Geezer

Think of it this way- If someone said to you; if you give me $500 I will guarantee you a 50/50 opportunity to make (depending on your age and circumstance) between 1 and 15 million dollars. Would you hand over the $500? Value is a relative concept. Money makes money.

Thrust Hold

I get what you’re saying, but with today’s technology it’s not necessary to go to the Live in Person session. The ECIC Webinars are very effective and you can do multiple sessions from home. Along with the online course work and a One on One Phone top off with an individual counselor.

Geezer

Technology is great, but it doesn't overcome psychology. If the OP has worked as hard as he has stated then he's in a good position to interview. There are only two possible outcomes. Yes or no. If the OP goes the extra mile and does the Live in Person event and doesn't get hired then he can regret that he didn't get the job. If he does otherwise he'll be faced with two regrets. The first would potentially exist one way or the other. The second regret is of the if-only type. If only I had done the Live in Person event I would have gotten the job. Regret is a powerful and potentially debilitating emotion.

The other psychological aspect of the scenario is the psychology of winning. He's prepared to win if he does everything possible. If the OP does everything possible then it's likely that going the extra mile will improve his psychological outlook and this could be a deciding factor in the outcome. If only one of two candidates can be hired it might tilt the tables in favor of the candidate that appeared to be the most prepared.

I'd say that a great way that the technology could be used, and address both issues is in the case where the interviewee can't attend a Live Person event. Say, the interviewee is on a ship and the interview is the day after he reaches shore. In other words, it was impossible to do an in person prep. This person would have done everything possible and this extra effort can be a factor for him in much the same way as the first interviewee.

Every pilot I've ever worked with (a thousand or so) had to interview for the job. For every pilot I worked with I'd say that at least one other pilot just as qualified didn't get the job. What was the difference? If getting hired at a particular firm is your goal then I'd suggest that you prepare for success.

Albief15

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.

JoseyWales

^^^^This
Can confirm. The in-person event is valuable.

Saabflyer

Do the Interview Prep courses help prepare a candidate for a Job fair or is there prep for those as well? I’m going to OBAP to speak with FedEx and wouldn’t mind some prep since this will be my first job fair.

gatorhater

Any ideas on current interview offer to interview date?

WheeledHamster

Thanks for the replies to may part of this thread, everyone. I still haven't decided whether to make the trip to one of the cities. Unfortunately I missed an event that just took place in my city because it happened before I received the invitation and before I purchased ECIC. Should I have purchased it sooner? Sure. But I did not.

To the question about interview dates: As of a few days ago they were scheduling October. I did get my first choice in October, so perhaps they were not very full yet.

aviatorpr

Anyone interview recently have to wait quite a while to get a “thanks but no thanks”? Or should I be hopefully optimistic that no news may be good news?

Out West

It varies wildly. I got word within 2 days. My buddy just before me was in the 2-3 weeks or more range.

Much like getting a call for an interview, no one seems to have any idea at all why.