Pilot test: Get the Right Pilot for Effective Service

For any airline, it is necessary to have the best pilot on board as the responsibility of the flight is completely on his shoulder. He is the key person not only for the operation of the flight but also for the safety of planes while they take off or land. Hence, while hiring the pilot, it is necessary for the airline to check the candidate from various viewpoints. The attributes of such a key person cannot depend on the interview taken by HR or mere work experience. He needs to be cool tempered and able to cope up traumatic situation. He must not be a person who take a decision under the influence of other factors and get into a trap with the lives of passengers.

Quality hiring:

To have the right pilot on board, the recruiter of the airline needs to carry the candidate through a pilot test. There are a few tests available in the market which can help the recruiter decide the quality of the profile. Being an important position, there must be no compromise with any of the factors that can affect the mindset of a pilot and hence, in this test, these factors play a vital role. In this test, the candidate is taken through various situations where he needs to understand the position and take a decision which reflects in his answer. Those who design the test have wide experience in the field of recruiting the pilot, and there are also questions that display the psychic nature of the profile. The answers to the provided questions help one understand what goes through the mind of a pilot under different situations and offer a score accordingly. The overall score can make one get the best pilot in all respect on the job and flight.

The right test:

Though the market has many of the pilot tests and each of them is designed keeping various factors in mind. Hence for a recruiter, it is not easy to determine which test he should ask a candidate to go through and take decision accordingly. In such a case, he can take help of an expert and go for the test that proves most vital for the given role. Here one must note that the pilot test for commercial flights and passenger flights are different, and so is the test. So while carrying a candidate through any of the pilot tests, one must note for which type of flights the pilot is being hired and accordingly assign the test. there is no doubt that the pilot test can help one to find the best profile from a bunch, but the quality of the test must be checked as it will only produce the desired quality of the profile. One can find ready to use test available in the market for this purpose or get one designed that can help him check the attributes of the profile. However, if the airline decides to have some exclusive points to check with the profile before hiring, it is recommended to have an exclusive test designed by the experts to use for this purpose.

How to get the right test for a pilot?

As the market has ample tests available, this is the biggest question that the recruiter has to face. In such a case, he needs to check the questions first. For commercial pilots, security is a secondary concern, which is not the case with the pilot of passenger flights. The form of the test here is online, but one needs to appear in the same at the premise of the airline only. He needs to login with the provided password and user ID to the portal. The test is bifurcated in different sections, and for the candidate, it is mandatory to answer all the sections. There are also time restrictions for the test as each section has got a few minutes.

The test contents: 

The test for pilot checks a number of things. His active role, concentration, decision-making, will power and quality of analyzing situation are some of the key points that are tested with the help of this test. The questions here are designed in a way that needs a specific answer, and a prudent pilot can only offer the right answer to the concerned question. Hence it is not only about the skills of the pilot, but also his inner strength and attributes are tested by such test. These questions are primarily in an MCQ form, but there can be narrative and calculative questions also in the test which are given a proper score. Those who secure a high score in the test are either hired or taken for the further process of recruitment.

Is it necessary to have this test?

Yes, it is very much necessary as the role of a pilot is full of responsibility, and hence before assigning him such a huge responsibility, the airline needs to be sure about his talent and capabilities. Different pilots have different skills, and the airline needs to hire those who match its requirements. There are also some legal provisions that the airline must meet before hiring the pilot for such a position and this test can be one of such provisions also. In the field, thousands of pilots come out from various flying clubs and institutes, but it is not necessary that all of them have desired skills that an airline requires. The recruiter also may not come to know these inner skills, and hence, it is much necessary to take the profile with such a test. Hence to be sure about the skills of the concerned candidate for HR it is necessary to have a look at the score he has secured in such a test that can help him justify his selection of a particular profile.

Hence if looked at the broad perspective of hiring a pilot, this test can be of immense use for the company as well as the recruiter and even for the public at large who may travel in such a flight operated by a valid pilot.