Hi everyone! 🫡

I thought I’d start off this month with a proper introduction of The Road to 1500’s job search method to the new members. Because, it’s cool to have a list of low time pilot jobs, but the more deep dives we do, the more apparent it becomes that there’s more to getting a job than minimum requirements—that’s if you didn’t really know already. What else is there then?

This is picking up from the very first post on our website (link).

Now, I’m not gonna go and give advice on something I’m just as inexperienced at as you are (or even less experienced compared to some of you).

Instead, let me tell you the story of my first rejection from a job, and what I learned from it, so you don’t make the same mistakes.

I currently am a “corporate” pilot in Madagascar—I put up quotes because it’s nothing close to what US corporate pilots do, but that’s the closest definition I know.

About a year after being back, I had the opportunity to fly a Cessna Grand Caravan for a bigger company.

So, I asked for a 5-minute window with one of their pilots to introduce myself and drop off a resume.

I dressed up (i personally think that’s a little overkill for non-formal meetings but it is what it is), got to meet the entire crew (wasn’t originally supposed to) and we hit it off pretty well (them being super laid-back helped).

I followed up on Linkedin with a classic “thanks for today” type of message—it was a more pleasant experience than I expected so that was a genuine thank you!

I then went through their entire interview process, all the way to the final stages and meeting the CEO to talk numbers—that took almost two months…

Ultimately, I didn’t get the job. The company decided to go with the guy with a thousand more hours.

It was a bummer but at least now, I have a TMAAT story. 😏

Okay, two main takeaways from that experience.

1. Humility

Want to know why they chose the more experienced guy? (besides the total time factor of course lol)

→ Because I absolutely bombed the flight portion of my interviews.

Now hear me out, it’s not like I was way out of standards (thank goodness) but I HEAVILY underestimated the importance of recency when I got on that company FR172–basically a C172 with a constant speed prop–which led to a very average performance. I mean come on man, over 200 hours of Skyhawk experience, I thought it’d be a walk in the park to demonstrate maneuvers I aced so many times before. Terrible mistake, especially when all you’ve flown for the past 12 months are 30 hours in a multi-engine. Still, that is no excuse at all.

So lesson of the day was: fly good, don’t suck. And maybe prepare accordingly, because you’re probably not the 💩 — jokes aside, i think if i at least chairflew my procedures, the flight would’ve gone better, but overconfidence messes with common sense.

I’m sure you guys are great pilots, and I don’t think many low time jobs make you go through a test ride these days. It could be flying or could just as well be regs, aerodynamics, behavioural situations… The key thing is: don’t be like me, come prepared. 

2. The Aviation world is small: gotta (have a) network.

The reason why I even heard of the opening is because my uncle (a pilot too btw) heard about it from someone else. He’s actually the one who got me the 5-minute window opportunity. After that, it was more about getting to know the operation and just talk with my potential future colleagues. Now, my dad happened to be friends with the hiring manager too. So although I got through the behavioural interview stages on my own, I’m sure the dude had some sort of bias towards his friend’s kid.

This not all to tell you how good I had it. This a reminder that for most (if not all) of the low time jobs you’re looking at, there’s someone who has a foot in the door already. Could be via family connections (like me), friends or coworkers. And that was lesson number two: it’s all about your network.

That’s why just blasting resumes to all of the companies on the list is NOT going to cut it. And with the hiring slowing down at the big leagues, I believe a little more personnalized effort will go a long way. That means building genuine connections when reaching out to people.

We may not have all been dealt the same cards, but at least we’re all in control of our own first steps— although yeah, I’m probably the last person who should say that with the head start I was given.

If it’s of any comfort though, I’ll be hitting the US job market with no inherent “head start” this time around. We’ll see how things go… 🤪

If you’re absolutely new to the job search as a low time pilot, I hope today’s email helps you understand how being humble and genuine while building up your network will set you up for success. I believe there’s so much more that goes with finding your first job, always feel free to ask if you want my humble (see, I learned lol) opinion.

If you’ve been job hunting for longer though, maybe double check your resume, making sure it’s nicely formatted and keep at it. Volume negates luck.

👇 Here’s a widely accepted resume format, with guidelines for each section:

We can have a more detailed breakdown of how recruiters like their applications to look like, from some of our listed companies, if that’s something you’d like.

That’s it for today, I thought it’d be good for everyone to know how I think the list would best benefit you. Knowing where to apply is really just a small portion of the work, the rest is all you.

Until next time!

🫡