Interview questions for Reserve/ANG

[JKA360]

I have looked through multiple posts here and have a pretty clear understanding of the types of potential questions asked at an interview for a Guard/AFR Base.

One that has stood out is "What are your career goals once you return to drill status?" Why do ask this specific question? Are they expecting most people to say "work for the airlines"?

Assuming you were selected off the streets and were previously working your regular day job, you could just return to work at said job under the protection of USERRA.

Do they want their pilots to work in a pilot related field even when not on guard duty? Is that how they stay current?

I don't work in aviation currently, and while I have considered it, I do enjoy my current IT job. Any current pilots out there that work regular non-flying civilian jobs?

[mp5g]

Most people want to come back and work full time at the base. That’s not always possible because full time orders are not always in rampant supply. Most units are just looking to make sure that you’ve at least thought and considered the possibility that after you return and complete your seasoning orders, you have a plan in place to put food on the table for mama and the kids. If mama ain’t happy, nobody is happy and your flying will suffer because of it. 

[ryleypav]

Yup. What mp5g said. I told them while I'd love to work full time for the squadron, I realize its not always an option, but I can always find a mechanical engineering job somewhere. Wanting to go to the airlines is fine, just dont give the impression thats all you're doing it for. 

[FDNYOldGuy]

Non-airline civil service job here. You can get hired off the street, go through all training, and pop out the other end and head back to your job. Actually, even more, the ~2 years of UPT pipeline actually don’t count toward the 5 year USERRA limit. 

When you spit out the other end, the above posters are right about them wanting to make sure you can feed your fam/pay your bills, which is why they ask. There is the potential of just picking up orders (Troughing/Bumming), but COVID might throw a wrench in the availability of that as folks come back from the airlines. Guard seems to be more available for orders, but that’s just anecdotal from what I’ve heard and it can vary greatly by unit/airframe. 

The Reserves offer TDART, which is an up to 4-year, non-orders, full-time GS job. You’re in your flight suitm working at the unit, but it’s not on orders, so you don’t get any USERRA protections if you’re trying to hold onto your old job and you might have to pick between the two. But, the positive is that it’s an “entitlement,” which means that you’re owed the job and it’s yours, if you want.

[kharayatneeraj]

I was reading through some old posts and came across this thread about interview questions for Reserve/ANG positions. I  found it really interesting and informative, especially since I'm currently looking int similar opportunities myself.

[ryleypav]

On 5/1/2023 at 5:59 AM, zakariyamosh said:

One question that stood out to me was, "What are your career goals once you return to drill status?" I was wondering why this question is so important and whether most people answer with plans to work for the airlines.

 

They want to know what your plans are. Looking to see if you actually have a long term plan set up on how you're going to survive when you get back to drill status. Do you have a job to go back to? Have a plan for getting a job?