Interview Questions – Introduction Flashcards
Why do you want to be a pilot and work for the city?
First of all, I know that I would love the job. I recently rode into LA 149 with a pilot and he said that he could tell that I would do it for the “love of the game.” I am positive that I would be one of those pilots that does not retire early and holds on to the role as long as I can. I initially decided to pursue this career in earnest due to my love of boathandling and being on the water. I love it and I have loved it since I was a child.
But, since making my career in this industry, I have moved back to Southern California and have started a family, so my passion and motivation has shifted to being closer to my family and working to protect my home port.
Now, it may seem cliché to talk about how I love the port of Los Angeles, but I do. I have a house in Wilmington where me and my family lived for 7 years. We often frequent the fish market and Cabrillo Beach. I have friends and family who rely on this port for their livelihood.
I love coming back to LA on my ATB and seeing the weekend cruisers heading to Catalina Island, watching the fishing charter vessels come back from a trip to Farnsworth Bank, hearing my friend Super J on the Jet Cat Express making security calls, hearing my brother on the pilot boat talking to inbound and outbound vessels, and working with my friends who are assist tugs captains and pilots in the port… I love all of it, and I want to protect it and be part of the process of helping the port succeed.
I know I have the skills to protect the waters and the port that I love and I want to put them to use for the City of LA.
How did you get into the Maritime Field?
My family has been boating in these waters my whole life.
I was 3 months old the first time we went to Catalina.
I started boat handling so young that it is not even legal to do so anymore, We were running our own skiffs at 6 years old.
Worked on Catalina as Harbor Patrol for 8 summers between the ages of 18-29.
In the time I spent winters getting the best jobs I could, which were often on the water (including a dive boat captain in the USVI and a ferry captain in New York Harbor).
Decided to go to SUNY Maritime for their Master’s Degree / USCG license combo program.
Graduated with the highest GPA in my graduating class.
After that I was called to work at Crowley.
I chose their ATBs so I could gain a broader experience, and get promoted faster (I started over 10 years later than someone who went directly to a maritime school out of college).
Why would you make a good port pilot?
I am very well rounded and have a good aptitude for all the skills that a port pilot requires.
I am a great communicator, I have experience working with different cultures, I am capable, perceptive, and very smart, I have good judgement that I am not afraid to execute, excellent composure, and have successfully honed and utilized my boat handling skills on a wide array of vessels and in many different situations.
As a captain of an ATB that frequents the port of LA, I understand the weight of the role and responsibilities that a pilot takes, and as someone who grew up in Southern California, who lived here in Wilmington, and who loves the waters, business, and people of this area, I understand the importance of protecting the port, its people, its infrastructure, and its environment.
I have succeeded in almost all aspects of my life and I know that, with my passion for this industry and this port, I would find success as a Los Angeles pilot as well.
What is your greatest accomplishment that you are especially proud of?
I was especially proud of graduating top of my class at SUNY Maritime. Not only did I earn the highest GPA of any student graduating at the time, I earned a Master’s Degree with the designation “with honors” (for 3.75+ GPA in the graduate program), I also got my Unlimited 3rd Mate’s License (top 3 in the cumulative scoring for the 7 tests), as well as a the Person In Charge of Oil Cargo endorsement and a Towing Endorsement – all within 2.5 years. It was proof of my dedication to this industry and gave me the confidence to apply for and succeed in the role of Mate on an ATB (which is arguably one of the hardest paths to take in the industry – hardest cargo and least amount of crew).
What separates you from the other candidates?
I can’t speak to the quality of the other candidates, but I can tell you that I am a serious contender for this position.
I have many skills and accomplishments that I can point to that sets me apart. Some are easier to quantify than others.
-To start, when in High School I tested in the top 0.5% of the country for math. I have an extremely logical way of thinking that allows me to easily break down a complicated process into manageable steps. This helps me logically execute good judgement and keeps me composed in highly stressful situations.
-And its not just aptitude tests that show how I am more fit than my competition: When I went to SUNY Maritime I not only got a Master’s Degree and an Unlimited 3rd Mate’s License, but I was in and out in 2.5 years, and, while at school, earned both a PIC (Person In Charge of Oil Cargo) Endorsement and a Towing Endorsement - most cadets did not even get one of those endorsements. On top of all of those accomplishments, I graduated with a 3.85GPA, which was the highest in my graduating class.
There are other reasons that are harder to quantify:
-I am very well rounded and have a good aptitude for all the skills that a port pilot requires.
I am a great communicator, I have experience working with different cultures, I am capable, perceptive, and very smart, I have good judgement that I am not afraid to execute, excellent composure, and have successfully honed and utilized my boat handling skills on a wide array of vessels and in many different situations.
