Monday, January 02, 2006

Interview Preparation

In preparation for the March 1st interview target discussed yesterday, here is my to-do list.

  • The shortlist
  • As promised, I'll cull the unhealthy mammals and target trophy-quality specimens only.

  • Company information.
  • I need to obtain and memorize information like the names and titles of key personnel, corporate structure, fleet, routes, competitors, corporate history, future plans and company culture. Much of this I have learned already through stalking the various Steves, but I can brush up.

  • Professional Skills and Knowledge
  • Although I fly airplanes all the time, there are questions I could be asked to answer and tasks I could be asked to do that I am not current on. Part of the mission of this blog has been to give me a chance to review various knowledge areas, and I'll do more of that.

  • Interview suit
  • A man can, without anyone thinking him eccentric or impoverished, wear the same suit to a graduation ceremony, wedding, funeral, formal party and job interview. He can literally own one suit and manage all those occasions. Wardrobe doesn't work that way for women. I will have to spend some time and money putting together an ensemble that is professional, conservative and sharp.

  • Interview training
  • I'm not going to have too many chances at this. I'd better get it right. It's worth paying a professional to humiliate me a few times so I can learn to present myself to my best advantage in an interview. I should budget at least as much as for the suit. I can also get some inside gouge on what to expect the company to ask.

That's all I can think of right now. Any other suggestions?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

If I were a teenaged boy preparing a checklist like this to try to find a girlfriend in the new year, what advice would you give me?

I think that the same applies to job hunting. By all means, be well prepared, but at the same time, try to relax, be yourself, and have fun as well. Having fun, and looking like you're having fun, is probably the key.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

You may have checked this out, but if not I would recommend it. I've dealt with Lori once before via email and she was incredibly helpful..anyways check out the site and see what you think...

http://www.flytheline.com/services

Best Wishes

Anonymous said...

If the company you're pursuing requires a sim ride as part of the process, you might want to find out what kind of sim they have and see if you can get some time in it. Where I work, we sometimes have people come in to get some time in our multi-engine sim because it's what Skywest uses for their interviews.

Aviatrix said...

These are great suggestions. I really appreciate all of them and will follow up.