Interviews

[flyinggirl]

Are there any guys/gals that have interviewed recently and could share some insight into the questions asked? I know the typical stuff, just wanted to hear how it has been recently for individuals. Anything in particular the interviewers seem to lean towards? Good cop/bad cop?
Thanks!!!

[rayban]

Hi Flyinggirl,

I've interviewed at Jazz with the last year and in my opinion I think they are looking for relevant experience and above all personality. If your the type of person they deem to be pleasant and professional I think this goes a long way towards your being invited to the sim eval. Have you been invited to an interview? If so, good luck. Hope this helps.

[inthomerker]

Similar to flyinggirl I've just been invited to an interview as well. Question is, should I even bother with it? Without a doubt it'll mean a pay cut based on what the gal told me over the phone, and you don't find out which base you're going to until (aprox) the second day of ground school. Those are two BIG strikes.... can anybody "in the know" offer some advice towards something I might be missing that would make this worth my while?

[~Hollywood~]

Similar to flyinggirl I've just been invited to an interview as well. Question is, should I even bother with it? Without a doubt it'll mean a pay cut based on what the gal told me over the phone, and you don't find out which base you're going to until (aprox) the second day of ground school. Those are two BIG strikes.... can anybody "in the know" offer some advice towards something I might be missing that would make this worth my while?

So I guess you haven't applied to Air Canada either then?

[inthomerker]

Similar to flyinggirl I've just been invited to an interview as well. Question is, should I even bother with it? Without a doubt it'll mean a pay cut based on what the gal told me over the phone, and you don't find out which base you're going to until (aprox) the second day of ground school. Those are two BIG strikes.... can anybody "in the know" offer some advice towards something I might be missing that would make this worth my while?

So I guess you haven't applied to Air Canada either then?

No, haven't applied. AC has never interested me, but does that make a difference in answering the question "is there something I'm missing"?

[Plim Sole]

Similar to flyinggirl I've just been invited to an interview as well. Question is, should I even bother with it? Without a doubt it'll mean a pay cut based on what the gal told me over the phone, and you don't find out which base you're going to until (aprox) the second day of ground school. Those are two BIG strikes.... can anybody "in the know" offer some advice towards something I might be missing that would make this worth my while?

I wouldn't bother. It's definately not worth your while. I mean it's outrageous that you might have to take a pay cut and only find out what aircraft you will fly on day 2! Let me narrow it down for you somewhat.... The chances of a CRJ right seat are slim to bugger all so expect the classic dash or the Q400. You might want to climb down off your high horse before attending any interview!

[ikarus]

Everyone comes from different job backgrounds, so I am not going to take your comments too personal "inthomerker". You may have a really well paying job and you may be happy there, so Jazz may not be your cup of tea. However, it is not a bad place to be at all, especially if you get in early in the hiring wave.

For me truthfully, entry wages at AC, Jazz and even Transat and WJ are ridiculous compared to some Asian/Middle Eastern carriers. Unless of course you are a 22 years old and you still live at home. So, it's relative how you look at the pay.

-First year at Jazz you will make around $45K/year (plus per diems)
-Average 14 days off
-Chances are very slim for CRJ
-Good chance to get a base of choice (DH8 or DH4 only in YYZ)

[inthomerker]

ikarus: thanks for an honest answer. I'm not exactly sure what was said for anybody to take "personally" since my question was quite general. Since you sound like you know a thing or two maybe you can answer some more: any idea what the benefits package is like concerning health, dental, life, rrsp/rpp, and vacation? How about typical upgrade times? You also say "base of choice"... so you're figuring there's going to be postings for all five? If you're currently working for Jazz (and I assume you are to this point) how do you find the lifestyle - meaning, are you and others able to live the lifestyle you want?

plimsole: high horse? I had no idea that seeking advice from somebody in the system on if I was wasting Jazz's time (& my own) put me at some perceived superior level to you. Listen, if you and I were up for the same job; one that you would kill for and one that I was only luke-warm about, wouldn't you be pissed if I ended up being hired and you didn't? So here it is: I'm not going to take away some kids' chance at their dream if I'm only marginally interested in it. Thus I'm asking and waiting to see if my motivation or desire increases. You say don't expect to get an RJ gig... anything else noteworthy?

[flyinggirl]

Thanks for the tips! I can understand the dilemma some face when trying to decide if a job at Jazz is right for them. There can be many factors that will influence if a job is right for someone:
spouse? children? mortgage? thought of being an FO at FO wages at 50 yrs old, willingness to move your entire family away, logistics of commuting and so on.
There are DEFINITELY pros and cons about Jazz, so I suppose each person needs to weigh those individually.
So for myself, its not just a decision based on my own thoughts, but one that has to take into account every aspect of my life.

IKARUS, are there no Dash 8's at YVR base anymore?

Thanks all.

[ikarus]

In my humble opinion, the benefits are very good!

