Im Back and Happy New Year!
Hello all and a Happy 2010!
Its been a LONG couple of weeks, but they have been rather exciting. I have a long and very positive story to tell which I will blog about in the very near future. I truly believe I am beginning to see that light at the end of this long tunnel of unemployment.
Stay tuned for the ”Christmas Miracle” story I will be posting in the next few days.
Merry Christmas To All!!
Merry Christmas to all of my fellow bloggers and followers out there in the aviation world. Heres to a safe and joyous Christmas and prosperous New Year!
Thank you all for helping make my blog a success, your input, comments and suggestions have helped me add to this endeavour and look for more posts in the New Year. I am taking a brief break to do some contract work in the NY area over the holiday.
Cheers!
Today is the Day!
Tis’ the Season for Aviation Job Scams
Hard times often bring out the best in people. Some help others, some try to “pay it forward”. This year however, there is an element that will be more than happy to take money from those who can least afford to lose it. These people are professional aviation job scammers preying on unemployed pilots.
I know we are all familiar with the usual scams, such as the famous “Nigerian Prince” or the fabulous foreign lottery you just won that you never heard of, but this year some of the scammers are becoming much more professional and roping in even seasoned aviation job hunters. Heres a good example.
Recently, an individual has called pilots posing as Falcon Air in the UAE or Abu Dhabi Aviation. Often they will call pilots unsolicited and offer the opportunity for employment. Many of us pilots fall for this since is it not unusual to get a call from a company that many have seen your employment profile online. These scammers even go as far to ask for the usual documents and conduct a phone interview. They even know the pilot “nomenclature”. Once they have your “trust” they then try to get you to either pay a “processing fee” or get other credit card or SSN information to get employment. DONT FALL FOR IT!!!! It is a classic “Phishing” scam!! More than one pilot has nearly given all his personal information to these guys. If you get a call or email from these guys ignore it or hang up. Thanks to Bizjetjobs.com and FindaPilot.com for warning others about this scam.
How do we protect ourselves from scams like these. Especially sophisticated ones by phone or email.
I have a few tips:
1.) Beware anyone who calls you unsolicited…In this job market, employers have literally the pick of any of thousands of people. The chance they are going to call around randomly just to look for employees out of the blue is fairly slim. Im not saying it doesnt happen, but it’s VERY rare these days. While many employers do call potential employees, they will mention the specific job board or source. It still pays to be cautious. Make a note of the number that has called you. It’s easy to find out whom it is with a “reverse number lookup” on the web. I often use Google. Some phone numbers are already known to be scams and this will save you a lot of time and trouble. If someone calls and appears to be legitimate, ask LOTS of questions. Red flags might include things like not telling you which company they are calling from, evading questions or nervousness on the phone. It goes without saying to NOT give any personal information like SSN or credit cards to ANY party over the phone. Anyone asking your for money can automatically be considered a scam. There is also a site called Ripoffreport.com where you can look up any company that may contact you and Google and the Department of Transportation web site are always there as good reasearch tools.
2.) Many scam artists use the “cut and paste” method to pose as legitimate companies…A favorite of the phishing emails are ones that look like they come from legitimate companies. Clicking on the links often take you to what looks like a real web site. BE CAREFUL!! It many be an attempt to get personal information. The best way to avoid this is to first check the “more details” area of your email. If it’s from a strange email address watch out. When in doubt, Google the email address, you might be surprised what you find. Some also say if the email is from a Gmail address its a scam, but some companies use it to keep from being overwhelmed by resumes. It’s still up to you to perform ”due diligence” on any email you receive. The second way is to look at the header bar if you click on a link. The header shows the source of the web page. Look a little strange? Probably a scam. Lastly check for spelling and grammatical errors. For some reason (probably because many scammers are from overseas) the spelling and grammar tend to be very poor. This is an easy catch for a potential scam.
