Avoiding Square Corners
 

Avoiding Square Corners…


In fighter aviation, a “square corner” is a position where you find yourself unable to make a required max performance turn, usually because you are out of airspeed and energy, grossly out of position, or at too high of an energy state to make a tight turn.
The way to avoid a square corner while flying a fighter is to always have good situational awareness on your overall position in the sky and be aware of your own relative energy state. If you can meet those requirements, you probably won’t find yourself spit out of fight or screaming at the ground watching the ground rush up as you attempt to pull out of your dive….

After helping over 3000 pilots prepare for the challenge of stepping up to the next level in their careers, I want to share one of my biggest frustrations. Lately, I’ve seen several pilots from various walks of life put themselves in a square corner when it comes to preparing for an interview. Some have pulled out of the dive in time, but were left shaken and stressed by the experience. A few others have ridden it in all the way into the dirt. Here are a few ideas about maintaining awareness on both your position in space (a snapshot of the state of the industry) and about maintaining awareness of your relative energy state (i.e. your own preparation) so that you can avoid a similarly negative outcome.

First, let’s look at the big picture. Where are we in the sky at the moment? How much altitude and airspeed do we have, and what is going on around us?

There are several major factors that will drive airline hiring for the next few years. The primary factor is demographics. There are many pilots who will be retiring in the coming years, as the effects of the age 60 to 65 retirement age start to fade. The five-year period of minimal to no retirements ended in December 2012. Additionally, although not out of the woods the national and global economy has rebounded considerably off the 2007-2009 lows. These factors have combined and major airlines have again begun to hire new pilots. While there are factors that will temper some of this hiring, like consolidation through mergers, more efficient use labor, preferential bidding programs, the trend for the next few years is positive and most legacy airlines and many nationals are currently hiring. These airlines will always have more applicants that jobs available, but the ratio of qualified and capable pilot to opportunities is about to slide back towards the pilots’ favor for the first time in the last decade. Our group is not here to parrot the infamous Kit Darby “Pilot Shortage”, but anyone who can read a graph knows that there are going to be more, not fewer, opportunities in the coming years. For military aviators with a reasonably solid record, or regional captains with a good training history and solid attendance record, opportunities are going to become available. You have been warned—airlines will need pilots, and they are reviewing resumes and applications. Hiring windows are opening. The market has “cried wolf” on hiring before, but this time they are really hiring. In 2013 you can no longer say you were “surprised” by getting an interview call from a Legacy carrier. This is our position in the air right now—airlines are calling pilots in for interviews. Some logjams have finally given way, and there is some positive movement for the first time in several years. Ignoring this is like diving at the ground at 450 knots, and then freezing up when you realize you see a face full of rocks. Your situational awareness should be cueing you—there IS some hiring going on.

Next, assess your relative energy state at this point in time. Can you make a tight corner if required? Typically airlines call potential interviewees two to three weeks out, sometimes offering a small smattering of available interview dates. Three weeks is often a luxury in time available. Some pilots were called for Virgin Interviews recently just one week out. Hawaiian Airlines is infamous for short notice interview invitations—sometimes as short as three days. Sometimes other candidates might cancel, pop up interviews are not that uncommon even at carriers that try to provide more notice. At my own airline several pilots were called on a Thursday and asked if they could make it to a following Monday interview due to an open slot. When you finally get that call—the one that should no longer be a surprise—what you do you need to do? A short list of some common tasks include:

• Coordinate to get off work or schedule work around the interview. Calling in sick at your current employer is not a recommended technique.
• Arrange travel arrangements to and from the interview
• Acquire any required documentation—driving records, academic transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc.
• Get the appropriate attire—suit, business casual, or uniform as dictated by the interviewing company
• Schedule a simulator if doing any kind of simulator preparation. This can be very difficult as most sims have very high utilization rates and off the street training slots can be hard to schedule

In many cases, there will be less than two weeks to accomplish these tasks. If scheduled for a 3 or 4-day trip in middle of the period, it’s going to be a hectic, stressful period. Keeping ones’ own energy up means having already done some of your preparation so there is enough potential and kinetic energy to make that tight turn.

