PEPC Interview Questions Here

on the security investigation...

will they be able to see all employers i worked for? even any i didn't list on the original application? it never said to list all places of employment, only enough to satisfy the work experience.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say, for those who have not worked in the mainstream aviation business, that you will need to provide a work history going back 10 years if you are old enough to have worked that long.
 
It's Long but I hope helpful!

Good Luck to you all. I hope this helps. I found so much of the information from this web site helpful to ease my nerves about the day. The most important advise I have is to have examples ready for the questions. They love it when you look prepared and answer their questions without a lot of time to think of your answer. Also ask them questions. Congrats to all those that went through the process as well....See you in OKC!!!!!!

I must have re-read this post fifty times already hoping to be more prepared and less anxious but all it does is make me more so. Thank you! Great post LAF!
 
anybody have a good answer for why you want to be ATC? i'm seriously in it for the money more than anything else. any suggestions????
 
I've always enjoyed standing out in the yard, watching planes go by while scratching myself and pointing to the sky yelling, "ayrepwane! ayrepwane!". I think I get it from my dad. He likes to sit on the front porch all day, crosseyed and drooling sucking down RC Colas and MoonPies.
 
I went non-PEPC route and had my interview today. All the questions were pretty much the same as these PEPC questions that were posted. I would recommend you have in mind at least 2 for each of the stressful situation stories; She asked me for 2 examples of when I was in a group situation and we failed.

Second one was hard to think of since I only had 1 in mind and ready for her :)
 
What if you have never been in a group situation that failed? I guess the U.S. is a group...does the economy count?
 
What if you have never been in a group situation that failed? I guess the U.S. is a group...does the economy count?

They really only want to hear about how you deal with stress in stressful situations. They want to know you are able to keep working under stress even when things aren't going well and that you don't panic and freak out. So tell them reassuring experiences about how you are level headed and how you can manage a stressful work environment.

If you never had stress before, that isn't going to be reassuring to them.

anybody have a good answer for why you want to be ATC? i'm seriously in it for the money more than anything else. any suggestions????

The joys of public service? Keeping the skies safe for all the taxpayers who enjoy flying without worrying about whether or not another plane will collide with them? Working towards something important and good? Helping people? I think it's funny when people say they do it for the money. This job doesn't really pay that great. If you want money, why not become a doctor or a lawyer. They make way more money.
 
Nowadays, even Doctors and Lawyers aren't guranteed a big payday. Many family practice doctors only earn around 100k per year after their exhorbitant malpractice insurance costs. In california there are more lawyers than there are people so half of them hardly have any work...even though they still get paid good while they are working. In this day and age nothing is guaranteed and the way I see it a level 12 facility is still pretty darn good. Afterall, what didn't used to pay more than it does now?
 
Too true, I admit this is a great career and not half bad pay, I'm not saying it isn't! Just saying if you just want money, this may not be the easiest way to get it, especially if its not something you enjoy doing.
 
They really only want to hear about how you deal with stress in stressful situations. They want to know you are able to keep working under stress even when things aren't going well and that you don't panic and freak out. So tell them reassuring experiences about how you are level headed and how you can manage a stressful work environment.

If you never had stress before, that isn't going to be reassuring to them.



The joys of public service? Keeping the skies safe for all the taxpayers who enjoy flying without worrying about whether or not another plane will collide with them? Working towards something important and good? Helping people? I think it's funny when people say they do it for the money. This job doesn't really pay that great. If you want money, why not become a doctor or a lawyer. They make way more money.

well i don't care to make hundreds of thousands every year...this is a good paying job and you don't have to go to over 4 years of college for it. i was in college for 4 years majoring in engineering and my last semester i seriously began to hate it. my friend told me about this...so i'm going all the way. and yeah, thanks for the answer. i thought about answering something along what you said. my interview is on thursday btw.
 
Good luck! Relax and don't stress too much about it. The interviewers tend to be pretty cool. I had a lot of questions for her and we had a great conversation.
 
Don't stress out what so ever! You know the questions, they know you know them and they will not trick you. Be honest and share personal insight into things and you'll be done before you know it.
 
I just got back from my Pepc and everyone was really cool. They want you to feel comfortable and just be honest. Plus I told them I love being involved with aviation and the benefits are great. He agreed with me and said its a great career. Good luck!
 
the interview portion was such a joke. me and my interviewer (a manager at ZFW) were just BSin most of the time. he did ask me the questions, but he told me that if i dont have an answer for questions then its fine. he told me he was an electrician back in the 80's and that he knew nothing about ATC at the time.

for all you people going to the pepc in January, or later, they DO NOT want to fail you at the pepc. i was a little nervous goin in about some of the Team questions, but i told him that i dont work with a team, and he was like "thats fine". after about 10 seconds with your interviewer you will know what im talking about
 
They seemed to do a very good job at making everyone feel comfortable and relaxed. The joking around and chatting before the interview lightened up the mood, and I felt no pressure at all. I was really nervous about the whole thing for the weeks and months leading up to the event, not knowing what to expect and all, but it was all gone once I saw for myself the kind of atmosphere it really was.

I know a post on a message board isnt going to make you feel less nervous, because it didnt for me, but like bip said you'll know what we're talking about 10 seconds after you show up.
 
There are no tricks, games or anything to worry about. The interview, which really is not an interview, is just a BSing session to see if you're a happy, easy to work with kind of person. The questions are the exact same ones as posted at the beginining of this thread. I personally was only asked 3 of them which is just easy to BS an answer if you can't think of anything to say. If you've been selected for a PEPC, the FAA already likes you, the interview is just a matter of formality. Know a few things about your facility and you'll impress the interviewer. Also feel free to chat about the interviewers career and pick their brain about their experiences. Ask any questions you have and just fun a great time! Relax, sit back in the chair and just remember that you have nothing to worry about. 90% of my interview was BSing about life and my interviewer's career. Smile and be Happy!

And when you get asked: "How did you prepare for this interview?"...smile, laugh and jokingly tell them you were not online. Everyone in the building knows everyone is online, or at least the prepared ones are.
 
this isn't really related to pepc questions but I couldn't find anywhere else to ask.. if I have.. oh.. say 1000 in outstanding debts that I can't pay off right now (meaning they'll still be outstanding during the interview) will that mess me over when they do the background.credit check or are they looking for serious red flags? or is that a red flag?
 
Im sure the way the economy is going the government must not expect that everyone has A1 credit. I work for the Department of Homeland Security and when they did my background/credit check I had debt more than a thousand dollars. Here's an idea! go to a credit consumer councelor tell them that you need help paying of your debt. They will set something up with your creditors and you will pay little to nothing until the debt is paid off in about 18 months. Here's the deal your debt does not have to be paid off but needs to worked on and in good standings meaning throwing them a couple of dollars to be quite.
 
this isn't really related to pepc questions but I couldn't find anywhere else to ask.. if I have.. oh.. say 1000 in outstanding debts that I can't pay off right now (meaning they'll still be outstanding during the interview) will that mess me over when they do the background.credit check or are they looking for serious red flags? or is that a red flag?
Nope. I have $4k on a credit card and they didn't care.
 
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