Working on ATBs has provided me with a great opportunity to sharpen my ship handling skills in a way that most candidates cannot match.
But the MAIN and most important thing that sets me apart from other candidates is how much I love, and how proud I am of the Port of Los Angeles. I grew up here and have always loved these waters, had a boat in LA harbor, own a house and lived in Wilmington for 7 years, actively participated in the community around the port, and I have friends and family that rely on the success and preservation of these waters for their livelihood.
I would be a devoted guardian of the port of LA, and I think that that passion and that drive sets me apart the most.
Describe how your previous work experience and training has prepared you for this job.
I have worked in Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and all across the United States in a variety of roles. This wide array of work experience has given me the opportunity to hone my cultural intelligence, communication ability, capacity to learn, and my leadership style.
In addition, I have extensive experience handling vessels on the water. I’ve been able to partake in a wide variety of boat handling and towing work during my time as harbor patrol on Catalina, lots of open ocean work while driving dive boats in the Caribbean, and I’ve had time in the very busy port of New York harbor as a ferry captain getting used to currents, a high-volume of traffic, and earned the safety-focused mindset that is required for moving large groups of people over challenging waterways.
And finally, the commercial shipping experience I have gained while working on an ATB differentiates me from other mariners. On an ATB, we do the same amount of work as a traditional tanker, but with about 50% less crew, less freeboard and less safety equipment (barge is “conditionally unmanned” so 10% less freeboard and minimal safety equipment is required on deck), more machinery (Intercon pins for connecting the two vessels, emergency tow lines connected and ready at all times), more operating requirements (must maintain certifications and safety equipment for two vessels, must be able to cross the notch at sea, must be able to pin-in and pin-out before and after sailing, must be able to maneuver the vessel without a pilot or tugs while light-ship), and more operating restrictions (maximum sea state levels, cannot ballast or deballast while pinned in and underway, higher fuel burn so less operating range).
As a deck officer, we get to do more boat handling (including light-tug moves out of the notch), more engineering work (there is no dedicated barge engineer, the deck crew is responsible for all cargo equipment maintenance), and had more responsibility earlier in our role as junior mates (we would do the pre-transfer conference, handline anchoring ops, and be in charge of the mooring ops from the very start of our time onboard).
What would you consider as some of your greatest Strengths?
I have a very well-rounded complement of strengths that will help me as a pilot.
I am a great communicator, I have experience working with different cultures, I am capable, perceptive, and very smart, I have good judgement that I am not afraid to execute, excellent composure, and have successfully honed and utilized my boat handling skills on a wide array of vessels and in many different situations.
When in High School I tested in the top 0.5% of the country for math because I have an extremely logical way of thinking that allows me to easily break down a complicated process into manageable steps. This helps me logically execute good judgement, allows me to focus on safety and what is important to the task at hand, and keeps me composed in highly stressful situations.
As noted in my letter of recommendation from my port captain, my initial instinctual decision when faced with an incident is usually noted to be the safest and best solution.
So, with that, I would say that I have the good judgment to make the right call in a stressful, complicated situation – and that is one of my greatest strengths.
What would you consider your biggest weakness?
A weakness I have is that the majority of my large shiphandling experience is on ATBs. The ATB I work on is a powerful twin-screw with excellent directional stability due to its large rudders. I am aware of this issue and have been talking with pilots on my vessel extensively to learn how they deal with vessel differences and poor handling characteristics. I do have a lot of small>boat handling experience on small vessels that are single-screw and have small rudders, so I can comprehend the experiences that they discuss. But, nevertheless, I know that it is something that I may have to focus on when I am a pilot trainee.
Personally, I know that it takes me a long time to prepare for things. I am overly meticulous and like to gather all the information I need before making a decision. When I was at SUNY Maritime, I gathered some very smart friends, and I would probably put in 3x the work that my friends did in order to get marginally better grades. The way I describe it is that I would want to build the pyramid from the base in order to know how high it is, while my friends would just look at the peak.
I say that this is a weakness only because of the amount of time it takes. I put in a lot of effort to start new processes.
In order to get over this issue, I have become very adept at breaking down a process into manageable and describable steps, and I usually will create a spreadsheet to write down those steps and use it as a checklist. This helps me to streamline the preparation process and these spreadsheets and checklists become a great tool for me when I am teaching the tasks to others.
What is your biggest fault both professionally and personally and what steps are you taking to overcome it?
