving offence that the candidate did not raise first.
• Clichés, such as perfectionism offered as a weakness. A real weakness that is not a safety flaw, with what is being done about it, is the better answer.
• Discourtesy to anyone met during the day.

The remedy is the same in every case: prepare the technical basics, prepare and rehearse eight to ten true STAR stories, and keep every answer consistent with the written record.

Library articles are written for study and exam preparation. They do not replace your aircraft's approved documentation, your operator's procedures or the regulations themselves.