Another lesson for job-seekers

I went to a skywest interview the other day and a guy got asked why he wanted to work for us. His reply was because I saw it on the internet, though why not, and I get free travel benefits. Needless to say he didn't get the job.
 
Doug Taylor said:
Yes.

Oh, another story of yore.

I walked in my resignation to the office at my last regional and the CP had the audacity to say that if I didn't pass ground school at Southernjets, I would not be welcomed back to work there.

Two weeks later when I was dropping by the office, after being berated for not accepting a trip that would have extended me past the day I was resigning, he handed me his resume and asked if I'd be kind enough to walk it in when I got to Georgia.

And he wonders why, when I saw him in the food court in ORD about five years ago, how I still remembered his name after all this time.
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I heard that! Its a small community, no doubt about it.
 
TXaviator said:
pfft. dont go giving away the "secrets" of not being a toolbag!!

really, do people need tips on basic social/professional behavior?
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Oh, you have NO idea! I've been told "please wear business attire" by a company I had a 2nd interview for. I'm sorry, but if an applicant has to be told that, they shouldn't be in the running. Perhaps instead of teaching ridiculous subjects most kids will never use in their lives, schools should offer a course in the life "basics." :rolleyes:
 
Doug Taylor said:
Two weeks later when I was dropping by the office, after being berated for not accepting a trip that would have extended me past the day I was resigning, he handed me his resume and asked if I'd be kind enough to walk it in when I got to Georgia.
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That is hilarious:D I hope he learned his lesson and changed his attitude.
 
Only one chance to make a first impression.

This got me thinking-don't the pilot mills give any hints about what to do on their 'guaranteed interviews'? For the frontal assault on the poor kids' checkbook, loans, firstborn, and other assets, you'd think they could provide something.
Seems like they should add a 'resume/interview basics/customer service' class as well, maybe money better spent than the RJ transiton courses for those who've never had to do anything involving people skills before.
 
Holocene said:
Does anyone ever just tell the truth and say they want a paycheck?
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In my interview with Northwest I said that and added because of the flight benefits. The guy interviewing me laughed and we had a good conversation after that. Please note: It was after he told me I would have to go to Minnesota for training so I had to decline after hearing that, but after that I could say whatever I wanted without disrespecting him or Northwest.
 
SFCC/UND said:
I went to a skywest interview the other day and a guy got asked why he wanted to work for us. His reply was because I saw it on the internet, though why not, and I get free travel benefits. Needless to say he didn't get the job.
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Did you get the job?
 
We used to always have people coming in for a CFI employment and every once in a while we get guys like you described.

The worst is after you tell them that you are not hiring at the moment but they are welcome to leave a resume they start interviewing YOU!

We had one guy that had a piece of paper with some FAQ's on them and after about thirty minutes of his questions I had to just tell him "yeah, we're not hiring remember?"
 
Sprint100 said:
I agree with that after you mentioned that one little word...ATTITUDE. That is everything. Attitude doesn't change with clothes unless you are flat broke and happy to finally be in some nice clothes, or a nice haircut:D
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Attitude is everything, however the same attitude that may work in one place, may not work in another.....it depends on the "fit" they're looking for, IMHO.

For instance me. In the early-mid '90s, I was flying 135 cargo on my way to the standard 121 route.......was planning on getting on with Eagle and going from there. Even if that didn't pan out, I had about 3 other forks in the road I could take aviation-wise that just take me to different places in career life.

Was enlisted in the ANG to supplement my income some, and had decided to put in the paperwork for AF OTS for a pilot slot. Being post-Desert Storm, the AF was opening OTS again after it'd been closed for a couple of years during the post Cold War drawdown. I went to interview with a group of AF officers, and they asked why I only put "pilot" for the job selections.....why didn't I put 3 different jobs that I'd like to be considered for like the form said? Now I didn'r want to give the standard "I want to join for mom/apple pie/to serve/higher calling standard song and dance"; so I simply told them, in as humble a manner as possible, that though yes I wanted to serve, I wanted to serve as a pilot....that's what I wanted to do (in OTS applying, you get your AF job prior to being committed, unlike Academy or ROTC). Also, I already had a career path going, and was willing to cease that in order to offer myself and services to the USAF. Especially since so many of their pilots were jumping ship to go to the airlines, and here I am in the cargo airlines and wanting to go in the opposite direction. I made my statement as matter-of-fact as possible, no "attitude/attitude", just laid the cards on the table with "here...this is why I'm here gents." That didn't get any appreciable reaction one way or the other, but at least I was able to be truthful to both the board members, as well as myself. A few months later, I get a call from a recruiter in CA telling me that I'd been selected for OTS pilot, of which there were very few slots at the time.....most available ones going to ROTC or the Academy.

So attitude is everything, but honesty scores a good amount of points as well, I've found.

It was the same when I joined my current Reserve unit after Active. During the interview, I was asked by the commander what I thought of the current wars going on. I asked if he could be more specific.....what are you referring to sir? He clarified, what did I think of how they were being conducted? I told him I thought it was a cluster-eff, and told him and the board the reasons I thought that. At the conclusion of the interview, he told me that that was the first answer that wasn't a broken record, that they've heard all morning. I told him that, you asked what I thought, you'll get what I think. I'm not going to lie or sugar-coat. You may or may not like my answer, but you should appreciate the honesty.
 
Sprint100 said:
Maybe he just happened to be in the area and wanted to check you guys out. I went to many jobs, not recently, in track warm-up gear and the like just to inquire about a job. Once I got called in for an interview or to meet the supervisors, the professional Ed came out.
I would think credentials weigh alot more than someone who is looking GQ.
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If you're going to stop in anywhere just to inquire about a job, you should always do so expecting/prepared to interview on the spot. If you ain't ready to interview, i.e. dressed, resumed in hand etc, then don't stop in and ask because you'll never know how many interviews you never got simply because you stopped in to ask looking like a slob.
 
I was told you are ALWAYS at an interview whenever you visit an airport. I have run into many potential employers during my stops in FBOs. So dress accordingly.
 
jrh said:
Fair enough. In his defense, the reason he came to the area was because he was ferrying an aircraft and I don't know many pilots who dress up to ferry GA aircraft.
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I think your point still stands regardless. If I had stopped in unexpectedly while ferrying a plane and looking like a slob, I would have started the conversation by asking about anything except whether or not you were hiring.

Have you guys been staying busy with the economy?
What do you guys use for trainers? Really? Those make a good training platform because of xxxxxx.
Is the training biz seasonal around here or do you guys go full blast all year 'round?

The possibly some other small talk followed by:
Say listen, I'm ferrying that plane out there so I wasn't really expecting to be doing any job interviews but would you mind if I emailed you a resume?

I suspect that Mr All-About-Me could've gotten at least a little further if he had taken that approach.

But an even better option would be to make a mental note and stop back in when you're more prepared if thats at all possible.
 
Joe Gremlin said:
I think your point still stands regardless. If I had stopped in unexpectedly while ferrying a plane and looking like a slob, I would have started the conversation by asking about anything except whether or not you were hiring.

Have you guys been staying busy with the economy?
What do you guys use for trainers? Really? Those make a good training platform because of xxxxxx.
Is the training biz seasonal around here or do you guys go full blast all year 'round?

The possibly some other small talk followed by:
Say listen, I'm ferrying that plane out there so I wasn't really expecting to be doing any job interviews but would you mind if I emailed you a resume?

I suspect that Mr All-About-Me could've gotten at least a little further if he had taken that approach.

But an even better option would be to make a mental note and stop back in when you're more prepared if thats at all possible.
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:yeahthat:

I couldn't have said it better myself.
 
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