Careers

Landing your fist teaching job

Some flight school, college, or academy has siphoned just about every discretionary dollar left to your name. Your credit card has experienced a major meltdown. Your Honda Civic is barely limping along. You're in hock up to your eyelids.

But wait! You are now a professional. Despite that FAA examiner's attempt to derail you with inane questions concerning coefficient of lift, you recently managed to earn the coveted temporary airman certificate proclaiming that you are a "Certificated Flight Instructor-Airplane Single Engine." At last, you are able to forge ahead into the workforce and begin to rebuild your credit rating.

It's time for a reality check. It may be tough going for awhile. Locking down that first flight instructor job will test your fortitude and commitment.

Unlike 2000, when regional airlines where sucking CFIs into regional jets and Beech 1900s by the truckload-thus creating entry-level instructing jobs at flight schools across the nation-the market for freshly minted CFIs has softened for the time being. Further, until the economy rebounds, fewer folks will be able to fork over $5,000 to pursue the dream of flight that creates a demand for flight instruction.

So, what's a job-hunting, zero-experience CFI supposed to do? There are four basic job-hunting strategies.

Direct mail marketer

This method of job hunting is a shot in the dark and is the least effective means of locating work.

The first order of business is building a mailing list. Once you have determined where you would like to live and work, conduct the research to discover potential employers: surf the Web; visit Be A Pilot; skim AOPA Online; consult the Yellow Pages; interrogate pilots and other instructors. If possible, obtain the names of the decision-makers at each of the schools on your A list comprising organizations that you really want to work for. You might also have a B list of second-choice outfits.

Construct an effective personal cover letter and r�sum�, slip them into an envelope, and fire away. Remember that a typical response rate to any direct-mail marketing is less than 3 percent. Thus, for any real chance of getting someone to bite, you may need to send out 100 letters. You are hoping that your credentials will land on the desk of a chief flight instructor who just had a CFI resign that morning.

Cold caller

This is the proverbial "pounding the street" marketing method. You print a bunch of r�sum�s at the local copy shop, put on your Sunday best, and knock on the doors of flight schools in the region where you would like to hang your certificate. This marketing strategy can have surprising results.

Many flight training organizations are operated by people who adhere to traditional business ethics. These owners and managers have a certain respect and appreciation for individuals who get off their duffs and hunt for work. This kind of job seeker is generally a go-getter and fairly extroverted. In other words, this person will probably excel at customer relationship skills and salesmanship.

As a case in point, a young chap graduated from an aviation program based in Colorado Springs several years ago. He returned home to South Carolina to scour the airports for work. It so happens that he visited a school at the Columbia airport: He walked in unannounced. The person at the front desk was impressed with the lad and asked that he come back the following day to meet the chief pilot. Well, as the story goes, not only was he invited to teach, but he was offered the right seat in the company King Air.

Responder

Between job Web sites (see "Careers: Job mining on the Web," March 2002 AOPA Flight Training) and periodicals such as Air Jobs Digest, Trade-A-Plane, and General Aviation News, there is a trickle of ads soliciting applications for flight instructor positions. While you should explore every avenue that might lead to work, this approach is somewhat circumspect.

First, there is the issue of timing. All print publications have deadlines that precede the publication date. Thus, if an organization needs a CFI today, by the time that ad appears, several weeks may have passed. In that time, the school may have already picked up that new instructor.

Second, it is rather curious that a school would need to advertise for an opening anyway. In the Denver area alone, chief instructors are reporting that they receive two to five resumes per day from new instructors. Further, if an opening does develop at the school, every CFI employed there can probably recommend a dozen buddies for the job. Additionally, the school has most likely trained new CFIs. Why, then, should the school invest any money to promote job opportunities in the print media?

Networker

More than any other industry, the adage of "who you know" is a mantra for anyone looking for aviation work. Networking is the most effective manner in which to secure a job. However, almost every young CFI-to-be and the schools, colleges, and academies that train them fail miserably at this all-important strategy. As an example: Women in Aviation International (WIAI) held a superb convention in Cincinnati this past spring. If you are a woman residing within 500 miles of Cincy, did you attend? If you're a female pilot attending any of the aviation colleges based in the Buckeye State, did your department organize a field trip to get you close to the industry and those who shape and shake it?