So—what does a pilot need to do to keep his energy state high enough to make this tight turn happen? Here are a few recommendations:

• Expect to get called for an interview in 2013/2014. If you have taken the time to apply, you must believe there is a chance you will get called. Don’t let a call from a recruiter stun or shock you. Be prepared and ready to interview with as little as 5 days notice
• Get transcripts, driving records, and personal information ready now. There will be some specific information required for each particular interview, but there are also some standard things that are universally required. Get those ready now.
• Suits—get them ready. Shoes should be polished, but comfortable enough to spend a long stressful day on your feet. Break them in…
• Lose the weight now. If you are trying to drop 10 pounds, do not show be on a low-carb diet two days prior to your interview with a low energy state, a headache and a cranky disposition. Prepare physically for the interview as well as mentally.
• Have simulator profiles available and know the flow and callouts if required. Chair flying and preparation now will save time, money, and stress both during purchased practice sessions and the actual simulator evaluation.
• If planning on doing an interview prep course—with our firm or any of the other services out there—do it early.

In March several clients wanting help for their United Airlines Interviews were turned away because they could not make one our two seminars during the week and there were no remaining slots left for phone preparation. United was at the top of their list for years, and they have waited for this phone call for most of their professional lives. Yet they ignored the fact that hiring was looming, and delayed doing many of the tasks outlined above. When they were called, they faced a huge square corner as they faced trying to prepare for a major airline interview in ten days or less. A few other pilots and are now furiously trying to drop or trade a trip (or worse) to try to squeeze in a seminar or work in a late night phone prep course that will help them—but not nearly as much as it might have helped if done six months ago. If committed to doing a pre-interview prep course—why not go ahead and do it early? It costs the same to prepare six months in advance as it does three days prior to an interview, but the value of the training is exponentially higher if accomplished in a less stressed, more thorough training environment. At our firm, working early provides the benefits of having more time with the instructors, as well as the ability to come back for additional sessions at no charge. Getting help the week prior to an interview then becomes a confidence builder or a chance to polish a problem area instead of a building project from the ground up. A cram course at the last minute is better than no training, but doing things the right way add reduces a lot of stress and provides a tremendous amount of confidence and ability. If you train somewhere else, even if you pay to repeat the course, compared to one hour of dual of in a Seminole or a new suit and a pair of shoes, the investment you make in yourself is going to be amortized over a long career. Why go cheap now with the end goal so close?

The big picture should be clear. There IS hiring taking place, and you may be called for an interview soon. When that call comes, you will have limited time to do a lot of preparation. Everything done now to get ahead to prepare for that moment will mean less of “square corner” and a much greater chance of success. If the desire to reduce stress and improve your performance is not enough motivation, remember that most of the competition out there will in fact do everything it takes and have been preparing for these interviews for months in advance, if not years. The choice is ultimately up to each individual, but success in life usually follows a pattern of preparation, hard work, and vigilance. Getting the dream job at a major airline is no different. Don’t show up surprised or unprepared for that multi million-dollar moment…

Thanks Albie for writing this. This advice seems sound and reasonable.

+1.................

well written and good points. Thank You

Albie's advice is spot on. I did his ECIC prep 3 months ago and was ready when I got my United & US Airways calls...no worries taking the first available interview a week later.

Providing valuable information as mentioned above proves once again Albief15’s course is the best in the business. His info has been spot on. I look forward to scheduling a refresh course so I am not behind timeline.

That was a well written post, and I don't disagree that it's better to be ready and not get a call than get a call and screw it up. While I certainly don't think things will go so far as to be in a pilot's favor, it's nice to imagine some hiring.

Great advice, can you PM me info on your prep course?

No - he can't really because they would be self-promotion and advertising which isn't allowed on the site; but I can ;)

Emerald Coast Interview Consulting

I'm just passing on that I heard they did good work.

Thanks, I appreciate the information.

^^^^This x100000

If you haven't been to one of Albies prep sessions, you're doing yourself a huge disservice. I would put him in the required column of "suit/ATP/4 year degree/etc."

Thanks for the info. This is exactly what I needed to hear.

Here's another prep option: Cage Consulting- Pilot Career Services - Resume Development & Interview Prep for Pilots | Cage Consulting - Helping Pilots Reach Their Career Goals Since 1988

Cheryl Cage and Angie Marshall are solid and have prepped 1000's pilots over many cycles of hiring.

