"Expressions of Interest"
 

Over the last few years, some dubious employment adds have appeared on the AFAP site
using the term "Expressions of Interest"
My tip is don't reply.
When I've researched each one, they are not actually seeking to hire anyone.
Its there way of getting free advertising.

In their words, something might be happening in the future so we want to see what resumes are out there
at present. When they are really getting closer to considering a new hire, then they exaggerate and
put up that job ad. The important thing is to keep a note of which companies use the term
"expressions of interest" as if you send in a resume, it appears its more likely to cause your prejudice
than help in the long term.

There are enough companies out there who don't engage in this kind of conduct
that in my view, rules them out of my possible future consideration.

What it often means is that the advertiser is tendering for a contract which has certain minimum crewing standards and numbers. They will use the responses to “Expression of Interest” as if they already have these people on the payroll.
Sometimes they won’t even have the required aircraft, but may (only maybe) have potential leases lined up if they get the job.
You will sometimes see similar ads pop up around the same time from more than one operator.
SOP in the world of BS aviation marketing.

If I was in need of a job I would have no problem expressing interest to all the advertisers. You could get lucky with one of them. As long as the operator identifies itself. Post Office boxes with no Company name are strictly a no-no, as that suggests the operator is dodgy or the advertiser is a wannabe recruiting agent looking to make a quick buck for doing SFA.

It’s just how business works and not only just in aviation. Very rarely is any company going to have the staff sitting idle that they would use for the tender.

More annoying is when the role advertised as part of a tender response and it doesn’t say EOI or similar!

OK I'll bite.

There are a lot of variables for a GA business looking to employ a pilot. It is certainly not as simple as ringing up the first person to email and giving them a start date.
Characterising an employer on the basis of the use of one phrase is a bit unfair,

In our case, we use the term "Expressions of Interest" when we think we might need someone, but we're not 100% sure yet. It makes it clear that we are not committed to hiring anyone, but we would like a pool of applicants to interview and we are getting that ball rolling.
It makes no promises - it is quote clear that this may or may not come off, so you as an applicant are fully informed.
In the current atmosphere, that applies to most of the positions we have filled since 2019.
For a small business it would be unusual to need (or have the capacity) to employ more than one person at a time, so of the applications only a few will be short-listed and only one will get the job.
For the position (ok... EOI) which we advertised on AFAP (on the same day as this thread was posted, coincidentally) we received over 70 applicants in 10 days, more than half of whom didn't meet the advertised minimum experience. All of them, however, believed they would be able to bring something to the table and in most cases they would probably be right. The question is, do we need what you are bringing as much as we need what the other applicant has?

For small businesses, there are many reasons for progressing or rejecting a candidate.
The mix of abilities, qualifications and approvals currently available in the business might affect which of the applicants could be hired, trained and supervised.
An outstanding candidate with less than the minimum hours might stand out form the crowd.
A candidate with all the hours, types and qualifications might stand out but something about them means they are set aside.
Recently we have employed COVID-stranded jet pilots who thought their career was over, only to have their previous employer call them up a few short weeks after they passed their IPC and were checked to line - that is something we can't afford to repeat.

I don't know your personal circumstances or which job you were interested in, but I hope the above helps paint a picture.

It’s not just GA...
 

I applied for a reasonably large airline two years ago. Paid for my flights, practice sim time, accommodation etc, only to turn up at the interview to be told that there was no actual job, and that they were just compiling a list for possible future positions. It was disappointing.

I’ve applied for over 100 jobs in the last 12 months, with absolutely no success probably because I’m an absolutely stupid and incompetent idiot 😀😀😀😀

I always assume that when I hit send on any job application or expression of interest that my credentials will be used an abused without my consent....

However I have found success in other areas!