Successful Job Interview with ELab Help

AUT graduate Justin Singh at work at Air NZ contact centre

Justin Singh has always had a great passion for the travel industry. As a boy he used to read atlases, dreaming of places he might one day visit. When the Bachelor of International Tourism Management graduate saw a job advertised at Air NZ, he decided to get help from AUT Employability and Careers to ensure he presented as well as he could.

The Air NZ Contact Centre Consultant role was the perfect stepping stone into an organisation that could offer job progression and opportunities to travel around the world.
“I really wanted to make sure I got the job. I remembered reading about Employability Lab on the website and hearing about it during a seminar in first year, so I went there,” says Justin.

big help

And what a difference it made. To start Justin was shown what he needed to do to get his CV and cover letter up to scratch for his application. This included demonstrating how the skills he’d gained from working in hospitality were relevant to the travel industry.

When Justin got offered an interview by Air New Zealand he went straight back to ELab to get help with interview practice.  
“One of the biggest things I learned was to be natural, to be myself. I was trying to put on a professional persona and say what I thought was wanted, rather than be me. This included things like talking about my interests and what I did in your life. That was a really big tip,” he says.
Justin would take notes while discussing how to answer questions with AUT Employability and Career Specialist Naufa Abdul Sattar, then go home and practice his answers.
“It was amazing. When I went into the interview I could confidently answer every question they asked me. Like, they asked me about a challenge I had and I was able to talk about working in groups and having disagreements and how we managed to resolve them. I realised I became more confident as the interview went on because I knew I was well prepared.”

Justin was also encouraged to improve another important career tool - LinkedIn. Justin was surprised at how much more professional he could make his LinkedIn profile and the significance of LinkedIn within the tourism and travel industry.
“I had 40 connections before I worked on it and now I have over 100. I am getting to know more about the travel industry through connections and can see how important it is to keep updated, it makes a big difference.”

The job

Justin has been at the contact centre since early January where he’s loving the role. He is currently working in domestic bookings and will soon start training on short-haul and long-haul bookings. 
“It is exciting. The travel industry is getting busier now that the borders have reopened and flights are getting a bit cheaper. I’m also hoping to do a bit more travel myself eventually.”

He strongly recommends all students access the AUT Employability and Career Services.

"They will help boost your interview skills, give you good CV advice and help your LinkedIn profile look more professional. The Employability Lab helps you get a good job out of your studies."

Want to access employability and careers help?

The easiest way to access all the employability and career support offered by AUT is to go online to Elab Online. This is where you can find workshops, make one on one appointment, register for employer events, sign up to our job boards and access other resources.

Not used Elab Online before?

It is easy. Click here, put in your AUT username and password and you're there. Workshops and employer presentations set under Events. You can attend workshops and one-on-one appointments on campus or online.

If you are on city campus you can visit the Employability and Career Services team at city campus at WA202. Our team also do regular days at the Student Hub at North and South campuses.

We look forward to meeting you.