If you are close to finishing your training, has your school provided you with a list of all other graduating CFIs and their e-mail addresses? Who better to help each other launch careers than pals who find work? Can you list 10 aviation professionals who can help you in locating that first job? What are you waiting for?

OK! You're doing your best to seek out and nail down that job. But the job market is far from robust. You're getting turndowns on a regular basis. What's a person to do?

Bring customers

Every flight school thrives on cash. Say you recruit two or three pilot wannabes and waltz into virtually any flight school in the country and say, "Hi. I'd like to be an instructor at this place. By the way, I have three brand-new students who would like to have me as their instructor." You represent about $15,000 in revenue to that business. Consider yourself hired.

Bear in mind that most CFIs are not salaried but are compensated based upon flight hours. Moreover, fringe benefits such as insurance and paid vacations are almost unheard of outside of aviation colleges and academies. Thus, that employer is investing little more than office space and printing for business cards to secure your services.

You're a customer, too

Hold onto your hats! Here is a revelation to everyone in flight training, whether it is for a private ASEL or CFI-ME. You are a customer! As such, you are the reason that the owners, the chief instructor, and the receptionist have food on their tables.

In the current era of economic softness, all businesses are in search of income. Therefore, before investing $1 for flight training, investigate the theory of, "If I scratch your back, will you scratch mine?"

Do you realize how much money you represent to a training organization if you pursue every flying certificate from private to CFI? Thousands! Negotiate the job before commencing the training. Now, this may be a tough chore at some of the big league academies and colleges-and it may be too late if you're already about to enter the aviation work force-but even in these instances, you should insist on a fair shot at a CFI job after you have shelled out your last $1,000 to complete your training.

Caution! At some of the mainline academies and flight schools, there is an implied promise that you will be offered a CFI job upon completion of training when, in fact, many fine students have washed out for the flimsiest of reasons. Why? There just are not that many jobs available at that organization. The numbers do not add up. How can any school with an enrollment of 300 to 600 students offer an instructor's position to everyone?

After investing $70,000 at a big southeastern academy, one acquaintance was summarily shown the door after his last evaluation without so much as an explanation from the school. His dreams of the fast track to the regionals went up in smoke after pouring his heart out for a year, passing virtually every stage check and every knowledge test with flying colors. Press the admissions reps for facts and figures. Ask the hard questions: "Show me what percentage of enrollees make it to the CFI phase. What percentage of CFIs actually get hired by an airline? Explain for me, in detail, requirements I must meet to earn the CFI job and what exactly will disqualify me." Get it in writing.

If you are earning certificates and ratings at a flight school based at the neighborhood airport, sit down with the owner or manager. Lay the cards on the table. You might say, "I am about to pledge $25,000 to this business. I would like to have a CFI job waiting for me at the end of training for at least six months." If there is no deal, then walk down the flightline to the next school.

Despite your best efforts, you will be rejected regularly. In fact, you might not even get through the door. Here are some ideas for you.

Spend some money with the school before asking for a job. Get an airplane checkout. Buy a few sectionals. Make a purchase. It is highly unlikely that you will be greeted with a "Get out of my face" when you approach the subject of employment after spending $95 for an hour's worth of Cessna 172 time.

If you receive the "Well, you don't have enough experience" line, try this. Say, "I appreciate your concern about my lack of experience. But, I am so confident in my training and skills, I have a proposal. I will rent one of your airplanes. You ride along with me. You ask me to demonstrate any maneuver in the private or commercial PTS. If I perform well, then give me a chance at the job." You've generated income for the school and demonstrated your talents at the same time.

Here's a classic objection. "Well, with your time, our insurance won't cover you." Inquire about becoming a "named insured pilot" on the school's policy. A checkout may be required along with a higher premium. You offer to pay the difference in premium to bring you aboard.

Earning employment as a CFI will be more challenging today. But it's not impossible; there are schools-good schools-clamoring for instructors. Be courteous, enthusiastic, and sincere. As many employers will admit, sometimes it's just a matter of liking someone.

Just one more thing. If you should be invited to interview, always ask for the job. Top-level executives have confessed that, all things being equal between applicants, the nod is given to the one who says something like this: "I've searched around and I really want to work here. May I have the job?"

Now, go get 'em!

Wayne Phillips is an airline transport pilot with a Boeing 737 type rating and is a designated pilot examiner in Colorado. He is a speaker for the AOPA Air Safety Foundation.