How does one get experience without having a job, I wondered as I walked out the door that day. I haunted the airport for two months, hanging out and talking with everyone. My excuse was that I was studying for my instrument instructor rating, but really I wanted a job. Eventually, I got one. I wasn't exactly in the right place at the right time. It was more like I was in the right place and I stayed until something clicked.
When I moved to Texas in the late 1980s, the job market was even tighter. That time I took a job that was less than perfect, hoping that being employed would help my employability. It did. In every spare moment, I hung around the flight school where I really wanted to work. What's more, I let the owner know that I wanted a job-repeatedly. When a slot came open I was hired.
Over time I learned that it wasn't only my skills as a pilot and a flight instructor or my pile of recommendations that got me the good jobs. It turns out that my ability to schmooze with the owners and staff of the facility where I wanted to work played an equal part in my employment success. The importance of the power lunch is real, I discovered. Even so, my career successes took more than just a few strategic lunch dates with people who might be able to help me get a job. Job fairs and conferences where the like-minded meet and network turned out to be my best source for both employment information and opportunity, especially as I advanced up my career ladder.
Not much has changed about that in the past 15 years. And yet, things are different. At a recent aviation conference that I helped put on, I watched proudly as $380,000 in industry training scholarships and grants were awarded in one night. Only four years earlier that amount was $1,000. But that was only half of it. As I walked down the aisles of the exhibit hall, it was astonishing to see that many companies were actively recruiting employees for flying and mechanic jobs, engineering and teaching positions.
During the three-day conference resumes crossed hands with job applications, and the room seemed to pulse with the energy of ambitious folks close to their dreams. Better yet, the smart dreamers were picking the brains of those who had made it-and there were plenty of success stories to be found-trying to decipher the key to the best careers in the industry. It was definitely the place to be if your enthusiasm exceeded your experience.
That was impressive, but it paled next to the moment during the closing banquet when American Airlines Chief Pilot Cecil Ewell took possession of the microphone. First he gave away a $10,000 flight training scholarship. The applause was enthusiastic, but polite. It was a small scholarship compared to some that had preceded it. Then he did something unprecedented. He brought the second scholarship winner onstage and told her that he didn't think she needed the scholarship. The woman looked profoundly confused. Ewell then said, "I'll give you a choice. You can take this $10,000 or you can have a job as a pilot at American Airlines. Which would you prefer?" The woman's jaw dropped. There was no hesitation as she whispered a hoarse, shocked reply. "Job!" was all I heard.
We thought he was done, but he wasn't. Ewell called out the names of 10 more scholarship applicants, de-manding that they stand and be recognized. He told them point-blank, "You didn't win anything; sorry. We didn't think any of you needed a scholarship, so instead, we're offering you jobs. Call the training center on Monday and get scheduled," he commanded in his best gruff captain's voice. The audience leaped to its feet, cheering in delight.
No one had won money, but they had all reached out, pushed hard, and finally gotten what they deserved- careers they could love. There is no greater reward.
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