Manager Airline Interview Preparation Guide

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This question is basically asking if you panic when problems arise. So make it clear in your answer that you make all attempts to anticipate problems before they arise so you can deal with them in a more controlled environment.

“I don’t react to problems, but acknowledge their existence and respond to them in a calm manner. Reacting to a problem causes a panic and the problem does not get resolved until everyone calms down, accepts the situation and then focuses on a resolution.”

While this question is an invitation to do some chest pounding, remember to illustrate strengths that will benefit the employer and are relative to the position. For example:

☛ being a problem solver
☛ being a motivator
☛ being a natural leader
☛ the ability to perform under pressure
☛ a positive attitude
☛ loyalty

Are typically all solid strengths, but again, consider the position. For example, mentioning you are an excellent “team player” in a job where you largely work alone suddenly becomes irrelevant to the employer and demonstrates a genuine lack of self awareness.

Most of us are a little of each, but be careful how you tailor your answer. If you come across as a risk taker, you may be prejudged as one who will disregard corporate policy in the future. It is best to come across as one who generally plays it safe, but is not afraid of taking risks as long as everything has been done to mitigate the risk.

“I believe that taking risks is part of life but by mitigating the risk, I believe the best possible solution presents itself. I’m not afraid of taking risks; I just make sure that I have considered all the facts and possible outcomes my decision will have.”

Many consider this question to be a loaded gun – dangerous in the hands of the inexperienced. Often times, an interviewee will start talking salary before they’ve had an opportunity to illustrate their skill set and value making any sort of leverage valueless. Here, knowledge is power, as salary often comes down to negotiation. Do some research into your industry to establish base rates of pay based on seniority and demand but keep in mind – your employer is hiring you for what they believe you are worth, and how much benefit they feel you will provide.

One relatively safe approach is simply asking the interviewer about the salary range. If you wish to avoid the question entirely, respond by saying that “money isn’t a key factor” and your primary goal is to advance in your career.

Another tricky one. The purpose of this question is to see how you view and evaluate yourself.

One the one hand, if you suggest you don’t have any weaknesses, your interviewer will almost certainly see you as a lair, egotistical, or both.

Don’t fall into the trap of trying to present a positive skill in disguise as a weakness, like “I work too hard” or “I am a perfectionist”. Any experienced interviewer will see through this in a heartbeat.

Additionally, revealing that “I’m not really a morning person and have been known to come in late” raises immediate and obvious red flags.

The trick here is to respond realistically by mentioning a small, work related weakness and what you are doing or have done to overcome it.

This is one of the favorite tough questions of Jon Sterling, co-founder of Interview Circuit. It's tricky because "I don't have an answer in mind when I ask it," he says, "and I use it to see how the candidate reacts."

A variety of answers would be acceptable in this scenario. "A good answer would be, 'I'm willing to stick with this job for as long as it takes to succeed,'" Sterling says. This shows endurance and that you're in it for the long-haul.

Alternatively, you could say that you plan to fail as quickly as possible so that you can learn from your mistakes and move on. "That answer would indicate that they're impatient, aggressive, and not afraid to fail (which are things I like)," Sterling says.

Bad answer: "A few months, or I don't know ... what do you think?"

In this manager question, they are not asking if you keep a messy desk. Don’t reveal any organizational flaws you may have as that will be a strike against you and if you do have your act together, don’t come across as being a neatness freak either. Instead, speak of your ability to manage time and workload.

“Yes, I consider myself to be very well organized. Everyday when I arrive at work, I check my email and messages. Then I plan out exactly what I am going to do that day. Even if I already know that I am going to work on the Johnson proposal, I still review my current status and set my goals for the day. At the end of the day, I review my progress and plan for the following day.”

Manager interview questions like this are generally asked to discover additional hidden qualities about yourself that you might not otherwise have mentioned.

“My co-workers will tell you that I am a team player and a colleague they can count on to pull his weight whether it’s a normal day or we’re in a crunch.”

The interviewer is looking for work related examples of how you measure success and when know you have reached accomplishment. Use a work related example and keep your answer short and to the point.

