Why pre-screen air traffic controllers before the simulator assessment and panel board
Pre-screening air traffic controllers protects the simulator slot, which is expensive to run and staffed by rated instructors. Applicants arrive from academy pools, military tower and radar backgrounds, contract towers, and overseas ANSPs, and a CV lists a rating without telling you which sectors they actually worked, how recently they held currency, or whether the medical is valid. Ten minutes of audio surfaces phraseology habits, handover completeness, and how a candidate talks about the day a decision went wrong.
What actually matters when screening Air Traffic Controller candidates
- 01
Ratings and technical competence
Check current ratings and endorsements, the units and airspace worked, and command of separation standards.
- 02
Situational awareness under load
Test how they hold the whole picture when traffic spikes and one aircraft needs disproportionate attention.
- 03
Decisions under pressure
Assess a real decision they made with incomplete information, and how they handled getting one wrong.
- 04
Communication discipline
Judge phraseology discipline, readback practice, and the completeness of their position handovers.
Pre-screening questions to ask Air Traffic Controller candidates
12 questions grouped by what they test. Ask the same set in every screen and score answers on a consistent scale, or send them as an async video screen and compare answers side by side.
Ratings and airspace
4 questions01What air traffic control or aviation experience do you have, and which units and sectors did you work?
Listen forNamed units, position types (ground, tower, approach radar, area), traffic volumes, and the dates they held each position.
Vague aviation exposure presented as controlling experience, or no unit and sector detail at all.
02Which air traffic control certifications, ratings, and endorsements do you currently hold, and when were you last current?
Listen forSpecific ratings and endorsements with issuing authority, currency dates, and the class and expiry of their medical certificate.
Lapsed currency or a missing medical presented as a formality they will sort out later.
03How comfortable are you working with complex radar and navigation tools, and which systems have you used on position?
Listen forNamed radar and flight data systems, familiarity with conflict alert and safety net tools, and how they cross check displayed data.
Generic claims of being tech savvy without naming a single display, system, or safety net.
04How proficient are you at interpreting weather data, and how does a deteriorating METAR change how you run your sector?
Listen forFluent reading of METAR, TAF, and SIGMET products, plus concrete decisions on runway changes, holding, and spacing increases.
Treats weather as someone else's product rather than an input to their own sequencing decisions.
Situational awareness
3 questions05How do you hold the whole traffic picture during peak hours when one aircraft demands most of your attention?
Listen forA described scanning routine, use of strips or electronic flight data, deliberate offloading to the coordinator, and when they stop accepting handoffs.
Claims to simply multitask well with no scan pattern, prioritisation rule, or point at which they ask for help.
06How do you handle the stress of monitoring multiple aircraft at once across a long shift?
Listen forConcrete load management: break discipline, position splitting, hydration and fatigue habits, and asking for a second controller before saturation.
Says they never feel stress, or relies on adrenaline and pushing through instead of structured relief.
07What do you do to stay sharp during long quiet periods with almost no traffic?
Listen forActive habits: rehearsing scenarios, checking NOTAMs and weather, verifying equipment status, and scanning the airspace picture rather than waiting.
Admits to phones, reading, or switching off until a call comes in.
Decisions under pressure
2 questions08Two aircraft are converging on a collision course in your sector. Talk me through exactly what you do.
Listen forImmediate avoiding action with a specific heading or level, correct phraseology, traffic information passed, and expectation of TCAS response and later reporting.
Hesitation, coordination before intervention, or an answer with no concrete instruction in it.
09Tell me about a real emergency that came up on your position and how you handled it.
Listen forA specific event with the squawk or call type, what they cleared, who they coordinated with, and what the debrief changed.
A textbook checklist recital with no actual event, or a story where they cannot say what happened next.
Phraseology and shift cover
3 questions10Record 60 seconds showing how you keep transmissions clear when the frequency is busy, using the phraseology you would actually use.
Listen forStandard phraseology, correct call sign format, digits spoken individually, short transmissions, and an explicit readback expectation.
Colloquial substitutions for standard terms, run-on instructions, or filler that would step on other transmissions.
11How familiar are you with standard aviation phraseology and terminology, and how do you handle a doubtful readback?
Listen forInsists on a full correct readback, challenges ambiguity immediately, and gives examples of confusable call signs or similar sounding instructions.
Accepts a partial readback or assumes the pilot understood because they responded at all.
12Are you willing to work rotating shifts, nights, weekends, and holidays, including overtime cover at short notice?
Listen forA clear yes with evidence of past rota work, plus honest constraints on commute distance, notice needed, and rest requirements.
Conditional availability or discomfort with night and holiday rotation in a role staffed around the clock.
How to score responses
Score every candidate on the same four criteria immediately after the screen. At this stage you are shortlisting for panel interviews, not making the final call.
Ratings and technical competence
30%5Current ratings for the environment, with separation standards and local procedures known cold.
Situational awareness under load
30%5Keeps the full picture during a spike, reprioritises deliberately, and flags saturation before reaching it.
Decisions under pressure
25%5Decides quickly toward the safe option under uncertainty, and reports their own errors without concealment.
Communication discipline
15%5Phraseology and readback stay precise under pressure, and handovers include everything still unresolved.
Controlling is judged by ear: cadence, clipped standard phraseology, and intelligibility over a frequency cannot be read off a CV. Async video and audio responses let you hear each candidate transmit before you book instructor time.
Try it on HirevireScreening FAQ
Process basics
What should I verify about an air traffic controller's ratings before scheduling a simulator assessment?
Verify the specific rating and endorsements, the unit and sectors where they were held, the date they were last current, and the class of medical certificate on file. A tower rating at a single runway field is not interchangeable with approach radar or area control, and lapsed currency usually means a retraining path your operations team has to fund.approach
How long should a pre-screen for a controller role be?
Keep it to ten minutes of recorded responses, roughly eight to twelve questions with the technical ones as audio. That is enough to hear phraseology, confirm ratings and shift availability, and get one real incident story. Anything longer duplicates the simulator assessment and the panel board, where instructors judge scanning and traffic sequencing directly.
Evaluating answers
What separates a strong answer about a loss of separation from a weak one?
Strong answers name the actual numbers involved, the point where the candidate noticed, the instruction issued, and what the investigation or debrief concluded. They treat the event as a system finding rather than a personal verdict. Weak answers stay abstract, blame the pilot or the adjacent sector, or claim nothing has ever gone wrong on their watch.
How can I judge radio discipline from a recorded answer?
Listen for standard phraseology, correct call sign format, numbers spoken digit by digit, and readback expectations stated as a requirement rather than a courtesy. Strong candidates speak in short, unhurried transmissions and correct themselves cleanly. Fillers, run-on instructions, and colloquial substitutions for standard terms predict trouble on a busy frequency.
Go deeper on this role
Sanat has been hiring since 2012 and watching the recruitment industry change up close ever since, and turned that screening process into Hirevire's video screening platform. LinkedIn
