Corporate interview.......HELP
 

Hello All,

There is always a time when a grown man must put his tail between his legs and ask for help. This is me looking for some advice and help.

A little background; I worked for a regional airline for a few years, owned my own business for a bit and now flying freight. I love my job and my current company but it's time for a little forward progress in my career. After a phone and skype interview I was invited to a face to face interview in the coming weeks for a corporate company that I've been trying to work with for a while now. I don't have any legitimate corporate flying experience but I think I have the necessary "customer service" experience from owning my own business.

It's been a while since I've had to prepare for such a big interview and naturally I'm nervous. I bought a new suite and going to update my logbook, bring copies of the resume, license, medical, blah blah blah but how do you prepare for an interview with a 91/135 corporate operator? The competition is high so I want to stand out without looking like "that guy" or being over eager. Other then what I mentioned, what should I bring? What should I be studying?

Any help would be much appreciated.

~Gigity

In my experience, corporate interviews tend to be more "get to know you" rather than technical and "what do you know." Just be yourself, smile and be polite. Think of some questions to ask them and be prepared for lots of TMAAT type of questions. Congrats and good luck!!

Know lots about the company, from stock price to future plans or programs.

If you can, learn something about the person(s) interviewing you. Background, time with company, etc.

If the do international work, know something about international ops, easily researchable.

Do NOT throw airline type questions--seniority, bidding, upgrade time--have no place here. Understand a bit about how they fly, where, do they have a flight planning provider, what kinds of flying they do--business, some personal flying for the CEO, that sort of thing.

Ask about what additional tasks you might be assigned--safety, charts, training.

GF

My guess is, if they are offering you the personal interview after doing a phone and Skype interview, you are the guy they want - or at least one of a few candidates from their original pool. That's good! So, I would say this is more of a "get to know you" interview rather than one where they are assessing your technical capabilities as a pilot. So, as much as possible, try to fit in with their culture. Research the company and the flight department, ask good questions pertaining to their operations and the company's business. Show that you have done your research about THEIR operation, and that you want to be a part of it and will fit in. Be the guy that they want to spend 2 weeks on the road with. Friendly, competent, polite, but can have fun, has a sense of humor, and doesn't take himself too seriously. Also, despite your considerable experience, I'd guess they want to ensure you're flexible and humble enough to learn new things and to fit in with corp flying.

Because it's an interview, I'd still err toward the side of formality (suit and tie, shoes shined, all your documents in perfect order). Just sets the right tone - sounds like you did all that. If it settles into a friendly session after that, read the situation and lighten up accordingly. Always easier to dial down the formality as the situation eases up than to start off with "Hey dudes!" and realize they are all prim and proper.

Just thinking out loud, and all my opinion, so probably not worth much.

Good luck - sounds like a great opportunity.

OP

Mink has some great advice. The last hiring process I participated at our "mob", we were pretty excited about one candidate via a phone interview. We scheduled a follow up personal interview, arranged the travel. Totally different in person and fell apart.

Any corporate interview, among the tech and background questions, comes down to, "can we speed a week on the road with this candidate, have a good time and trust him with the plane?". Keep that in mind, as Mink said.

GF

My good friend just got hired for a large law firm. there were multiple interviews but were pretty much "get to know you" questions. Also about saftey, they wanted to know how you would handle saftey situations. "if it's broke, get it fixed". good luck!

I would say it's fairly important to keep in mind the major differences between corporate and airline interviews. Airlines often have quite a few candidates competing for a spot, but usually not quite to the same ratio as corporate. It's really critical to understand that when you interview at a corporate company, you can't ask questions that make it look like you're interviewing them also. You need to show that you already know their situation and want to work there more than anyone else does. If you show that you're just checking it out at the interview, they'll move on to the next person. Best of luck with it!

Whatever you do...DO NOT follow any of this advice!

Be very sure to ask questions, and YES interview them as much as they are interviewing you. They want you to like being there, not that you just need a job. Its all about fit.

