Photon

I've looked around a bit, and I couldn't find a topic like this, so I decided to make one. It's going to be pretty extensive, so might even be sticky material?

One person doesn't have to answer all of these questions. If you want to answer just one, or give me any kind of tips I will gladly accept it!
If there are other people in the same situation as me, I also don't mind other people asking the same type of question as me in this topic.

I've been trying to come up with questions for this topic of mine for about a week now, and here's my case:

After getting my certificates in the US including instructor ratings and working at a flight school for about 1.5 years, I returned to Europe and I now have a frozen ATPL, JAA CPL/ME/IR, MCC course and about 830 hours, which of 90 are multi hours.

My aspiration is basically to get any kind of job anywhere in the world. Be it piston, turboprop or jet. Europe, Asia, Africa, any continent that will let me work there, without any insane danger to my life and health.
Since I'm asking about job hunting anywhere but USA pretty much, I know that I might not be asking the correct crowd here, but I think many of you guys still have a lot of knowledge I'm lacking that will help in any job hunt.

Now, in this world of ours, with very few jobs out on the job sites, the ones I do qualify for, probably gets hundreds if not thousands of applicants. I have been trying to figure out: What is within my power when it comes to making my application the most attractive of the bunch? And how do I proceed to get that interview, and land that job?

I want to try and perfect every part that I can, and I really hope you people can help out a newbie.

Here are my questions:

1. Are there any flight deck job hunt sites you guys would recommend? I use a couple of free ones, and I especially need ones that try to cover non-US countries (as I can't get a greencard in the US without marrying someone). FL350 etc seems to be very geared towards the US.

2. Professional cover letter / CV design. Some pilot job hunt sites also offer professional design of your cover letter, like pilot career center etc. Does anyone have any experience with this? Obviously a normal CV design service wouldn't cater perfectly for aviation resumes, but what about the ones for pilots?

3. Picture on the CV. I've seen so many suggestions to this. Should you put a professional picture of yourself on your CV? (head and shoulders)

4. CV/cover letter length. Most tips I've seen say, make it only one page each. A few say, make it longer. What's your take?

5. Email applications. Obviously if you send your application via snailmail, the cover letter and resume is easily distinguishable. However, what should you do when applying via email? Should you put the cover letter in the body of the email, or put it as an attachment, and in that case, what should you put in the body?

6. What is the best format to save your cv as. PDF or MS Word?

7. What do most companies consider a professional email address? I have several myself. Such as: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].
Does it make a difference? (The mydomain email is actually my personal website, so if they hit the address after the @ they will get there. Not sure if that would be an advantage or not).

8. Interview prep. Is investing in professional interview preparation worth it? What about simulator prepping?

9. Dressing for the interview. As far as I've read on this board, a business type suit, with the red tie is the way to go. Would you use this for all aviation interviews anywhere in the world?

10. Followup on the application. Should you call the employer a certain amount of time after sending the application? In that case how long, and what if it says "do not call us", any other way to get their attention?

11. Showing up. My own country has very very few employment opportunities at this time, so all my job search will pretty much be abroad. As I don't really have the money to trek around the entire world showing up at every operator, I might be able to visit just a few. What's the best way to go about this?

12. Behavior during calls, interviews etc. Any good concrete pointers on what kind of behavior, mannerisms, speech and conversation material the companies really look out for when they deal with you?

13. Hitting up the ones that do not employ. Would you guys recommend calling people who are not currently hiring, or sending out resumes even to these guys?

13. Cover letters. Obviously, your CV doesn't change from application to application, but the cover letter obviously does. What are key points to get down on this piece of paper?

14. CV. Apart from the question asked earlier in regards to professional aviation site CV design. What key points would you guys make in regards to making my own CV?

15. Any other tips, suggestions, pointers, ideas, critique etc I will accept them gladly !!

Thanks in advance guys, really hoping to hit the ground running in a few weeks here!

- Photon

Photon

16. In regards to previous job experience and education. What is important to list? Should I only list jobs/schools related to aviation, or should I list all my jobs. High school? Should I include completion dates, or is merely listing them OK?

snippercr

Here are my questions:

1. people like climbtoFL350, willflyforfood, and I think USPilotJobs. There are some free sites, some pay sites. People have argued either way on these places. The only thing I have paid for is airlineapps.com because they expire on the free version and there are several airlines I applied to.

2. I originally made my resume based on some templates offered at my school, however they did seem a bit dated. I actually had someone here offer to rewrite my resume and I have been using the template ever since.

3. Never heard of this in Aviation. Other things I've applied for requested a picture to be included, but that was non-aviation related.

4. 1 page Resume/1 page cover letter. Generally true for not just aviation, but jobs in general. It's not your life story: It's the 5 second teaser trailer designed to get interest. Only a few careers I know want longer (music, art, etc).

5. I have always wondered this too. I usually attach both and make it very clear in the email that I am sending my resume and cover letter (and for heavens sake, do NOT forget to attach them).

6. *.doc I think is universally acceptable. If you have office 2007 or later, make sure you save it as *.doc and NOT *.docx. The later is newer, but NOT backwards compatible. You may find a HR person using an older computer

7. I think in general, just make it somewhat professional sounding. mine is [email protected] (John Smith), using first initial and last name. I think gmail or an ISP email is pretty acceptable. AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo... well, you really shouldn't be judged by your domain but it's possible. Just don't be i<[email protected]. Get it as close to your name as possible.

8. YES! Prep the hell out of your first interview. Practice, role play, video tape, etc. Find people who have done it before, maybe at that airline. Even if it is your second, third or eighth interview, you should practice.

