I went to the Republic Interview on the Nov. 14th, got there on the 13th and stayed overnight at a hotel right down the street from the headquarters. Next morning at 7:45 the shuttle took us to the HQ for an 8:00 show time. There were 6 of us in the group, 3 older gentlemen and 2 of them were prior 121 guys from a few years back. I was the only CFI, one other aerial survey guy and a military guy.
Linda took us to a room where we could take the wonderlic test and the 25 Q written test, which, if anyone studies the Chautauqua study guide on Aviationinterviews.com should pass. She was a really nice lady and went into talking about the company and their benefits, etc. We filled out all the required PRIA paperwork and then she asked us to follow her into the company break room where we were to wait for our tech/HR interviews and the Sim.
The first part of the interview for me was the tech/HR which was done with Kim, the HR representative and a senior captain. They were both very personable and pleasant to talk to. Kim and I chatted for a bit then she started to ask me the basic HR questions, TMA your aviation career, How did you hear about us, why do you want to work for us, etc. I believe most of the HR questions are also on the Chautauqua study guide. Then the Captain started to ask me questions about the twin that I've flown, then moved on to ask me about how a turbine engine works, the advantages of a sweptwing aircraft, Va speed and how that relates to stall speed. Again with the study guide, it should help you out a lot. Make sure you study your systems for the airplane as any system is fair game. I was not a prior jet guy so be sure that everyone that goes knows the basic operations of a turbine engine! They asked me if I had any questions at the end, and I just started talking to the captain about the airplane he flew. I felt that it went really well in this part and was quite happy about it.
I was taken back into the break room, then met with another interviewee who had just been in the sim and told me he thought he had done horribly. I was then called into the Sim and it was basically just a PCATD like everyone says and simulated to be the Baron. It is horribly pitch sensitive so be sure to just use a couple fingers fly it. The trim helped out a lot for altitude. The captain in the tech room had told me to fly it like a video game and I took it for what it was worth and tried my best. It was basically take off from an airport, hold at the VOR, then cleared for the full approach, direct to the OM, outbound on loc, procedure turn, then inbound, go missed and engine failure. Radar contact is lost at the VOR so make sure you know your radar reporting requirements. I think what they're looking for is mostly procedure and not really how well you fly that simulator. I made a few mistakes, but nothing major and followed through with my procedures. After that the sim guy said I was done for the day and said I could go home. Man was I relieved that I was finally done because I had been working myself up for days prior.
Overall I felt I had done really well and Linda had mentioned that we'd hear back from them within 24 hours. I had to wait for the shuttle to take me back to the airport and while waiting outside another interviewee came out and told me he thought he had done okay as well. We finished by about 1:00 and my flight wasn't till 6:00! I got the call as we were eating lunch at the airport about 2 hours later and start class for the 145 on December 17th!
If you guys have any questions I'd be happy to answer them!