Interview question: 'what do you know about our airline' asked at a small national carrier, and why the applicants who researched the giants failed it
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#1 MEA, Beirut, seven years, and I have helped at the MEA assessment, and the question that fails the most Lebanese candidates is the simplest one: what do you know about Middle East Airlines. The candidates have researched Emirates and Qatar for the Gulf events and they arrive at the home carrier with nothing.
What they say: the fleet (wrong, they say A380 because they researched Emirates), the routes (they say the Gulf network), the history (they say nothing). What the panel wants: the Paris route as the spine, the Africa network, the dollar pay scale, the hard years and the airline that kept flying, the A321neo fleet, the diaspora. Fifteen minutes on the airline's own site and the MEA thread on this forum would have done it.
The same failure happens at every small national carrier: the candidates research the giant and arrive at Kuwait Airways or Gulf Air or Cyprus Airways or Tunisair with the giant's facts. The small carrier's panel is more sensitive to it, because the small carrier knows it is not the giant and wants candidates who chose it anyway.
The answer that passes at a small carrier: the route that is the spine, the network that is unique, the thing the airline is proud of, and a reason you want the small one. 'I want to fly the Paris route for the Lebanese families' passes at MEA. 'I want to fly the world' fails at MEA and passes at Emirates.
For the applicants applying to a home carrier and a Gulf carrier in the same season: research both, separately, and know which room you are in.
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#2 MEA, and I have heard 'A380' at our assessment and watched the panel's faces. Omar is right that the small carrier's panel is more sensitive. We know we are not Emirates. We want the candidate who knows it too.
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#3 Kuwait Airways, and the same failure at ours: the candidates arrive with the Emirates facts. The A330neo fleet, the London and New York, the quiet carrier. Fifteen minutes. The small carriers family has the same interview problem.
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#4 Cyprus Airways, and the candidate who says 'I want to fly the world' at a Larnaca assessment has not looked at the network. The summer and the diaspora. Know the room.
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#5 Tunisair, and 'the Paris route for the families' is the MEA answer and 'the Paris route for the village in the sky' is ours. The small carriers want to be chosen. The candidates who chose them know why.
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#6 Beirut, Etihad and MEA both in, and I had researched Etihad and not MEA until the Omar and Leila threads. Fifteen minutes done. Two rooms, two answers.
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#7 Recruiter, and the 'what do you know about us' question at a giant is a formality and at a small carrier is the interview. Omar has explained why from the panel. The small carriers score it hardest.