3.) Do your homework before accepting any job offer or giving any information..Many if not all companies these days have SOME kind of internet presence. Pretty much any company out there that you type into Google is going to have some kind of internet history. Beware companies where you can’t find out any information about them. While it’s not unusual for new start-ups to not have a presence, any company that tells you its been “around for years” and doesnt have at least one hit on the search engines should be a cause for concern. There should be at least a corporate filing (if applicable) somewhere. If it’s VERY recent when the story given you was different WATCH OUT. The same goes with the people who may call you. In this modern age, you can pretty much find out almost anything you need to know in a couple of key strokes. If someone tells you they are a “billionaire” and you find their address is in a trailer park, that should also raise some red flags. (Much of this is based on a very recent incident).
4.) If a call or email you get raises serious concerns like safety or national security report it IMMEDIATELY…Some scammers have gotten so bold that they have resorted to “death threat” emails. These emails attempt to extort money from people by THREATENING TO KILL THEM. I know of at least 2 people who have gotten these emails. Of course its an extortion scam. Such emails should be immediately reported to the FBI and TSA (if necessary). Likewise job offers that pay only in cash, involve foreign purchases of US aircraft without a good explanation or documentation, ask inappropriate questions or involve national security should be logged, saved and reported to TSA . We all have to look out for each other. This type of scam could be the worst kind involving persons who want to do harm to this country.
It’s a very tough market out there right now and the people who are preying on desperation and emotion are the worst kinds imaginable. Lets all make sure they dont take one dime of our money or our identity as we look for work.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
Its been a tough year in the aviation world, but I am thankful for family and friends. I am also thankful for the people who read my blog. I greatly appreciate that you find it interesting enough to give it your time. Look for more new articles after the holiday.
Looking forward to Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Todays the day!
Lessons Learned
They say that “everything happens for a reason”. It’s hard to find a reason for two job losses in 14 months, but strangely a lot of good has come out of it so far. If this last year has taught me anything, it’s that you are NEVER too old to learn lessons in life and I have certainly learned mine…
I learned to be prepared for anything…I think it’s the nature of the aviation profession to be primed for all eventualities. The first thing I learned was to prepared, even in the best of times, to have anything and everything change in a heartbeat. In many ways, I have been lucky. My wife and I were saving money for a big, lavish wedding to make up for the tiny nuptials we had when we met. That money became our emergency fund when I was laid off. If it wasnt for those funds, we would have been in BIG trouble. Even though much of it is gone now, I have been fortunate enough to still be in my home and keep my lights on. In the future, I will ALWAYS make sure we have savings on hand if the job suddenly goes away. I also didnt get roped into buying “toys” (boats, cars, jet skiis, etc). Those things would have just added debt and stress to our lives and I have found that even the simplest and least expensive things can still bring you great joy.
I learned to regain my empathy for others…. When I had money, I rarely gave to the homeless (though I did donate). I was one of those who thought, “they need to get a job”, but as the old saying goes “walk a mile in their shoes.” I NOW understand how fine a line we all live between prosperity and poverty. I understand the crushing weight that comes with lack of money. How far are each of us from being one of those on the street? Frankly, its been a lot of luck and sheer determination which has kept me and my family from winding up in that state. I will NEVER look at the plight of the poor the same way again. I no longer ignore the situation of those that are “less fortunate”. I am reminded of a scene in one the versions of a Christmas Carol where Scrooge sees a man who is living under a bridge, homeless with his family. He is sad and depressed from the lack of work, but still had pride enough not to steal. He says “these are good hands, strong hands, it’s not fair there is no work.” The scene is designed to appeal to the empathetic part of the old miser.” How many of us feel like we are in that stage now? We need to care for ALL people. The poor are not invisible and its taken this kind of shock to my life to make that fact PERFECTLY CLEAR. As one of the ghosts say in Dickens’ novel “Mankind IS my “business”"
I learned what true friendship is… Sometimes the most amazing things can happen in the most ordinary of situations. After my first layoff, I had a job (briefly) at a flight training school in north Florida. We taught Chinese students how to fly. Some had problems with the language barrier and the different cultures that the Chinese brought. I, however, taught these men with respect and patience that they appreciated. These men quickly went from being just students to being my friends, true friends. In a world where friendship is often based on what the other person can do for you, these men just wanted to be my friend and nothing more. They respected me as a teacher and as a person. They invited me to dinner, just because. They expected NOTHING in return other than my friendship and I became a better man for knowing them. In fact, their friendship was the truest I have seen since I was a child, when we didnt expect anything from our friends other than to be there. When these men found themselves nearly trapped in their condos, unable to buy food because of financial troubles with the school. I, along with others, felt a DUTY to help these men. After all, what kind of person would let his friends starve? I KNEW if I was ever in the same situation, they would do the same for me. I would have not met these men if it wasnt for my first layoff and I became a better person for it. While the job ended, the experience will go down as one of the most memorable in my lifetime.
