Interview Questions Bulleted

Question 1

Why do you want to be a pilot?

Answer 1

• give back to Australia
• to be a leader
• to fly

Question 2

Why do you want to fly?

Answer 2

• challenging & liberating
• lead a 4-ship of Super Hornets on mission
• highly specific mission profile
• The responsibility & the challenge
• the purpose

Question 3

Why do you want to protect Australia?

Answer 3

• worthy of protection

* give back to country

Question 4

How will you cope living away from home?

Answer 4

• Moved out when I was 17

* used to keeping in contact

Question 5

How do you respond to criticism?

Answer 5

• team sports have taught me to deal with criticism well

* take ego out of the situation

Question 6

What do you do after you have failed something?

Answer 6

• something to learn

* try again

Question 7

Give an example of when you have responded to failure in this way.

Answer 7

• premier soccer side in high school
• set goal
• trained hard
• got player of the season

Question 8

How long have you wanted to be a pilot and what started your ambition?

Answer 8

• Grandfather gave me model spitfire
• passion just grown from there
• air shows, aviation

Question 9

Will you want to remain in the service if you fail the pilots course?

Answer 9

• confident I’ll pass
• be disappointed
• want to be a leader as well
• ADF offers such an opportunity

Question 10

How do you handle discipline?

Answer 10

• best teachers used discipline

* essential in my own life

Question 11

How do you cope with pressure situations?

Answer 11

• one of my best attributes
• calm but decisive
• able to think quickly

Question 12

Give an example of your handling of a pressure situation.

Answer 12

• room mate came home with our friend mildly intoxicated
• started complaining about his heart before passing out
• co-ordinated ambos to get to apartment
• performed medical care
• he made a full recovery

Question 13

What are your greatest achievements to date?

Answer 13

• The person i have become
• Do my family proud
• Constantly improving and getting stronger

Question 14

Describe your own personality.

Answer 14

• Doggedly determined (sport)
• Competitive (sport)
• Progressive (weaknesses)
• Optimistic

Question 15

How do you perform working with a team?

Answer 15

• very well
• enjoy teamwork
• lots of practice

Question 16

What can you tell me to prove that you have the motivation to pass the pilots course?

Answer 16

• where i want to be 1 - 15 years from now

* This is my dream

Question 17

What do you consider to be your greatest weakness?

Answer 17

• remembering peoples names when I meet them
• improved a-lot
• important leadership skill
• practice to achieve goal

Question 18

What is another weakness?

Answer 18

• swimmer
• recognised weakness
• joined volunteer SLS

Question 19

What is a third weakness?

Answer 19

• public speaking
• felt like it was something I could be good at
• loads of confidence now

Question 20

Why should the ADF hire you over some of the other applicants that are being interviewed today?

Answer 20

• dogged and hard worker
• passionate about flying
• serious about protecting Australia and leading to the best of my ability

Question 21

Where do you see yourself in 15 years?

Answer 21

• CFS

Question 22

What makes a good leader?

Answer 22

• Confident
• Optimistic
• Reliable
• Lead by example
• Go above and beyond what is necessary

Question 23

Give an example of a good leader.

Answer 23

• Cathy Freeman• her determination in training to get to that athletic standard• the way she represented her people, as well as Australia as a whole • her sense of community and charity work• she is working to close the education gap between indigenous and non indigenous Australians

Question 24

What are some examples of your leadership qualities?

Answer 24

• Confident• Optimistic• Lead by example• Above and beyond what is necceessary

Question 25

In leadership exercises, such as the one you did here yesterday, what would you do if you thought a leader was doing something wrong?

Answer 25

• If I was a subordinate:o speak to the leader and make sure they were aware of the information I hado follow orders from subsequent decision • If they were my subordinate:o I would ask them to explain what they are doing to see if I was missing something, then if needed, explain the problem and correct their course of action

Question 26

What would you do if your captain in an aircraft was about to break a safety rule?

Answer 26

• complicated situation and depends on the context• If the rule is about to be broken for responsible reasons, like the safety rule actually adversely affects the teams safety in that particular situation, then I would have no problem with it• However, if the safety rule was about to be broken out of laziness or something inappropriate, I would let the captain know I was uncomfortable with the breach in protocol and ask them to reconsider

Question 27

How would you react if you were offered a position in a service other than the one that you are applying for?

Answer 27

• Disappointed as it is my dream to be a pilot in the RAAF • However the Army also has what I am looking for. I would accept an army offer with open arms • A career in the RAN would not be for me, something about the isolation of the ocean does not appeal to me

Question 28

Do you want to become a Airline Pilot? Why or why not?

Answer 28

• No way• commercial pilots can’t compete with what the ADF offers• The main three that you can’t get commercially are: o leadership opportunitieso fulfilment in giving back to/protecting Australia o most advanced aircraft/flying• Not to mention the o best training in Australia and potentially the worldo camaraderie

Question 29

Do you have a role model? If so, who and why?

Answer 29

• My high-school maths teacher• Strict but fair and professional• Expected and inspired us to do our best• Would give up her weekends and lunch breaks without hesitation for students that needed extra tutoring

Question 30

What would your parents say is your biggest fault? Why?

Answer 30

• can be a little bit too engrossed in things• skip lunch etc. and just work on project 24/7• they would say I need to be more balanced

Question 31

What is the biggest mistake you have ever made? What did you learn from it?

Answer 31

* on public transport * someone getting bullied by drunk guy * my stop came up next and I left without doing anything * learnt that I am an active part of my community, i should always stand up for what I believe in and for what is right

Question 32

If you were ordered to do something you considered wrong, would you do it?

Answer 32

• I trust those in command to make the right decisions • I understand what I am signing on for• It is my responsibility to follow orders and my personal feelings about them are irrelevant• I'm not saying i'll be mindless, I can be unhappy about it privately and professionally, but I’ll will always see out my responsibilities

Question 33

How will you handle the loss of privacy?

Answer 33

• I don’t have anything to hide• lived with other people for years now and haven’t had a problem with it

Question 34

What is the difference between leadership and management?

Answer 34

• Management is very practical, it focuses on things like organisation and administration • Leadership is more about vision, motivation and inspiration• People choose to follow leaders, where as they are obliged to follow managers• The important thing is their combination creates a powerful tool

Question 35

What is one time you have let down a friend? Why did you do it?

Answer 35

• I said I would pick up a friend from the airport the other day, but the day before I realised I had also committed myself to a 21st where I was supposed to be making a speech• I had made a commitment to both people, so I there was no way I couldn’t let someone down