Final interview answers Flashcards
Tell me about yourself.
Thank you for inviting me here today, I really appreciate this opportunity and the confidence you have in me. (SMILE!).
My name is Jack Ryan, 20 years old, when I’m home, I live in Solihull with my Mom and Dad, where my Mom is a CRM expert in a global aerospace sales company, and my Dad works as a software engineer, focusing on safety-critical aerospace environments. In terms of my educational background, I achieved 11 GCSEs, 4 A-Levels and am currently studying Aerospace Engineering at The University of Sheffield.
I first got into flying when I was a kid. My Dad’s also interested in flying, and together we would watch flightdeck documentaries, we’d attend airshows, and travel on the occasional family holiday with my Mom, and actually I attribute some of the passion I have for becoming an Airline Pilot to these holiday flights.
With this initial interest that was sparked in me, aged 10 years old, I became involved with Coventry Aero Club, where my Dad had started PPL lessons and every weekend, I’d sit in the back of my Dad’s lessons, like a sponge, absorbing as much information as possible. His flying instructor was incredible and she never failed to capture the magic of flying. She also became my flying instructor, too, when I started PPL lessons. (SMILE, SMILE, SMILE!).
Fast forward to now, where I’m a student; my Uni course involves great opportunities to work with like-minded individuals in lots of group projects, which I really enjoy. So far, I’ve definitely developed an appreciation of effective time management, as my course can be rather intense! (SMILING!).
I’ve also gained work experience, including a summer internship at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions (explain company), where I effectively integrated into an established team, and implemented a plan to improve the efficiency of the company’s network drive layout, by collaborating with this team. Furthermore, I was invited back to my old school to complete a teaching internship, where I managed the classroom environment effectively to ensure that lessons were engaging and informative, and my experience at McDonald’s gave me a fantastic platform to demonstrate my customer service skills- no two shifts were ever the same, so I was also able to continuously improve these skills throughout my employment here.
In my free time I play the drums, and enjoy team sports like football and tennis (where I enjoy the competitive, physical nature, but also the mental side of the game). I’m also always eager to continue my flying training too; I achieved the rare goal of going solo on my 16th birthday, and have since persevered through COVID, managing my first solo navex last year as a result of my dedication and commitment to my future career as a TUI Pilot.
I’m also a huge Formula 1 fan, and am very excited to see what McLaren can achieve this year. (SMILEEE!).
(Tell me about yourself) Follow up question: What skills can you bring to the Airline? (Relate to flight deck).
Teamwork: football and drumming.
Workload management and communication: McDonald’s.
Communication: Uni & EYH example.
There are various skills that pilots require, for example teamwork, communication, workload management, and customer service, and I believe that I can bring all of these with me at TUI. (SMILEEE!)
I’ve utilised teamwork skills both when drumming and playing team sports; both involve performing your specific role within a team, as you strive to achieve a common goal. The flight deck environment is naturally a team-driven atmosphere, where both pilots have set roles, and where collaborating is essential to reach the common goal of safely and efficiently transporting passenger from their origins to destinations. (SMILE).
Workload management and customer service were paramount in my employment at McDonald’s where I’d often be taking orders, putting them through on the system, and then making them. Exceeding customer expectations was always the priority for me, (SMILEE!) and there were times that I’d have to ask a colleague to cover me whilst I catered to any employee enquiries. Similarly, recognising high workload situations are important on the flight deck, and asking for help or clarification like I did can buy time and reduce workload; vital for safety.
Communication has come into practice many times at University, during various group projects. For example, there was a time where a my group was tasked with deciding on an aircraft fleet that could be converted to electric, for a presentation. My group were struggling to come to a decision, (SMILE!) but by using my strong aviation-related knowledge, I was able to find an appropriate example and clearly and concisely communicate to them why I thought this would be a good idea, namely by bringing the group’s attention back to the project brief, and using factual information to demonstrate some advantages of using this particular fleet, linking to the information we’d been given. They ultimately agreed and we ended up winning “best presentation”. (SMILE!!!) With reference to the flight deck once more, these communication skills of mine would be valuable in concisely relaying critical information, establishing facts, and avoiding misunderstandings, for example, which are important in maintaining safety. (SMILE).