I learned to be a better husband… As I wrote before, aviation can take a toll on the best of relationships. I was away from the house over half the year at my first job and it can be incredibly lonely for your spouse, especially when you are new to the area and dont have a lot of contacts. It became hard on us both. Often I would come home tired, thinking only of my needs and not hers. She just wanted to go out and to be around me. I just wanted ot sit at home. This last year, being with my wife almost everyday has taught me that there are MUCH more important things then myself. The hardest job in the world is being married. It is a job the grows and evolves over a lifetime and you have to work at it everyday. I now realize that I was neglecting that part of marriage where she just wanted to talk to me, to have me listen. To not need to be with her was not healthy for our relationship. All the adversity of the last year has brought us closer together. It has reminded me how any why I love my spouse and even when I am very busy again, I will make sure to take care of HER needs as well as my own.
I learned to help others…. Another amazing experience that has come out of this trying time has been encountering people who TRULY want to help others. When I began my social media networking, I ran into a person who himself was laid off. This person started a movement called “Pink Slip Mixers” that brings job seekers and employers together in an informal environment. This person has worked tirelessly (and I mean that literally) to help others, often with money out of his own pocket. I was so impressed, that I began to volunteer for the parties (and of course network myself). I quickly learned the value of helping others and the interpersonal and professional relationships that come of it. There is pride and a good feeling that comes from watching others succeed. The ability to “pay it forward” is so needed in a world that spent so many years concerned about “me, me, me”. The movement has grown and now I am happy to not only help the jobless, as one of them myself, but help to be an advocate of those millions whose voice is lost in the employed world. People need jobs for their own self respect and each one of us has an obligation to help another who is in that kind of situation. Even after I am employed, I intend to continue to volunteer and help others, something I would have found unimaginable just over a year ago.
Finally..I learned to be a better (future) employee… There is NO DOUBT that I am not the same man who I was a year and a half ago. I now know the value of reaching out to others, of being able to reinvent myself, of having a positive attitude in everything that I do and how it is seen by all. When I started this process, I was almost completely alone in my search other than having my wife with me. Now I have the pleasure of having met dozens of people, of trying to make a change in their lives. I realize I have the ability to pull myself up and not have my job or my paycheck define who I am. I can walk into a new position with more confidence in myself than before, smarter, wiser and much more worldly then I was. I will continue to nurture my contacts and will have a much greater ability to adapt to this ever-changing world. Unemployment is a tough teacher, but maybe I needed to learn some tough lessons. I came out a stronger person, husband and pilot even through such great adversity.
Who WOULDNT want an employee like that?
Todays the Day!
The Aviation Spouse, The Unsung Hero of the Flying World
Sometimes we forget during our 14-16 hour duty days and 7 or more day tours that there is another side to aviation that we see only briefly. That part is the role of the aviation spouse. The wives, husbands and partners that are part of our lives and have married into this often strange world, shoulder a burden every bit as great as our own.