A weakness I have is that the majority of my large shiphandling experience is on ATBs. The ATB I work on is a powerful twin-screw with excellent directional stability due to its large rudders. I am aware of this issue and have been talking with pilots on my vessel extensively to learn how they deal with vessel differences and poor handling characteristics. I do have a lot of small>boat handling experience on small vessels that are single-screw and have small rudders, so I can comprehend the experiences that they discuss. But, nevertheless, I know that it is something that I may have to focus on when I am a pilot trainee.
Personally, I know that it takes me a long time to prepare for things. I am overly meticulous and like to gather all the information I need before making a decision. When I was at SUNY Maritime, I gathered some very smart friends, and I would probably put in 3x the work that my friends did in order to get marginally better grades. The way I describe it is that I would want to build the pyramid from the base in order to know how high it is, while my friends would just look at the peak.
I say that this is a weakness only because of the amount of time it takes. I put in a lot of effort to start new processes.
In order to get over this issue, I have become very adept at breaking down a process into manageable and describable steps, and I usually will create a spreadsheet to write down those steps and use it as a checklist. This helps me to streamline the preparation process and these spreadsheets and checklists become a great tool for me when I am teaching the tasks to others.
How do you handle negative feedback?
I am my own worst critic, so I actively welcome negative feedback.
I actually seek it: I try to come up with questions that will allow those around me to feel comfortable giving me the feedback that will help me get better in the right areas and in the quickest way possible. I will then take notes on what I was told by adding them to the notes I already take, so I can hold onto and reference the feedback for future evolutions.
When I was a Third Mate, this is not an exaggeration, I took 500 pages of notes. Much of it was listing my daily tasks and crew interaction, but over half of it was technical knowledge, lessons, and crew feedback. I didn’t need to reference it much, since the act of writing the notes helped solidify the lessons that I had learned.
So, yes, I welcome negative feedback because I understand it for the useful tool that it is.
That being said, I know that most people don’t welcome that type of feedback the way I do, so I am always very sure to bring up any feedback I have for my crew or bridge team members in the best way possible (I use a compliment sandwich, I focus the discussion on how I saw the situation, I avoid “you” statements that could sound accusatory, etc.).
How do you handle positive feedback?
Most of the time I simply reply with a “thank you”.
I welcome positive feedback, although I don’t approach it the same way as I do negative feedback. I understand that constantly seeking praise can be off-putting for some people, so I try to pay attention to non-verbal cues and utilize my quest for negative feedback to hear any feedback (good or bad) and add it to my notes. I try to come up with questions that will allow those around me to feel comfortable giving me the feedback that will help me get better in the right areas and in the quickest way possible. I will then take notes on what I was told by adding them to the notes I already take, so I can hold onto and reference the feedback for future evolutions.
When I was a Third Mate, this is not an exaggeration, I took 500 pages of notes. Much of it was listing my daily tasks and crew interaction, but over half of it was technical knowledge, lessons, and crew feedback. I didn’t need to reference it much, since the act of writing the notes helped solidify the lessons that I had learned.
What does safety mean to you?
Thats a tough question. Can I take a minute to think about it?
The best answer I can come up with has a lot of layers to it.
When I think of safety I first think of my family as my motivation. I love my family and I shudder to think about what would become of them if something happened to me.
When I think about my crewmembers and my ship and what it takes to keep them safe, I think about communication. Everyone has a family and their reasons to keep themself safe, so we are all have the same goal. So, open and proper communication can help us all attain the same goal. I am an excellent communicator and I have many examples of how my communication has helped keep my vessel safe (I make sure all the valves are labeled properly, I am very clear about what I expect from them with each job, very direct on how I want safety drills to be run, etc). One of the more pertinent examples for this interview is that I am always very open with my intentions when I come to a dock. I not only tell the bridge team and the pilot onboard, but I also make sure to inform the crew working on deck so they can be an extra set of eyes to help us complete the evolution together.
But when I think about safety for an entire port - MY home port - it becomes something bigger. The port is not just me, or my family, or my shipmates, or my ship. What is best for the port will sometimes be bigger than one person or one ship. And that might mean saying no to a captain or a ship if what they are asking is not the safest and best thing for the port. It will be difficult, but I will have to be firm in your convictions to do what is right for our port.
So, safety can mean a lot of things, but for me it means family, communication, and being firm in your convictions and your commitment to doing what is right.
How did you get in to the maritime field?
I have had a lot of experiences that have all led me to place I am today.
>I grew up in Southern California on the beach. Me and my family would go to Catalina every other weekend every summer. We would constantly pass commercial ships on the route from Alamitos Bay to Two Harbors, but I never really thought about the commercial side of boating, I just had a passion for the water and loved being on boats! I would work with my dad taking care of his customer’s yachts, and even got a summer job in high school working at a boat rental company.
