he_monkey Posted December 15, 2012 Posted December 15, 2012 Hi everyone. I've lurked here for years reading posts and getting what I feel to be an approximate pulse of the industry from the pilots who post here. I really enjoy a lot of the support and comrodery that I see as well as the sometimes-cold honest truth about the career and the lifestyle. The recent post regarding an unfortunate potential pilot who feels like he missed his chance at a good flight school and the resulting comments, adivce and support made me decide to begin posting here. So I attended a flight school who did hire me. It was slow because it was a part 61 school and I stuck with it for a few years. At 1000 hours they push the instructor out the door and I wasn't an exception. I've got the 1000 hours but aside from having a small chance at Papillon and Temsco (I hear that each recieve hundreds of resumes and only hire a few dozen pilots) I don't have a lot of faith left in the "magic 1000 hours" rule. RLC never answers and for the most part those three are pretty much all there is for 1000 hours. I'm even willing to continue flight instruction, however I never see on schools websites or on any job boards flight schools hiring. It's mentioned that it's incredibly difficult to get a job with 200 hours and a fresh CFI and I agree whole heartedly, but it's not much better from what I see even when you have 1000. I realize that I sound synical, and I try to stay positive but I'm genuinly asking this message board for help because I'm starting to lose confidence. Does anyone have any leads better than hoping that RLC answers their phone or waiting for 4 months for the tour operators to start hiring? ThanksHe_monkey Quote
pilot#476398 Posted December 15, 2012 Posted December 15, 2012 Sometimes reading here it seems like there are just as many out of work 1000hr guys as there are 200hr guys! All I can say is, get in your car, start driving around, and knock on peoples doors! By the way, was your school Hillsboro, I heard they dump cfis at 1000hrs? Quote
arotrhd Posted December 15, 2012 Posted December 15, 2012 Network at HeliExpo. A lot of VR'rs will automatically be there and a good chance to meet several face to face at the get together. Many have 'resources'. A little late for this year, but Heli Success is quite an opportunity. -WATCH FOR THE PATTERNS, WATCH FOR THE WIRES- Quote
Goldy Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 I'm assuming here that you do not have a large growth coming out of your forehead. So getting past that, I think your number one problem may be a lack of networking. You've been lurking for years, and just posted? Do you not think there are younger pilots out there that could have benefited from your experiences? That being on VR is in itself a form of networking within the community? Heli-Success was the place to be, and you should have been there. The lines to meet employers were half as long as the year before. No science here, but I interpret that as there are FEWER pilots looking for jobs, not more. I would research Papillon. But don't just apply. Talk to people, find a pilot you know that knows someone there. They are very open if you call and stop by and talk. Don't ask for a job, first figure out what they are about, and if you think you would be a solid fit. Go meet them, keep flying, and make sure you are at HAI......... Quote
avbug Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 I've been in aviation a long time. I don't network. I don't use others to get jobs. Never have. If I can't get hired on my own, then so be it . It's never stopped me yet. I've never been to helisuccess, either. I can't possibly see how posting here is networking. It's certainly not building connections toward a job. If you want to network or feel it's the means to the end, by all means, have a ball. Don't think for a minute that it's the one true path. Quote
Trans Lift Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 (edited) I've been in aviation a long time. I don't network. I don't use others to get jobs. Never have. If I can't get hired on my own, then so be it . It's never stopped me yet. Really? Cause that trip on the river with the vice-president sounded like networking.... So you have never used a friend to get a job? Is it because you don't have any? (joking) Do you have any references on your resume? I'm sure you don't need a resume now but you did at some stage. The more you talk, the more I am beginning to think you are Superman! Do you even need a helicopter to fly? Edited December 16, 2012 by Trans Lift Quote
schrocks01` Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 So far, every single time I've been able to fly and get paid to do it has been because of "networking." My job as an instructor with the flight school from which I received my training was due to "networking." I knew them, they knew me. Each flight with an instructor was an "interview." When I approached other helicopters on the ramp just to see what an EMS set up looked like, or "which pipeline do you patrol?" or "flying right next to those high-tension lines must be different!" Gotta get those feelers out. Make the contact and just talk about them! You'd be surprised how many times I've gotten a heads up about a fliying gig from just talking to the pilots. I don't attend HeliSuccess. I don't even have business cards to pass out or wear a "Hello, my name is" sticker high and right on my suit jacket. I still call it networking because I make the contact and gain information that will be usefull in my search for the next paying job. Quote
