New Flight Dispatcher - Help with resume and interview process

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Arne2442

New Member
Hi everyone!

First, I want to just say thank you for this community. I've have been reading and referencing these threads since I decided to go down this career path. This community has already helped me so much!

I just completed air dispatch school and received my license from the Flamingo Academy in Cincinnati. I'm located in Wilmington, OH, so ABX is about a 15 minute drive from my house or I have the option to commute to Dayton/Cincinnati.
I'm now working on building out my resume and cover letter and applying to regional airports. I'm having some trouble finding good examples for how to position my resume/cover letter. I'm nervous because not only do I have no dispatch experience, but my previous employment was not within the aviation industry.

Secondly, is there any guidance or information on how to prep for interviews. A few forums and job postings mention they will be testing you as part of the interview process and just wanting to know what can I expect for that.

Thank you,
Jeff
 
Welcome!

What kind of work history do you have? I had a lot of customer experience due to working in a small retail store for a while so that helped with a job at JFK that dealt with passenger/stakeholder relations (it was an operations supervisor position).

You need to use whatever you have and word it so it's strong for what you want to apply for.

Try to make a linked in if you don't have one already and look for the pages for any place you think you might be able to work at.
 
Hi Jeff,

Congratulations on getting your ticket. You will find that many of us in the dispatch world did not come from an aviation background. In regards to styling and prepping your resume, I'd recommend staying conservative on the design. Google Docs have a few good templates you can refer to as a baseline and begin building from there. I would suggest sticking to bullet points that define what you did and what your accomplishments were. Do not write long paragraphs detailing every little thing about your position.

One thing to think about is that Dispatch is a highly sociable job. You will be fielding calls from all sorts of different departments like Pilots, Maintenance, Operations, etc... If you have any work experience that required a lot of "socializing" it would be good to list. Something along the lines of "cross-departmental collaboration" would be good to include.

Another thing you could add is jobs history that may exemplify critical thinking abilities. Were you ever in a position where you had to analyze multiple pieces of information to put together a whole puzzle and solve a problem? Highlight that. Dispatch is all about taking multiple pieces of information to piece together a flight plan. Turbulence expected at certain altitudes? Maybe plan the flight at an altitude that avoids that. Thunderstorms expected at your destination? Perhaps list two alternates on either side of the airport just in case so they do not get stuck on the wrong side of the line.

It's a very competitive time to go into the dispatch field. Many folks have been discouraged by how difficult it's been to get their foot in the door. That said, don't be disheartened. A lot of dispatch is about the type of person you are and not necessarily the background you have. Dispatch as a job can be taught and character is more important that people give it credit for. If you have a good attitude and the perseverance to push through the tough times, you'll land in a good spot eventually! Best of luck. This forum is a wealth of resource and everyone here is very supportive!
 
Welcome! You are going to find this job fun, exciting, and frustrating all at the same time. Not sure if you are looking to move but you might have more luck applying to different regional airlines. To prep for interviews, go over your METARs, TAFs, approach plates (Jeppesen is the best bet) and be ready to talk about yourself. A lot of people do not have any airline experience and most, if not all, regional airline managers know this. So, it ok to be nervous, but take your time reading the charts.

Good luck.
 
GroundPilot said:
Welcome!

What kind of work history do you have? I had a lot of customer experience due to working in a small retail store for a while so that helped with a job at JFK that dealt with passenger/stakeholder relations (it was an operations supervisor position).

You need to use whatever you have and word it so it's strong for what you want to apply for.

Try to make a linked in if you don't have one already and look for the pages for any place you think you might be able to work a
Click to expand...
Most of my professional experience was coaching at the collegiate level. I spent about 40% of my time communicating/recruiting student athletes, their parents, and working with the admissions department. We were required to work a 9-5 work schedule and my day to day varied, but mostly consisted of responding to recruiting emails in the morning, communicating with other departments and professors, player meetings, ordering and budgeting, various meetings, scheduling, and other duties as assigned.

I've started to update my linked my linked in and add a few local companies to my network, but I'll continue to work on adding more. We're open to relocating if necessary, but my hope was to find something close to Wilmington, Ohio and when I have enough experience move on to a major airline and relocate at that time.
 
Arne2442 said:
Most of my professional experience was coaching at the collegiate level. I spent about 40% of my time communicating/recruiting student athletes, their parents, and working with the admissions department. We were required to work a 9-5 work schedule and my day to day varied, but mostly consisted of responding to recruiting emails in the morning, communicating with other departments and professors, player meetings, ordering and budgeting, various meetings, scheduling, and other duties as assigned.
Click to expand...

Sports can definitely play. Emphasize the communications skills you used and any/all teamwork or collaborative experience. What you said tells me you have experience collaborating across different teams to achieve a common goal. That is a huge part of your job as a dispatcher.

Edit: also welcome! In dispatch, other duties as assigned usually means food runs
 
Is it acceptable, or not proper or a good career move in this job to follow up on an application if you don't believe they've hired yet but haven't been contacted by them first? And if you wanted to but don't know anyone there would it be proper to look up the airline on LinkedIn, look through the people to find a Dispatch Supervisor or SOC Manager and dm them, or just a Recruiter?
 
Hey, congrats! Sounds like your career in dispatch is starting off an awful lot like mine. I went to Flaningo and first started off working at ABX which is a great place to work.

ABX is looking for another dispatcher, and if I were you I would definitely apply for that one if the listing is still open. It really is a great place to work and you will have a much better experience working there than you would at a regional. What is your endgame as far as employers go, is there a specific airline that you are working toward?
 
Coaching is actually a form of training/ manager.

You should easily be able to come up with bullet statements that can be adapted to almost any career.

Best of luck and welcome. Best career move i ever made.
 
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