Strategies Aviation Applicants can use right now during the COVID-19 global pandemic to stay current.  

• Take this time to focus on yourself, your professional growth and your career journey
• Set self-improvement goals and how to achieve them – think education, career development, interview skills, relationships and networking, clearing your mind and de-stressing yourself
• Fine tune your job search toolkit – Update Your Avjobs Master Profile and Resume, craft a cover letter template, quantify all your professional accomplishments
• Use your Avjobs account to view job descriptions for keywords and verbiage you can use to reboot your resume
• Illustrate how you have added value in all employment roles
• Use the Avjobs Practice Interview to build your interview skills and get comfortable talking about your accomplishments
• Keep applying for jobs as companies are still hiring and building pipelines for future jobs
• Be patient and know you may not receive a response
• Prepare for virtual and remote interviews
• Know that part time or temporary work can open up more doors and lead to full time work
• Build your professional brand and image to boost your career
• Spend time to craft your 30-60 second elevator pitch
• Clean up your online profiles and use professional photos
• Reach out to your community and network with people in your role of interest
• Grow your online presence and follow companies and experts on social media and make connections to strengthen your personal brand
• Claim your Free Avjobs Applicant Account to take advantage of our resources available
• And of course be patient and remain optimistic

CLAIM YOUR FREE MONTH NOW

Why do some companies post jobs as confidential?

A "Confidential" posting means that the company chooses to remain anonymous. This typically happens for one of a few reasons.

• Some companies don't want it to be publicly known they are hiring. Perhaps they haven't advertised it even to their own employees.
• Sometimes they are going to replace a person who doesn't know it yet and they don’t want them mistakenly finding out they are interviewing for the position.
• Perhaps they don't want their competitors knowing what sort of skill set they are looking for.
• Perhaps they don't want their stock prices to drop when the public realizes the star employee with the brilliant ideas' is retiring and needs to be replaced.
• In some cases, someone is about to get fired and the company is looking to find a replacement without tipping them off
• The company doesn't want to deal with the sea of people wanting to follow up via the phone. Yes when it says, "No phone calls" they are serious. It is not a test to see if you really want the job and so you will call. Keep in mind that the average posting gets about 1000 people looking at it and so they would have to hire someone full time just to field the phone calls about the job or the calls of "I just want to make sure you got my resume"

We get a lot of posted jobs from a lot of "famous personalities" and what these companies want is normal professionals applying to jobs. What they don't want is a John Travolta/Seattle Seahawks/Garth Brooks fan applying to a job that they don't have any business going after.

We manually screen each posting and run a check on all new employers using the site so the reality is that a confidential posting can really be one of the "better" jobs that we have on the site.

Unfortunately we cannot reveal to anyone who the company is.

We realize that for some job seekers who are currently employed you don't want to apply to a confidential job at their own company (this has happened) or otherwise let your current employer know that you are looking.

This industry is filled with go getters, if you are looking and you get "caught" congratulations, you are just like everyone else.

If you are not happy in your job or if your employer isn't challenging you enough then by all means get out there and find a new job. There are plenty of legitimate reasons why they might want to be confidential.

Our advice is to apply, you really have nothing to lose.

When and How Employers Let Job Seekers Know About Interviews

When should you expect to hear whether you were selected for an interview? It could be shortly after you apply - or it could be never.

When Employers Notify Candidates

Unfortunately, in many cases, you may never know definitively that your application was rejected by a company. Some employers do notify applicants that they were not selected, others do not. In some cases, it's because they receive hundreds of applications for every available job opening and they may not have an automated system or the resources to notify applicants.

Some job postings state that only candidates who are selected for interviews will be contacted. In other cases, you simply won't know if you'll hear back or not.

In addition, the hiring process can be lengthy with multiple interviews and the employer may not notify applicants until they have filled the job. That could take weeks or months, depending on the position within the company.

For candidates who are invited to interview, you may be notified by phone, email or by an automated messaging system if you applied via an applicant management system.

Check Your Messages

Since you don't know how the company will contact you, check both email and voicemail at least daily, if not more often. You don't want to lose out on an interview because the company couldn't reach you in a timely manner.

How Employers Contact Applicants

Employers most frequently notify applicants by phone or email, but you may even receive a written letter inviting you to interview. The email message, letter or phone call you receive will include details on who you will be meeting with. You may be assigned a pre-scheduled time or you may be offered a choice of interview times.

If the company requires that you prepare materials (like a pilot check ride, for example) you will be informed as to what you should bring and how you should prepare. You should also be notified about the format of the interview/ For example, the company should let you know if you are meeting with a group of individuals rather than a single interviewer.

Read more about Aviation Job Interviews on our website.