avbug Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 (edited) Really? Cause that trip on the river with the vice-president sounded like networking.... It was not. We shared a cockpit; we were a crew. Where the aircraft went, we went, as long as it went, and we had a day off. We ate meals together, did laundry together, flew together. It wasn't networking. It was work...for months and months at a time. It's called getting along. Point of fact, I didn't like the man. We worked together, however, and the ability to get along when one works with someone that closely is absolutely crucial. I already had the job, and didn't know him before the job. I never used him as a reference later, and haven't spoken with him or seen him since I left. What exactly was I "networking?" Nothing. So you have never used a friend to get a job? Never. I'm able to do that on my own, thanks. Is it because you don't have any? (joking) It's because I despise the notion of getting hired for something other than my qualifications. I've never liked the rationale that one gets hired because of who one knows. I get hired because the employer wants me to do the job. If there's some other rationale, then it's not a righteous reason for being there, and I'm going somewhere else. I wouldn't take a job because friend put me there any more than I'd take the job because I'm an ethnic attraction or meeting some other criteria (sex, religion, color, ethnicity, etc). Not joking. Do you have any references on your resume? I do not. I'll list references if asked to do so in an application, but these are not pre-arranged names with whom I'm counseling for a good recommendation. These are names of co-workers whom I anticipate would give a good recommendation because we've had a good working relationship...but usually not friends, usually not anyone that I've pre-planned to talk me up, or anything like that. I don't list any references on a resume, ever. I'm sure you don't need a resume now but you did at some stage. I use my resume extensively, sending it out a dozen times a week or so while I'm steadily employed, and up to several hundred times a week when I'm not. The more you talk, the more I am beginning to think you are Superman! Do you even need a helicopter to fly? The closest I come to not needing an aircraft is freefall; I've been a jumper for about 30 years now, but I do use a certified sport parachute piggyback rig with a reserve. No AAD. Two altimeters, plus an audio altimeter, and I do wear a helmet. You think someone who doesn't network is superman? Really? I think someone who has to rely on friends to get jobs is someone who doubts their ability to go get a job on their own, and who lacks the confidence to compete on a level playing field. If having the confidence to apply for a job and get it makes on superman, then we've really come to a sorry state in the industry, haven't we? The fact is that not all of us are curtain-climbing career building yuppies. Not all of us take jobs to "build time" or for no other reason than climbing over the next guy to get to the top. I'd go so far as to say that for some of us, there is no top, and it's never been about trying to find it or get there. It's about the experiences we enjoy, about the living we are able to make and provide, and frankly, about the flying we are able to do. Those things don't need to be bought on the recommendation of job contacts, and some of us are quite able to do that on our own. Send in the resume, see what happens. Send another. Keep doing it until someone, something bites. Very simple. Edited December 16, 2012 by avbug 1 Quote
schrocks01` Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 I agree with Avbug to an extent. I don't ever want to get a job just because I knew somebody. However, to bury your head in the sand and just send blind resumes doesn't sound very prudent, either. There is a point to being amiable and friendly. I call it "networking" to constantly look for ways to meet people in the industry. I don't like the idea of someone "putting in a word" for me or hiring me just because I'm related to a friend of theirs, etc. but if they see my resume and remember my face because I met them on a ramp somewhere while we chatted during down time waiting for a fueling truck, then I still can be proud that I've worked for my position. I know it's semantics, but I will say I agree with "networking" when it's still me and my reputation that earns me the job. It's nepotism and politics if you get the job based on "who you know." Quote
helistar Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 I think someone who has to rely on friends to get jobs is someone who doubts their ability to go get a job on their own, and who lacks the confidence to compete on a level playing field. Such a sad quote from such a high time pilot... The fact is networking provides the ability to introduce yourself to potential employers in a less formal setting and affords the employer the opportunity to know the person they're hiring which instills a greater confidence in their hiring decision, rather than hiring some unknown person off the street... The advantage goes to those who are willing to put in the effort to network, getting their name and face out there in front of potential employers... Taking the time and making the effort to build a name for them self by keeping their name in front of potential employers, rather than simply expecting a job because they attended flight school... Avbug by simply attending after work functions with coworkers you were networking whether you like the term or not... Networking is the exchange of information among individuals... Attending after hour functions with coworkers you unknowingly were cultivating productive relationships with each coworker, which is also known as a form of networking... Job hunting never has and never will be a level playing field... Someone has to win and someone has to lose and with everything else being equal on the resume, the employer will choose the person who displays determination to succeed every time... 1 Quote
