Securing an airline job
When I finished my training, it took me an entire year to find a flying job. That year ranks as one of the toughest I’ve ever had, but there are some things you can do to help ease the pain, and increase your chances of finding employment.
1. KEEP CURRENT
This is arguably the most important of all. Whatever position you find yourself in, you must do what you can to keep flying. Aside from the huge morale boost this gives you — reminding yourself what you’re capable of — it also builds your hours up and shows an employer that you’re not just sitting back and waiting for the job to come to you. But it does mean that if you have a job — any job — you need to be putting aside anything you can afford to get airborne. If you don’t have a means of income, why not head down to your local airfield? Get to know people, help push planes around or offer to clean school aircraft in return for flying? If you haven’t touched an aeroplane since your Instrument Rating and any kind of time has passed since, you are highly unlikely to be seen in a favourable light.
2. EXPLOIT YOUR CONTACTS.
“It’s not about what you know, but who you know” has never been more appropriate than for aviation. We inhabit the smallest of worlds and many a commercial pilot has found a job through recommendation by a friend. It was a friend who got me my temporary job between IR and airline. OK, it wasn’t a flying job, but it was still at an airline, giving me the chance to network and build a relationship with the company. Networking like this requires you to be enthusiastic, but patient. Do not let your friendships freeze with lack of contact, but similarly do not jump down peoples’ throats with desperation. Try to just be yourself and be honest about how you would appreciate their help. A friend of mine was recently offered a job on a super-long-range VVIP business jet, after having stayed in contact for two years with a captain they met at a hotel gym.
3. PLAN YOUR ATTACK.
You are at Point A. You aspire to be at Point B. So try to accept that the chances of getting from A to B with nothing in between are pretty slim. Once you’ve accepted that, ask yourself what you can do to get a small step closer. Is it that you can join a local flying club — become a familiar face around there? Be useful, and people might take you flying, you might even meet a few people who could be useful contacts. Maybe you could aim for a non-flying job in an airline? Operations is the traditional one, although be honest with them about your qualifications and intentions. Another option is Cabin Crew — I believe Easyjet offer a bonded type-rating for qualified cabin crew who already have a CPL/IR. And once you’ve made one step, ask yourself ‘what next?’ During my interim job, I was constantly trying to get the next step closer. Often it required a cut in my pay or hours (volunteering in the safety department, for example, cost me money, but exposed me to the important people in the office; helped to get my face known) so try and think: what do I have to sacrifice, to get one step closer to where I want to be?
4. KEEP SMILING!
OK, easier said than done when you’re months or years past the euphoria of your IR pass, nothing’s happened yet and you’re wondering if the whole thing was a catastrophic waste of time and money. Certainly I found myself slipping into some dark moods, on cold, rainy days when it all seemed pointless. But actually, if you can keep a positive attitude you will find that this is picked up on by the people around you. If you keep your toe in the door with a few of your aviation contacts, you never know where this might lead. During my ATPL exams, I had a txt from a friend who ran the ops dept for a charter airline — “Looking for a Kingair-rated captain. Know anyone?” Without hesitation I passed on the details for somebody I’d met during my phase one exams…she went for interview the same week. You never know when your friends might become life-savers. So try to be up-beat!
There is no denying that the current market conditions are not pilot-friendly. The stranglehold that the big integrated FTO’s seem to have over cadet airline jobs is making it extremely difficult to find employment if you’re not on one of those schemes. But think positively — the economy is growing slowly, the market IS improving, and is decidedly better than it was when I popped out of flight school in 2010. There are no guarantees in this business. But if you can keep yourself motivated, and refuse to be told ‘no’ enough times, then all you need is a little slice of luck, and you might just find your dreams being realised.
The sun is always shining above the clouds.
Jack Newman is the Commercial Editor for Get Into Flying