Why do you want to be a pilot and in particular a TUI pilot?
I want to be a pilot because it’s a very dynamic and varied career, that combines numerous interests of mine. (SMILE!)
There’s obviously the flying aspect, which from my PPL experience so far is something I find extremely rewarding, (SMILE) I really enjoy having the responsibility of being in full control of the aircraft, (SMILE!) getting it to do exactly what you want it to do, (SMIIIILELELELE!) whilst operating efficiently and safely, and coming back to base after managing these factors is something I find so enriching; I immediately want to go up and do it again every time I land. (SHMILE!)
I’m also really enthusiastic about having the responsibility of passengers too. There was one time in particular, (SMIELE!) when I was passenger as a young kid on a flight to Knock in Ireland to visit family, and we landed in next to 0 visibility, and I was astounded at how the pilots managed this. (WOW! SMILE!) It dawned on me how skilled and professional Airline Pilots are, and naturally I wanted to be like them, they seemed liked superheroes. I can’t begin to imagine how rewarding it must be for you to manage so many factors and be rewarded with the result of a safe and efficient flight, and satisfied customers. (SMILE). I know that a career that gives this feeling day in, day out, is the one for me. (SMILE!).
You also never stop learning as a pilot, with sim renewals, new company procedures, etc. I’m big on continuous improvement, and have a real passion for learning, which I’ve developed throughout my educational career, setting and achieving a high standard of grades, so a career built around constant learning is one that I want to be involved in. I believe that as an Airline Pilot at TUI, I’d experience just this.
The reason why I want to be a TUI pilot specifically is because you’re focused on delivering a great start and end to customer holidays through a unique passenger experience, helping them to live happy. For my D of E, I worked as a volunteer in a charity shop, regularly tasked with opening the store up for customers. I greeted them face to face, asking them how they were, and this contributed to a smooth shopping experience for them. Working for a company that also values these skills is essential for me. I believe that by bringing them with me, I’d be able to play my part in delivering this unique TUI customer experience. (SMILE! HAPPY!).
Secondly, it’s not just the customer-focused approach you take, but also the intense focus on making aviation more sustainable. It’s clear that you’re a future-proof airline, because you’re actively taking action with initiatives like The TUI Care Foundation, having a green fleet, and ambitious targets that are verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative. This fills me with excitement, because the opportunity for a lifelong career with you is made possible, where I could help play my part in creating excellence in leisure experiences over the course of decades, and I really hope that journey can begin in September. (GRINNING!).
What do you know about TUI?
TUI Group is a leading global tourism group that operates worldwide and is headquartered in Germany.
Some key people at your company include Sebastian Ebel (CEO), Mathias Kiep (CFO), Peter Krueger (Chief Strategy Officer), Sybille Reiss (Chief People Officer), David Shelp (CEO of Markets & Airlines function).
Your company is vertically integrated, with shares listed on the FTSE250, an index of the London Stock Exchange, the regulated market of Hanover stock exchange, and the open market segment of the Frankfurt stock exchange, giving a variety of avenues to raise share capital. The share price currently sits around _ , and is trending _ . (If positive, testament to your focus on profit growth).
You offer integrated services to 19 million customers, from hotels to cruises to flights, 5 multinational airlines.
These airlines are TUI Airways, based in the UK with 19 base airports; TUI fly Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, and Nordics. You have a fleet of 737NGs, 737MAXs, 787s, and Embraer in Belgium, with orders for more MAX8s, and the MAX10. This totals to over 130 aircraft, and TUI are the only European leisure airline to operate the 787, giving you a big competitive advantage in the market.
Current goals that you have set include digitalisation, and taking action to improve sustainability in the industry. This sustainability agenda has been validated by the SBTI, displaying your commitment to achieving these big goals; very encouraging to see.
You operate with the vision statement: Excellence in Leisure Experience, and aim to achieve this through your values, which involve showcasing your trusted, unique, and inspiring service. To me this is all about going the extra mile in customer service, showing to customers why TUI is the right airline to book their next trip with, and is related to your…
…current strategy, which is to focus on profitable growth. To achieve this, you place value on 5 key areas: central customer ecosystem, holiday experiences, markets & airlines, people, and sustainability. This resonates with me because focusing on profitable growth shows that TUI isn’t just looking at the future, but actively expanding into it. As a future asset to the company, this is motivating as it demonstrates how I’ll fit into the bigger picture at your airline, and what my role outside of the day job of flying will entail.
