Booze for leads

[Twin Helix]

Good morning one and all.

Ive had some success in the past with this ploy so again I'm offering a nice bottle of single malt (or a libation of your choosing) to anyone who can help put me onto lower time work.  206 rated, recent PCC (contract ended). 

Way too many crickets so far.

 

[Island Pilot]

Prairie Helicopters recently had an add out looking for 500 hour pilots on the 206. I believe I saw that Custom was also looking for lower time people for the summer on the long ranger.

[ironpilot]

looks like arrow head has a post up asking for 500 PIc

prairie was asking for 500 but they def give low timers a shot

look at taiga out of winnipeg they usually pick up a couple low timers

looks like heli recon is looking for a spray pilot might be able to work you way into there 

 

 

 

[whippersnapr]

Having been in your position for many years, I wanted to share some advice that might be helpful. If it’s already obvious to you, great—but hopefully, it benefits someone else reading this thread.

First off, I think resumes are bullshit.  They don't tell your whole story, and often are deceitful or woefully optimistic or bury the lead.  This is coming from the guy who made "Canada's Best 100-Hour Resume" a decade ago.


However, if you're going to send a resume:

1 - Make Your Resume Stand Out

First, keep it clear, accurate, and easy to read. Your total time, endorsements, and key flying experience should be in a simple, table-like format in the top half of your resume. Don’t bury the most important details—make them instantly visible.

Second, don’t make your resume a chore to read. Show some personality—who you are, your values, and why you can be trusted as a PIC in a single-crew operation. There’s no safety net in that role, so demonstrating sound judgment and reliability, even in your resume, can help you stand out.  Put in some pictures of you doing cool things.  Tell me what you're most proud of.  What was your hardest-won accomplishment?  Were you shot out of the womb, cyclic in hand?  I don't think so.

If you have a ton of dual time and not much in terms of PIC, don't bury that in your resume.  It's more frustrating to omit critical details.  You're not fooling anyone, and I'm not going to call to confirm.

2 - Build (Employment) Time

This is the hard part: stay put when you can. A string of short, six-month stints raises red flags. If you can stick with a company for multiple years, keep your nose clean, and be vocal about your goals, you’ll set yourself up for success. Seek feedback, communicate openly, and make sure your expectations align with your employer’s.

3 - Research and Send Strategically

Send your resume only to places where you can fly tomorrow. If you're rated and current on a 206, target operators flying 206s. If you have an R44 rating, focus on those companies.  If you're going to show up somewhere, be ready for a checkride.  We've adopted a policy that nobody gets hired without a .5 interview ride with either the chief or the senior pilots.  Recency doesn't really matter, as long as you're prepared mentally.

Know something about the operator you're reaching out to.  You can figure out what types they run via TC CCAR, and you can kind of get an idea about what they do for work via CAS-SAC.  

4 - Clean up your Social Media, and think about your personal brand.

Seriously, we all google you as soon as you walk away from the first interaction and look for any stupid #### that you've done in the past, because we don't want that happening with our brand in the background.  Million-dollar OGP contracts have been lost for an ill-timed selfie.

5 - How we (an operator that hires low-timers) Review Resumes

For all resumes, we focus on additional skills like customer service, sales, marketing, or anything that adds value beyond flying. In our operation, low-time pilots fly right away, but they’re also expected to contribute in other areas. Personality, world knowledge, language skills, and the ability to work independently are all highly valuable.  No, you won't have to necessarily clean toilets, unless you're a messy pooper, but yes, you will fix ops gear, drive fuel, do paperwork, help with audits, help with guests, etc.  The expectations of additional skills beyond flying never go away, regardless of how many hours you have.  

6 - Timing Matters

Shops are hiring earlier and earlier.  Hiring cycles move fast; for example, we finished most of our hiring for this year a week or two ago.

You can DM me for contact info to send a resume, but the best results are going to come from some facetime.

If you want a job somewhere, show up ready to work, facetime goes a long way to a hire.  On a personal note, My biggest roles have come from networking, colleagues, or putting myself in front of a potential employer's radar.  For the 10+ moderately qualified resumes I receive a week, I'd rather spend 20-30 minutes chatting (and potentially flying) with the applicant that took the time to come down and say hello.

[Pinnacle]

check your messages 

[Norm]

Where are you located?

[Twin Helix]

Hey Norm, Im in the Edmonton area.