BZNpilot248

Well - to start out with I want to say that Personal faults are never fun to admit in front of your peers but in order to overcome them I guess you have to face them first and be ok with that so here goes. A little over a year ago I went for the first regional that came calling and *gasp* had some setbacks so to say with training. I'll try to keep the long story short because I'm not about excuses but I'd like to provide some background info for you to fully understand my situation. Ground school went well in this notoriously fast paced program, got second to top grade in class, for the sims I was set up with the FAA getting typed to work with the airline who hadn't held a flying job for 8 years and though he was a great guy created problems because he never had the time to study, work on callouts, and was also in a different hotel. I was put on a week later schedule with him as well which made it harder to compare notes with other classmates during sims. When the PC finnally came my sim parter choked so bad he couldn't even set radios and I was essentially single pilot - ended up busting the PC but passing the recheck. Now onto IOE - During my time on IOE there were no crosswinds, bad weather etc - my training captain who was well known for being on the conservative side with sign offs used this as an excuse and ended up going to the training center to work as a sim pilot while I got handed off to someone else right at the "normal" time to get signed off. This is where it went from bad to worse - I had no feedback on my progress and things just "didn't feel right" Probably the nail in my coffin was that my grandfather whom I'm very close to nearly died and was in the hospital during this time, also being on a completely different end of the country from where the rest of my family resides (I had never even been to the east coast) added up to more stress than I could handle with my relative inexpirience and I was "asked" to resign before completeing IOE after 57 hours!

Now - "the rest of the story" I have put about another 400 hours into the logbook teaching and have learned a lot from my expiriences over the past year and a half and am starting to look into my options. I am now around the 1200 hour mark and trying to figure out where to go, what to do, and how to explain my past. I think honesty would be the best bet - I won't beat around the bush - simply put I had problems with the large learning curve going from chandelles to 121 on the east coast (combined with family stresses) I realize some regionals might not be options, I may go through a few interviews but I'm not ready to let that get me too down. Here are my questions.

I did get about 50 hours 121- should I put this front and center on my resume for relavent training? I would think this is a positive because I HAVE expirienced a 121 environment ALMOST to the end and have full knowledge of what I"m in for vs. a flight instructor that hasnt been far beyond home base. You can also BET that I would work 10x harder than anyone else I'm up against because I DON"T want to go through that kind of hell again.

I'd really like to hear some *constructive* feedback from all of you - How do you think it might factor that I went beyond sims to IOE? Good or bad? I did "resign" but I think any company or recruiter could see right through that one. Especially with 57 hrs. 121. I'm especially interested in any successful outcomes or personal expiriences with difficulty in training. The washing out thread was excellent - I remember those same emotions, frustrated with company, career choice, thinking of the alternatives. Unfourtunately I hit the stops during IOE though and I'm aching to get back on the horse. I've invested too much blood, sweat, and tears into this profession to let it get the best of me.

ToiletDuck

To be honest. Make your resume like you would any other time. Send it in and check up from time to time to see if there are any updates. Get your interview and go in being as honest and as upfront as you are here. What you are saying is reasonable and they more than likely will see it as this.

Remember that you do have a slight mark against you currently. This doesn't mean your future is over it just means you might have to go that extra step. Considering your situation I wouldn't considering going here too uncalled for. http://www.pilotcareercentre.com/CareerHelpResumes.htm

You need to get back into the saddle. The hardest part will be this first job. Once there you can build some time/experience/credibility for your next endeavor. I know a CFI doesn't make much but do what you can to get the ball rolling then build momentum.
Duck

BZNpilot248

I'll go ahead and thank everyone in advance for their feedback but I do have one more specific question - Any ideas on how to address the "have you ever been asked to resign" question that are on some applications? I had a rather wordy explanation to my situation earlier and realize that most companies don't want to hear any long stories OR excuses. I've been around (and agree with) the military mindset of man up and take responsibility then fix it. I would like to remain entirely honest but I don't want to blow my chances either. Anyone know what kind of weight these kind of questions carry and how the responses are viewed?

ImperialxRat

Thats an easy one. You say "Yes, I was asked to resign from so-and-so airlines training program, which in hind sight was a good thing. I took that opportunity as a valuable learning experience that I kept with me while flight instructing and learning this past year an a half. I have accumulated over 400 additional hours since that experience, and am now ready to fly 121 without doubting myself"

Or something along those lines. If asked that question in an interview, be positive about the experience. And be confident that you are beyond it. If you want you can mention some personal family issues that arose during training that added to your already full plate, but you need to be careful so they don't think your trying to make any excuses.

-Imp

ghilis101

I dont think theres a question on any application that says "have you ever been asked to resign." The question is worded "have you ever been terminated." I say you can definitly play this situation out to be totally harmless to your career.

Because you resigned after IOE, your PRIA records will be clean (you should confirm this to make sure the timing of your resignation doesnt result in it showing as a training failure). Secondly, when they ask why you resigned, you can cite personal reasons (death in the family) as an honest an accurate answer.

dont tell anyone that you performed poorly in training, especially since theres no way they can find that info out unless you tell them! Now go get em tiger! And yes, I should have become a scam artist instead of a pilot