Workload management competency.
During my winter exam period at University, I was timetabled 6 exams, which was already unprecedented, however, the final 3 exams were scheduled across 3 days, which was extremely intense. During this time, I was also in the middle of my preparation for this incredible opportunity at TUI, as I knew applications were opening in January, and just to add the cherry on top, my Uni additionally schedule the Global Engineering Challenge in this exam period, which is a week-long activity involving working in a group of interdisciplinary engineers to manufacture a solution to a given real-world engineering problem.
It was immediately apparent to me that I now had a huge amount of work to complete, in a limited timeframe, and I had to ensure that I passed all of my exams, along with the Global Engineering Challenge. I also wanted to be as prepared as possible for the MPL’s application process too.
I had already anticipated that the high workload was about to ensue, and immediately went about creating a plan to guide me towards my goals. This involved splitting tasks into smaller ones, for example, if I wanted to revise for my exams, I’d break down work into individual modules and use my exam timetable to set achievable deadlines. I also had to make short-term sacrifices in order to fully on these three goals, for example going to the gym and playing sport was put on hold for a short time. My thought process here was that this would leave me with free time, where I was dedicated to TUI preparation, and my group project.
By managing my time in this way, what I found was that I was constantly aware of what tasks were complete, and what still had to be done. What I learned was that by keeping track of time, decomposing tasks, and making short-term sacrifices, time can be made, and workload can be reduced, ensuring tasks are completed.
As a result, I’m pleased to say that I passed all my exams, along with GEC, where I was actually awarded “best presentation” by the board of experts that validate everyone’s solution. I also managed to end up well prepared for the MPL, and am honoured to be here today, and I’d love for this to be just the very start of my journey at TUI.
Conflict / problem solving / decision making competencies.
A recent group project at University involved collaborating with my course mates to design a drone. We were split into groups and all assigned roles within the groups by a lecturer, and alongside one of my team members, I was responsible for coming up with a design philosophy, taking into account a project brief we had.
Straight away, I arranged a meeting with my design partner, so we could discuss ideas. He came to this meeting with the idea of a large, heavy design, with the justification that it would be extremely stable and easy to fly, however, the project brief had outlined that the drone had to operate in an enclosed environment, with tight spaces, so I wasn’t too sure that a large drone was the best bet.
In order to score highly and meet the design criteria, I wanted to alert my team member to the potential issues that his design may cause, whilst maintaining a positive and respectful working environment. To achieve this, I asked whether he wanted to go over the brief once more, to ensure we were seeing eye-to-eye. However, he was convinced that his idea had no downsides and actually said that going over the brief would be a waste of time.
It became clear to me that our priorities weren’t aligned, so I explained to him that although I thought a key advantage of his idea was good stability, I wasn’t convinced that it would perform highly in the confined spaces due to its size.
I then brought up the project brief on my laptop, and elaborated how meeting this was important for both us, and the rest of our group, because it contributed to our final grade.
To try and persuade him, I suggested a compromise, where we could go for a middle ground design, reducing the size, but also ensuring that stability isn’t compromised too much. Luckily, this calm, logical reasoning was enough to positively influence my design partner, and he agreed that this was a valid suggestion, and accepted (much to my relief!).
My teammate actually later admitted that he hadn’t considered some of the finer details of the brief, and said that it was a good idea to double check.
So we reached a compromise that we were both happy with, and throughout the rest of the project, the working environment was always civil.
If I was to change anything, I probably would’ve suggested reading the brief as a whole team, before the meeting, when we first were split into groups, but I did learn that by valuing others’ opinions and offering alternatives, it’s possible to positively influence team members and maintain good relations when conflict arises.
Leadership / teamwork competencies.