he_monkey Posted December 16, 2012 Author Posted December 16, 2012 Sorry it took me so long to respond. I have done my best at networking and I was in attendance at Heli-success in Nov in Las Vegas. I have spoken to some people and I learned a lot at heli-success, however there's a distinct difference from meeting some people, shaking hands and hoping that they remember me in a few years when they can offer me some help getting a job and networking to the point of being offered a job on the spot. I've tried sending resumes, I've tried calling and following up, but I'm pretty much exhausted from trying everywhere and not getting any footing. Unfortunatly, my location doesn't grant me the pleasure of seeing a lot of helicopter pilots passing through that I can mingle with. So I'm becoming more despirate as I stated in my initial post. Quote
avbug Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 (edited) Such a sad quote from such a high time pilot... Thanks for the vote of confidence, bright spark, but I've never cited my flight times. This is aviation. Assumption is a bad idea. We don't assume. We know. If you don't know, don't assume. The fact is networking provides the ability to introduce yourself to potential employers in a less formal setting and affords the employer the opportunity to know the person they're hiring which instills a greater confidence in their hiring decision, rather than hiring some unknown person off the street... That's not networking. Visiting with employers, taking them your resume, shaking their hand, introducing yourself, isn't networking. It's little different than sending a resume, except its done in person. Networking involves shaking hands with people and gaining enough of their confidence that they'll walk your resume into their employer and drop a name. It's pressing the flesh at the bar, looking for contacts, names, ways in that one doesn't have when sending the resume to the front office. Networking is sometimes done by taking the prospective employer or management employee out for drinks, plying them, working them until they give up the job. That's networking. Going to a conference and shaking hands, and dropping resumes isn't networking. Many of us go to trade shows, industry organizations, and other activities; we don't necessarily go there gunning for a job. Not long ago I signed up for some continuing education training with a government agency on my own. It was for a nationally registered school, and though their registration date was past, when I called in, they made an exception for me and gave me a class time. When my employer found out, he was upset. It wasn't done through him, and it wasn't his time or money, but he was still upset. After taking some time to confer with him, his real concern wasn't my attendance, but a fear that I might be networking for a job with one of a dozen other employers that would be at that school. I explained to him that I don't do that. My sole interest in the school was personal enhancement; I was going there for continuing education, on my own time, and wasn't looking for a job. Now, I could certainly have gone to the school, pressed around, and probably found a job. Meeting the employers face to face isn't networking. It's meeting employers face to face, which is the intention of submitting any resume or cover letter. It's direct contact, without an intermediary. Networking involves developing a whole network of intermediaries. In the case of the school, it would have been trying to meet the employees of the various companies, befriending them, and seeking one or two who would walk my resume into the boss. I don't work like that. As it happened, I knew most of those who were registered for the school anyway, and I had no intention of asking any of them to do anything for me. Last year, a friend who had my resume took it to an employer and offered a recommendation, and they set up an interview. While he was gracious in doing that, I was never comfortable with that idea, and ultimately cancelled the interview. I didn't go. I don't get jobs through friends. I do that on my own. I've tried sending resumes, I've tried calling and following up, but I'm pretty much exhausted from trying everywhere and not getting any footing. How many resumes have you sent out? A dozen? Fifty? A hundred? You haven't scratched the surface if you haven't sent out a hundred and filled out a hundred applications. Exhausted? I send out hundreds a year, even when happily employed, and I can't say I've reached exhaustion. How hard are you really trying? How many employers have you travelled to see? Aviation is not a static sport. It's a job that requires going places and doing things. I once travelled many hours to see a man, a chief pilot, who didn't answer many calls, and wasn't taking resumes. I got in the area and called his office. I got through. He quickly told me he wasn't interested in talking to a prospective pilot, and wasn't doing any hiring. I explained to him that I'd heard of him, and was in the area, and would simply like to stop by and shake his hand. "In that case," he said, "come on over." I drove to his office, and went some time talking in his office. If you accept the concept that you're always being interviewed, you'll understand that a visit such as this was an interview, even if it wasn't scheduled. After fifteen minutes or so, he asked if I had a resume. I excused myself, went downstairs to the car, and came back with a resume and coverletter already formatted and addressed to him. Some employers like to meet their prospects. This one did. I left his office with a job. On another occasion, I researched as many companies as interested me in several surrounding states, and began a road trip. I targeted specific employers, and drove to