Charles

The competition for jobs in the airlines tends to be fierce. You often come across individuals who are willing to do almost anything, just to get an opportunity to work in the aviation industry. Naturally, this leads to one question: as to why people are so eager to work in the aviation industry. That, in other words, is a question as to what the joys of working in the aviation industry are. For if people are ready to go to such great lengths in pursuit of jobs in the aviation industry, there surely must be certain ‘joys’ there. So the question we have to tackle is as to what exactly those joys of working in the aviation industry are. What exactly is it that warrant the efforts that people put in, in search of jobs within that particular industry?

As it turns out, there are five major joys in working within the aviation industry. So in this article, we will be looking at those five key joys (or, in simpler terms, ‘benefits’) of working in the aviation industry.

Without any further ado, the joys of working within the aviation industry include:

1. Opportunity to travel the World

Ask anyone who works in the aviation industry why they chose that line of work, and most of them tell you that they were looking for ‘an opportunity to travel the world’. You see, in ordinary circumstances, one has to pay considerable sums of money (in terms of air tickets, hotel fees and so on) to travel the world. But once one gets an opportunity to work in the aviation industry, the paradigm changes: one now gets paid to travel the world. So to the extent that the aviation industry gives one an opportunity to travel the world — and get paid while at it — it becomes a very attractive proposition. It is worth noting that some of the leading airlines give their staff ‘travel benefits’ (on top of the opportunity to travel that the staff get while on duty). So that is where you find that some airlines give their employees free/subsidized tickets, and in some cases, hotel rooms at subsidized rates, as part of the employee benefits packages. Of course, we also have some airline employees who soon get tired with the travel aspect. It eventually gets to a point where they come to view travel as a ‘chore’, rather than a ‘joy’. But for those who know how to savor the journeys, this point (of viewing traveling as a chore rather than as a joy) never comes. In that case, over a 30-year career working in the aviation industry, one can get the opportunity to cover hundreds of thousands — or even millions — of kilometers. And one can also get an opportunity to visit all the continents and most of the nations in the world. This is definitely one of the joys of working within the aviation industry.

2. Opportunity to meet new people every day

There are jobs that force you to encounter the same people, day after day. The jobs in the aviation industry are, for the most part, not in that category. On the contrary, most of the jobs in the aviation industry give you an opportunity to meet new interesting people on a day to day basis. Some of the people you get to meet are pleasant. Others are, admittedly, noxious. But encountering them, and dealing with the various personalities, is definitely one of the joys of working in the aviation industry.

3. The opportunity to earn good money

The aviation industry is known to be one of the best paying. We therefore have people who seek to work in this particular industry purely in pursuit of the typically handsome paychecks. The most attractive thing about the aviation industry is in the fact that it tends to pay ‘world class’     paychecks. That is as opposed to other industries that tend to pay salaries at ‘local rates’. This can be particularly attractive to people from the developing world, where ‘local rates’ (for salaries) are usually low. So you find that what a pilot in a developing nation earns is more or less equal to what a pilot in a developed nation earns. But the purchasing power of the money earned by the pilot in the developing nation is much higher than the purchasing power of the (same amount of) money earned by the pilot in the developed nation. The amount may be the same, but the purchasing power turns out to be considerably different. So you find that although a pilot is deemed as a ‘middle class’ worker in the developed nation, the pilot in the developing nation is considered to be in the ‘upper/rich’ class. And that is yet another joy of working within the aviation industry.

4. The flexibility of the work schedules

the aviation industry is one that operates on a 24-hour basis. This means that the employees usually work on shift basis. In practical terms, this means that most of the jobs are not done on a 9 to 5 basis. So you find that employees have an opportunity to choose shifts that are most convenient to them. This is a great joy to folks who hate the typical 9 to 5 routine — and who prefer to have an opportunity to choose the shifts that are most convenient to them. Of course, this flexibility can turn into a disadvantage, if one is forced to work shifts that are rather unpleasant. But for most people, and in most cases, the opportunity to choose shifts is a huge attraction. And it is another joy of working within the aviation industry.

5. The prestige associated with the industry

working in the aviation industry is a prestigious affair. So we have many people who aspire to work in the aviation industry purely in pursuit of the prestige. So this is where one encounters folks she went to school with, and they want to know where she works. In that case, there can definitely be some joy in telling those other individuals that you work in the aviation industry, for such and such an airline. Don’t underestimate the power of prestige (as a motivator). We often come across individuals who are willing to take lower paying jobs, as long as those lower paying jobs are in prestigious companies. But in the airlines, you find employers who offer jobs that are both prestigious and well paying. And this is surely yet another joy of working within the aviation industry.

