One year in, requesting feedback.

[Metalhead731]

Hey all,

It's been about a year of applying for me. I've been able to get a few interviews at various heavy units last year, but the rejections far outweigh the interview offers, and haven't been offered a slot at any of the units I interviewed with. I'm looking to get some feedback to see where I stand and how I can improve my odds for the upcoming year. To get the basic stats out of the way:

Age: 30

AFOQT: Pilot: 98, Nav: 85, ACAD: 93, Verbal: 91, Quant: 98

PCSM: 99 

Degree/Major: B.S. & M.S. in Civil Engineering. Undergrad GPA: 3.51, Grad GPA: 3.10.  

LORs: Project manager (direct supervisor), managing principal of my office, flight instructor. 

Experience: Working as a licensed structural engineer in NYC for 5 years.

Leadership: I'm a senior project engineer at the company I work for so I am responsible for managing project progression and I have junior engineers working under me. Besides that, some minor club leadership roles while in college over 5 years ago but I'm not sure if that's worth mentioning. 

Flight Time: 135.1 hrs with a fresh new PPL.

Activities: Played some college tennis, rock climb, hike/camp, weight-lift, etc. But most of my time is now devoted to flight training on weekends.  

Non-prior service.

The PPL is probably the biggest update since the last year. Just two weekends ago in February I passed my PPL check ride and finally got my private pilot's license. I jumped straight into instrument training the next day and am working through ground school. I'm hoping that having the license in-hand on my applications makes a difference this year. 

I've asked a few friends I've met along the way last year for feedback on my resume and cover letter and I feel like they are fairly strong. If anyone has the time and is willing to give some more feedback, I can PM you the files. 

It seems like the pool of candidates is getting tougher and tougher at every board or unit that I rush. There's lot's of prior service applicants or civilian professional pilots with tons of flight time, there are applicants younger than I am with more ratings, and it seems like the quantity of applications is always increasing because the information about opportunities in the ANG and AFRC is more widely disseminated than it used to be. I'm definitely going to keep working at it and continue to do whatever I can but I'd be lying if I said the number of rejections don't get a person down on occasion, especially the ones you really had your heart set on and did everything thought you could. So I'm hoping to get some feedback in order to stay competitive for the next year and hopefully land a slot this year. 

In general, I understand I'm fairly competitive for heavies on paper. How competitive is this for fighters? 

Thanks to this forum for all the information thus far and thank you in advance for any feedback. 

Edited March 2, 2020 by Metalhead731

[LNGH]

You've been getting interviews so that definitely says you're doing something right. There's nothing inherently wrong with your application, and I'd even argue it's pretty strong, especially for heavies. As far as places you didn't get an interview that can come down to any number of things. Some units prefer high time some low, some emphasize scores some don't, some only look at locals some don't care, there could be a million reasons you didn't get an interview somewhere that doesn't say anything about you. As far as interviewing and not getting selected, it could be more of the same or you could need to do a little reflecting on how you come across as a person. No way to tell from this.

 

I won't lie, I am curious as to why a private license took well over 100 hours, and hiring units may be as well. It's not unheard of to take a long time, especially if you had breaks in training that forced you to go back and review stuff, but if it's because you failed the check ride 7 times that's a huge red flag.

[Metalhead731]

19 minutes ago, LNGH said:

I won't lie, I am curious as to why a private license took well over 100 hours, and hiring units may be as well. It's not unheard of to take a long time, especially if you had breaks in training that forced you to go back and review stuff, but if it's because you failed the check ride 7 times that's a huge red flag.

To answer your question, I actually started flight training in 2008 when I graduated high school. I went to college as a pro-pilot major but after one year it became apparent that it was too expensive to pursue doing it through college. So I flew about 66 hours back then and then I transferred schools to study engineering. I restarted flight training about a year ago after paying off student loans and saving up a pot of money to pull from for the flight training. Got my PPL in another 68 hours and passed the check ride on the first try. After 10 years I'd say I basically started from scratch, so in reality it's basically a 68-hr PPL even though my total time is double that. 

I explain all this in my cover letter as well because I'm sure the pilot boards would be wondering the same thing.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm sure I can chalk up the first few of those no-hire interviews to poor interview performance just because I wasn't sure what to expect. But I have been asking for feedback and have been working on sharpening those skills. Some of the other slots were lost to guys who were already interviewing a second time or have been in touch with and rushing the unit for longer than I have. I'm hoping to have the advantage at some of these units I'll be reapplying to this year and showing up for the second time. 

[Unit#8192]

I just wanted to offer some encouragement since I have a similar story with obtaining my PPL and I'm a candidate as well so please keep that in mind. Pursuing additional ratings out of enjoyment is a good thing and I'd also say continue to focus on what you bring to the table! You have a strong package and the advice given above is solid.

Have you considered reaching out to bogidope for their package review/interview prep? The places that you have gotten an interview with are you consistently rushing them or is it a one time visit prior to the board? A recent announcement for a particular unit was specific that if you're attending one UTA prior to an interview this isn't enough for them, YMMV. People have had great things to say about bogidope's services and I plan on using it myself once I've improved other area's of my application.