them to deliver the resumes. I walked into an EMS outfit late one afternoon, and made contact with the assistant chief pilot. He invited me in. We had a chat. He looked over my resume, then invited me on a tour of the facility. He asked how much time I had that evening, and I told him all the time in the world. He gave me a written test, and had me fill out some paperwork. Next thing I knew I was doing a preflight and was given a full IFR checkride. On that same road trip, I happened into an office in another state and ended up getting another checkride and job offer. I ended up turning both down, but they were good, valid offers. During the same time period, I travelled across the country to attend an airshow, and while there hit a job fair and delivered a dozen resumes in person. I did no networking. I simply met with and interviewed with each employer. When I showed up, I went to a local office supply, bought a printer, then got a list of all the employers at the job fair. I printed separate cover letters and customized resumes for each employer, at my hotel room, and delivered them to the targeted employers at the job fair. I came away with an offer, which I ultimately took. Also during that trip, I rented a car, and drove up the coast to a government contractor employer, and obtained a checkride, and a job offer there, too. I've done this many times. Sending a resume is all good and well, but sending resumes in the blind is also relatively foolish. Doing research on the company, knowing as much as one can know about them is the order of the day. One should know the company history, the stock trends, the management names, the types of operations, bases, and other details. Before hitting the job fair, I compiled files on prospective employers. One file for the company that offered me the job, and for whom I flew, was fifty pages long. I saved news clippings and all kinds of information about the company. I knew the personal history of the owner and management. I knew a lot about them when I showed up to interview, and it came across as genuine interest, because it was. If you're not willing to work hard to get the job, then you probably ought not have the job. If all you've done is network, try to get friends to drop your name to give you a leg-up on the competition, and if your sole effort is to try to short-cut the line, then you really haven't reached that point of exhaustion yet. When I wanted to flight instruct, I didn't just go to a school and ask them to hire me. I got hired pumping fuel, washing airplanes at night, turning wrenches. I opened an advertising business for them, and began teaching groundschool for them. I began bringing in students that I couldn't even teach, because I didn't work there. I built scale models that could be used for instruction, and built up their classroom and training facilities. I did books, and helped in the parts inventory. I took an airplane apart and put it together in a shopping mall as part of a display to bring in business. I organized a party to decorate an aircraft, lifted it over the airport fence, took down all the signs in town, and towed it through a large parade, to drum up business. I even towed banners advertising the business. I got the job, and did well with it. How serious are you about getting that job. If you're looking for a flight instructor position, then I strongly recommend picking up a copy of The Savvy Flight Instructor by Greg Brown. Every instructor should have a copy. Greg is very big on networking, and I'm not, but never the less he does give good counsel and it will work if you choose to go that route. Unfortunatly, my location doesn't grant me the pleasure of seeing a lot of helicopter pilots passing through that I can mingle with. Then go to a location that does. Beggars cannot be choosers. You're looking for a job. You're the beggar. The employers will not come to you. You must go to them. People don't hire or use airplanes and helicopters because they're effective home-use devices. Aircraft are used because they do special missions, or go places or travel long distances quickly, or lift heavy things from A to B. The nature of aviation is travel. You're probably not going to by a highly successful job seeker from the comfort of your lazy-boy recliner. You may need to get out and do some work. I mentioned before that everything is an interview. Everything is a test. I've been to employment interviews in the past in which my behavior on the flight to the interview was observed and reported, as was my demeanor at the breakfast table at the hotel, and in the van on the way to the airport for the interview. I've been to functions in which my spouse was also observed; it's all part of the big picture. Don't think that it's just your resume that's under scrutiny. That's just your ticket to the interview. I was involved with an operation some years ago that was largely unadvertised, and covert. For a time I received a number of wrong number calls, some in Spanish, some in English, asking questions, probing. They were all part of the extended interview process, testing my reaction, my language ability, my responsiveness, my ability to get along and adapt, etc. Some of the calls were unusual, even bizarre. They were all part of the program. We were taken to a hotel and parked for an extended period of time. We were watched. All part of the process. Not networking, but all part of the process. If your best effort at getting a job is to make a friend and ask him to walk-in your resume, then you might want to rethink how much effort you need to put in, and redouble it, over and over again. Don't seek the easiest route; it's tempting, but it's often the wrong one. Getting and keeping employment in aviation often requires commitment and effort, and time and expense. Licking a stamp