The aviation spouse often comes into this profession of flying with very little knowledge about the reality of being married to a pilot. It’s easy to say “we’ll manage”, but it’s not so easy when you miss holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and other special events. It’s not so easy when you dont have a set schedule and have to fly for a trip at the last-minute cancelling plans and even vacations. It’s not so easy to take care of the children, alone with all the work that entails and have your pilot spouse comes home tired as well. It’s not so easy when emergencies arise and your spouse is hundreds or thousands of miles away and really can’t do a thing about it. It’s not so easy when you have to pack or sell almost everything you own to move to another city for a flying job. Truly the aviation spouse must be a special person in the relationship or it cannot last.
The men and women who become our partners are really are the unsung heroes of aviation. In many ways they are taking on 2/3 or more of the role of parenting in the relationship. Having a family can be especially difficult when you are away from your children and your spouse for extended periods of time. The aviation spouse MUST have a strong personality and basically be an independent person for the relationship to succeed. The aviation spouse has to be knowledgeable and resourceful, since you are often not there to make those decisions. In some ways they live a “single” life. There are times unfortunately that even best of relationships fall apart due to the stress of the aviation lifestyle and there is MANY a pilot that can attest to that.
How as pilots can we try to avoid this problem? Thats also not easy. Balancing work and life can be difficult under the best of circumstances, but short of staying single, helping your spouse or potential spouse understand the rigors of being married to a pilot is a good first step. A VERY long talk helps. I was lucky enough to marry such a spouse.
The best aviation spouse I can think of is that unique blend of independence and understanding. Flying is unlike any other profession, say the military. A good spouse has to realize that you are going to be away for long periods of time, that often the daily rhythm of life is upended by your schedule. They must be nearly saint like in their understanding of the economics of aviation. The hard low-pay starts when you both are barely scraping by, the highest highs when the money is good and then the often shocking change in lifestyle when furloughs, layoffs or the changing economy has you back on the bottom again. This world is not for everyone. Aviation for the pilot is as much about love as it is about prestige. I think most of us can say that we have at least one relationship that has ended because we chose aviation over that person. It’s never the “easy” choice.
There is one BIG plus with the aviation spouse. When it works well it is truly one of the most rewarding things in the world. If you are lucky enough to marry this special person, you can look forward to a lifetime of love and companionship, and understanding from them that you are doing what you love and can’t imagine doing anything else. This person is excited by the possibility of adventure, even when you have to move half way across the country or even the world for a new job. This person is resourceful enough to either work or find a side business to help you both through the hard times. There is much compromise involved in this relationship, but all good relationships involve some compromise.
Our spouses, our “aviation heroes” are every bit as an important part of the flying community as we are. They are often our guide, our conscience and the first people we can lean on when times get tough. It’s not easy being married to a pilot, but I believe that I wouldnt have become the aviator and the man who I am without my spouse, my heroine, by my side.
Today is the Day!
Current and Qualified? (Unemployment 1yr 4mos)
I am asked a question lately that leaves me with a mix of pride and some frustration. Pride in that people admire the efforts I have made networking and here on the web and frustration over the fact that I have been unable to fully reach my ultimate goal. I have been asked at least twice in the last few weeks, “with everything you are doing, with the fact you are fairly articulate and can convey ideas intelligently, WHY ARE YOU STILL UNEMPLOYED?.” My response of course is “You havent hired me yet”, but I think the main reason has been the single biggest obstacle that faces me and many pilots every time we send a resume. It is 3 big words, “CURRENT AND QUALIFIED.”
Just 2 years ago, most if not all employers had a small pool of pilots to hire from. They were more than willing to hire someone off the street who did not have a type rating, send them to school, get them current and qualified and send them to work. In those heady days these companies were flush with customers and cash and at the time it was a “sellers market” for pilots. Now that situation has completely turned on its head.
The last year had created a wave of fear throughout the aviation industry. In some cases, business is down more than 50 percent and for a time it seemed like the sky was really falling. While things have stabilized, the fear and the lack of money has remained. Businesses at best are reluctant to hire, budgets are tight, and since September of last year thousands of pilots are out on the street. This created a very different business and hiring situation.