With my earning my PPL. I took a break midway through, had three different instructors and at the very end (awaiting my last night xc before final check with chief pilot) the plane was sold from under me. So that cost me an additional 18 hours to get back to the same point switching from a DA-20 to a C162 with another instructor. Those extra hours put me at obtaining my license in 9x hours versus the 7x I was originally on track for. Due to finances and saltiness I took an 8 year hiatus from flying so now I'm shaking the rust off currently. Your other area's of your application speak to your academic ability and you have a reasonable explanation for the situation. Hopefully someone else chimes in about whether you should address that in your cover letter or not.

Bottom line, focus on the positive things you bring to the table and the fact that you're getting interviews is a great spot to be in. You are also 30 so not yet in age waiver territory. You could also consider expanding your geographical location if that is something you are open to.

[N730]

Hey all,

It's been about a year of applying for me. I've been able to get a few interviews at various heavy units last year, but the rejections far outweigh the interview offers, and haven't been offered a slot at any of the units I interviewed with. I'm looking to get some feedback to see where I stand and how I can improve my odds for the upcoming year. To get the basic stats out of the way:

Age: 30

AFOQT: Pilot: 98, Nav: 85, ACAD: 93, Verbal: 91, Quant: 98

PCSM: 99 

Degree/Major: B.S. & M.S. in Civil Engineering. Undergrad GPA: 3.51, Grad GPA: 3.10.  

LORs: Project manager (direct supervisor), managing principal of my office, flight instructor. 

Experience: Working as a licensed structural engineer in NYC for 5 years.

Leadership: I'm a senior project engineer at the company I work for so I am responsible for managing project progression and I have junior engineers working under me. Besides that, some minor club leadership roles while in college over 5 years ago but I'm not sure if that's worth mentioning. 

Flight Time: 135.1 hrs with a fresh new PPL.

Activities: Played some college tennis, rock climb, hike/camp, weight-lift, etc. But most of my time is now devoted to flight training on weekends.  

Non-prior service.

The PPL is probably the biggest update since the last year. Just two weekends ago in February I passed my PPL check ride and finally got my private pilot's license. I jumped straight into instrument training the next day and am working through ground school. I'm hoping that having the license in-hand on my applications makes a difference this year. 

I've asked a few friends I've met along the way last year for feedback on my resume and cover letter and I feel like they are fairly strong. If anyone has the time and is willing to give some more feedback, I can PM you the files. 

It seems like the pool of candidates is getting tougher and tougher at every board or unit that I rush. There's lot's of prior service applicants or civilian professional pilots with tons of flight time, there are applicants younger than I am with more ratings, and it seems like the quantity of applications is always increasing because the information about opportunities in the ANG and AFRC is more widely disseminated than it used to be. I'm definitely going to keep working at it and continue to do whatever I can but I'd be lying if I said the number of rejections don't get a person down on occasion, especially the ones you really had your heart set on and did everything thought you could. So I'm hoping to get some feedback in order to stay competitive for the next year and hopefully land a slot this year. 

In general, I understand I'm fairly competitive for heavies on paper. How competitive is this for fighters? 

Thanks to this forum for all the information thus far and thank you in advance for any feedback. 

Honestly, most of your packet is slightly better than mine was. And your GPA is way better considering you were in engineering.

 

Like one of the other guys said, one downside could have been the high hours with no license. So I'm sure the PPL will help in that area.

 

The other downside is your age, I even though you aren't in waiver territory, some units will still think you're too old. Most probably won't though. Plus, you're getting interviews, so you're on the right track.

 

Now if you have been getting interviews with no success, id shell out the money on Bogidope. Emerald Coast does guard prep too, but I don't think they typically advertise it.

 

They are both great services and good investments. The cost is a whole lot lower than travelling to 3-4 more interviews and a tiny price to pay to hit the lottery and get hired by a guard unit.

 

Edit: And apply everywhere, you are getting too old to be too picky.

 

Sent from my SM-N975U using Baseops Network mobile app

 

 

 

[ryleypav]

Agree with pretty much everything that has been said. Having the PPL should help already. If you haven't, get some feed back from the interviews you already had. Hopefully they will tell you exactly what their thought process was. The unit that hired me gave me feed back and I took it to heart and kept applying. Just keep pushing. I applied to the same unit 4 times over the course of around 3 years and interviewed with them 3 times before they finally hired me. Getting my PPL and being persistent showing I really wanted to be there is what I think finally got me the gig. Rush units and hangout on UTAs if they will let you. Even if its not a "meet and greet" weekend. Some units will let you do that. 

[Init2]

The only piece that I see not here is networking. I agree you sound like a solid dude on paper and you probably are in person, it's just that getting a guard or reserve job is one of the most competitive thing you can do, and having someone from inside the unit that can vouch for you is probably one of the biggest weapons in any applicants arsenal. 

Phage you thought about the unsponsored reserve boards?

Good luck brother and keep trying!