I know a couple guys that used them too, they're hired.

Albie, any chance you might be able to take a gander at the PM I sent you a while ago regarding something you posted here?

Thanks

Great information!

You will be very glad if you follow this plan to the letter.

I did the ECIC course 7 months prior to getting an interview with my current employer. You are not going to forget the material and you need to hear it. You already know most of it but you don't know that you know it. If you don't do this prep or one like it, there's a pretty good chance your competition already has. Thanks, Albie.

Good Info. Thanks

I would like to personally, and publicly, recommend Emerald Coast to anyone who has an interview. I recently used a relatively new format from Emerald Coast, the webinar. I wish I had read his initial post on here a few months back. I found myself with an opportunity to interview with United Airlines on a relatively short timeframe. I was under the impression that from the time of initial contact the process would take three to six weeks, I was wrong just over two weeks from first call to being informed that I was hired. I know that there is NO WAY I could have prepared for all three phases of the interview without Emerald Coast. They definitely helped me to avoid the "squared corner". I am very thankful for your help and willingness to work around my current jobs schedule.

Thanks again,

Mark

I am bumping this.

After hosting over 40 seminars across the country and in Europe and a handful of additional online seminars thus far in 2013, this week I am still doing a last-minute cram session with 8-9 folks two days prior to their interviews.

This is in the middle of my first 8-9 day Asia trip in several years and a death in our Emerald Coast family. Mary--our HR lead--lost her mom to cancer last Saturday.

This is certainly better than no prep. I really, really appreciate the business. But I can promise you as hard as I will work to help these folks, those of you who can come early to a session are going to get much, much more out the experience than those trying to cram for finals.

You applied...so you must think you are going to get called eventually, right? If you do the course early--close to your hometown or on a TDY or layover, it is much easier to follow up with a top off phone call or online training session. Building from the ground up--two days prior to your big day--is an exercise in triage.

I don't mean to sound like I do not appreciate the business. I do. But the "dad" or "flight commander" comes out in me when I see these last minute flailing cases, and I always want to say "why weren't you here six months ago?" Dragon7 and a few others on here "strolled" into their jobs. Others flopped like a fish until the night prior. Who would you rather be?

Well put Albie. People need to lead turn this vice being reactive the week of their interview. It must be nice to have gotten selected for an interview.

Being qualified and prepared for jobs is of course important: I have the former and do my best for the latter.

It'd be hard for me to convince myself to pay for interview prep when there aren't jobs out there and I'm not getting interviews. As much as I don't like to be the one 'flopping like a fish' at the last minute before an interview, how feasible is it really these days for someone who wants a 121 job but isn't given the opportunity to compete for one to go around purchasing seminars and interview prep?

That's a bit like telling someone they need the most expensive rifle in the world when there are no deer left in the forest, because when the deer eventually come, you'd like to shoot it as accurately as possible. I understand the logic, and it's not flawed, but it's a bit unrealistic.

I've read a lot of good advice in this thread, keep it up and thank you.

Feeling you, but in my experience the phone rang and i had 2-3 weeks until the interview. Lets also state that i do believe there will be calls from UAL, Delta, and AA going out over the next year. Not the mythical pilot hiring boom but phones will be wringing more than the last two years. Can somebody go from phone call to successful interview in two weeks? Sure, but i couldn't. If you don't have the tell me about yourself, SBI, and TMAAT scenarios down, you have to do all that plus technical test/sim profile prep, travel arrangements, and get your haberdashery/grooming on. We all have heard of the guy who didn't do anything and got hired, but we all know the super pilot who did that same thing and didn't. Having been on receiving end of both a no thank you letter and a congratulations phone call, you will wonder what else you could have done on the former, and patting yourself on the back for your sagacity on the latter.

Saw a guy on the tube today at the training hotel(hint) who was talking about winning the lottery. He has won multiple times. He said the keys were playing consistently and making sure you had "good numbers" and played them repeatedly. You have to apply where you want to go and update monthly. If you need to fix a hole in your resume, do it. Then hone your answers over and over and over so you are polished. Malcolm Gladwell pointed in Blink that most hiring managers make the decision in the first minute whether they are going to hire you. Willing to just let it all hang out and hope the free to be you and me thing works out?

