How to build relationships fast

My response is fairly standard but no less important each time I mention it: “You don’t need to sell yourself; you need to be yourself – but be prepared.” You see, being yourself is the authenticity most employers want, and authenticity is something we know our industry has focused on for the last few years during their recruitment processes.

Why the shift from purely technical or academic-focused decision-making? Two reasons. Firstly, because you are at the job interview, you already meet the technical or academic criteria for doing the job. Secondly, aviation employers know they can teach you what you don’t know, but they cannot teach you attitude or aptitude.

Screening for attitude and aptitude fills in the less quantifiable criteria but is no less important. The real challenge, unlike selling yourself, is “How do I build a relationship with this HR team in under an hour? Or, in some cases, over one day?”

Don’t exclude passions, stories and personal achievements

A candidate will often stumble across something in common with the recruitment team during the prompt “Tell me about yourself or your career”. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bonded with a pilot who did time on a station aerial mustering and sometimes had to jump on horseback to muck in. You guessed it, I rode the Man from Snowy River six-day horse adventure last year. Imagine the conversation.

Speak their language

Rapport comes when you discuss things that matter to each other. Dive into the company’s goals and values. What community service programs do they support – think environment, healthcare or the underprivileged? What industry impact vision do they have – perhaps championing underrepresented demographics?

Particularly for airlines, environmental impact is a key issue. Most of us now are very conscious of how we live in the world around sustainability. This is often a talking point.

Research the heck out of the personnel and extra-curricular activities

I once gained a role at Woodside Offshore Petroleum over in Perth by being a half-decent volleyball player. My research uncovered a highly competitive volleyball team. I mean, these folks were serious! Creating an opportunity to weave my prowess into the interview was part of my preparation.

Ideas – come with some

They might already have thought of them, but who cares? Solution-based personnel are extremely valuable; it also demonstrates you are invested in the opportunity. One of Pinstripe Solutions’ newer team members brought her thinking around social media and new ways to use it during our first meeting We loved it. PS: Social media was not even part of the job description.

Personality – have one

I know you have it – what I am saying is show it. Have a laugh, smile, be self-deprecating, and use appropriate humour. Get intense about something that matters to you and ask questions. When candidates ask me, ‘It’s really hard to find good questions, do I have to have some?’ The answer is a resounding YES. Asking questions is extremely important because it shows your potential, your inquisitiveness, creativity, motivation and interest. No employer wants an overproduced AI version of you. After all, they are sitting there thinking “How will this person get along with my team and customers?” Perfection is not the key. Preparation and authenticity are.

There are pilots, cabin crew, engineers and analysts I remember years later, based on the ‘other stuff’ they shared with me during their coaching sessions or interviews. Relationships are, well, crucial in every aspect of life, and no less important when someone is deciding to give you a job or not.

Forget the phrase ‘sell myself’. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to show a slice of who you actually are at your next job interview. Grab a piece of paper and write down what that story might be for you. You never know what the person sitting across from you has in common with you unless you share.