I am currently studying for a bachelor's degree, and I applied in March for a flight academy sponsored by a major airline. They were offering to pay for part of flight school (very expensive), so it sounded like an interesting opportunity. The materials about the program emphasized that no flight experience was needed and that the minimum age to apply is 18.
They flew me to their headquarters a few days ago to sit for an hour long presentation and a thirty minute interview. The interview was behavioral, meaning the questions asked rely on a candidate possessing experience in a professional work environment. I crashed and burned (figuratively), as this is not only the first time I've been asked behavioral interview questions, but the first time I've been professionally interviewed.
I worked on a farm for two seasons, and that's the only work experience listed on my resume. If they expect candidates for a flight program to have experience in a professional work environment, why didn't they say so in the materials for the program? If the minimum age to apply is 18, in what universe would an 18 year old meet their expectation? And more importantly, why did they fly a person with no work experience (me) to an interview asking about previous experience? They wasted 9 months of my time during the application process, the 12 hours of my life that I was out of town, flew me to their headquarters, and told me I don't have the experience they're looking for. They either shouldn't have offered me the interview in the first place, or they should tell candidates that experience is required. Had I known that they needed experience, I wouldn't have applied in the first place.