won't cut it, and neither will begging for jobs among friends or playing linked-in. Have you got business cards made up? Have you had your resume evaluated and professionally reviewed? Do you practice interviewing? Have you studied effective cover letters, and know what works and what doesn't? Are you traveling to deliver your resumes, or are you simply faxing them and emailing them? Remember what a stamp looks like? Have any of the employers seen your face, or flown with you? Flying to the employer and landing on their ramp is sometimes an effective way of presenting yourself. It's expensive, but remember that you only ever get one chance for a first impression. Make it count. Avbug by simply attending after work functions with coworkers you were networking whether you like the term or not... Networking is the exchange of information among individuals... Attending after hour functions with coworkers you unknowingly were cultivating productive relationships with each coworker, which is also known as a form of networking... That's not networking, and I've never cultivated (intentionally or unintentionally) a relationship that lead to other employment by relating to others at work, or after work. If I go to dinner with crew members, I'm not there to solicit their recommendation or their assistance in finding a job. I may be attempting to ensure that we have a better working relationship in the cockpit or at the airport, but that's it. I don't need their help finding a job. I won't ask for it, and I won't get it, and wont' use it. I didn't cultivate a productive relationship with any of my coworkers, nor did I use such a relationship to gain work. I don't do that. As a captain at one employer, I often worked one-week or two-week tours with a new copilot. I always started the tour by taking the copilot to dinner and getting to know him or her. This was not networking. It was establishing the ground rules and the basis of our upcoming time together in order that we each knew what to expect; it was resource management, and it was my brand of management. Subordinates listen better when on a filling stomach, and I had a lot of success working with some of those individuals on the job. Some of them certainly were interested in what I could do for them, and in fact I did send letters of recommendation for them towards their eventual upgrade, when they showed promise. They were networking me. I wasn't networking them, and sought nothing from them but a harmonious rapport in the cockpit. I've not kept up with any of them, nor maintained any of those contacts...not from any of my jobs. I don't keep contact with former co-workers and associates. I move on. Some feel the need to do so, and don't feel they can get a job without it. Now that is a sad note. Edited December 17, 2012 by avbug Quote
pilot#476398 Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 When trying to find work in a business that has no actual need for you, because its so overcrowded with applicants, LUCK plays a HUGE role in your success!,...whether or not you want to admit it. If I were you, I'd hop on a plane and hand deliver my resume to Tempsco and Papillon, as well as every other operator in the Vegas/Grand Canyon area! Quote
schrocks01` Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 Miriam-Webster defines "networking" as: the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically : the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business. To assume that when one uses the term networking, one refers to cultivating relationships with those who have relationships with those who will hire you is...well, assumptive. Yes, it does happen. However, meeting with "the boss" of a company "just to shake his hand," and then turn that conversation into a job interview sounds a lot like cultivating a productive relationship for employment or business. I agree with Avbug 100% with his view of nepotism, but I would never assume that one meant "hoping to cut a line by knowing the right people" every time I heard the word networking. Quote
eagle5 Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 "Such a sad quote from such a high time pilot..." Thanks for the vote of confidence, bright spark, but I've never cited my flight times. This is aviation. Assumption is a bad idea. We don't assume. We know. If you don't know, don't assume. That's funny, because I've been coming to the "assumption" that you're actually a group of people all posting under the same name! Quote
avbug Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 (edited) However, meeting with "the boss" of a company "just to shake his hand," and then turn that conversation into a job interview sounds a lot like cultivating a productive relationship for employment or business. That was not networking. I went there to deliver a resume. I went there to get a job . I did the research. I didn't make the trip on a whim of chance. I came to get a job and left with a job, every bit as much as if I'd been given an airline ticket to an inteview. I didn't cultivate anything. The man (who is now dead) didn't let people in the door, so I let myself in. I wasn't interested in building a relationship or cultivating anything. I didn't build a network. I didn't ever use that man as a reference. In fact, I never liked him, and despite his being dead, I still don't. That's funny, because I've been coming to the "assumption" that you're actually a group of people all posting under the same name! That would add you to the list of people making wrong assumptions then, wouldn't it? Go figure. Are you unfamiliar with the use of the term "we" in aviation, and in the English language? We often use it, even when all by ourselves, don't we? Edited December 17, 2012 by avbug Quote
Helipilot PTK Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 avbug What do you think about Letters of Recommendation? Quote