There are several strategies that you need to use, if you want to get a job in the aviation industry. First of all, you need to know where to search for aviation industry jobs. Secondly, you need to know how to apply for the aviation industry jobs in the right manner. And thirdly, you need to know how to go through the aviation industry recruitment process successfully. It is also a good idea to know how to network with the people who are already in the aviation industry, and how to enhance your employability within the industry. In this article, we will be showing you how to do all those things.

Where to search for aviation industry jobs

Many of the companies in the aviation industry tend to have portals where they post all their job vacancies. That, at the very least, is what the major airlines do. Other peripheral players in the aviation industry also tend to have such HR portals, where job vacancies are advertised.

Some companies in the aviation industry have pages, within their websites, where they advertise all their current job vacancies. Those are the ‘job openings’ or ‘vacancies’ or ‘careers’ pages, within the websites.

At another level, the aviation industry jobs are also often picked up by web scrapping tools (or manually) and posted on the major job listings websites.

So, clearly, there are 3 places where you can search for aviation industry jobs:

(1). Firstly, you often find that the aviation companies have ‘careers’ pages on their websites where job openings are advertised.

(2). Then, secondly, you find that some of the aviation companies have portals, where current job openings are advertised.

(3). And thirdly, you have the scenario where you may come across jobs from aviation industry in the job listings websites.

There is yet another option: where, from time to time, the aviation companies tend to advertise some of the jobs in the media. Therefore, while skimming through your local newspaper, you may occasionally come across an ad for an aviation job.

So those are the places where you should go looking for aviation industry jobs. It is worth mentioning that some of the aviation industry companies don’t always advertise their job openings directly. We have some that opt to contract hiring agencies, to do the recruitment on their behalf. So you may find that it is the hiring agency that has set out a job ad — but it is actually recruiting on behalf of an aviation company.

How to apply for jobs in the aviation industry

Nowadays, most of the aviation industry jobs are meant to be applied for online. Therefore, most of the online ads for the aviation industry jobs will tend to have links to the pages where the jobs can be applied for. Even where the jobs are listed on the companies’ websites, you still find that there are links to the webpages where the jobs can be applied for. Therefore applying for the jobs is likely to be just a matter of filling in online forms with the required information. In some cases, you may be required to attach some documents. There are even cases where you may be required to attach your photos(given the fact that some aviation jobs require physically attractive people).

Of course, there are some – increasingly rare – aviation industry companies that still require paper applications. If you encounter one such company, you shouldn’t view it as too much work to write/type an application, and attach copies of your resume, certificates, testimonials and perhaps your photo — and then post them to the company.

Also worth mentioning is the fact that some aviation companies do at times advertise their jobs on ‘walk-in’ basis. So this is where they tell people who are interested to present themselves for interviews on given dates, at given times and venues. If you encounter such, all you’d have to do is prepare, and then present yourself on the stated date, at the stated time and venue, for the ‘walk-in’ interview.

How to go through the aviation industry recruitment process successfully

The recruitment process (for the key positions) in the aviation industry tends to be protracted. You need to be ready to go through an aptitude test, a psychometric test, an oral interview and perhaps a medical test. The most important thing here is to refresh your mind with the stuff you are likely to be interviewed on. You also need to be relaxed throughout the recruitment process, and ensure that you are getting adequate sleep, that you are well fed and that you maintain a positive attitude throughout.

How to network with people who are already in the aviation industry

Networking with the people who are already working in the aviation industry can enhance your chances of getting a job there. So it is a good idea to network intensively, and extensively, with the folks who work in the aviation industry, if you want to get a job there.

The first step here is to figure out where you are likely to encounter the folks who work within the local aviation industry.

Then the next step is to find opportunities to interact with them casually.

Then, once you have a chance to interact with them casually, you can build relationships with them, which you can then (slowly) turn into mentorship opportunities.

The most important thing here is to be relaxed, and ensure that you don’t come across as an individual who is too opportunistic. In other words, the relationships you create with folks who are already in the aviation industry should be ordinary, pleasant relations. On the strength of such relations, the people you have networked with will be in a position to alert you whenever there are opportunities for work within the industry. And on the strength of such relations, the people you have networked with will be well-placed to tell you the secrets of the industry, and to tell you what you really need to do, if you want to get a job within the aviation industry.

How to enhance your employability within the aviation industry

There are two simple things that you need to do, to enhance your employability within the aviation industry.

Firstly, you need to undertake some research, to find out which skills are in demand within this particular industry. You also need to understand the profile of the individual whom the aviation industry desires as a worker.

Then the second step is to ensure that you equip yourself with those skills. This may mean enrolling for the relevant courses, in order to acquire those skills. It is also at this stage that you may need to do some self-improvement, in order to acquire the profile of the sort of individual that the aviation industry desires as a worker.  This will definitely enhance your chances of getting employed within the aviation industry.