Let me hit the seminar/webinar angle from the horse's mouth...ie....the horse that is often at these seminars...
I DO think there is a value to sitting in a seat...live...squirming a bit. We try to scatter these around the country...matching demand with our overhead costs and doing the when we can. At the same time--its costly to get there, takes some time, and it can be a hassle. That's partly why we do more webinars than seminars--its a pain for us too.
That said--if I had a choice of doing 3 webinars or a live event--more bites at the apple with reflection and improvement along the way helps. Either event offers a synergy--watching and learning from others--that I think also adds value. But more is better--whatever you can do.
The ideal solution is do a seminar and some webinars. The REASON we created the web sessions was to give clients more chair time, and more practice. There is no inside info, voodoo, or magic involved here--its just work. I've offered airline insiders a chance to review our course for years just to see what we do--and don't do. Its easy to be transparent when I tell you what we do--we ask a lot of questions and make you think on your feet. We help you recognize ways to sell your good stuff, and address you bad stuff without coming off as making excuses. To be good at it--you gotta practice. Doing it live is better practice than doing it online, but both will work if YOU put in the effort.
Now--if you look up "avoiding square corners", you'll see that back in 2013 I was yelling at folks to GET READY EARLY. We hit ATL about every other month. HNL, DAL, SLC and a few others get hit 3-4 times a year.
MSP and DTW have regular events. CRP and OMA get done every 8-9 months to cover separating/retiring military folks. If you start early, I'll bet you can catch one without too much travel, time, or expense. Contact us if you have a request--we'll see what we can do. Stroll into your interview, instead of trying to jam everything--travel, getting time off from work, getting your suit fixed, test review, reviewing your application again--oh--and practicing for your interview--in a 3 week frenzy from hell. Part of why we have our "client for life" plan is I hate the thrash, and I'd rather military guys start 12-18 months out, and regional guys a year before they hit "send" on their applications--just so they CAN attend a local seminar, and hit a few webinars...and practice on their own. I've had guys start 4 days out and get hired, and others who got ready 2 years out that got a TBNT letter--but those are outliers. The time one starts prepping and the overall success rate are a largely linear relationship. FYI...a 20 Aug start guy did a seminar about 3 years ago before he got a regional job. He kept nibbling along now and then--building time--and when he got the call he did some "refresher" training, but was largely ready. Those folks make it easy on themselves and on us.
I'm not trying to turn APC into an infomercial, but you asked. Feel free to contact our office manager with questions about events, or requests. I didn't start this business to build an empire, but to help a few friends on the Gulf Coast. It obviously got a little bigger than that, but its still about helping pilots get where they want to be. Let us know how to help.