No, don't just ask about days off and if you are required to travel much or do extra chores as you hate those LOL...but about the worst thing you can do is leave that interview as a stranger, a YES MAN type.

Have a real personality, ask good questions, show that you have a life. Be a real person.

Think about the classic, old school airline type interview - and be exactly opposite of that...:)

Good Luck!

I was going to say the same thing. A corporate interview is a TWO-WAY street. A corp job is like getting married, you wouldn't marry someone you don't know, would you. You might spend a lot of time with these pilots, they AND YOU need to know how you I'll fit together.

GF

Agreed. Doesn't do either of you any good if a) you're miserable because you hate the job and the guys you fly with and b) they're miserable because you're always miserable.

The info from SVA might be good on the initial meeting, but you're past that.

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm trying to have a few questions ready that I can ask that make me look interested in the company (without looking like I didn't do my homework) but I'm stumped. Any ideas?

You don't want to LOOK interested, you need to BE interested. Learn about their business, where it is going, ask about how the department pilots interviewing you see where it is going. Ask about their department, its fleet history, how their flight schedule goes, Int'l or Domestic? Fleet history? Most old line corporate guys have great tales about old types they flew.

GF

If you honestly can't think of ANY questions, you are in trouble...you are likely being too conservative and rehearsing canned interview scenarios/answers...Don't do that! You can't fake this.

Don't you want to know what their average trips are like? What kind of extra training they believe in? How about that you read they are expanding in places like China, India etc? How has this affected the department? fleet changes?

How about asking the people interviewing you what their favorite and least favorite part go the job is?...that one usually gets a few laughs...and it gets people talking, and then they learn you have a personality (this is the goal)

I always liked a guy who knew how to properly ask about the quality of life at a job yet understood that we fly airplanes and go away on (sometimes) lengthy trips. To me it showed he/she has a life and wants to preserve that. I never trusted a blind YES man at an interview....he's likely hiding something that I don't want to find 6-12 months down the line.

Good Luck!

Ask them about trends in corp aviation - are they pursuing ISBAO? Do they have an SMS, has it been successful/useful? Are they full up on the EU's ETS? Do they plan to expand their fleet? If so, what type of aircraft are they getting? What areas have "new guys" had problems in the past (so you can avoid them)? Do they utilize flight attendants? If so, are they young and hot?

You get the idea...

Good stuff. Thanks guys

Let us know, if you get an offer, please. What types?

Gf

Had a formal corporate in-person interview last month at flight department HQ (after a prior informal interview with the CP).

Within the first 3 minutes I got slightly animated while answering a question and while "talking with my hands" I managed to snag the wireless computer mouse on the table.

The mouse flew up in the air, landed squarely in the middle of the table, and broke open sending batteries and plastic parts flying towards the five person interview board. At least it broke the ice when one of the interviewers exclaimed, "That was a Test!"

It unnerved me for the rest of the interview however. Moral-just be yourself and if it's a good fit it will work out.

Corporate Interview: Triple AAA all the way: Aptitude, Appearance, Attitude. If you have the skills, you're almost there. If you have the confidence and outward pride (without conceit) to show you will always represent who you are flying for, you're rounding second. If you are true to yourself, and personable, with a good disposition, helpful attitude and willing to invest in your new 'family', then I would say, "Enjoy Your New Job!"

Thanks for all of the help. Had the interview last week and it went really well. Probably the best advice was to have a ton of questions ready to ask every person I spoke with.

I met with most of the department heads from the CP, DO, Maint, Head of Accounting and one of the owners which made it fun to see how everyone likes their job and how well their operation seems to run. Everyone looked very laid back, jeans and a polo shirt, but was very professional. I only made one little mistake but I thought that was pretty good considering the whole process took over 5 hours.

Everyone's advice was very helpful and appreciated. Hopefully good news comes this week or early next week.

Hey Gigity did you hear anything with your interview? If you dont ming me asking what was the 1 thing you made a mistake with?

If it was in KMEM get ready for a change in your lifestyle!