Now each open position has 300 resumes, many unemployed pilots are already typed in the aircraft these businesses own. Many are still current and in this market companies do not have or do not want to spend the money to type a new pilot when so many others are available. It is the simply the law of supply and demand and the supply is HUGE. Sometimes I think if Orville Wright himself walked into some of these places, he would be turned away because he wasnt “current and qualified”
How is it possible as pilots to overcome this enormous obstacle. I think some very logical arguments can be made that MIGHT help counter the “current and qualified” argument and in the right circumstances still land you that flying job.
1.) Training MUST be accomplished eventually, The first thing, is that even though there is a large supply of current pilots, they will eventually need training anyway. Wether it be for recurrent every 6-12 months or in-house training, these costs will still have to be borne by these companies either now or in the near future. At first glance, the initial numbers for training can be large, in the tens of thousands of dollars, but as an overall part of the budget it is quite small. If you take the example of a 2 airplane flight department with a 2 million dollar budget. The recurrent training of 2 pilots would be perhaps no more than 1 to 2 percent of the overall costs. A tiny fraction.
2.) The training schools are ready to deal- with so many pilots out of work, the large training schools are looking to make deals to get people in the door. Since September of last year, some of the bigger schools have seen large decreases in business. Though the situation is starting to turn around slowly, the amount of pilots going through initial and recurrent training is NOWHERE near what it was 2 years ago. A pilot with good relations with some or all the schools or one able to get training done as a group, has a great chance of getting a fairly good discount on his/her schooling. There is an old saying the “everything in life is negotiable” and you can negotiate with the training schools, just ask. If you can get a large enough group together, it might be possible to get as big a discount on training as some of the larger companies. This can be a selling point for a “non current” pilot as your contacts might be able to save your prospective employer THOUSANDS of dollars in costs. These days, that kind of savings WILL get attention and shows great thinking “outside the box”
Training is ALWAYS less expensive than an accident or incident: Everyone wants to save money these days, but at what point does saving money begin to compromise safety? This is the fine line that every aviation business must face even in good times. A well-trained pilot is a safe pilot. A well-trained pilot is a knowledgeable pilot. The FAA has begun advocating and soon mandating SMS (Safety Management Systems) to prevent accidents and incidents. The insurance companies like Argus and Wyvern demand such training even before they will grant coverage. The training environment is the PERFECT place to prevent and break the accident “chain.” Scenario based training allows mistakes to be made in the safety of the simulator environment. The tens of thousands of dollars spent on this training is far less than the cost of a damaged aircraft or worse yet, the litigation that will ensue if death or serious injury should occur. While a “current and qualified” pilot saves money now, are they a good fit for your companies safety culture? How do you know, if you havent trained them in the way you wish? A flight department that works well as a team and places priority one on safety is worth every penny spent. As a passenger I would think I would want my pilots trained to the highest possible standards. After all, what is the price of safety for me and my family?
These difficult times have forced many in the aviation industry to completely rethink their business plans and for pilots to be far more creative in finding work. The “current and qualified” obstacle can be overcome, but it takes great patience and planning by perspective employees to show that ”current and qualified” accounts for much more than just the ratings on their resume.
Todays’ the Day!
Afternoon AOPA Summit Experience
Going to a a gathering like AOPA for job hunting and networking is a lot like “cold calling” you really never know if you are going to be successful, but are excited by the possibilities. I am happy to say that I did have some success…
After the morning summit, I went upstairs to the main exhibit area at the convention center. I was pleasantly surprised by amount of exhibits. Though not as large as NBAA I felt that it was still well represented. If one thing was lacking, it was the lack of aircraft manufacturer booths at the exhibit hall. No Cessna, no Mooney, not much to see in that respect. The only manufacturer I saw on the floor was REMOS and that was mainly because they were the AOPA prize plane for the year. Hopefully next year will see more aircraft makers back in the main exhibit areas. Otherwise there was a good mix of vendors from King Schools to the Pilot Mall. At first, I didnt know if it was worth it to be at the summit for my job hunt, but pressed on anyway.
