Hey, everyone,
After getting my license conversion done back in December, I've been actively trying to find work, but seemingly, all I'm hearing is crickets. (I've also been putting out feelers since the middle of last year, to basically hear back "get your license, we won't look at your resume until then").
Now, I imagine that some of the issue stems from my resume, having 1300 hours total, but only the "fresh-out-of-flight-school" PIC hours. (The short story behind that: the captain upgrade at my last company required a 1 year bond... which I couldn't sign for, as, due to some
competence on the part of Home Affairs, I had to move to Australia a year ahead of schedule). But, having said that, it's been interesting to hear the responses from different operators.
There's been, in general, two different responses:
- You're too experienced / We only hire newbies. This is typically despite me stating that I have no issue taking on a year or longer contract.
- You don't have enough experience.
Now, here's where my questions come in:
- Given that my experience doesn't match what a lot of operators are expecting, what would you folks recommend for me to do to make it make more sense for an operator (without necessarily having to go through all the details of the resume)?
- Does it make sense for me to keep prodding the operators Up North to keep my name in mind while the current season is ongoing? (Seeing how it's my first year of looking for pilot work here, I am gathering that the big hiring time is around now)? Would in-person visits make sense for the places that haven't given me the complete brush off - keeping in mind that I would mostly be limited to a max of two destinations due to budgetary constraints.
- Would it make more sense for me to hit the books, get the ATPLs done, and try for regionals? (Original plan was to get the hours for my overseas ATPL, get that, then convert it over, which is made much harder without a flying position. Also, I feel like my combination of hours would not be kindly looked on by the HR matrix in the regionals.)
- Or, would it be better for me to grit my teeth, save up the money for an instructor rating, and instruct locally for a bit? (This one's not particularly ideal, given the budget issues from above)
On top of those, I did also want to wonder out loud on an item I found interesting. Seemingly, based on the last two months of talking to a lot of operators, it seems like most just want you to send your resume down the email chute, and not talk to them unless they talk to you first. (And, if you're in town, to visit in person). Is there much in the way of "following up your application with a phone call" culture here, or am I just painting myself as an over-eager beaver by doing that?
Cheers,
AVF
PS: Quick note - I do have full work and travel rights in Australia on my visa, but I don't mention that on my resume or cover letter. Should I be including that information, or leaving that until I've actually heard something back?