bobbysamd
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2001
- Posts
- 5,710
Interview coaching and resume assistance
In 1992, after making the USPS rich by sending off forests of cover letters and resumes with few responses, getting nowhere at my four regional interviews and one cattle call, and getting nowhere thereafter with the regionals, I was a little frustrated. I had sent in a resume to a well-known, state-of-the-art flight school, and was called to interview. I wanted the job badly, so I decided to do it right.
I used Irv Jasinski to prepare for the interview. I had read his book, Airline Pilot Interviews: How You Can Succeed In Getting Hired, several times over. He coached me by phone a week before my interview. I attended the interview and was hired. The interview went nothing like Irv's prep, but perhaps knowing that I was prepared caused me to exhibit confidence sufficient to be hired.
Six months later, and out of work, I had lined up an interview with MAPD. I was in Northern California. I lined up some sim and time with Captain Bob Norris. He knew all about the regionals and Mesa in particular. We talked and he prepped me. I interviewed at Mesa and was hired. This interview also did not go quite like his preparation, but, again, believing that I was prepared perhaps gave me the confidence I needed at that time to succeed.
I have obtained other aviation jobs without interview preparation. I feel the best aviation interview I ever did was for my first full-time job, at ERAU. My point is that receiving interview coaching could make the difference between being hired or rejected, simply from the standpoint of the extra confidence it gives you.
I designed my own resumes by cribbing off Kit Darby's "industry standard" form. My later efforts were word-processed with the help of a student who was computer literate. I got responses, but my point here is while I feel my resume was fine perhaps if Kathy had been available fourteen years ago and she had designed my resume I might have had greater success.
Finally, writing proactively, I know some people will say, "Yeah, bobbysamd, there you go, the regionals didn't hire you because you sucked at your interviews. Don't go bitching about other issues." I've heard it already. I don't know that I sucked at my interviews (though Grady Reed clearly was put off by my RJ question, which was totally bogus) and neither do you. Moreover, my response rate was low compared to my paper output. That is a discussion for another day. In any event, maybe if I had been properly coached for my airline interviews the outcome would have been different. Here again, I was hired for pilot jobs without any interview coaching of any kind.
In 1992, after making the USPS rich by sending off forests of cover letters and resumes with few responses, getting nowhere at my four regional interviews and one cattle call, and getting nowhere thereafter with the regionals, I was a little frustrated. I had sent in a resume to a well-known, state-of-the-art flight school, and was called to interview. I wanted the job badly, so I decided to do it right.
I used Irv Jasinski to prepare for the interview. I had read his book, Airline Pilot Interviews: How You Can Succeed In Getting Hired, several times over. He coached me by phone a week before my interview. I attended the interview and was hired. The interview went nothing like Irv's prep, but perhaps knowing that I was prepared caused me to exhibit confidence sufficient to be hired.
Six months later, and out of work, I had lined up an interview with MAPD. I was in Northern California. I lined up some sim and time with Captain Bob Norris. He knew all about the regionals and Mesa in particular. We talked and he prepped me. I interviewed at Mesa and was hired. This interview also did not go quite like his preparation, but, again, believing that I was prepared perhaps gave me the confidence I needed at that time to succeed.
I have obtained other aviation jobs without interview preparation. I feel the best aviation interview I ever did was for my first full-time job, at ERAU. My point is that receiving interview coaching could make the difference between being hired or rejected, simply from the standpoint of the extra confidence it gives you.
I designed my own resumes by cribbing off Kit Darby's "industry standard" form. My later efforts were word-processed with the help of a student who was computer literate. I got responses, but my point here is while I feel my resume was fine perhaps if Kathy had been available fourteen years ago and she had designed my resume I might have had greater success.
Finally, writing proactively, I know some people will say, "Yeah, bobbysamd, there you go, the regionals didn't hire you because you sucked at your interviews. Don't go bitching about other issues." I've heard it already. I don't know that I sucked at my interviews (though Grady Reed clearly was put off by my RJ question, which was totally bogus) and neither do you. Moreover, my response rate was low compared to my paper output. That is a discussion for another day. In any event, maybe if I had been properly coached for my airline interviews the outcome would have been different. Here again, I was hired for pilot jobs without any interview coaching of any kind.
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