Flight School Assessment Process✈︎
The assessment process into Flight Schools can be daunting. This is a common topic I get asked about and would love to share some tips/advice with you :)
Flight school assessments aim to filter out those unmotivated and to select those who can prove they are willing and capable of completing the training. It will show you your strengths and weaknesses as well as test you to see if you're making the right decision and ready to embark on the long, tough journey to the cockpit!
You've applied for an assessment day and you're wondering what to do next?
Most schools will issue you with a pack to prepare and a schedule of how they run their day/'s. The usual set-up is several online aptitude tests looking at your multitasking, reactions, problem-solving, memory, maths skills and more, then you'll join a group interview with prepared tasks for the subject matter then progress onto a 1-1 interview. The day then ends with a debrief and results. Hopefully the results you want if you've prepared well!
Testing your aptitude. There are many online aptitude sites to which you can sign up and pay a small fee to test your skills. One I used was https://www.jobtestprep.co.uk/cut-e-pilot-test. This pack also includes interview preparation which I found very useful! It's a good idea to test yourself on these sites so you can see any weaknesses and work on them up until your assessment day. Practise, practise, practise it's what you'll forever hear through your aviation career and will make you a better pilot and that starts now!
The group interview can be nerve-wracking if it's not something you've done before. It was the first time I'd done something like that and I told myself to enjoy it...and I did! Something I got credited for in my feedback so heads up on that ;). The tasks will vary but the main principle stays the same, it's how you work in a team and how you bring that team along with you to the final conclusion to the task. A few tips I'd say...
✈︎ Speak up. Show confidence but WITHOUT speaking over anyone. Make valid points and participate well but please make sure not to step over anyone else.
✈︎ Timekeeping. This one you'd like to think is an obvious one, but even though our ground school group assessments (oh yes you'll be doing plenty more of these) people would forget! You'll have assigned time limits announced at the start by the interviewer's so please keep an eye on this, it's very important and will score you some good points! Our careers will be very strict on time so get used to it! :)
✈︎ Include others. Some people in the group may be a little timid, include them, mention their name and ask what they think or if they'd like to add anything. If you can get others to speak up and improve their confidence then that's a great life skill and shows great leadership.
✈︎ Lead the discussion to a conclusion. If you're able to draw the topic to a conclusion within the allocated time then that's exactly what the interviewers are hoping for. Even if it means adapting/working with your role to accommodate a more likely solution to the problem then do it. Work a solution that can perhaps work in some way for all roles.
✈︎ Teamwork. The main point of the exercise is to see how you work with others. Compliment others ideas, build upon them, say what you do or don't agree with (within a polite way) and propose a solution. Have fun, enjoy the task and work WITH the other participants, try not to see yourself as being better than all the others, rather lead by example.
1-1 interview time! This is an exciting time to showcase yourself, show your passion for aviation, what skills you have and what you're aiming for. Good knowledge of aviation is crucial, know your main airliner aircraft types, the future of aviation, fuel concepts being tested, sustainability of the industry and really any knowledge that a passionate pilot aiming for captain would know. Also knowing as much information on the course you're applying for, how it works, why you've chosen this route and why this school. The interview is to test your knowledge, skills and drive for the career. So show it!
I won't go into all the interview techniques in this post as I feel there are loads I could mention. Perhaps let me know if you'd like me to do a separate blog on that? You will however find helpful information on the site I linked earlier or any similar ones! Please feel free to fire away any questions in the comments or message me, I don't mind testing you! :)
My final advice to you is to be as well prepared as you can! Dress smart, set up a quiet workspace with good wifi and ideally a fast laptop with a mouse not just a trackpad! I spent over a month preparing and I could have still done more. It may sound dramatic but if it's the difference of you not passing/scraping it to passing with flying colours then do it! It's the attitude you will need to adopt as soon as you start school so start it now.
Good luck, you've got this!💪🏼
Ashleigh x
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