Agree with all that. But for right here and right now, there's ENOUGH separating mil or reserve/guard pilots as well as civ pilots that have been treading water through the "dark decade" that are not only good people/good personalities AS WELL AS HIGHLY COMPETITIVE.

It's not like they just pull from WIA, they pull from the other job fairs as well. And other avenues or "silos" on top of that. All with great people showing up, great people with A LOT of qualifications. So more simply said, why not sift through them before somebody else grabs them up? It is what it is.............

And as far as ShyGuy's point goes, sure. How many of the males that go to WIA that DON'T contribute to WIA is a semi valid point. How many of the females that have been in WIA flat out stop contributing once they've gotten the job? Sorry, I've known more than a few. Just like former interns that were hired with way less than a competitive app that couldn't be bothered to help other former interns, just like a son and daughter at the UAL of old couldn't be bothered to help another s&d on the way up, etc.......

Which of the 3 days is best to attend? Less crowded/shorter wait? I'm assuming the first day of job fair is nuts?

That's what the interview is for. Weed out the bad personalities. But as the previous posters mentioned numerous times about this industry not hiring the most qualified pilots, the only fix is for everyone universally to stop recommending pilots. Otherwise the system will continue to run as hiring those who are well connected over those who are well qualified. But then again, the definition of well qualified is hard to quantify for a pilot.

What's "the most qualified"? Is that even required? Or is the standard really "good enough"? They're hiring guys to be FO's for at least 6-7 yrs and on average slightly longer. By the time they upgrade (12-15 yrs professional experience?) the experience gap will have closed significantly if not completely.

I've told less qualified guys - don't be intimidated. Yes, they're more competitive but your odds aren't zero. And who you are is part of the equation. On paper they might rank higher, in person some won't. Improve yourself and focus on fixing your weaknesses/holes in resume.

For planning purposes for our booth I asked WAI about the number of expected attendees for the 3 days. Their response was about 3300 people. :eek::eek:

Hello Silky,

Since this thread went off the tracks after the second post and you never did get a real answer - then here's mine.

Go!

I've done the recruiting at these events. To me, showing up with a broken ankle would impress the recruiters as a real world display of your mettle. Any goofball can clean up their act for a day.

After meeting 200 people on such a short format, I found it impossible to recall who was who when the review board reconvened later in the week. Or the next week depending on everyone's schedule.

The person with the broken ankle? They WILL remember you.

Hope this helps.

How many want to bet a small percentage show up with crutches?
Anyway to get noticed....
Stay classy

OK that's pretty tacky if that's what happened. Junk like that does more to disparage the cause they are trying to promote.

Commercial aviation is a very, very small world though. With 12000 (ish) pilots and another 60K+ employees, how many pilots in this industry at the point of competitive mins can't scrounge up an internal recommendation? And if not, why not? Think about it.

Then repeat for AA, UAL, FX, UPS, SW, etc. etc. etc.

Even perrenial TOTD's have made some friends along the way. To not be able to come up with anything is simply proof that you're just not very motivated, aren't trying hard and have no concept of the CRM part of networking.

Any pilot that's interested and at the level of competitive mins should easily be able to scrounge up an internal rec or three. Easily.

Hmmmmmmm.

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