avbug Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 It's good practice to seek one from every employer when you separate. There are those that seek out letters from employees (internal recommendations) or celebrity individuals in the industry (Chuck Yeager, for example). Whatever floats your boat. I don't use them to show me as being a worthy employee, to the next employer. If the employer wants to see them, I have them to show I wasn't booted out the door, or left on amicable terms. Many employers have simply told me to write the letter, and they signed it. Most of them have never seen daylight outside my file, since. They're nice to have, but not necessary. If I don't seek one or the opportunity isn't there from an employer, then no big deal. So long as I can leave knowing that I did my best and that I did a good job, and that the employer knows that, I'm comfortable, and I know what will turn up in a background check. Good enough. Quote
eagle5 Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 That would add you to the list of people making wrong assumptions then, wouldn't it? Go figure. Are you unfamiliar with the use of the term "we" in aviation, and in the English language? We often use it, even when all by ourselves, don't we? It was wrong to assume that you're a high time pilot. It was wrong to assume that you are more than one person. You seem to despise networking, and you don't care what anyone else thinks. Can "we" even assume that you are even a career pilot, because its getting very hard to! Quote
avbug Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 Define "career pilot." I've been working as a professional aviator my entire adult life and much of my teenage life, and when not working for a living as a pilot as a teen, I was training toward it, or working at the airport. No, you shouldn't assume. You can ask, and If I wish, I'll answer. If I didn't tell you, then I didn't feel you needed to know. Have I worked for one employer for the past few decades? Absolutely not. If that's the definition of a career, then it hasn't been one. What you consider "high time" some might consider low time. It's all relative. Years ago I hired into positions where I was well above the hiring minimums, but where competitive mins ranged from 5,000 hours to 20,000 hours, depending on when one was hired. To some people I was low, to others high time. I didn't care either way; I simply took the job, did the work, and moved on. To many here I'm a high time pilot. I don't view myself as a high time pilot, and I've worked with a number of pilots who'd consider me a low time pilot. It's relative. It's also unimportant, as flight time doesn't mean squat. The only hour that counts is the next one you'll fly. Period. Quote
schrocks01` Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 I was finally quoted by Avbug! I feel I have now attained a stamp of approval of sorts! (JK) Avbug, on this issue we only differ in what we would call it. If I was turned down and told the boss man that I "only wanted to shake your hand" when in fact, "I went there to get a job" and already had a cover letter written up, I would be patting myself on the back and call it networking. To argue with how I define that word within the parameters of the dictionary definition is futile. I'm not asking you to change your definition, but simply pointing out that my definition is more broad. I respect your passion for the industry, it is evident in your posts. Quote
avbug Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 You can call it what you want, of course. In the case of the Chief Pilot whose hand I shook, it wasn't networking. If I had been networking, I'd have maintained him as a contact and used that contact and information obtained there for more job searching, even if I didn't get the job. That was never my intention. Had we spoken for a few minutes and had he not asked for my resume, I'd have left and never called again, nor used that contact for any other job searching. It wasn't networking. Networking involves building a network of job contacts. A networking approach to that visit would have had me asking "thanks for your time, and as I'm here, can you point me in the direction of anyone else on the field who may be hiring right now?" I didn't do that, didn't intend to do that, and probably wouldn't have done that. It wasn't why I went there in the first place. For those who would have, again, more power to them. Quote
Goldy Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Avbug- The OP was asking what he should do and I told him how I have gained experience and employment....which for me, has been 100% networking and who I know. That "who you know" gets you invited to the party, it doesn't get you a job. But the invitation to come interview is way more than half the battle. You still have to be qualified for the job, you still have to interview, you still have a check ride. Realize also that ratings are only a part of the picture that an employer wants to see. Will you get along with fellow pilots? Complain that its cold outside? It's easy to hire a pilot based on certificates only, but most employers know that is only a piece of the hiring puzzle. They WANT to hire someone that can do the job safely....and not be a pain in the ass to work with. Every opportunity that I have been given to fly has been when someone I know has called me up and asked me to come apply.....so my experience....I could send out 1,000 faxed resumes ( I've never sent one yet) or I could just go to the job interview and see how it goes. I find the latter more efficient, more effective and because I enjoy meeting people, a lot more fun. To each his own.. Goldy 1 Quote
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