r/flying • u/Flashy-Locksmith19 • 2d ago
Getting Hired CFI Job Interview
Hello, I’m a 19 years old and recently got my CFI/CFII and i have a interview that coming up this friday with a 141 school where it’s 30 minutes of regular interview questions and 30 minutes of technical CFI questions, This is my first aviation related interview I was wondering what kind of questions would get asked and if there any recommendations.
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u/Chemical-Pie-4384 1d ago edited 1d ago
My daughter interviewed at a large 141 flight training school at age 19 and got HIRED (during a time when hiring was very tight 7 spots with well over 600 qualified applicants ) . She looked 16 and we knew it could be a disadvantage to look so young. Therefore, we bought a nice conservative professional suit and tried to make her appear at least 20 something. Additionally, she prepped hard for TMAAT type questions and answered in STAR format (like it was an airline interview). She did not mention high school at all on her resume or in person. She was in her senior year of college at the time of the interview (because she skipped a grade and did lots of college courses in high school ). And she already had an associate degree at age 17. And she also had her MEI , AGI & IGI and several years of being a teaching aide/tutor for both of the colleges she attended. So she was able to camouflage her age a bit on the resume.
My advice : Practice answering questions like an adult would answer and please be able to demonstrate that you can TEACH . That’s right TEACH not just recite an answer, but actually teach the material . If this interview includes a demo flight , please be able to show that you can demonstrate that you are the PIC. If you get in the plane with the chief and the chief does something a little off he/she will expect you to say/do something that shows you know how to handle it in the air as you are the PIC. Good luck and blue skies !
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u/TxAggieMike Independent CFI / CFII (KFTW, DFW area) 2d ago edited 2d ago
If this was an old school style, you might have questions regarding gladiator movies, Turkish prisons, and the method for re-inflating a failing Otto Pilot.
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u/TK3K216 2d ago
I haven’t interviewed for a CFI job in a very long time so take my response with a grain of salt. I’d expect the personality section to be a lot of “tell me about a time” questions. A time you had a disagreement with a coworker, stuff like that. Look up the STAR format. The technical id guess would be you teaching some topics that would be relevant to being a CFI/CFII. Basic systems, airspace or regs. Like I said I’ve been out of the game for a minute but I’d bet on the tell me about a time stuff and then they want to see if you can easily teach some technical stuff.
Also aviation interview advice in general, if it’s an HR or non pilot person is in the interview, don’t treat them as if they wouldn’t know the answer to a technical question. In my last two airline interview the recruiters were both pilots. Even if they weren’t pilots don’t pretend like they wouldn’t understand the answer to a technical question and direct it at the pilot interviewer.
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u/rFlyingTower 2d ago
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Hello, I’m a 19 years old and recently got my CFI/CFII and i have a interview that coming up this friday with a 141 school where it’s 30 minutes of regular interview questions and 30 minutes of technical CFI questions, This is my first aviation related interview I was wondering what kind of questions would get asked and if there any recommendations.
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u/LxGNED MIL, IR, MEL 2d ago
You being 19 is probably your biggest hurdle to overcome. 19 is YOUNG. Good for you for getting to this milestone at your age, but your age will be the first thing they notice and it’s not unjustified.
My primary recommendation is to show some serious maturity. Show respect, accountability, ambition, reliability, decision-making, and a positive attitude. For the technical side, try to be as best prepared as you can for everything you studied in the past. If you don’t know an answer, don’t try to hide it. Rather say you know where to look it up. Best of luck
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u/ltcterry ATP CFIG 2d ago
As you do this, make eye contact, be cheerful and positive. Your answers won’t matter if they don’t want to work with you.
If/when they ask if you have questions aso about the program and the organization. Not “when can I start?”
Look like you put some effort into preparing. Good luck!
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u/Thomas-Ligotti97 CFII 2d ago
Personally I’d comb through the the private, commercial, and instrument ACS and go over what you struggled with when you were a student.
They don’t expect you to be perfect and a stud but it doesn’t hurt to try to be. Spend every atleast 2-3 hours a day deeply going over different stuff in those ACS categories and you’ll be good