But after high school I followed my strengths instead of my passion: since I had scored in the top 0.5% of students in the country for math (I got a 790/800 on the SAT), and I went to UC Santa Barbara to study statistics.
But I still had a passion for the sea – while at UCSB I got a job at a local boatyard, and every summer I would go to Catalina to work on their fuel dock and eventually, harbor patrol.
After college I immediately went to the Caribbean to work as a captain of a dive boat, and subsequently traveled as much as I could getting the coolest jobs I could: scuba instructor in Key West, ferry captain in New York harbor, river guide in Colorado, deckhand on a tourist sailboat in New Zealand.
It was a lot of fun, and I had a lot of interactions with many different people and learned a lot, but it was time to get a real job, so I applied for SUNY Maritime’s Grad/License program.
In the 2.5 years I was there, I not only earned a master’s degree and a 3rd Mate’s license, but I also got a towing endorsement and a PIC. To this day I am the only cadet I have ever talked to who has been able to get both of those endorsements before leaving school. In addition, I graduated with the highest GPA of my graduating class.
Once I started school, I immediately set my sights on becoming a pilot; I first rode along with the Long Beach pilots in 2011, my first year at school at SUNY. While at SUNY I pursued all the shiphandling classes I could, including classes in the limited license tug boat program as well as Piloting and Shiphandling (a class limited to only 9 students per semester).
After college I quickly accepted a job with Crowley. I wanted to work on their ATBs because of the broad experience it requires and because I saw an opportunity to advance quickly while still working for a good company.
Now I am a captain of the ATB Innovation / 650-9, which trades here on the West Coast and often calls here in Los Angeles.
I have earned my pilotage for LA/LB and recently completed several rides to upgrade it to not have any tonnage limitations.
What would make you a good port pilot?
I am very well rounded and have a good aptitude for all the skills that a port pilot requires.
I am a great communicator, I have experience working with different cultures, I am capable, perceptive, and very smart, I have good judgement that I am not afraid to execute, excellent composure, and have successfully honed and utilized my boat handling skills on a wide array of vessels and in many different situations.
As a captain of an ATB that frequents the port of LA, I understand the weight of the role and responsibilities that a pilot takes, and as someone who grew up in Southern California, who lived here in Wilmington, and who loves the waters, business, and people of this area, I understand the importance of protecting the port, its people, its infrastructure, and its environment.
I have succeeded in almost all aspects of my life and I know that, with my passion for this industry and this port, I would find success as a port pilot as well.
What is your previous work experience? How did it prepare you for this job?
> I am well-rounded in my accomplishments (worked on ATBs – which gives me more of an engineering understanding as well as a well-rounded background on the shipping industry), have international experience, worked all over the country and worldwide in a wide variety of jobs that have a safety focus, have a wide variety of boat handling experience, highly educated, grew up navigating the local waters, found success in many different areas, great communicator, excel at teamwork, won safety awards at Crowley, have always followed through on my word, eagerly will learn everything I can about this job and the port as I have wanted this job ever since I first decided to join this industry.
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Are you a good team player?
Absolutely!
[Inclusive Leadership].
While working in the Maritime Industry, it became incredibly clear to me how important team work is. I realized early on that I could be the most proficient person in my role, but it does not mean anything if we are not working together as a team. It helped to remind myself that literally half of my job is to tend to my personal relationships with my crew and to make sure I am facilitating a strong teamwork environment.
Even as a captain I see myself as someone in a role. We all have roles to play, and not one of them is any more important than the other.
So, for that reason, as a captain I am an inclusive leader and an effective team player. I believe a team is more effective when everybody’s knowledge, skills and experience are utilized to drive a successful operation. I see the entire crew (or bridge team) as a cohesive part of a single unit. Yes, as Master, I have the final say, but everyone has a role to play and each of those roles is important to have a successful operation. So I strive to respect and show each team member that I value them, because when my crew feels respected, they are more likely to share ideas and collaborate, which can lead to increased safety through proper communication.
Commitment, Courage, Cognizance of Bias, Curiosity, Cultural Intelligence, and Collaboration.
Tell us about yourself…
I grew up in Southern California on the beach. Me and my family would go to Catalina every other weekend every summer. We would constantly pass commercial ships on the route from Alamitos Bay to Two Harbors, but I never really thought about the commercial side of boating, I just had a passion for the water and loved being on boats!
So I followed my strengths: since I had scored in the top 0.5% of students in the country for math (that was on the ACT, I got a 790/800 on the SAT), and I went to UC Santa Barbara to study statistics.
