I'm not sure where ecovictim instructs but as an instructor I want to clairfy some of his points...
1. Instructing is not multi-crew - there are 2 crew in the a/c but multi-crew flying involved PF/PNF and a whole range of SOP's - while instructing the instructor goes from pilot flying to pilot monitoring to pilot flying and so on many times over the flight.
2. Airlines consider the different types, weights, crew environments & operating enviornments of aircraft you've operated - they would certainly look at a PA31 in charter differently to a BE76 in instructing
3. There are way too many hour building instructors who hate doing it but do it to stay living in a capital city with mum/dad/girlfriend as it is - unless you have a genuine interest in teaching people please don't consider it.
Now I don't buy into all this instructing vs charter crap - I've instructed on & off for years & see the benefits of both. If I was an airline recruiter I'd consider the following as an advantage:
Instructing - better equipped for check/training positions in the future. Maybe better initially in a multi-crew environment as they are use to flying with others, are comfortable with different styles of flying etc. Higher awareness of SOP's, ops manuals etc - because they have to be known back to front & demostrated every day to teach them.
Charter - more aware of customers needs, a lot more use to operating aircraft at their maximum limits (MTOW, MLW, CofG etc), more OTP focused, more experiece in weather conditions etc, have generally flown larger/faster/heavier aircraft in IFR situations. Probably have a better awareness of the regs that are more applicable to airline operations.
Both have their advantages & disadvantages. For me I've loved instructing - I love seeing students pass tests, go solo, land for the first time & realise they can do it - I think being a part of that person's flying journey is priceless. While doing it I've had experiences that have taught me, scared me and made me a better pilot too. Even with that however I'm now looking for charter work myself - I want to see all those different things too and expand my knowledge base.
Do what you know is right for you - not just what you think will be the quickest path into the RHS of a jet - when I get to the RHS of a jet I'll know that I learnt from & loved my journey to get there - not be a bitter ex-GA person who made wrong choices just to accelerate my way upwards.
Happy flying!