Head above the parapet!
I'm Chief Pilot and Head of Ops for a good size corporate/charter operator. I get a dozen or so C.Vs a week, what never ceases to astound me is how few people e-mail their C.V and don't run it through a spell check first. Come on guys how can I take you seriously if you send me something a twelve year old would send?
Secondly, do some research, I reply to every e-mailed C.V. What is the point of sending me your C.V if you don't have a JAR license or I.R? There is a huge recession going on and while I will type rate the right people I will bond them, I don't have a budget for I.Rs and a simple glance at our company website should give you a clue that what I really need is people with some miles under their belts and solid time on their I.Rs. With 350 hours on a Robbo and 206 I'm not going to let you loose with one of my IFR twins and precious customers. I had one young man walk in off the street, C.V in hand who got mighty aggressive when I told him I would keep his C.V but couldn't hire him because our MINIMUM requirement is 2 500 hours with current I.R.
EASA is making the career development of young pilots harder, and the key man insurers of the customers are making it almost impossible when they are the ones with the 2 500 hour/IFR rule. As for co-pilots, I wish I could. I need every pilot to be able to go either seat in more than one type, we are getting more and more enquiries for two crew, but I simply can't afford co-pilots.
I really don't think a career is possible in rotary aviation any more, just a succession of jobs, some better than others. The net result is the experienced guys are getting far more experience than they need, the new guys none, and the experience gap is now not such a gap, more a chasm.
When anyone asks me these days "fixed or rotary?" I always say fixed. at least there's some security in planks.
SND
Last edited by Sir Niall Dementia; 15th Jun 2013 at 07:46.