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If you are job hunting and want to land a great opportunity it is extremely important to ace the job interview.  While a job resume is important to get you into the door, in order to get the job of your dreams, you must first ace the job interview.  Here are some tips on doing well with the interview process.

A job interview is for the employer to meet with you to make sure you have the skills necessary to perform the job competently and also make sure that your personality will be a great fit with the company.  If you want to impress your interviewers there are a few things to remember.  The top three things to remember is to be prepared to ask and answer questions, dress appropriately, and show off your personality in the best light as possible.

Many people don’t come prepared for the job interview.  They don’t know what they will be asked and they don’t have any questions to show the interviewer that they know about the company or that they are interested in the job that they will be asked to perform..

It is also important to dress properly. Many times people are dressed so inappropriately that the interviewer makes a negative first impression.  If you have any doubts on your dress, change your outfit.  It is also important to be personable.  You don’t have to be the life of the party, but show the interviewer that you are a positive person that is responsible.  Nobody wants to interview a negative or combative person.  So in order to ace your job interview, follow the above tips.

With the expansion of the Maritime Security Program (MSP), the MSP fleet is growing from 47 to 60 ships. There is also growth in the U.S.-flag cruise ship industry. That means as employees working under contracts between maritime companies and the Seafarers International Union, merchant mariners have the opportunity to sail on a wide variety of vessels, including deep-sea cargo vessels and military support ships, where mariners continue to support U.S. troops in Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Also in the opportunity mix are Great Lakes vessels, cable ships, tugboats and passenger ferries.

The place for many American men and women who set their sights on setting sail is the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The state-of-the-art school, affiliated with the Seafarers International Union, offers the most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation-from entry level to license preparation to academic support.

In addition to academic support, the school offers GED and college degree programs. The apprentice program blends hands-on training with classroom instruction. That particular phase has helped boost the industry’s retention rate-approximately 75 percent of students who complete the entire program are still sailing four years later.

At any given time there are 100 trainees at the school-some in Phase 1, others in Phase 3 (Phase 2 is at sea).

Based in Piney Point, Md., the school’s training tools include bridge and engine simulators, the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School and a culinary lab.

I like Simon, one of three judges on American Idol. I find his feedback refreshingly honest. And while his words startle me with their ego wounding potential, the traditional feel-good, let-you-down-easy, sugar-coated feedback is not much of a gift. Some contestants rise to the challenges he throws at them. The people who influenced me most in my career were those who gave me the hardest critiques. Stricken with a bruised-ego for days, or on occasion for months, inevitably their feedback helped me make the right life choices to improve, change direction, or stay the course with intensity. In fact, the boss who was the hardest on me is the one I thank the most. No sugar coating from her. And the funny thing? Being honest with yourself is one of the challenges to winning at working. We all have talents and abilities, but they’re not always in the areas we pursue at work. Too many people I’ve run across in my career have American Idol Syndrome (AIS). Like Idol contestants auditioning with little or no singing ability, these people believe they are good at what they do. They can’t understand why they don’t get the promotion, the outstanding review, or the highest increases. They view themselves as varsity team material, but they play with junior varsity skills.

When I was a freshman at Stanford, I got a D in biology. Stanford graded on a bell-curve, so an 84% that might traditionally put me in a B category, was near the class bottom. Accustomed to A’s, first quarter grades woke me up. I wasn’t at another school. If I was going to compete at the school I was at, it was time to use more than high school skills to bring results.

Are you applying yourself? Give yourself some Simon-esk feedback. Ego aside. A Simon-esk answer to the questions, “how good are you?” and “are you in the right field?” offers you a chance at becoming happier and more successful at working. The answers give you choices: you can stay the course; find a playing field at your skill level; improve your skills to compete where you are; or change directions.