FO Caught in the middle - too experienced and too expensive
I've never found it easy to find a job in UK aviation, but with the introduction of 'cadet-biased' recruitment policies (and web systems that only allow you to apply when there are definite recruitment plans) it is getting more difficult. As a relatively experienced FO with over 3300 TT including B737, C560XLS (Netjets) and Jetstream 41 on the licence (but none current at the moment) I am finding that not only can I not find UK jobs that I can apply for but that that I am not even getting close when I do find a job that I am qualified for
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I am not here to bleat about the iniquities of the the system and the general erosion of Terms and Conditions, but I am genuinely stuck as to what I should be doing to get a job. A decade ago I would have sent cvs speculatively and badgered companies: But now the limited HR based systems of recruitment means that I will often just get an email saying 'Wait until the recruitment website opens...if ever' only to find that posts have been filled by a quick trip to CTC or that over 1000 rated, current pilots have applied for the same job. I am not in a position to pay for a rating but am willing to take a reduced contract, if I could get close to getting a job.
So now I find myself not sure as to what I should be doing. There is a saying that the definition of insanity is 'to keeping doing the same thing yet expecting a different result'.
Well I need to be doing something different and more effective and I would welcome any advice or insights from the wider PPRUNE community. Genuinely stuck!