There was a football tournament that I was involved with a couple of years ago, which was only a day long, and I was selected to be captain for my team throughout it. We started really well with some good results, and progressed to the semi-final. However, as soon as the semi-final match started, my team was more lethargic, and not really acting as a cohesive unit like we were in previous matches. The opposition scored a couple of goals in the first half, and it was clear to me that I had to try and regain momentum, as I was extremely motivated to play my part in getting the team to the final.
At half-time, in an attempt to improve performance and turn the game around, I called my team mates over so that we could establish what was going wrong, and how we could rectify it, ensuring everyone was on the same page. To accomplish this, I needed everyone’s honest opinion, so creating an open environment where everyone felt their thoughts were relevant, was crucial. I started with the goalkeeper, where I said something along the lines of “Oliver, you’ve made some exceptional saves to help us limit the damage, what more do you need from the defenders?”. I then asked the defenders a similar question with regard to the midfield, which I was a part of, the other midfielders what they needed from the forwards, and then the forwards how they could be supported by the midfielders, obviously from an attacking point of view.
What I found by taking this approach was that by implementing open questions and using people’s names I was getting real answers, and by throwing in what I thought everyone had excelled at, it meant that not only would the team continue demonstrating the positives, because there were definitely some, but I saw that when the inevitable criticism came, it was taken constructively.
When the game restarted, my team was alive, and motivated to win. Everyone was on the same page and felt heard. We quickly scored, which further boosted morale, and later equalised.
Now, very sadly, we did end up losing on penalties, but importantly, what I learned was that by creating open conversations and always making criticism constructive, it becomes possible to change team performance and help lead them towards achieving the common goal.
Professional standards
During a shift at McDonald’s I was responsible for taking orders from the drive-through, putting them through on the system, and then making them.
One of the customers this day requested a very specific item, which was “well-done” bacon.
The machines at McDonald’s are optimised for efficiency, and therefore most of them fit the “one size fits all” philosophy.
As a result, we typically can’t cater to those kinds of specific needs. However, this particular shift was relatively quiet, and because maintaining utmost customer service was always my priority, I wanted to try and meet this unusual customer query.
When it came to making the meal, I left the bacon in for slightly longer than standard, in an attempt to meet the customer needs.
The food was then received, and I continued serving for the rest of the shift.
Now the next day I was working too, and after a couple of hours, I got called into my manager’s office. I was initially unsure as to why this was.
However, to my surprise, what my manager explained to me was that a customer had used the McDonald’s online survey to detail her satisfaction at receiving her meal exactly as requested, which apparently was a rarity, and included my name in the review with praise, which was excellent!
My manager then thanked me and explained how, as a result, she was going to encourage my colleagues to also meet exact customer orders, when workload allowed, in an attempt to drive custom.
So by going above and beyond to deliver an excellent customer service, I was able to positively impact both customer and company, and what I learned was that taking initiative and striving to go the extra mile can go a long way commercially.
The experience was also motivating for me, and I’d like to think that the skills I demonstrated would help me exceed expectation as a TUI pilot, too.
Received negative feedback
There was a time during school where I had spent a lot of time and effort revising for my GCSE mock exams, where my goal was to achieve grade 7 and above in all subjects.
However, when my exam results came around, I was disappointed to see that I hadn’t met the high standard I set myself. This was the negative feedback in this situation.
This was particularly hard to swallow because I felt that what I was getting out in terms of results was less than the effort I was putting in.
Despite this initial setback, I chose to not let it stop me from achieving my aims. I knew that the only way I would improve was by fully understanding where I went wrong and how to avoid this in the future, when completing my real exams that actually counted.
I decided to set out understanding the errors I’d made straight away, and came to the conclusion that creating essentially a catalogue of my weak topics would then allow me to tackle them head-on.
So this is what I did, and by having a list, it allowed me to create a plan, which included a timescale detailing which weaknesses I would revise, and when, in relation to my GCSE exam timetable deadlines.
The longer that I followed this plan, the more confident I was feeling, and quickly, I realised that the mistake I’d made previously was not adapting my revision to address my weak areas; I would repeatedly just try to tackle everything.
By deciding to take action on the negative feedback I’d received, and by prioritising my weak areas in this way, I was able to bring my knowledge of all areas of the curriculum up to the same level, and when I received my real exam results, I am pleased to say that I achieved all grade 7-9.