But I still had a passion for the sea – while at UCSB I got a job at a local boatyard, and every summer I would go to Catalina to work on their fuel dock and eventually, harbor patrol.
After college I immediately went to the Caribbean to work as a captain of a dive boat, and subsequently traveled as much as I could getting the coolest jobs I could: scuba instructor in Key West, ferry captain in New York harbor, river guide in Colorado, deckhand in New Zealand.
It was a lot of fun, and I had a lot of interactions with many different people and learned a lot, but it was time to get a real job, so I applied for SUNY Maritime’s Grad/License program.
In the 2.5 years I was there, I not only earned a master’s degree and a 3rd Mate’s license, but I also got a towing endorsement and a PIC. To this day I am the only cadet I have ever talked to who has been able to get both of those endorsements before leaving school. In addition, I graduated with the highest GPA of my graduating class.
Once I started school, I immediately set my sights on becoming a pilot; I first rode along with the Long Beach pilots in 2011, my first year at school. While at SUNY I pursued all the shiphandling classes I could, including classes in the limited license tug boat program as well as Piloting and Shiphandling (a class limited to only 9 students per semester).
After college I quickly accepted a job with Crowley. I wanted to work on their ATBs because of the broad experience it requires and because I saw an opportunity to advance quickly while still working for a good company that had a dedicated focus to safety and integrity.
Now I am a captain of the ATB Innovation / 650-9, which trades here on the West Coast and calls in Los Angeles periodically.
I have earned my pilotage for LA/LB and recently completed several rides to upgrade it to not have any tonnage limitations.
Why have you chosen to pursue a career as a pilot?
First of all, I know that I would love the job. I am positive that I would be one of those pilots that does not retire early and holds on to the role as long as I can. I initially decided to pursue this career in earnest due to my love of boathandling and being on the water. I love it and I have loved it since I was a child.
But, since making my career in this industry, I have moved back to Southern California and have started a family, so my passion and motivation has shifted to being closer to my family and working to protect my home port.
Now, it may seem cliché to talk about how I love the port of Los Angeles, but I do. I love coming back to LA on my ATB and seeing the weekend cruisers heading to Catalina Island, watching the fishing charter vessels come back from a trip to Farnsworth Bank, hearing my friend Super J on the Jet Cat Express making security calls, hearing my brother on the pilot boat talking to inbound and outbound vessels, and working with my friends who are assist tugs captains and pilots in the port… I love all of it, and I want to protect it and be part of the process of helping the port succeed.
Why specifically are you pursuing a position with the LA Pilots?
I love the technical ability it takes to be a good pilot in the Port of Los Angeles. The way I relate to it is I think back to when I was a river raft guide in Colorado. We ran the lowest-flowing commercially run river in the state, but the rapids were still classed at class 3 or 4 because of how technically difficult it was. For most of the rapids, there was only one spot where we could be in order to safely navigate the obstacles. So we had to get groups of people that we didn’t know to move our raft to the exact spot with exact positioning to get through the rapid successfully. The Port of Los Angeles reminds me of that since it has so many narrow channels and berths with incredibly large ships – it takes a lot of technical skills to successfully pilot vessels in the port and I appreciate that.
I have moved back to Southern California and have started a family, so my passion and motivation has shifted to being closer to my family and working to protect my home port.
Now, it may seem cliché to talk about how I love the port of Los Angeles, but I do. I love coming back to LA on my ATB and seeing the weekend cruisers heading to Catalina Island, watching the fishing charter vessels come back from a trip to Farnsworth Bank, hearing my friend Super J on the Jet Cat Express making security calls, hearing my brother on the pilot boat talking to inbound and outbound vessels, and working with my friends who are assist tugs captains and pilots in the port… I love all of it, and I want to protect it and be part of the process of helping the port succeed.
Based upon your maritime and shipboard experience, what do you think are the most important attributes an individual/pilot conning a vessel must possess?
I think that these three attributes are the most important for a pilot: #1 - Sound Judgement, #2 - Focus on Safety, & #3 - Communication.
I am tempted to say Focus on Safety first, because “safety first”, but without good judgement, you would not know what you will need to focus on in order to keep the vessel, its crew, the port’s infrastructure, and the environment safe.
Piloting is a complicated job and there are a lot of moving pieces and groups of people that need to work together. So proper communication is key to gathering the information needed to make good judgement calls and to leading each individual party to perform the tasks required to safely deliver the vessel through the port.
Do you think you have enough experience for the job?
Absolutely. My experience is broad and deep [Safety Focus, Teamwork, Credibility] My composure, good judgment, and job knowledge all come from within..[]
