I've seen a lot of good replies in general, but what I'm hearing is advice that sounds a lot like hunting deer with a grenade launcher. That's not how you hunt deer. And it's not how you find a job, either.
I've sent out thousands of resumes over the years. I've hand carried them. I've emailed them, faxed them, sent them in letters. I've sent cards. I've visited employers in person. I've subscribed to mailing systems, job posting systems, etc.
One thing I have never done is taken a job because I knew someone there, or because someone walked me in the door. I've certainly been recommended and carried letters of recommendation, but I've never found work by networking by association at the company.
I've had fifteen or so different employers now; some seasonal, some full time, some lengthy, some short. Many are bankrupt now, some are hanging on, a few are quite successful. Some are the government, and there's no making them go away, no matter how much one might want to.
The constant is this; hunt smart, job hunt smart.
Yes, you can send resumes out a thousand at a time and take statistics on the number of replies you receive. You'll get discouraged, you'll grow tired, and when a response finally does come back, you'll probably be so hungry and desperate, you'll grab whatever comes next. Don't do that.
Respond only to companies that are looking, and shop for companies that you can offer something special; don't just gun for the masses and hope for the best. If you're typed or have experience in some particular area, then start there. Find your strengths, and concentrate on them. Market specifically those operators that match your background. In other words, shoot for the places that are most likely to hire you.
If you're looking for something different, something in which you have no experience, remember that you probably don't have anything to offer. You'll need to shoot for lower. Try coming in at an entry level position, gaining experience in that company or segment of the industry, and then going vertical. You can do it. Hundreds and thousands of others have. You can too.
Most of the companies I've hired on with in recent times have been very straight forward deals. I shopped for the right company, targeted them, and sold myself. I visited in person where I could, and I looked to the company to find their specific needs, and then tailored myself and my resume to them in order to be hired. If they wanted someone with a strong instrument background, then I emphasized my instrument experience and former employers. If they wanted a strong working background, I'd emphasize work that involved hard core visual type flying. If they wanted maintenance, I'd emphasize my wrenching background. Whatever the companies needs, I needed to be able to show I was their man.
Today in a gunfight, a police officer expends fifteen rounds, and hits once. Perhaps twice, if that. Bad policy. But it's very similiar to sending hundreds of resumes in the hopes of a bite. Sort of like chumming the waters in hopes of catching a fish. This does you little good when everybody else is plying the shotgun approach. The proper way to win in a gunfight is to be the first man to draw, the first man to squeeze the trigger, and to not squeeze the trigger unless you have a clear shot and know you can make it. If the area is overfished, find the right bait, and target the right fish. If the market is saturated with very qualified pilots (it always is), then don't use a shotgun, use a scalpel.
You want to be able to catch a fish every time you drop your line. This may not happen; there are no gaurantees. But you stand a better chance if you can distinguish yourself, and show that you are the only man for the job.
Years ago I wanted to make a change. I found an ad in trade a plane for a small corporate flight department in a rural area. They wanted a co-captain in a corporate turbojet airplane, and a director of maintenance. I had some maintenance background, but not as a DOM. I applied, and included a cover letter identifying some very specific things that made me ideal for the job. I mailed, I faxed, I visited. I noted that this was the area I wanted to move, that I wanted to stay long term, and detailed some of my goals in doing so.
I had already taken the time to do the research. The company had strong family values. I stressed that this was a move that my family wanted to make. The company needed someone who was comfortable and anxious to live rural, small town, and that was me. I stressed that I came with my own tools. I learned the company needed someone quickly, and I noted that I was anxious to make the move as soon as possible, but also told them I couldn't leave my employer high and dry, and needed a couple of weeks. They saw someone anxious to serve their needs, but that wouldn't abandon them any more than I'd abandon my present employer. Someone suited for them.
Next thing I knew, I had a call to come meet the chief pilot. The next day I was asked to sit with the board of directors, each of whom wanted to interview me personally (they'd each be riding with me). At the end of that session I was hired.
That's typical of so many other jobs. At another company, I knew they weren't hiring right away, but I called the chief pilot and addressed him by name. I told him I understood he didn't need anybody, but that I would surely like to drop by a resume and shake his hand. He said anybody that wanted to shake his hand was someone he'd like to meet. Five minutes later I was in his office, and ten minutes after that I had the job, flying a Learjet.
On another occasion, I drove until my car broke down in a small town. I was out of money, out of gas. The operator there hired me to fly his ag truck. He put me up in his house. No resume, but a handshake, and the next day I was working, but not before we got together and fixed my car.
On another occasion, I specifically targeted a particular agency. I sent a resume. Twenty four hours later I got a phone call from someone in that agency, asking if I wanted to come to work. I was told I had three days, and to plan on being gone a year. I went.
And on it goes. You can certainly send out hundreds of resumes, and be just like every other resume that lands on the desk. I've sorted through them myself, thrown them out, scrutinized them, called on them, met those that sent them, evaluated them, etc. But each cookie cutter person is like the next. I stayed last night in a hotel where certain of a particula airline were preparing to conduct interviews. I recognized the interviewees by the stereotypical interviewee costumes, nervous looks, sweating palms...they were fortunate enough to have been called, but I couldn't help but think about the thousands of others who were not...and how they would have been just as cookie-cutterish and identical.
I've even had a job out of Climbto350, believe it or not. Within days of responding, too.
Before you shotgun and blanket all the addresses for the companies for which you paid hundreds of dollars to learn a mere address, do some research, go to places and sites that specialize in want ads and jobs, and target those who are hiring. You'll be far less discouraged, and dollars, hours and energy ahead. I promise.
Someone told me that once.