Walking into the exhibit, the first thing I noticed was the AOPA Meetup area. I am impressed by how AOPA is embracing social networking. In the meetup area was a camera to their live feed on the web and a large Twitter board with updates. They were conducting live interviews the entire day. I had a chance to talk to the staff as well as a few of my friends from Twitter who I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet. There was also an internet kiosk area to check email and to blog, though I wish I had either and I-Phone or a Blackberry for that purpose. The exhibit hall also had a central area with a raised stage for additional events, streaming to the AOPA internet feed.. I would be nice to see NBAA embrace such forward thinking as the use of social networking at their next convention. Kudos to AOPA for moving so quickly into the social networking world to get the message out!
Wandering around the area, I talked to several vendors, but no real job leads at first. I then came across of booth of a subsidiary of a major energy company and I mentioned that their principal had two pilot openings on the West Coast. They didnt know about those openings, but after speaking for a while, the two gentlemen attending the booth were kind enough to take my business card and ask for an electronic copy of my resume. I am sure that their contacts will be invaluable and helpful in my job search and I am grateful for their help.
I had the opportunity to talk to several other vendors about their services and products. As usual, everyone was quite friendly. More than once, the small world of aviation reared its head again, as more than a few of the vendors either knew or had contacts with several mutual friends. Like Ive said before, mutual contacts are great ice breaker when you are trying to talk to people for the first time and shows just how valuable networking can be.
After spending a few hours on the exhibit floor I decided to take the shuttle bus to the static display at the airport. This resulted in one of the most surprising developments of the day, as my old saying of “talk to EVERYONE” really came in to focus..
I sat down on the bus and a slightly older gentlemen took the seat next to me. Having some time before we got to the airport we struck up a conversation and I quickly found out he was a retired pilot for major communications corporation in the southeast. He had flown down to the show in a new Cirrus aircraft he had bought and was enjoying his retirement. Of course, the conversation turned to my job hunt and as with the two gentlemen in the booth, he was kind enough to take my business card and ask for me to send him an email of my resume. I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of help that people who I barely know are willing to offer me. I am sure his assistance will be as great an asset as the others I have met. To say I was feeling better about coming to the AOPA Summit is an understatement.
The static area had a good mix of airplanes and aircraft manufacturers. The largest being Cessna with its new aircraft including the Corvalis and the Citation Mustang. Diamond Aircraft was also well represented with its mockup of the D-Jet. Despite the down economy, there were plenty of new aircraft and models, to keep even the biggest GA fan happy. There is still quite a bit of life left in the GA world despite all the gloom and doom predictions.
Making my way back to the convention center, I was quite worn out by this point as I had been at the show for several hours. I was just about ready to leave for the day when I found out that I had won a really nice aviation calendar from the same booth that had taken my business card and asked for my resume earlier. I considered it a very happy coincidence! When I went up to the booth to pick up my prize, one of the attendants remarked that he had already talked to at least one person whose flight department has two jets in the central FL area and had forwarded my information to that individual. That really made my day and just reaffirmed that my networking efforts have been valuable.
It has been a long and exhausting week attending 2 shows in 3 days and driving over 300 miles from one end of the state to another, but I feel it has been tremendously productive. With such a high unemployment rate, especially in the pilot community, its going to be that extra effort that will eventually get me the job.
After all…Todays the Day!
Even A Miracle Needs a Hand, My Job Hunt Finally Ends!!
with 4 comments
I havent been posting much on the blog lately, not because I have nothing to talk about, but because my life has suddenly become so busy. Some wonderous things have happened to me lately and I could not do justice to the whole story until everything was complete. So, as promised, is here is my “Miracle” story and the proof that professionalism, determination and perseverance will ALWAYS pay off in the end…. NEVER EVER GIVE UP!