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Do you remember as a child being told, “Practice makes perfect”?  Well, the same is true with job interviews.  Learning to interview like a pro takes practice.  And lots of it!

While there is generally no right or wrong answer to interview questions, there is a right and wrong way to answer.  What do we mean?  Interviewers are busy and don’t have time for the fluff.  They simply want to know what makes you better than the other candidates they have brought in for an interview.  They do not want long drawn out answers. They do not care that your dog recently had surgery.  They do not want to hear that you showed up on time every day at your last job.  Bottom line is they want to know what you bring to the table that will help them soar above their competition and into the future.

The Avjobs Interactive Practice Interview is as real as it gets and can help you interview like a pro in minutes!  Turn up the volume on your computer to hear interview questions and be given time to respond.  Refer to your resume and professional portfolio to help organize your thoughts and answers.  While you should never memorize answers, you do want to have key points to touch upon.  Our Interactive Practice Interview is included in the Ultimate and Premier registration options.

Register today and commit to spending 30 minutes a week practicing your interview skills.  You'll pat yourself on the back when your all practice pays off.

You will knock your interviewer's socks off by being confident and ready to answer anything they have to throw at you! Additional resources are available in the Avjobs Applicant Portal.

Aviation Job Interview Step-by-Step

1. Pre-Interview
	Schedule Interviews Look through the Avjobs Applicant Portal or your local newspapers classified ad section. Locate and schedule at least 20 interviews for challenging and professional positions. You need not be interested in obtaining these positions, as these interviews will be used as experience, building your self confidence and interview skills. Through these experiences you become more knowledgeable and comfortable with interviewing practices. This self-induced confidence allows you to be yourself, and shows a potential employer what type of an employee you will be for their company. You should start this interview process immediately so that you are well prepared before your first potential job offer with an airline, airport, aerospace or general aviation company.
2. Pre-Interview and Actual Interview Experience
	Dress Appropriately Dress as closely as possible to the uniform required for the position you are interviewing for. This allows the interviewer to see how you would look as an employee before they hire you. As a general rule most companies wear dark blue business type suits with black shoes and white shirts. Try to dress as closely to this description as possible as it gives a professional appearance regardless of the company uniform. A conservative hairstyle; natural looking with no extreme shape or color. Make-up appropriate for daytime business wear. Nails are to be well groomed and all cut to the same length. Jewelry is to be conservative. No more than 2 earrings per ear. Men may not wear earrings. Nose, tongue, or eyebrow jewelry may not be worn. If you have a tattoo, make sure it is not visible. If your tattoo is located in a position such as a forearm or calf, place a band aide over it - large enough to cover the entire tattoo.
3. Talk confidently.
	Use proper English and a well-modulated voice. Always use positive statements and never offer negative comments about past employers or experiences. If a negative question is asked, try your best to turn your negative answer into a positive statement.
4. Smile
	Show your personality to the interviewer and co-applicants as someone may be watching you from a distance. Don't present a fake or false image; simply be yourself, as you will have to continue to act this way once you are hired.
5. Don't Give up
	If for any reason you are not hired by the first airline you interview with, "Don't give up". You may not be hired at your first interview or by your first airline, airport, aerospace or general aviation company. Multiple interviews are common practice in the aviation industry. Chalk everything up to experience, and use all previous interviews to build on your mistakes for your next opportunity for employment. Every interview you attend builds self confidence and interviewing skills, giving you an edge over your competition. When your applications file life expires or if you are not hired after an interview, reapply. At a later date you may possess the requirements the airline is looking for, or be recognized the second time around. Remember these requirements vary over time and need.

"Familiar Faces Attract Attention"

Everyone must understand that you are not just being evaluated on your experience and education alone, but also by your looks, personality, confidence, enthusiasm, and any other attribute that can help them decide whether or not you are right for the job. You may find out that some people get hired just because the interviewer "liked" them. Of course this is not always the case, but developing effective interviewing skills can help!

The Avjobs Applicant Portal has the "Online Practice Interview"
The staff at Avjobs along with other industry wide personnel offices agree, the interview can make or break an applicant regardless of experience or training. It has been the experience of Avjobs and its employees that there is a "best" preparatory procedure for interviews.

The Avjobs "Online Practice Interview" section describes this preparatory process and provides tools and tips for you to be at your best. The "Online Practice Interview" includes audio, video and hundreds of sample questions. So turn up your sound and practice those interview skills.

In aviation interviews you're often asked if you're "Willing to relocate?", especially if you live far from the new potential job or the aircraft in question. Sometimes they ask it if you plan to commute or live in the same city.

In those cases the answer is obvious – you wouldn’t interview at a job in another state if you weren’t willing to relocate or commute. But, they may have other offices and want to know if relocation is a possibility if needed.

Think about it before your next interview... Are you willing to relocate?