180 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:57 am
In this day and age of instant gratification and high-speed technology, it's the 9 X 12 manila envelope with a hand written address, addressed to the owner/chief pilot with his/her name spelled correctly that's going to stand out in the pile.
Many moons ago, I targeted the two dozen float operators I was interested in applying with. I cold called each operation one by one and explained to whomever answered the phone that I was mailing off a resume and wanted to make sure I addressed it to the right person (owner/chief pilot/HR) and double checked the spelling of their names. I then put my one page cover letter (each cover letter personalized to the correct contact person and the actual company, not 'To Whom It May Concern' , and 'I'd like to work for your company') and my one page resume (triple checked for typos, proof read by a dozen friends/family) in said manila envelope, stuck a stamp on it and mailed it off. I then waited 10 days and followed up each resume with a phone call to the correct person to confirm that they received it, and also to say I was going to be driving through their neck of the woods on a road trip in 2 weeks time, and would it be OK to stop in and introduce myself in person. 2 weeks later, I started my road trip, and the day before I reached each base, I made a second phone call to let them know I would be passing through tomorrow and was there a time of day that was most convenient for them.
Needless to say, I made some great contacts across the country, got the inside scoop on most of the operators on my list from the horse's mouths, was offered multiple jobs, and finally accepted with the operator that I felt was best suited for me. (The one where I had a good vibe from the boss, a good vibe from the staff, had nice clean machines, decent pay, decent location, etc.)
Since then, I've been the Chief Pilot and I've been the Ops Manager, and knowing what I know now, and having learned from what I learned then, if I had to do it all over again, I would do it exactly the same way.
To answer your question, the best way to hand in your resume is in as personal and as unique a way as possible, without going over the top.
I've heard of the resume stapled to a pizza box delivered to the chief pilot at lunch. (It worked.)
I've heard of the low time guy who stuck a pack of gum in each envelope with his resume. (When he phoned to follow up with the Chief Pilot, there was no question which resume was his...very memorable.)
Once I had accumulated 1000 hours PIC on floats, I attached a Top-5 list of 'why you should hire me' to a bottle of single-malt and left it where the owner of my first-choice operation would find it after work one Friday. (It worked in getting my dream job, and I'm still there almost a decade later.)
Good luck!
