I was recently asked the above question on a Reddit group, here is my response:
Great question, a few years ago corporate aviation in Canada was very hard to break into. This is changing very rapidly, you couldn’t have picked a better time. Recently I had some college students tour my work, all of them met our Chief Pilot, sat in our aircraft, asked lots of questions, played with the FMS, etc. I think many people want to get into corporate aviation, because they see the flashy jets and all of the cool places that we fly, yet they don’t really understand what the job is really all about. Corporate aviation is about providing top notch customer service in the safest manner possible. What does this really mean, it means that you’re willing to keep an aircraft interior clean, getting on your hands and knees and cleaning as needed, making the jet look like a million dollars all the time for the client. It means being the person who can get up in flight and meet customers needs as required (possibly making them a drink, heating up meals, answering some questions about the destination, asking them about arrangements for cars/hotels at destination,etc). It is not a sit down job, it is very interactive with a customer at times. Having worked at a number of corporate jobs, I can tell you that each one varies, but all of them are about Customer Service and you being the person that provides that service. Corporate flying is simply not an airline job, I have been on the airline side of flying, and this is nothing like it, airline flying can have it's own sets of challenges for sure. That being said, how do I answer your question? I believe you need to put a face to a name and get your name out there, but how do you do that? Remember a perspective employer sees hundreds of resumes. You need to be the person who walks in and asks to meet the chief pilot or someone who can show you around. As I am sure you know, you will not get noticed unless you get noticed. Sounds simple, but you need to be the person who is willing to go that extra mile and get noticed. I did this by working at FBOs pumping jet fuel and talking to many flight crews. If you know pilots working at a company your possibly interested in working at now, or in the future, and even if you do not have the flight hours (or what ever hiring requirement needed) to be hired, ask them to introduce you to their Chief Pilot/Operations Manager/Head of Pilot Training/HR, you may not get hired right away, but this is a huge door opener for the future. Be the person who networks, use mentorship when it is being offered, you need a door opener sometimes, ask around and you will find a door opener pilot to assist you. I was once taken on a tour of Calgary's Westjet Campus by a friend of a friend, during the tour I met the Chief Pilot, we had a quick chat and then he wished me well, definitely a door opener. But this takes some effort on your behalf, you need to ask for assistance for the door knocking sometimes. This industry is small, it is not easy to get into the office of a hiring department or Chief Pilot, but do not give up, just keep asking your fellow pilots for a door opener. One of the biggest attributes a pilot can have is, being a pilot who is willing to serve, and not be served. There are other attributes any prospective flying employer is going to look for including professionalism and your attitude, remember confident not cocky! I have tried to detail them in my blog site. Please let me know if you need more information than this. All the best!
Further to this post I would like to add, Corporate Flight Departments are looking for someone who is committed to the Corporate Flying Job and have the attributes I shared in my above post. It is crucial that during an interview, you come across as someone who is not airline bound and you are a person that the pilot interviewing you can sit beside for many hours at a time. If you get hired, your employer is going to spend 30-50 thousand dollars on your jet type rating, you need to be willing to stay around and not head off to the next cool opportunity, this is quickest way for you to make a bad name for yourself in a very small industry. Not that I necessarily agree with Pilot bonds, but if you are agree to a bond for a type rating, pay out your bond before leaving.
What should you bring to the table? You should definitely be a person who is up on IFR flying, and I mean real IFR flying, well past the IFR Flight Test preparation stage. How do accomplish this? Please have a look at my other blogs referring to IFR Flight Prep and general preparations for getting your first IFR flying job.
Or maybe I have not answered your questions? Please leave me a comment and I will do my best to answer it. Happy Flying!
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