I have an interview set up and had a few questions about documenting my employment history. My first question is about the accuracy of the dates. By that I mean is saying June through May okay? Or do I need to say June 3rd through May 10? (for example)

Also, my history is difficult because of long periods of "self employment" with a few seasonal jobs and temporary jobs during the year. I am a retired Professional Rodeo Cowboy so I spent most of my time on the road traveling between rodeos. During any of those 8 years I spent a few months hurt and not rodeoing. During those times I either worked cash jobs, construction jobs, or was hurt enough I couldnt work. There is also a little college in this same time frame. Two companys I worked for actually rehired me 4-5 times. Explaining this on paper is difficult to say the least.

After High School I didn't go to College for 5 years. Do I need to be accurate with the pre-college employment/self employment?

One big problem is that I've moved enough that I have misplaced my W-2s from everything more than 3 years ago. I'm confident that I've got everything sorted out to be accurate within a month or so. The recent history is accurate. Anything more than 3-4 years is much harder to get very accurate.

Do I need to be accurate to the day on the entire 10 year history?

Thanks

They prefer it day-to-day. The reason for this is that in aviation you are most likely to get fired from any job during new hire training...the first few weeks when you are learning a new airplane and have little or no union protection. A couple weeks gap might mean an applicant failed out of ground school or simulator training. It would be very important to them to know if you are a training risk.

In your case, I guess you will have to build the most accurate record which you can. The airlines don't necessarily ask for your W-2's, they will want references from all of your employers (or people who can verify self/un-employment). It will be critical for you to line up folks who can attest to the nature of your rodeo days, and periods of off-time.

Hopefully you have some recent, stable, W-2 type employment.

The fact that some companies re-hired you is a good thing...it indicates that they liked you.

Assemble a list of references and do your best on dates. Bring copies (and originals) of as much documentation as you can acquire to interviews. The good news is that I do not think employers would not interview you...you will probably at least get a chance to explain yourself. It might be a good idea to mention your rodeo career in your resume/application cover letter.

Hopefully Lori can chime in on this one...

Just my 2 cents. I had the same issue when trying to reconstruct my 10 year history. I was also self employed part of the time. I certainly could not account to the day what I did 9 years, 2 months, and 17 days ago. I think its a bit unrealistic for employers to expect you to be that detailed. I put down the best information I had available which was accurate to the month. This company from May 1999 to April 2000, etc. No issues came up, nor was I asked any further questions during my interview or background investigation. I say, do the best you can and don't worry yourself silly.

zbowflyz -

Did you have your interview? how did it go?

With regard to employment history, month/year is just fine. When a background check is done and former employers queried it will be to verify employment dates (the former employer will have the exact day) and rehire-ability. Don't sweat the exact day.

The airline just needs to establish 'who' you are and that your recount of employment is accurate. They want to see if you are a job-hopper or loyal to either your profession or employer. Rick is correct that you will want to prepare a list of references to verify what you were doing while unemployed. This isn't a list of friends, but instead someone deemed "professional" - someone with perhaps a higher degree of training or regard in the community.

Your employment history kind of tells the story of your life - so you will want to provide as much information as you can. It also illustrates what skill set you have acquired over the years and can indicate the type of employee you are.


Lori

I started a word processor document with all previous employers, their addresses and my duration of employment. It really helps if you've had two and three jobs at the same time like I have or when you're about to get furloughed and sending apps everywhere.

With regard to airline apps:

Are they asking for a 10 year employment history or a "complete" employment history? I'm under the impression they want the comprehensive list, but i'm not sure.

I know this is an old post and things have probably changed since 2008. I have never worked for the airlines and my pilot experience only goes back to 2008. Should I include employment more than 10 years ago? I may have trouble recalling precise employment dates etc. Some of those companies no longer exist.

Thank you for any insight!

I usually put down 1st of the month if I don't know the exact date.
Then again I've only had 3 employers since '03

One legacy airline HR director said everything after 18 years old.

Thank you Both!

Follow up question:

Under the job description (limited to 500 words), should it be as close to 500 words as possible or just a quick one-sentence blurb?

Thanks!


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