Huge discouragement

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tsukubacpe
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Huge discouragement

Post by tsukubacpe »

Hey everyone,

My discouragement right now is below the floor. I know all of us, new pilots with 250 hours struggle a lot but I didn't think it would so be hard.
I finished school in September and began my search for my first flying job in December. I have sent over 150 resumes to all possible 702/703 operators in Canada. I am 100% willing to move and still nothing. Absolutely nothing. I tried 95% of the skydiving operators but most of them require minimum 300 hours and
25 hours on type which they mostly use a c185.
I haven't even been offered a ramp position....not that I would take it because I believe and still have high hopes of landing my first job flying but man this is crazy.
I have seen quite a bit of ads for float positions but I don't have my float rating and a lot of them require minimum 50 hours on floats.
I don't know what else to do
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Rudy
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by Rudy »

I'd recommend doing a road trip and visiting these places you're applying in person. When I was looking for my first job I thought the same as you, just send out resumes and if they need someone they'll call. The problem is everyone does this and they have huge stacks of resumes collecting dust. After a couple months of waiting I just got in my car and drove up north and hit all the aviation hubs. By the time I got home I had 2 good offers.
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Go Guns
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by Go Guns »

Persistence. Right place, right time. Road trips are good.

She's onwards and upwards, get cracking.
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dialdriver
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by dialdriver »

Go Guns wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 1:31 pm Persistence. Right place, right time. Road trips are good.

She's onwards and upwards, get cracking.
When I worked up North almost no one walked through the front door. And it wasn't that far north.
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Rezy
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by Rezy »

Have you considered doing your instructor rating? Lots of flight schools are looking for instructors and some now have agreements with other operators(Transwest, Georgian).
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tsukubacpe
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by tsukubacpe »

I have not considered instructing as can't afford to the the rating. Unfortunately it's not one of my options.
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tsukubacpe
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by tsukubacpe »

Double post
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7507
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by 7507 »

tsukubacpe wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 1:17 pm Hey everyone,

My discouragement right now is below the floor. I know all of us, new pilots with 250 hours struggle a lot but I didn't think it would so be hard.
I finished school in September and began my search for my first flying job in December. I have sent over 150 resumes to all possible 702/703 operators in Canada. I am 100% willing to move and still nothing. Absolutely nothing. I tried 95% of the skydiving operators but most of them require minimum 300 hours and
25 hours on type which they mostly use a c185.
I haven't even been offered a ramp position....not that I would take it because I believe and still have high hopes of landing my first job flying but man this is crazy.
I have seen quite a bit of ads for float positions but I don't have my float rating and a lot of them require minimum 50 hours on floats.
I don't know what else to do

First of all don't ever give up, EVER!

Way back over 15 years ago when things were alot harder to get into , I did a road trip with a float endorsement and about 40 hours on floats looking for a float gig since with my low time I didn't have a great chance on right seat for the moment.

Drove up in Northern Ontario and walked in to the float operators and one of the places which was in Elliott Lake I drove up and met the owner and the chief pilot which was actually younger than me. Told them I was looking for a float job and the owner looked over to the chief pilot and asked whether they could use another pilot to help out with the bear hunt and the chief pilot sure we can. The owner told me he would think about it and by the time I drove back home that same day he left me a message on my home phone and told me to get my butt out here the following week and stayed with him the rest of the season and logged about 100 hours on the 185.
He told me that he doesn't remember the last time a pilot WALKED IN and handed a resume in person because he only hires guys that he sees in person before anything.

So the moral of this story, get your butt in your car and drive and first get the float endorsement and you will find something and you know float flying is like no other and my experience was awesome as I learned not only to fly more but build docks, do small engine repairs and whatever else needed to be done. My ratio to flying and working the dock was like one hour flying to 5 hours working but it was a blast for me so get out there!!
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cdnpilot77
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by cdnpilot77 »

have sent over 150 resumes
I’m assuming email? How many of those have you followed up on with a phone call or a visit?
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beaverpuq
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by beaverpuq »

Just like fishing. If you’re not catching any doing what you are doing, do something else.
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Monorail Conductor
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by Monorail Conductor »

Most hiring took place in spring early summer ie May June when i worked up north. So you are a bit early to catch that wave, traditionally speaking.
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flyingjerry
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by flyingjerry »

I'm in the same boat. Have sent out resumes to every 702/703. Have walked in to various places. It feels impossible but it's definitely doable. I'm thinking of doing the road trip next week. Are you in the GTA?
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DanWEC
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by DanWEC »

Have to hit the road and meet people. It's the only way to make things happen. I went on a trip and still maintain those connections to this day. I continued getting calls for 6 months after.