“In my opinion and as it relates to the workplace, success is a measurable variable. If you don’t measure your accomplishments, success is lost. Success can be tied to everything you do each day.

If I plan to accomplish 3 tasks before the end of the day and I do so, then I have been successful. Success simply means accomplishing what you set out to do within the parameters you specify, whether they be time, money or learning, etc.”

This can be a great way to stand out from other applicants and demonstrate initiative. Almost every company will have a website, Facebook page, Instagram account, or some sort of digital footprint. Spend a bit of time doing some online research:

☛ If they have a website, check out their “About us” or “Culture/Mission/Vision” pages.
☛ Who are some of the principal people who work there? Who are the founders?
☛ What sorts of things does this company care about? Do they donate to a particular cause or charity? Which one(s)?
☛ What are their core values? Which of their core values resonate with you?
☛ Has the company been in the news recently or have they won any awards (Social Media can be a great place to find this information).

This one you can almost be assured will be asked, and you better have some ready.

By asking questions you demonstrate initiative, and show that you care enough about the job to have done some research. Ask questions that focus on areas where you can be an asset. Beyond this, other questions may be more direct including productivity, expectations, training, and other logistics. All this being said, try and limit the questions to no more than three or four.

If you’re currently employed and leaving of your own accord, craft your response around enhancing your career development and a seeking out of new challenges.

If your current employer is downsizing, be honest about it, remain positive, but keep it brief. If your employer fired you or let you go for cause, be prepared to give a brief – but honest – reply. No matter how tempting it may be, or how “unfair it was that they let you go” steer clear away from any and all drama and negativity. Any experienced employer understands that sometimes things happen. Staying positive is key here.

An easy question to answer well with one caveat – don’t slam your fellow interviewee’s. On the one hand, you have an opportunity to really stand out from the pack. Alternatively, You shouldn’t assume the skills of other applicants. Focus on your own strengths, and if the interviewer hasn’t given you an opportunity to mention that one “slam dunk” quality about yourself, now would be the time.

Is there a wrong way to answer this question? Consider the responses below:

☛ “I really need a job right now”
☛ “I need the money”
☛ “Your office is really close to my house”
☛ “I’ve always been interested in what you guys do”

Notice any commonality here? All of these answers demonstrate a benefit to you. While every employer assumes that these sorts of things play in on some level, these are not the reasons they are going to hire you.

Ever since my first paper route at age 10 I’ve been doing something to keep myself busy and earn money. Back then, it was obviously about earning some spending money. What I didn’t realize was that I was actually starting the journey of establishing what I liked to do and how I fit in to the grand scheme of things. I then worked as a junior computer tech in my last 2 summers of high school. It was here that I discovered what I was passionate about and what I wanted to do. I enrolled in college to get my degree in computer sciences, and I have been working around technology ever since.

☛ Describe a situation where you had to plan or organise something.
☛ Has anything ever irritated you about people you've worked with?
☛ What kinds of situations do you find most stressful?
☛ How do you decide what gets top priority when scheduling your time?☛ What do you like and dislike about the job we are discussing?

☛ What has been your most successful experience in speech making?
☛ Tell me about your strengths.
☛ Tell me about a time when you successfully handled a situation?
☛ How do you see your job relating to the overall goals?
☛ What do you believe are your key strengths?

Start with the present and tell why you are well qualified for the position. Describe your weaknesses as strengths. Provide truthful answers to Airline management interview questions and exude confidence when speaking.

☛ Tell me how you’ve used the strengths and skills that make you a strong candidate.
☛ Give me an example of other opportunities you are considering and where you stand in their hiring process.
☛ Give me specific examples of why this opportunity is appealing to you and your level of interest in it.
☛ Tell me about something I should know that we haven’t discussed so far.
☛ Tell about the combination of your skills, knowledge, and experience that would cause you to hire yourself.

