Recommendations from pilots
 

As everyone knows, simply sending CVs off to all the airlines isn't always enough. I get the impression that recommendations from pilots who know the people in charge of recruitment can go a long way, but I am not sure how this works? Does it bear much weight if a senior pilot recommends a young Frozen ATPL chap to his buddy who is recruiting? Are they not obliged to follow the normal recruitment process?

So how do you get a recommendation?

You personally know a pilot who can recommend you. And you will need to know them too! Personally I wouldn't recommend anyone that I didn't know well. If, for example, I recommended a friend of a friends cousin twice removed and they turned out to be a total prat - it would look bad on my behalf.

Maybe you could have a hunt around on some dating websites and try and find the said "senior pilot" someone?! ;)

Good luck anyway.

If you recommend someone, what are you hoping it will achieve?

Depending on the company a personal recommendation by someone in the company can help queue jump, get noticed or with some companies, it's the only way in.

There's a couple of companies in the UK that pay a reward to current employees if a person they recommend gets check to line.

My training captain friend has offered to recommend me to his friend who happens to be chief pilot of a certain airline and I was really wondering what can I expect to happen as a result? It almost seems too good to be true to 'queue jump.' Of course its still possible he'll still decide I'm not suitable.

I am in the fortunate position that many of my collegues (I work as a full time FI) are airline pilots at the same airport as I instruct. They have been only too happy to hand in my CV and recommend me as the all round thoroughly decent chap I am!
A personal recomendation is a well respected method of recruiting up here.

Dude!
That sounds great. Keep your thumbs crossed it will work out.
I was in that seat not long ago and it didn't turn out well unfortunately. My dad knew a recruiting officer for a local airline and they had a recruitment drive. I even saw the Ops manager in person. Still I didn't even recieve a confirmation letter that my application had arrived. Everyone else that I knew had applied, recieved letters from the Ops manager stating that they would not be invited for an interview, but not me. That sucked I thought but then again, alla applications were via snailmail and I just attributed it all to the "application lost" phenomena. It happens on my desk too so I didn't get all hung up on it.
If you're able, try to make personal contact with the guys in charge and just let them know you're there and will give your spare nut to work for them. If possible, before they go through all the CV's... If you know the guy who knows a guy, it might be akward to arrange a meeting that comes across as relaxed. That's very important i reccon.
Hope you get the job, certainly sounds good to me!
Regards/ LnS (who is yet to be employed by preferably SAS but anything else will do just as good!)

When you send a CV to a HR dept they look at it and think "Why should we give this guy an interview?". When you get a recommendation, they think "Any reason we shouldn't give this guy an interview?".

After that, you're on your own.

That's the way I've always looked at recommendations, anyway.

Thanks Conor, that's excatly the perspective I was after. Now I understand it better.

Cheers