This is the exact time to go too.

It's not cheap unfortunately. I spent about a grand.

For your email resumes, make sure you're taking the time to make the cover letter and email note be personal and tailored to the person you're sending it to. Make sure you know their name, say a nice personal hello in the email. If it comes across as a form letter it'll get tossed or simply forgotten about.

You absolutely can't do the bare minimum. You need to go the extra mile and make the extra effort. There are probably 50 applicants for each entry level job, so WHY would someone pick YOU?

Good luck!
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IflyaSewerpipe
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by IflyaSewerpipe »

Wow! Surprised to read this. I was under the impression operators are struggling to find pilots now days. There must be some entry level ramp/dispatch jobs available.

Pick a few places you really are interested in and keep hitting on them. Go there and keep calling!
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bigsky
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by bigsky »

DanWEC wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 7:05 pm Have to hit the road and meet people. It's the only way to make things happen. I went on a trip and still maintain those connections to this day. I continued getting calls for 6 months after.

This is the exact time to go too.

It's not cheap unfortunately. I spent about a grand.

For your email resumes, make sure you're taking the time to make the cover letter and email note be personal and tailored to the person you're sending it to. Make sure you know their name, say a nice personal hello in the email. If it comes across as a form letter it'll get tossed or simply forgotten about.

You absolutely can't do the bare minimum. You need to go the extra mile and make the extra effort. There are probably 50 applicants for each entry level job, so WHY would someone pick YOU?

Good luck!
Dont forget to include your picture. If you are half as cute as the girls in the dating ads on the AvCanda site..you wont have any issues!😉
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There is no substitute for BIG JUGS!!
TeePeeCreeper
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by TeePeeCreeper »

PM sent.

Call me when you get a chance. We haven’t spoken for awhile now...

TPC
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NovaBoy
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by NovaBoy »

Many moons ago when I worked at Lab Air, I was asked by the chief pilot at the time to find a pilot for him. He threw me a bankers box full of resumes. He said throw out all the ones with a picture attached, any that were too professional looking, and he wasn't keen on anybody with a university degree. That was over 20 years ago, and the chief pilot at the time was more or less a legend in Newfoundland aviation with more time on a single Otter than I have total time now.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, know your potential employer before you show up. If you are looking for a bush flying job with an old school operation don't show up in a suit and tie.

Cheers, and good luck with the job search.
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tsukubacpe
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by tsukubacpe »

Thanks a lot for the encouragement guys. It really does suck but there's no way I'll ever give up! I will keep trying and already started planning my road trip to leave sometime next week.
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tsukubacpe
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by tsukubacpe »

flyingjerry wrote: Thu Apr 12, 2018 6:18 pm I'm in the same boat. Have sent out resumes to every 702/703. Have walked in to various places. It feels impossible but it's definitely doable. I'm thinking of doing the road trip next week. Are you in the GTA?
Yes I am. In Mississauga to be exact. If you're interested we can do one together and split costs.
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waterdog
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Re: Huge discouragement

Post by waterdog »

There is some great advice here from people who have been down that road. I have never been down the commercial pilot road but as an employer and someone who hires people I can suggest some general things.
Hiring people is not really a fun thing, especially for small operators, its taking away from actually running their business and a lot of people find it frustrating. Keep this is mind when you are applying.
Bottom line is that you have to stand out. Your resume needs to be written in a way that the person reading it wants to meet you, thats the whole point. That means researching the company and referencing that research in a cover letter, you did send an individual cover letter right......? It means following up with a phone call ( do not text, drives me nuts)to make sure they got it and is there anything else they need. I love the idea of going on a road trip and dropping off resumes, it shows initiative. But before you walk through the door do some homework and know a little bit about what they do. ( " I see that you guys switched over to x plane two years ago, how do you like it?) Its like dating, you need an opening line or something that makes you stand out from the rest.

Be prepared for an interview. I'm not sure what flight related questions they will ask but they are sure going to ask you about your strengths and weaknesses. Google top 20 interview questions and be ready to answer those with well thought out answers.
Be dressed appropriately for the interview, stand out.
Look at ways of increasing your time. Like others said, if you are at the bare minimum then maybe you need more.
If it was me I would get my float endorsement, get the 50hrs and then go chase a float gig, I think float flying is the best thing going and I can't imagine getting paid to do it.
Look for places to volunteer in exchange for some flying time, I have no idea if this is a possibility but it does work in other jobs. Dropping by some float operations and talk to them, look for opportunities and be willing to do more then the guy behind you.

Good luck, and remember if it was easy then everyone would do it and it wouldn't be special.
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