☛ Walk me through the steps you took recently to identify and attract high-performing candidates.
☛ Here’s a blank sheet of paper. Please draw your current organization chart and your place on it.
☛ Tell me about the actions you took to recruit a high-level engineering (or sales, or marketing, or finance) executive to your organization.
☛ Tell me about a time when social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram didn’t work for you.
☛ Tell me about your experiences with LinkedIn … when it worked well for you and when it did not.
☛ Tell me about a recent time you prioritized candidates to enable the manager to make an informed hiring decision.
☛ Give me an example of a key hire you made who affected the bottom line of the business.
☛ Tell me about a time when you had to sell a candidate on the job.
☛ Describe a situation when you struggled to support a particularly demanding hiring manager.
☛ Tell me about a time you developed a workable relationship with an indecisive manager.
☛ Give me specific examples of junior recruiters who’ve grown and developed as a result of your coaching.
☛ Walk me through an experience you’ve had when your top candidate received a competing offer that was more money than yours.
☛ Describe your biggest recruiting mistake, the impact it had on the business, and what you learned from it.
☛ Walk me through the steps you take in checking candidate references.
☛ Describe the steps you’ve taken to build a pipeline of promising performers.
☛ Tell me about a time when you had to keep a promising candidate interested in your organization even when you didn’t have a specific opportunity for them.

☛ If you were hiring a person for this job, what would you look for?
☛ What was the most stressful situation you have faced?
☛ When given an important assignment, how do you approach it?
☛ Tell me about an important goal that you set in the past.
☛ How do you feel about taking no for an answer?

☛ How do you evaluate your ability to handle conflict?
☛ Have you ever had difficulty working with a manager?
☛ What have you been doing since your last job?
☛ What parts of your education do you see as relevant to this position?
☛ What is the difference between a good position and an excellent one?

Find out everything you can about the company, its culture and its goals. Don't get trivial or negative answering Airline management interview questions. Your answer should be focused on what you can bring to the role that will be of benefit to the company.

☛ Tell me about the events that led you to the recruiting profession.
☛ Give me an example of your personal and professional goals and how recruiting fits into them.
☛ Give me an example of your most rewarding recruiting experience.
☛ Tell me about a specific recruiting assignment that was particularly challenging.
☛ Give me examples of the circumstances that cause you to consider leaving your current company.
☛ Tell me about the situations that have brought out the best in you.
☛ Give me examples of conditions in your current position that do not play to your strengths.

☛ What three character traits would your friends use to describe you?
☛ Describe a time you were faced with stresses which tested your skills.
☛ What type of work environment do you prefer?
☛ What is a typical career path in this job function?
☛ What irritates you about other people?

Do not forget to ask for the names of interviewers. And then, remember to give them a polite thank you.
Discuss any attributes that may set you apart from other job candidates. Be sure that you refer to something that was beyond your control.

☛ Can you describe a time when your work was criticized?
☛ Tell me about an important issue you encountered recently.
☛ What are you expecting from this firm in the future?
☛ How well did your college experience prepare you for this job?
☛ What has been your biggest professional disappointment?

☛ What problems have you encountered at work?
☛ Give me an example that best describes your organizational skills.
☛ How have you changed in the last five years?
☛ What was the most difficult period in your life, and how did you deal with it?
☛ How did you react when faced with constant time pressure?

☛ How would you describe your leadership style?
☛ Describe a time you led by example.
☛ What’s your approach to delegating employees? How do you ensure that tasks are carried out to completion?
☛ Describe someone you coached or mentored. What were they doing initially, and what are they doing now?
☛ How would you tell a colleague that he/she was underperforming?
☛ Talk about the time you led an important meeting.
☛ Talk about a successful work project involving multiple teams. What was your role in facilitating the project? What was the result?
☛ Have you ever had to execute a project with a small budget, or a lack of resources? How did you address these issues?
☛ Tell me about a time when your team was struggling to meet business goals. What happened? What did you do about it?
☛ Talk about a successful work project. What was your goal? What was the result?
☛ What changes did you make that resulted in increasing productivity, improving efficiency, or lowering costs?
☛ Walk us through a typical day at your last position. How do you prioritize your tasks?
☛ What are some industry trends that have an impact on your role as a manager?
☛ Why are you interested in our company? What is the relationship between this job and your career goals?