-Health covered 100% (with initial deductible)
-Massage Therapy $750 per calendar year
-Orthopedic shoes/inserts (one per year)
-Chiropractor/Osteopath/Naturopath (combined $1000/yr)
-Drugs 100% (initial deductible)
-Vision $350/per 2 years (can be used towards Laser eye surgery)
-Dental most work @ 100% - major dental work @50%

*Vacation year 1 - Two (2) weeks plus two (2) weeks of STATS
Goes up to 5 weeks plus 2 weeks of STATs

*DB pension plan (for now)

*Shoes allowance, monthly dry cleaning allowance, bonus sharing (not crazy high but still), uniform and headsets supplied initially....I know these may be small things for some of you, but a lot better then places I worked at.

*Employee shares program matched by company (not sure by how much)


*As for bases, latest bid shows (keep in mind more will open up as guys leave/retire):

5 YUL CRJ
11 YUL DH8

5 YYZ CRJ
34 YYZ DH4

3 YYC CRJ
5 YYZ DH8

15 YVR DH8

YHZ is hard to get unless you got 10+ years at Jazz. As for CRJ spots you may get them, but there are a lot of "reinstatement" rights for current pilots, so don't get your hopes up, but you never know. As for lifestyle, you have to ask around. People will tell you good and bad things. Some guys are anxious and want to upgrade quick, and that means currently 6 years or so. Could be more if the industry collectively tanks, could be less if AC/WJ/Transat continue to hire our guys and older folks don't stay until age 95 And if Jazz expends outside of their CPA agreement with Air Canada. Thomas Cook had some hopes up for folks but their European side is really struggling so they are freezing their North American expansion plans. As for commuting, chances are you will be able to get to the base of your choice in few months (once everyone gets on board), so go for lifestyle - not equipment as the pay is identical. Don't commute half way across the country as the entire Personal Travel Pass program just got "downgraded" so it will get pricey and more difficult. Still, it is a pretty generous travel program with ability to fly on many airlines around the world - so enjoy them to the fullest!

Good union, good people to work with, support staff is really good, so try to avoid the horrible stories and grumpy guys, as you will find them ANYWHERE you go There are a lot more crappier companies to work for and only a few better ones (maybe?) here in Canada, so think about that if you decide to come. Having said all this, anything could chance in a year, but Jazz will not disappear over night, that is for sure! If you decide to leave after some time, your resume will be enriched with some excellent airline experience that is respected by airlines world wide plus you walk away with no bond. How bad is that??

Hope this helps somewhat...Good luck to all!

[inthomerker]

ikarus, that was some great insight! Thanks

[intruder-flight]

Hello,

I am happy to have been called in for an interview.

And thank you Ikarus for your very informative post!

Good Luck to all.

[backburner]

Carefully consider what your retirement goals are before accepting a position at Jazz. There is no CPA (capacity purchase agreement) beyond 2020 with Jazz and Air Canada. All recent indicators show a trend at Jazz that shows little or no overall growth. Most of the hiring you will see in the next few years will be due to pilots leaving for greener (tealer) pastures. Not that many retirements (roughly 15 a year). Depending on your base YYZ upgrade about 6-7 years roughly. YVR 20 years. Either way, you wont see an upgrade until close to 2020, and theres no guarantees what Jazz will look like beyond that.

The poster above was mostly accurate wrt the benefits. In recent days, the Jazz employee travel benefits were diminished somewhat. Jazz employees will now have lower boarding priority than any Air Canada employee or parent/ travel partner, on AC AND Jazz regardless of travel seniority. This will make it much more difficult if you elect to commute. Jazz pilots do have a recip- jumpseat agreement with Westjet, which can help with the commute.

Bottom line, Jazz is a stepping stone job for any young new hire.I wouldn't invest any more than a couple years, and just get the experience. For anyone with a 80K + job a year... you might want to hold out for something with a brighter future.

Just an opinion.

[hamstandard]

Could somebody give a description of the sim eval.

[hamstandard]

[quote="ikarus"]


*As for bases, latest bid shows (keep in mind more will open up as guys leave/retire):

5 YUL CRJ
11 YUL DH8

5 YYZ CRJ
34 YYZ DH4

3 YYC CRJ
5 YYZ DH8

15 YVR DH8

[/quote]

How long does a bid last. Do they come out monthly. In other words, does the next GS get first choice, then the following GS pick up the remains unless there is a new bid.

[cv990]

Perhaps a wee bit of misunderstanding about the bid... the bid being discussed isn't the monthly schedule bid.. it is an equipment bid that tends to come out twice a year. It is determined by how many hours of uplift that Air Canada have for us..

for example, the increase of 15 D8 YVR pilots is a direct result of hours increased on the D8 in YVR, at the expense of similar hours being reduced on the RJ YVR.. so the RJ is being reduced by 15 positions and the D8 is being increased by 15 positions. Some of the above posted vacancies are a result of unequal numbers (too many cpt. not enough f/o at a base for instance) and they need to bring the numbers up to match. So overall, although the RJ in YVR is being reduced, overall there is a need to increase the pilot group by about 60.

For the newhires: no RJ YVR, probably no RJ anywhere (displaced RJ YVR may move to any open positions).. more than likely D8 YUL, D8 YYC, and D4 YYZ. But that will be determined after this bid closes, because we all get to pick those spots first and then what is left over after the music stops is where the newhires will fit in. It can change fast, and the newhire classes will pick (by random draw) their base and equipment on day 2 of initial groundschool.