Take it from a guy who just used the words sagacity and haberdashery in a post on APC, do the prep.

Johnny, like Dragon I hear you on spending money unnecessarily. However, having done Albie's interview prep, for me a better analogy than your rifle one would be knowing you're playing in the superbowl sometime in the next year or so but not practicing yet because you don't have a specific date. Sure, you may still win, but why make it so hard on yourself?

The things taught aren't rocket surgery, but they do take time to think through and practice. I'm really glad that I now have time to think about how to give good solid interview answers at my own pace; I know that I'll be much more confident and perform exponentially better when I do get the call.

Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, once you pay for the workshop, you can go back and practice, brush up, ask questions, whatever, all you want. So there really is zero reason to wait, unless your budget really doesn't have a few hundred bucks worth of flex in it...while you wait for the interview that will basically define your life for the next few decades.

My $0.02: Do the prep sooner rather than later.

^This. The two most iportant aspects for me. The first time I sat through a seminar I learned how not ready I was. Plus I can go back any time, or do a phone consult, no charge.

I thought I was ready to "interview" when I showed up for a seminar since I've interviewed a few times in my career. Sit across from Aaron when he puts on the "no feedback" hard HR face and see how smooth you feel. It gave me a lot to think about. Now I have had some time to rethink my answers and will be better prepared (not rote) for the real thing.

Being a customer for life, I will schedule another seminar if/when I get an interview call, or maybe even before, as a refresher.

It's another step in the eduaction process for me. Having done it already means I'll stress less in the meantime, knowing I've done everything I can within my span of crontrol.

Good read!

This is no joke. See how you feel when he starts playing the confontational games, trying to make you second guess yourself with the entire class watching. All of a sudden you realize how fast your brain stops functioning.

Preparing how to handle those and other interview moments, for a multimillion dollar job, Albie is a freakin' steal. I'll follow up later with whether or not I'm actually able to apply what he taught.

Thanks for the post!

Did Albie's prep back in May & I don't retire for another five months. Getting it done early is excellent advice.

OBTW, we had three dudes in the class who were interviewing with United the next week--all three got hired. Not necessarily direct cause-effect, but have to believe the prep had a hand in the results.

Great info, right where I am at. Thanks!!!

I sent this to a few mil buddies recently, it's applicable to other lurkers out there thinking about making the transition. It's geared towards United, but applicable everywhere.

----------------------------
This is after you have read Albies original post to this thread as well as his "Timing your exit" post.

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/military/56541-timing-your-exit-2011-update.html

You may already be behind on a few items, but everything he says is spot freakin' on so start playing catch up now.

-FAA 1st class medical, get it, and make sure you keep getting it every six months (it has to be within 6 months when you show up for the interview).
-Social Security Card (4-6 weeks if you need a new one)
-High school and College transcripts (1-3 weeks)
-Passport (4 weeks if you pay for rush deliery),
-FCC licence (2-4 weeks)
-Driving record (I brought a copy from the state)

-Start getting all of that stuff together, now. Resume, keep it updated. Application, finish it, polish it, keep it updated.

If you need help writing a resume, www.aerocrewsolutions.com can help. I thought mine was nice already, they made it better.

-Recommendations, it's never too early to start. Nor is it to early to start networking old squadron buddies, DH's, CO's, etc.

-Interview prep, I recommend both ECI and ACS. I used both. This was my first job interview in probably 15 years, you may be more comfortable and feel you don't need it, over to you.

-Suits, shoes, ties, shirts... etc. Get them, tailor them, make sure they're ready to go at a moment's notice.

Do you see a trend here? The point being, as Aaron spells out... when you get the call you want to be ready to go.

My call and intervew literally happened that fast. I got the call on a Wednesday to verify info, took the online personality assessment that afternoon, got the call Thursday to setup an interview, and I was able to take the first one available which was the next week at 0800. I flew in the day prior so I could relax, prepare and get some sim preparation in. Not trying to blow my own horn here, this is all just following Ablies advice, but I can't imagine trying to make that tight of a turn if I hadn't been preparing starting a year ago. I already had everything listed above, I just spent two days polishing my paperwork, making scans (put those Power point skills to use and scan/edit/print your paperwork vice crappy photo copies), making things nice and doing some final interview prep over the phone and via web meeting. It's stressful enough when the call does come (and all of you WILL get a call), so start getting ready now.