My life just before Christmas had become much like the life of Joshua Trundle from the Rankin and Bass cartoon “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” It didn’t look like Santa was coming to my house, money was running out and my wife and I were really wondering how we were going to soon pay some of the bills. We dreamed of a happy Christmas, but that was just a dream at the time. As the holiday drew closer, I became increasingly nervous about our ability to stay afloat, my wife was working harder than ever for what little pay she made and my folks actually had to LEND us money so that we could buy a Christmas tree. I did stay, however very optimistic and like the song in the Christmas cartoon I told my wife to “Hope while I hurry, pray while I plan, well do whats necessary, because even a miracle needs a hand”
And a plan is exactly what I had. I took a chance that many people would pull out of the job search during the Holiday season thinking that no one was hiring. I decided to push my job search harder than ever, with the thought that I would stand out among the crowd that had withdrawn till after the New Year. At first, my efforts seemed futile, but I kept my social media exposure higher than ever and continued to network closely with friends and colleagues. I had also been commenting on blogs from the leaders of other aviation companies and they seemed to like what I had to say, but no interviews or job offers yet….
Then suddenly, things began to fall into place around the last week of December…
Between Christmas and New Years, my phone started to finally ring. To say it was a surprise would be an understatement! This was always the time I am told that very little gets done business-wise. First it was from a charter company in Nashville, TN that has its own online blog. They had seen my blog and comments on their postings and found my writing intelligent and thoughtful. When they had an opening (for which they had over 3900 resumes submitted!) they gave me a call. Thus this opportunity and interview came DIRECTLY from my social media exposure and blogging.
The second call came from a private operator based out of Orlando,FL. I had submitted for this job on-line and they noticed I had a type in their aircraft and that I lived in the local area. “The right place at the right time” Both these calls came with a few days of each other. I was thrilled! As was my wife. Two interviews in a week after months of very little movement. Could it be a happy New Year after all?
I had the opportunity over the next couple of weeks to personally interview with both companies both on the phone and in person. Each company treated me extremely graciously and gave me an overview of each of their operations. I dared to hope to get two job offers after months of nothing, but went in with realistic goals of having at least one job offer. Both companies were well-run and well placed and I was excited by the prospect of being employed by either one.
To my utter astonishment, I received job offers from BOTH companies on the SAME DAY!!! I couldn’t believe my luck. So much effort, work, and perseverance had FINALLY paid off. They say the aviation business is either “feast or famine” and it was NEVER so true. It was going to be an EXTREMELY difficult choice because of the qualities of both jobs. I had a BIG decision to make, but I didn’t make it alone…
I got on the phone and called my wife! She was nearly in tears of joy. We sat down that night and looked over both offers and wrote down the pros and cons of each one. This went on ALL night. My wife and I discussed exactly what each of us wanted from my new job(s). Both companies had treated me with great respect and I got great feelings from each. In the end it came down to aircraft (the one in Orlando was a big bigger), Salary (a little more in Orlando) and the fact I wouldnt have to move. Still, I felt bad about turning down the one in TN since they had chosen me because of my comments on their blog and the quality of the people (including the CEO) that I had met during my interview.
The next day I called the company in TN and graciously turned down their offer. I remarked that they I thought they were a GREAT company and wanted to be honest about the other, somewhat better offer and not play one against the other. They were VERY VERY good about it and certainly respected my decision. As I said, it was a TOUGH choice turning them down and they way they handled my decline of their job offer was a great example of a good company.
I have since signed a contract, starting in February, for the position in Orlando flying a nearly brand new Hawker. I am thrilled and excited about working again and looking forward to going back to recurrent school. Its been a long hard road, but I am GLAD it’s finally at an end.
My mission now is to work as hard as ever for my new employer while helping others find new positions. I would not have had the opportunities that presented themselves in this past year if it wasnt for the help and support of others. I plan to continue to “pay it forward” and help friends and colleagues that are currently out of work. I also plan to continue to have a substantial social media presence online and continue to network within the aviation community. I have so many people to thank and I will address each one in a future blog post.
As Zig Ziglar and Mel Fischer once said “Todays the Day!” and this week TODAY WAS THE DAY!!
It is now time to help others.
Written by tdwnds1
January 18, 2010 at 8:31 pm
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged with business aviation, commentary, employment, flight, job, jobs