There will be no indication whatever until that point. And for the record, I've seen the position count change on a daily basis so the picture might look completely different for the newhires. But right now, No YHZ, and probably no YVR. And needless to say, no 757..

Someone asked about no D8 in YVR.. I believe you were misled by the post that said YYZ only... that referred to the DH4 which is only based in YYZ.

The sim eval is basically a ppc ride, ie: SID departure, couple of steep turns, one precision and one non precision approach, and a failure of some kind. It is done on raw data, so no flight director or anything like that. No problem if you are comfortable flying by the needles. Brush up on the crm skills!!

[Dh8Classic]

I am bothered to hear from a friend that there is a new type of question that is asked. No one should fail an interview due to some type of affirmative action type question so please be prepared for it. The exact wording is not clear but it ia basically about how someone of a different type(could be race, sexual orientation, etc) that you have had some sort of experience with in your life and how it affected you. Type is not the proper term but it is along those lines.

Good luck.

[RudderWhat]

Thanks for the heads up, but I don't think this question is unfair; just equally as useless as most other questions asked in a lot of interviews these days.
Also, I wouldn't consider it an "affirmative action" question.

[Sleeve of Wizard]

I am bothered to hear from a friend that there is a new type of question that is asked. No one should fail an interview due to some type of affirmative action type question so please be prepared for it. The exact wording is not clear but it ia basically about how someone of a different type(could be race, sexual orientation, etc) that you have had some sort of experience with in your life and how it affected you. Type is not the proper term but it is along those lines.

Good luck.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean, but is it not likely that they are trained to see how a racist/sexist/homophobe answers this type of question? Most (all) companies have a zero tolerance policy for racism/discrimination isn't it better to filter that out from the start?

My company recently interviewed some pilots. One of the applicants spent a quarter of the interview making negative comments towards one particular race. You guessed it... This person didn't get a call back. It wouldn't have mattered if they were the most amazing aviator in the world.

[SunbeamTiger]

Good threads already posted about the interview and sim eval. Here's a couple:
Interview questions: viewtopic.php?t=34344
Sim eval: viewtopic.php?f=82&t=73101

[Trim Spinner]

Dh8Classic; I am bothered to hear that the existence of a question regarding 'one's thoughts on working with a member of another race/opposite sex/minority' is bothering you.

It is not an affirmative action question at all; it is designed to exhibit the interpersonal skills of the applicant - to see if you are able to see people as just that. Other people. To see if you can see past race, color, or creed and work as a team in an effective, safe manner.

I would hope that if you are a member of our team - and I'm not convinced you are - you would be able to answer this question honestly and favorably.

[mbav8r]

There used to be question for the AC interview or so I was told, that was along these lines.
Interviewer; Say you're on an overnight and your Captain says why don't we meet for a drink and your Captain shows up in a dress and high heels. What would you think?
Interviewee; correct answer, so my Captain is female. Incorrect answer, whatever someone does in their spare time is non of my business.
If you answered the latter, you're a chauvinist.

[CanadianEh]

There used to be question for the AC interview or so I was told, that was along these lines.
Interviewer; Say you're on an overnight and your Captain says why don't we meet for a drink and your Captain shows up in a dress and high heels. What would you think?
Interviewee; correct answer, so my Captain is female. Incorrect answer, whatever someone does in their spare time is non of my business.
If you answered the latter, you're a chauvinist.

LOL that's awesome

[Chaxterium]

Hello all,

I'm interviewing next week and my head is spinning. I have a very good job that I enjoy and that pays me very well but unfortunately it keeps me away from home 6+ months a year so I'm very interested in Jazz under the right circumstances.

For me to consider this job then at this point I'd only be able to accept a position in YYZ (unless commuting is actually possible but I heard it's not that easy) so for those who know, what are the chances of that happening? I understand that it's a random draw on the 2nd day of GS but from what I've read it seems that most of the positions are in fact in YYZ so what are the realistic chances? Also I'm currently living outside the GTA but it would be about a 90 minute drive for me to get to the airport. Is that doable with the pairings or would I need to live closer?

Thanks for any info and cheers!
Chax

[SunbeamTiger]

I also had a question. I did my interview on Feb 7, sim check on Feb 18, got the call for the medical/ref/criminal checks on Feb 21, completed the medical and criminal paperwork on Feb 22... and that's the last I've heard! No PFO received yet *whew*... unless it came by snail-mail (currently out of town), but I understand they are e-mailed.

My references are all standing by for a call and none have gotten one. It's been 3 weeks. I'm worried since they are now calling more people for interviews (congrats BTW, Chax).

Would I have heard if I was out of the running by now? Obviously I'm not in line for the next groundschool, date's too close. But I had to tell my current employer that they might be calling for a reference... And now I feel like I may have cried wolf a bit too soon.

Anyone know if it would be a good/bad/indifferent idea to call them up or write a quick e-mail note to ask how/if things are progressing?