Sim prep, over to you. I bought 2 hours of box time the day prior, and it was $1100. Was it worth it? Abso-freaking-lutely. For me anyway. Someone smarter than me said sim prep goes like this: "Damn that was expensive." You get the job, and never think of it again. Or "Damn that was expensive," you don't get the job... but you don't hate yourself for not preparing further. Over to you on if you need it, I waffled on the cost and whether to do it, but you're shooting for a multi-million dollar career here... and I couldn't have performed doing it cold. Some guys can.

One last thought, the interview starts when you walk out of the house to the airport, and doesn't end until you get home. I can't stress this enough. If you're not a natural dick head then this isn't an issue, but you don't know who you're doing to meet along the way before or after the interview. ;)


If anyone needs a testimonial to Albie, ECI or ACS, I got the job. :D

Congrats Grumble! I'm glad things worked out for you. How did you find sim prep? Did you use ECI or was there someone near your interview that you found? How recent was your interview?

Someone in one of the prior threads here mentioned FTI in Denver, so I googled them. Top notch operation, the instructors were great and know the United process. Ran into some of the United interviewers while there and they were excited guys were learning about and utilizing the facilities, so they're on board. Interviewed last month. Nothing really to add beyond what's posted on here. The whole process was exciting and everyone couldn't have been nicer or more encouraging. Charlie Venema and his staff are first class. Keep networking and updating those apps, from what they told us calls are only going to increase!

Thank you for sharing these insights. I am all for any hints to make an interview less stressful and increase its likelihood of success.

An update:

Delta calls going out.
United telling interviewees 110/month in 2014.
Us Air hiring.
SWA hiring 200.
Jetblue hiring.
American hiring Nov/Dec.

Its really happening. The rush is finally here. I have not seen this much hiring in 10 plus years of interview coaching.

We have a sim program in place in Denver. We may also add sims in Las Vegas.

Only dark spot is rumors of no FDX hiring until late 2014, and then very limited numbers.

You have been warned. Get ready. UAL alone is going to hire more pilots in 6 months than the AF can produce in a year. Guys stuck at regionals are finally going to get a shot at the next level. Military renention experts and regional recruiters are about to have a really tough period.

Late getting to this party and saw your OKC class next week is full. Any chance of adding seats or another class? I would love to attend.

Delta is calling? I am still waiting........ Patience was never a virtue of mine. Meanwhile, I am getting offers at Corporate Fight gigs and Regionals so often they have my head spinning. I retire from active duty in less than 2 months and I am not sure if waiting for the golden call from Delta will ever happen, but I can tell you one thing, I will have a flying job of some sort.

Another Emerald Coast customer here--was hired by my 1st choice on my first real interview ever. As others have said, I didn't know how not ready I was until I went to the seminar.

I did Albie's seminar back in April and didn't interview until late October, but after looking over my notes and going over my TMAAT stories I was ready.

Do not wait to do interview prep, do it now!!! Emerald Coast has a "customer for life" policy and you can always attend another seminar if required.

Also, for any UAL interviews--DO THE SIM PREP! I used FTI the night before my interview and it made the simulator event a non-event. $1100 is a lot of money, but I honestly would pay twice that amount knowing what I know now. Also, at FTI, I was able to do my practice sim in the same sim (same box) that I used on interview day. Not many companies can claim that.

Bottom line: Get ready for the interview before you get called. Get your stories in order before the call. Clean/polish everything up after the call and schedule your sim prep ASAP after a call from UAL.

Good luck.

What's a recommended way to go about this if you don't want your current employer to know you are job hunting? I work at a small company where I can't just say "I'm taking the day off", but they wouldn't be happy to know I'm looking for another job. I don't want to burn that bridge in case other things don't work out.

APC newbie here. If Albie's program is good for life, then it's presumably not too early to start now? I'm a flight instructor about a year away from ATP minimums, maybe less if I stay this busy through winter. Stupid question, but I'll ask anyway: is Albie's program overkill for regionals? Or maybe it should be thought of as early prep for the majors, since interviewing is a skill all its own. Thanks to Albie for the wake-up call & inspiration. Hadn't realized that it's time to snap out of the daydreams and get my butt to work!