 There are airlines today that hire primarily through internal referrals. Some won't even interview a candidate-- no matter how exceedingly qualified-- unless that person has been referred by someone at the airline.
On the face of it, this might seem unfair. But looking through the employers' eyes, you can see why this works for some of them.
If you
had to look through a stack of 100 resumes, and 10 were recommended by
existing company pilots, would you view those any differently than the rest? Of course you would. Assuming all 100 met the hiring minimums,
it would be a safer bet that the 10 being referred would be better applicants.
Why? First off, these 10 applicants most likely know what it would be
like to work at that airline-- after all, they know (at least) one of
the pilots there. They wouldn't be applying unless they gave some
consideration to what the airline offers. Secondly, a reasonable
assumption is made that the pilots doing the recommending would not
recommend someone they do not like. Have you ever helped a pilot whom
you did not care for that much get a job at your company? Probably
not.
It is also a numbers and time issue. A pilot recruiter has limited
time to go through and select candidates for interview. The resumes or
applications that are referred have in effect a virtual Post-it note
on them saying "pre-qualified." For a large airline like FedEx which
has more than 5,000 applications on file, it saves time to narrow the
field down to those candidates already known by the pilot force.
But what about qualifications? Don't they trump all else? In theory--
yes. But in reality-- no. HR departments frequently like to hire a
"spectrum" of pilots: military, corporate, commuter, fractional, etc.
So actual qualifications (total time, turbine time, amount of college,
etc.) vary from pilot to pilot. Once core minimums have been met and
some experience is had, the biggest differentiator can arguably be he or she who is the best connected.
It pays to view pilot recommendations as a normal hoop many airlines
put up as part of their normal hiring process. Instead of lamenting
it, embrace this fact early and begin (or resume) networking like mad.
Go to job fairs, visit the big airline pilot forums, jumpseat on your future airline of choice, and always have
business cards handy. These actions could be the single greatest
determinant to your success in landing the job you most desire.
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