When you’re in the hot seat in front of a potential employer, the way you handle those interview nerves and tough questions could mean the difference between getting or losing your dream aviation job.
Here are a few top interview tips on how to settle those jangling nerves, make the right impression and secure that job.
The Basics – A Checklist
- Check you have read the job advertisement and description before your interview.
- Ensure you meet the requirements and you have a positive answer for any areas you don’t fully meet.
- Research the company’s products, staff, culture, clients and competitors.
- Ensure you know the correct name of your interviewers and their job titles.
- Be sure you know what type of interview you’ll be attending. Different companies prefer one-to-one interviews, panel interviews, assessment centres, and/or use psychometric testing.
- Make sure you know where you’re going – get a map and plan your journey in advance, allowing for delayed trains and accidents.
- Have your CV, references and any additional information requested, to hand.
- Dress appropriately, but check with the culture of the office too. If in doubt, overdress.
- Layout your clothing the day before to make sure it’s ready.
- Read over your CV and make sure you know it back to front.
- Focus on your achievements when asked interview questions and portray every response in a positive way.
- Don’t interrupt your interviewer and give a steady handshake when entering.
- Prepare model answers for any tricky questions you believe they may ask you. Prepare examples of how you’ve used each of the skills that you want to highlight.
Prepare Your Own Questions in Advance, Which Might Include:
- What are the goals for the department or business over the next one to five years?
- What business challenges do you foresee and how do you plan to overcome these?
- What challenges do you envisage in this role?
- How would you describe the company culture?
Unless prompted, do not ask what the salary/benefits will be if this is the first interview. You could ask if there are any areas they would like further clarification on at the end – just to be able to have a second opportunity if necessary. Ask what the next steps are, eg what’s the follow-up procedure, when will they let you know whether you’ve got a second or third interview.
Second Opportunities
If you feel upon reflection you could have answered a question in a better way or failed to get an important achievement across, why not follow up with a letter thanking the interviewer for their time and reiterate your suitability for the post.
Unsuccessful in the Job Interview?
If you are unsuccessful in your interview, it’s worth a call to request feedback – while they are very busy they should oblige and offer you some valuable tips as to where you could have improved.
