After receiving my email invitation to interview, I immediately called my friend who worked for the company to ask for any pointers for the interview. He gave me a lot of really good information and a huge list of things I could start studying. I began prepping that night and then called the next morning to schedule my interview. I was going to have 2 months off work before my baby was supposed to arrive, so I figured if I could interview before I had the little guy, it would work out perfectly. Then I could make an easy transition from SkyWest- have my last day there be my last day before maternity leave- and then start back up at work at a new company. It was the perfect plan, except...
When I called to schedule my interview the first available day they had was my son's due date. Dang! So I ended up scheduling the interview for when he would be 2 months old, with the assumption that newborn babies were super easy and slept 20 hours a day (obviously I was a first time mom because that is the opposite of true... haha).
I went on maternity leave as planned and began my studying. I studied for a few hours every morning, and then to keep up my knowledge and flying skills, I took on an instrument student. I remembered how much I loved flight instructing during this time! It was a bit challenging as I hadn't flown GA (general aviation) in the Seattle are before (we'd just moved here a year prior), but it ended up being a wonderful change from the hustle and bustle of airline flying. Plus, I got the most amazing views, and since I was flying part 91, I could take photos!
After my son was born, I found out incredibly fast what sleep deprivation was. I tried to keep studying for my interview during the days, but even if I made myself sit at the cold hard table, I'd fall asleep in a matter of minutes. A month prior to my interview I realized I would not be ready. I wanted to interview so badly so I could start sooner than later as seniority is EVERYTHING in this industry, but I knew I would not get the job offer if I interviewed unprepared.
I was nervous to reschedule, however, because I knew it was unprofessional to do so and definitely not recommended at all. I didn't want a bad mark on my record before I even began. But, I knew I had to let go of my ego and just do it.
I cannot tell you how kind they were during that entire process. They rescheduled my interview with no problems, and then contacted the travel department and had them change my flights to and from the interview. During this process I received 3 different emails from the company congratulating me on my new baby and letting me know how they looked forward to meeting me on my new interview date. I was blown away at how thoughtful they all were. I went from dreading making that phone call to reschedule, to wanting to work for the company even more now!
I ended up going back to work at SkyWest in September of that year, and then interviewing the following month. That ended up being the perfect timing for me. I had plenty of time to prep for the interview, my son starting sleeping through the night a bit more so I wasn't quite so tired all of the time, and I had plenty of time to study while I was on my trip overnights.
By the time the day for my interview came, I wasn't nervous anymore; I was excited! I was ready. I flew out the day before, read over a few of my notes, took myself out to eat and then relaxed that night. I slept like a baby (except that saying is silly, because again, very few babies sleep like that) and woke up rested and ready for the interview.
Stay tuned to hear about Day 1 of my interview. Until next time, Happy Flying!