Job Hunt: One Month In

So... what's happened since graduating?

* Wicker Man @ Alton Towers Resort *

It's been the grand total of a month since I've finished flight school and, true to my promise, I'm back with my first "Job Hunt" update. I'm hoping I won't need to write many of these posts, but I always expected to be writing this first instalment. While the industry is booming right now it's sadly not a case of landing a job within a week of finishing. In fact, I reckon most people can take up to 6 months before getting an offer these days. This is not too dissimilar to University graduate hopefuls either really. Some airlines can take longer than others to reply to your initial applications and with that in mind i'd never expected to find a job quickly. If you graduate thinking that then it's a very unrealistic expectation right from the start. :-)

So just what have I been up to since finishing at L3 CTS? Well, a whole host of things actually and May's been quite a busy month by all accounts. While I've sent off a few airline applications i've certainly not been as pro-active as I could have been. The reason for that is quite simple: I've been enjoying some relaxation time. While enjoyable on the whole my time at L3 CTS was mentally exhausting so it's been nice to do what I want, when I want and I've made use of some of the nicer weather to do just that. I've caught up with family members and friends, had a BBQ or two and also started my new job in the I.T. industry with Krystal Hosting.

* Penguins @ Peak Nature Park *

* Bournemouth Beach in the sunshine *

I also took a weekend trip to visit Alton Towers with my other half - which I hadn't been to since I was 16! - and ended up passing by a Nature Park on the way home. We were able to walk right up close to some of the animals. The penguins had such character and brought a smile to my face. Nature is simply beautiful. On a separate occasion I took a trip to Bournemouth beach as despite completing my Instrument Rating here the weather was seldom nice enough to relax. The Central Gardens looked lovely in the sunshine and I also beat the 2p arcade machines winning more than I put in, to then lose it all again.

* Guest Speaker @ June Open Day *

The job market...

On to the bit i'm sure many of you are wanting to read about, the job market. At the time of writing there are hundreds of jobs out there for the 500+ hour pilot. The positions available for the lower hour boys and girls are more limited in the sense they're more competitive but they're certainly there. As far as the hold pool goes it's a little bit quiet at the moment with Turkish Airlines having recently concluded their second stage assessments. Twenty cadets are now in the running for a position with them. I was able to apply, but couldn't complete selection as it clashed with my AQC sims. I'm informed Turkish are looking to return later this year, however. Other airlines that have previously hired from the pool in the past few months include Royal Brunei and Wizz. 

Away from the hold pool there are several others airlines who are hiring directly including but not limited to TUI, Ryanair, Jet2, easyJet Swiss, EuroWings, FlyBe etc etc. So there's certainly plenty of opportunities available to the newly qualified pilots be they with L3 CTS partners or otherwise. I would like to hope that by my second instalment to this series of posts I will have heard back from some of my applications. Most of the cadets who have gone on to secure employment at Ryanair, for example, heard back from an initial screening 6 to 8 weeks from submitting their applications. I shall keep you all updated as time progresses.

Another of L3's partner airlines, easyJet, recently re-opened recruitment for pilots but this time it was directly via the airline as opposed to via the hold pool. easyJet were extending their Amy Johnson initiative and were offering to fund the type-rating (or bond it, not entirely certain on the specifics) for those successful. Given it required 1st Series passes, I did not qualify.

There are some jobs going further afield in Asia with Singapore Airlines etc but i've not applied to any of those at the moment as I wish to explore those opportunities available in Europe first before looking further afield. There you have it. A nice little update post for you. I'll be back with another one next month and hopefully I'll have some updates for you by then.

All the best,

George.