The experienced pilot has difficulty acting eager for a job because looking for a second airline job is not as exciting as going after the first one. The veteran is likely to be competing against less experienced but more enthusiastic pilots, and the interviewers may hire the more eager applicants because of their obvious interest in the job.
Experienced pilots often are the worst job applicants. They don't keep up their logbooks; they don't re-write their resumes; they don't apply for many of the available jobs; they don't want to have to prove themselves again.
Some of the experienced pilots take their furloughs personally, and this attitude may project into job interviews, making the interviewers unlikely to hire the pilot because of a chip-on-the-shoulder attitude. Furloughed pilots have to build themselves up mentally for the job search, generate enthusiasm for the task, and remember what it was like to get their first piloting jobs.
Enthusiasm during unemployment is difficult to achieve when the pilot is feeling intense pressure to get another job. Atlanta job search consultants Virginia Hall and Joyce Wessel have drawn up recommendations for relieving the stress of unemployment that apply quite well to the furloughed pilot seeking a new job. Hall and Wessel urge that you establish a routine to prevent feelings of disorientation and loss of control over your life. They suggest choosing a quiet place at home, near a telephone, as a base from which you can conduct your job search. You also should establish a definite period of time each day to search for a job, then put the search away after that daily period, just as if you had a job. Your job at this time is to find another job.
You should plan an exercise program to keep physically fit, to reinforce the daily routine and, most importantly, to relieve the stress of being on furlough. There is nothing like exercise to release pent-up frustrations. A physical routine also can be important if your job search turns toward other airlines. Interviews with other carriers often include medical examinations by company physicians, and the results of such exams will be enhanced by a long-term, regular schedule of exercise and diet begun two or three months prior to the interview.
Hall and Wessel caution against falling into the soap opera syndrome (physical and mental isolation) and suggest fighting the practice by getting out of the house every day to be with other people, even if only to the library or to the park. You could go to the airport and talk to people who may have information about job openings.
They also recommend taking time for recreation with the family or friends, a practice that will allow you to return home refreshed, ready for the job search.
Also suggested is the buddy system: connecting regularly with another person who can help you vent your frustrations over being furloughed. Family members often do not make good "buddies" during a furlough because they may be hurting from their own furlough-related worries and loss of self-esteem. The best help may come from another furloughed pilot, someone who knows the pressures of the furlough and the ensuing job search, someone who can empathize. Keeping in touch with other furloughees also is important because of its networking aspect. If one pilot gets a job offer, he may be able to recommend his friends for other piloting positions, or at least notify his friends that the company is hiring.
You may also wish to upgrade your FAPA membership if you are not a full-service member already, in order to take advantage of the JET JOBS Referral System, pilot counseling, and other services.
In the search for another job, you naturally should try to get employment with a company good enough that you will not hesitate about giving up your seniority number to work there. If such a company is hiring and you are accepted, your furlough is over. You start from the beginning with another carrier.
However, such a fairy tale ending is rare, and in most cases you should try to hold on to your seniority number for as long as possible. Some companies may be willing to use you for a short time, expecting to let you go when you are recalled by the airline that furloughed you. They may not require the number to be resigned until after your probation. Other companies may say that a pilot must give up any previous seniority number, but in the real world may be willing to negotiate this requirement at the time of hire because they need your experience. Still other companies, sitting in the catbird seat, may not budge at all in their demand that you relinquish your number. At this point, you must decide if this company is where you want to continue your career.
Some furloughees may find non-flight jobs with a carrier, using other professional skills they have developed. Ex-military pilots may wish to re-establish themselves in the Reserves, National Guard, or even active duty, retaining both their seniority number and their flying skills. Some pilots find they can make a reasonable living this way.
Other pilots may find positions with the FAA or with airport management, or they may be able to go back to whatever work they did before they became pilots. The 1981 CAL furloughees who took non-flight jobs found themselves in fields as varied as stock brokering, computer services consulting, marketing, and carpentry. Pilots who take this route, however, should find some way to continue flying regularly.
If there is a section of the industry that is booming, that may be the best job source. For instance, in 1982 and 1983, deregulation allowed for tremendous growth in "upstart" carriers, accompanied by the hiring of large numbers of pilots.
Your mobility is your biggest advantage at an interview. You should be willing to move nearly anywhere there is an acceptable job offer. The one exception to this, though, is in taking jobs outside the United States. Overseas pilots risk losing touch with the U.S. job market. Be aware that many foreign countries are not allowing U.S. pilots to upgrade or build toward a pension and that they may not allow you to maintain employment there beyond the duration of the contract being offered.