9. You can't go wrong with suit, white shirt, red tie. However, most people say suit, white or light colored shirt, and simple/non-distracting tie is fine.

10. I know follow up is common place in other professions, but not sure in aviation (I have limited practice in all these by the way). If they say do not call...well, do not call!

11. Use the interview, if offered, as a chance to tour/get information. If you interview, and get offered a job, you don't have to take it because you might have found something you didnt like.

12. More information on this topic than can fill this post. look around.

13. I have kept in contact over the years with several employers who I've really wanted to work with who were either not hiring, or had mins above what I had. Often times they ask for a resume anyways to keep on file (read blue bin) but I still keep in contact to show my interest. But dont do this with EVERY company, especially if you haven't met the person in person.

13. huh?

14. Don't make it look like a form cover letter. Tie it as closely as possible to the company.

15. For most airline jobs, you are a little short on TT and ME. In general, 1000TT/100ME is the norm. Eagle wants 800TT. In general though, these are the hours people are getting hired at. No more are the days of "Min requirements" and "Competitive" requirements. At least not with the regionals. If you are looking for 135 or 91, you probably need more hours and specific type of aircraft (King air time, Baron time, etc).

rickair7777

Disclaimer, this all applies to the US. Overseas, I can't say other than to be even more conservative.

I would copy key points of the cover into the email body. That will be an attention-getter. Also attach a formal cover, so they can print it out if they review stuff by hand.

I would say PDF. That way there can be no accidental typos inserted by someone who opens the world file (which would reflect poorly on you later). Also word can have issues if the recipient does not have the same version you do.

Two things:

- Avoid the common free email accounts (hotmail, yahoo, etc). This is probably not a big deal since I think a lot of pilots use them anyway. In other industries you would be expected to have a professional-sounding company email.

- Ensure that your email address is professional, ie [email protected], not [email protected]

I don't see anything wrong with using your personal domain, as long as the email address, domian name, and web site contents are professional. I would ensure that if you are giving them a link to your personal site that it contain only professional info, or at least nothing too personal. You could probably post info about benign hobbies, activities, etc. But not your diary, party photo's etc. You get the idea. You could always hide your really personal stuff behind a password if needed.

Yes, it probably is unless you have already done multiple aviation interviews. Even then it might be a good idea. When hiring was booming, I used to recommend that pilots who had no intention of working at a bottom-feeder company apply and interview anyway...just for the practice. Since pilots were in short supply the interview was almost guaranteed if you applied.

As far as sim prep, yes I would recommend that unless you have plenty of recent time in an airplane or sim which is very similar to the one being used. In most cases, someone out in town will offer sim prep which is specific to larger airlines.

Yes, unless someone tells you otherwise and has a good reason.

If it says don't call, then don't call. Otherwise it might be beneficial to call in about one month (but only if they are actively hiring). Don't be a pest, repeat follow ups every six months might be OK. If you are flying, the fact that you have more flight time is a good excuse to send a revised resume and follow up.

Unless you know someone, you will need a lot of luck to show up when a decision maker has the time and inclination to speak with you, and is in a good mood.

Conservative, friendly, straightforward. There is all kinds of info on the internet about interviewing and first impressions, google it.

If they are accepting resumes, you should submit one. Sometimes companies will consider that you demonstrated long-term interest.

Make sure you understand the company in question, their issues, and likely future direction. Try to tailor you letter to that. For example if a company is opening a new base in a place where their current pilots don't want to live, but you happen to have family ties there or are otherwise willing to relocate.

rickair7777

Generally, shoot for a one-page resume. High School jobs would be OK if you are young and don't have much history and it fits on one page.

Non-aviation jobs should be briefly summarized at the bottom...if you did something significant like professional or managerial work, you want them to know that, it shows you are responsible and have work ethic.

Airlines will require complete employment background history on their apps, but you don't have to include that on the resume. Tailor the resume to maximize your odds of getting an interview, it does not have to mirror the application.

Photon

Thanks for the replies so far, I really appreciate them!

In regards to my previous job experience, it includes paperboy, working at a convenience store, security guard... Should I even mention these?
The two jobs that might be worth mentioning is the Air Force (non-flying job) and Flight Instructing

rickair7777

Military and flight instruction for sure, obviously.

If the other jobs coincided with your being in school, and they can see that by looking at your resume, it might be worth including. It shows that you worked during school and still succeeded, which can be challenging. Also how much room do you have left on the resume...

clipperskipper

I cannot stress being overly polite, no matter whom you speak with, weather it be in person, over the telephone, or email. You may not understand the person on the phone sometimes, have them repeat themselves so that each detail of what they are asking you is clear. If you happen to meet someone in person, Thank them for their time as they could be busy doing something else, it doesn't matter if this is someone in air freight.

Follow up Thank you: Take this with a grain of salt, your fate is usually sealed when you leave the simulator or interview. If sending a Thank you letter by regular mail, it will cross paths with your rejection letter at the post office. If you are hired, the invitation is usually by telephone. With more hiring going through cyber space, a Thank you email is always in order.

Photon

Thanks!

The subject also brings another thing to mind:

During my senior year of high school I quit and joined the air force for a year (mandatory 1-year service in my country). I then worked for another year after that, before doing my senior year (3 years delayed).
How would you guys express this in a CV?

rickair7777

I'm not sure, you cannot do that in the US.

The US military requires a HS diploma.

If you are over about age 19 you cannot go back to regular HS, you have to take what is called General Education Development (GED) tests. There are no classes required, but it would be hard to pass without significant study.

This results in a GED diploma, which is often considered inferior to a regular HS diploma at least in the US. Hopefully Europe is different, and you have a regular diploma.

If you have a college degree, no one will care about HS.