[ChinookDriver]

Part 2:

Resumes, Logbooks, and Nighttime, IFR, Second in Command of a Blimp?

Applications are a pain in the neck. If you are like most pilots I know you probably have a pile of “little red books” sitting your closet and a fresh, crisp, “pilots master log” which has never been opened sitting next to your desk. When was the last time you logged your time or updated your resume? How often should you update these documents? Once a month is a good rule of thumb. If you can do it after each trip, you have better organizational skills than I do! Keeping up with the mundane paperwork means being prepared if and when you’re required to fill out another job application. I even fly with quite a few pilots these days who keep logbooks on handheld computers. I don’t personally use logbook software but when you are filling out that column on the application that asks for the amount of time you have as second in command of a blimp while flying inverted at night in IMC, I can see where a “sort” function might be useful.

Have a few resumes on hand. Not just flight-crew resumes, but also ones that detail your other skills. If you are forced to take a part-time job at the local home improvement warehouse they might not be interested in how much PIC time you have in aircraft over 28,000 lbs.

I carry resumes with me everywhere. I might go a year without handing one out, but you never know when the vice president of flight operations for UPS will be in your jumpseat. They don’t take up much space in your flight-kit, but one day having a good, updated copy of your resume on-hand might make a difference!

But I HAVE My Dream Job!!

k, Captain. Life is good. Maybe you’re a 737 First Officer for Southwest or a Regional Jet Captain for Chautauqua. You made it and now you’re at your dream job. Maybe you are not applying anywhere at all, or maybe you’re waiting until you have met “competitive” qualifications to apply elsewhere. If there is one rule-of-thumb about getting an interview it is, very simply, they will absolutely never EVER call you if they don’t know your name.

Before my last furlough I asked a few captains, “What would you do if all of this went away tomorrow?”. Believe it or not, the answer I most often got was, “I guess I would go to Southwest.” Or, “I guess I would go to AirTran”.

You would just GO? Just walk right over? Show up on Monday, I think they’re expecting you?

Sorry folks but it does not work that way. Ask the pilots who have been hired by Southwest and have been wading in the pool of newhires awaiting a classdate for over a year. The time to start job-hunting “just-in-case” is when times are good!

Find out who is hiring. Get applications. Right now you might not want to leave your company, but everything could change in two years. In 1999 every professional pilot in the known universe wanted an interview at United Airlines and Jetblue sounded like the name of an aftershave lotion for sensitive skin! Your entire world can change over the course of just a few years!

It happened to pilots at Pan Am, Eastern, and Braniff. It is happening to pilots at US Airways, United, and TWA/American. Tomorrow it could happen to pilots at Southwest and Jetblue. You just don’t know! Job-hunting, even in the good times, is the best insurance policy you can get!

Make Yourself Marketable

A few years ago 1000 hours PIC turbine and a college degree were only a requirement for a handful of airlines. Today even if you have 10 years experience in the right seat of the Space Shuttle you simply cant get through the door if you haven’t sat in the left seat of a kerosene burner for a few years. The guy who flew the Metroliner between Jamestown and Buffalo everyday for 5 years is more qualified, in that case, than you are.

Find out what the competitive requirements are for the airlines that you are considering and make yourself competitive while you’re still employed. Do yourself a favor and get those qualifications BEFORE you move on. There are literally hundreds of pilots who are furloughed right now and who are lacking that 1000 hours PIC turbine because they were hired at their respective majors before it was a competitive industry requirement! (Ok, I admit it. I’m one of the guys who made this particular mistake so it’s near and dear to my heart!)

Financial Planning For Dummies

So you met your dream girl (or guy) and after a few years as an airline pilot’s spouse they’re pretty happy living in the manner to which they’ve grown accustomed. Pilots are notorious at spending every last penny of their paycheck. And why not? For a time there even a third year pilot at a major airline was making six figures and, well, that convertible would look pretty good parked in front of that $300,000 house by the lake with that boat in the back.

A Captain I once flew with gave me some fantastic financial advice.

“Son,” he told me, “If you want to get rich in this business keep your first house and your first wife.”

Sure, it was tongue-in-cheek, but he did have a point. I like to think that the point was, very simply, don’t live beyond your means. If both you and your spouse work, why not find a house that you could afford on EITHER salary, rather than being tied down to a mortgage that drains both of your paychecks?

Regardless of whether you’re a spendthrift like me (my wife calls it “cheap”) or if your tastes are a bit more “refined” it is a good idea to keep six-months expenses in the bank. It should be liquid and easily accessible. You should make sure that includes enough cash to pay the mortgage, household expenses, and unforeseen expenses (car repairs, medical bills) and maybe even a little “play money”.

It is an extremely liberating feeling when you find out that you’re going to be furloughed to know that you have at least six months during which you’re in no danger of having to actually move back in with your parents, or into a van down by the river!

Additionally when you find that new job there will be expenses. If there is no pay during training at your company, you will be required to find housing and food for two-to-three months. Then after training there are crashpads and/or moving expenses.

The money you save will be used to purchase something far more valuable than any of your material possessions. Time.

The union wants to go on strike? No problem. You’re furloughed? No big deal. The airplane you’re flying has an AD that keeps it grounded for 6 months? Piece of cake.

Buy yourself some time. Put six months into the bank and don’t touch it!

So it finally happens…

Even with all of your planning it has happened. A lot of people in the “real world” don’t understand the emotional impact that a furlough can have on a pilot. We can tell them how long and hard we’ve worked to get that brass ring, but they will likely never understand. Even your wife or husband may have a difficult time figuring out why you are so deeply, passionately in love with this airline… with this corporate logo.
Why do you have that Widget on your bumpersticker? Why do you wear that sweatshirt with the stylized flag? Why do you have Stephen Wolf’s picture on your dartboard? They may never understand your feelings. Being furloughed stinks.

In 1998 I had the opportunity to attend a CRM course at AirTran. I remember a very energetic southern Captain teaching the class how to deal with personal problems and get past them.

He said, “Sometimes fish-heads are for dinner. Don’t like fish-heads? Sorry son, dinner’s over.”

I thought a lot about that over the last few years. Mostly, I tried to understand what the heck he was talking about! What I believe he meant was that sometimes stuff happens and you just have to deal with it. You don’t have to like it… but you have to go on.

That means that it does no good to mourn. Yes, you’re going to go through the whole range of emotions from sorrow to anger and fear. That’s just how the human mind works. But when all is said and done you have to wind your watch, and fly the airplane. You might be mad that the engine failed. You might be upset and a little scared… but you never stop flying the airplane. The same holds true with your career.

Resigning Your Seniority


Just a quick note about resigning your seniority. It hurts. Nobody likes it. But hanging on to that “number” especially today is like hanging on to a love-letter from an old girlfriend. Having the letter is not going to make her come back. Reading it everyday will not help you to get past her.

The industry is changing and the carrier you were furloughed from yesterday may not even exist tomorrow.

If and when recalls occur, hopefully they will recognize that you resigned under duress and will recall you regardless. If not, perhaps that is not a place you want to work anyway. Obviously they don’t recognize the sacrifice you made. I don’t care if a Captain at that airline took an 80% pay-cut – you took more. Your concession was greater. You gave up 100% for them. They will either recognize that sacrifice and recall you when the time comes or they won’t.

If you intend to keep flying, find a company where you believe you could be happy if the industry turns south again. Choose a place where you could retire. Perhaps you won’t be able to afford the convertible and the big house on the lake, but you could provide a good life for you and for your family doing what you love.