weswood151 Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 Simple scenario; I’m interested in a company in a certain location that conducts a certain type of flying. I’m also a couple hundred hrs away from their stated hiring minimums (have 1200, need 1500). What I am truly interested in is; what should my next 300 hours look like to best make me competitive for them & what does flying for them really consists of? I am sure these are busy folks, but is it verboten, frowned upon or just plain annoying for a pilot to call a Chief pilot to ask about their company and what they value? If it’s not; what are some of the questions you would ask (have prepared), if they gave you a moment of their time? Actual chief pilot responses welcome. Oh, and I’ll be sure to save these questions for Heli-Success in Nov. Thanks in Advance! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Pig Posted July 24, 2013 Report Share Posted July 24, 2013 (edited) Hard to know what your next 300hrs should look like when we dont know what they do. Is this a tour company flying an R22 and you are 300hrs short or do you have 1200hrs in R22s and you want to work for Haverfield flying 500s on powerlines?Just call and ask. May not be the CP you talk to. i put in for a job where I didnt meet the minimums and by about 500hrs and I got it. And quite frankly...... beat out about 25 other people from what HR tells me. Edited July 24, 2013 by Flying Pig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weswood151 Posted July 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2013 Thanks Flying Pig. It’s actually an Ag job, but I was more interested in the protocol of calling to ask about jobs and details of certain companies. I am interested in more than Ag flying and I am in no way prepared to hold out for one perfect job in one perfect location. And let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to fly power lines for Haverfield. I saw a video of that 10 years and can still remember it. I am certainly planning on applying for a few jobs that I am shy on the requirements for out of necessity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollthbns Posted July 24, 2013 Report Share Posted July 24, 2013 I have no problems with people calling me. You just have to understand that sometimes workload doesn't allow for immediate responses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted July 24, 2013 Report Share Posted July 24, 2013 Ag is a segment of the industry where showing up in person is preferable, if not mandatory. Pretty resumes don't mean much, but a handshake and a checkride does. Nothing wrong with cold calling. I once got a job after driving some distance, and calling the chief pilot from a pay phone. He told me he wasn't seeing anyone and wasn't hiring. I told him I'd heard good things about him, was in the neighborhood, and would like to stop in to shake his hand. He said come on over. I came over, and after talking for a while, he asked if I had a resume. I did, in the car, already addressed to him. I left with the job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RkyMtnHI Posted July 24, 2013 Report Share Posted July 24, 2013 I think Weswood is right on here and totally agree with avbug too (in fact, reread what avbug wrote and get it.. it pays to get in front of the people). I like that Weswood is thinking forward and trying to taylor his/her experience to fit the job in particular. As Mark posted, most of us have good intentions and would like to sit down with every candidate and or speak with them on the phone, but sometimes the job just gets in the way. Unfortunately sometimes this biz changes on a moments notice, and we cannot control that. I ran two adds a couple of months ago for a CFII, i got many calls and emails, and truly wanted to touch base with all of them, even the ones that didn't qualify, i figured i could help them in some way which is always my goal. It was my bad, and i take total responsibility for not thinking it thru, but in haste i ran the add one week before one of our large utility contracts that takes my total attention. Due to this i couldn't get back to all of the candidates and i'm sure some of them thought that i didn't care or was just a rude ass. The truth is, i couldn't keep up with all the emails and didn't know which one's i'd contacted or not. I can't imagine what it must be like for the larger operators that get hundreds of resumes/calls. I would also like to add, Mark is one of the few that is always there, answers his phone even on vacation, and really does care about you and our industry. He is one of the people in this industry i try to emulate. As it ended up i hired the guy that was in my face the most, the one that didn’t give up and the one that had a great attitude even tho i’m sure it seemed at times that i was blowing him off. So, i have posted this to say, if you want a job, go get it, get in front of the people that matter and let them get to know you and your goals. Keep a good positive attitude at ALL TIMES. Do your research, we love the fact that a candidate KNOWS what they want and goes after it. Let them know that you have researched this biz and realize what it takes. Understand that we have a business to run, and that it changes minute by minute, and that sometimes we just don't have the time to do what we want to do, much less stop and go thru 50 emails. So, in my case anyway, i did a poor job of going thru them and ended up loosing one of the guys i really liked, he ended up at a good place, but i would have hired him on the spot. Don’t give up on us and don’t think that we don’t care or don’t like you as a candidate... you might be one of those at the top of the stack. :-) just saying, dp 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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