It’s all a matter of Trust…
When an airline offers a position on the flight deck, it is under pressure to select the best candidates, to be excellent professional pilots for the organisation. This could be a thirty year plus career, and we all want to the best members on our team.
So while airlines continue to use the traditional method of assessment and interview, is Authenticity the most important competency of them all?
Can we trust the Flight Academy report? Can we trust the Logbook is correctly recorded and certified? Can we be sure what is written in the CV is correct and a true reflection? Can we trust the references?
The interviewers I know, often discuss the intangible nature of identifying an excellent candidate. Like style, authenticity is easy to recognise but hard to define.
So what is Authenticity? In my definition, it is the ability to speak and discuss the real you with an assessing panel, comfortable and articulate in describing your training and work experiences, good and bad. Being genuine in your self-assessment, and confident in speaking when you did well and when could maybe have done better. To have a reasonable and rational self-opinion, neither overtly positive and negative, and the skill to recognise how to improve your professional performance. To be able to back up your experiences, with interesting and relevant storylines, that are credible and personal.
In the Interview process, the real test of Authenticity is best assessed. So as candidates for the much sought after positions, do we have the confidence to be Authentic?
In my work, I often notice that sometimes we can struggle to trust in ourselves, to be good enough for success. The Imposter Syndrome or White Line Fever can result in the most excellent candidates, having a disastrous interview experience as they try to be someone they are not.
Having the confidence to speak about what you are good at, and what you are not, is a real test. The interviewers can identify who is telling the real story, and who is trying to tell them what they think they want to hear…
Being Authentic requires practice, but reaps huge rewards. It determines great self-awareness, self-confidence, emotional intelligence, and the ability to know what work is yet to be done, along with recognition of your previous achievements.
It can display a level headiness that is required for the cockpit, and the self-assurance to identify and plan for what you are still learning.
Being authentic, means being able to discuss clearly your wins and your losses in a dispassionate manner, that keeps everything in proportion.
Finally, being Authentic, makes it easy for the interviewers to select you, when you are the right match for the company you want to fly for.
Best of luck in allowing the authentic you into the assessment room, it’s worth it…!
Captain Conor
