Advice for attending job fair/ who's going

M20B_pilot said:
What do you have on your cards? Name, email, and phone number? Do you have the title of "professional pilot" or "airline pilot" or do you even have a title?
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I'll give you my advice about attending the various job fairs and industry conferences.

  1. Come prepared and know what you are going to say. This is the biggest complaint from all of the recruiters. Just ask @Derg Have stories prepared and know who you are as a pilot and who you are as a person. You have 5-10 minutes to make yourself stand out compared to everyone else. What can you offer so the recruiter remembers you. Your conversation is not going to be all pilot talk. The recruiter is thinking "can I get along with this person for 3-5 days and will they represent the brand well if hired?"
  2. Don't think like an applicant anymore, think like a recruiter. What would you like to see in applicants if you were on the other side of the table? It will open up your eyes. Start talking to other attendees and you will see fairly quickly the good, bad and ugly candidates.
  3. Practice, practice, practice. Don't memorize word for word for you are going to say. You want to have a casual conversation with the recruiter. The best way to do this is to video record yourself. It is amazing what you will learn by listening AND watching what you say. It will be painful at first but just like in the sim you will get better at the maneuver which is selling yourself. Practice with your Captain or First Officer. You will start to learn things from each other.
  4. You are constantly being watched. Think there is a microphone and video camera following you around all day. What happens at these events is you catch up with friends you haven't seen in years. What happens when you get a bunch of pilots together? They start bitching about everything. Always be mindful about what you say.
  5. Watch your drinking. A ton of networking goes on at the hotel bar but use caution. I have seen a ton of guys act like complete idiots at job fairs including my events. Drink light beers and play it safe. Don't be "that" guy at the job fair.
  6. Smile and show enthusiasm. I ask at the beginning of my career presentation how everyone is doing? I usually get some replies. I then ask, how many people want to get the hell out of their regional airline and to the majors? The rooms erupts in roar and laughter. Recruiters want to see positive, motivated people. They know you are under stress to get a new job. Don't be the guy who thinks the glass is half empty or half full, be the guy who thinks the glass is always full.
  7. Write a hand written thank you card. I try to teach my clients to be old school. With all the tech going on these days, most people forget about they way business was conducted years ago. A recruiter will delete a thank you email fairly quickly. A hand written notes means more and the worst case is they will look at your application again.
Aero Crew Solutions will be at NGPA, WAI and OBAP this year. Stop by our booth and say hello. We will look at your resume for free ($99 savings) and answer any question you may have about any airline. We are also raffling off a free interview prep every day ($400 value).

NGPA has asked us to host a 2 hour career seminar the day of their event. Please attend if you can. WAI has asked us to host a 3-4 hour seminar on Wednesday before the conference begins. Please attend if you can.

If you have a question about absolutely anything please let me know. I am here to help you be successful.
 
badtransam97 said:
Thought about attending my first job fair/conference and was wondering if anyone had any advice on attending, such as: is one day better than any of the others, do you usually attend a discussion or just mingle around the floor, etc..?
I assume taking a stack of resumes and knock the dust off the suit is a given?
I'm looking at going to the WAI conference in BNA March 10-12, is anyone else planning on attending? Be nice to put some faces with names in here.
Thanks!
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Don't wear your uniform shoes with your career fair suit.
 
Good stuff guys! I've been flying with different CAs who were recently hired at a major. Their stories of what they did are all different. They range from "All I did was apply and got invited to interview," all the way to "I networked my butt off and then some." Get your face/name in front of recruiters and chief pilots at meet and greets. Make positive connections with fellow coworkers who may end up heading off to the majors before you.

I won't lie, I feel way behind on networking, but everyone has to start somewhere, and the quote in my signature just holds true all the time. You never know how close you were to success if you never try!
 
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I'm not the smartest guy in the room. But I think it mostly has to do with wanting to be there and not being a jerk. Well, ok, cake helps. But mostly just being someone someone else wouldn't want to strangle on a four day. I stand subject to correction, as always.
 
I think my biggest drawback is going to be my lack of FW time, but I figured I'd at least go and try to get my name out there and kind of see what the fairs were all about.
 
Something else too, be kind.

I know a guy who was working a career fair where there were a couple flight attendants that were helping direct traffic. He'd watch how the applicants interacted with them in line. Were they friendly and cordial? Did they glare at them with indifference? He mentioned something about it being important now only how the applicant presented himself to the recruiter he'd be speaking to, but also important that he recognized that he's got to work well with all members of the team on either side of the cockpit door.

Just a couple things I heard.
 
Derg said:
Something else too, be kind.

I know a guy who was working a career fair where there were a couple flight attendants that were helping direct traffic. He'd watch how the applicants interacted with them in line. Were they friendly and cordial? Did they glare at them with indifference? He mentioned something about it being important now only how the applicant presented himself to the recruiter he'd be speaking to, but also important that he recognized that he's got to work well with all members of the team on either side of the cockpit door.

Just a couple things I heard.
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Truth. I think I know that guy too.
 
Advice from my side is, bring a good attitude and be open & confident while meeting lots of new people. Along with that there are some few things you have to keep in mind during that fair.
Bring resumes and a folder or portfolio to hold your job-search materials.
Take the time to find out what companies will be represented before the day of the career fair.
Be direct.
Make sure you learn from the recruiter, employment and/or hiring trends, skills necessary for different jobs, current openings, salary, benefits, training, and other information about the organization.
Ask the employer for the next steps in the recruitment process and try to obtain the recruiter’s business card for follow-up discussions/correspondence.
 
won't weed through 2 pages of posts but has any said....."Bring chocolate cake"?
 
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