Pilot Job Hunting Advice

I didn't send this, because it might be kind of inappropriate, and on closer inspection someone else on my team had followed up, and the candidate either ghosted us or turned out to be unsuitable after all. But someone needs to hear it.

Dear Pilot Whose Application I Just Found Unread In My Old E-Mail,

It’s unlikely that you’re still looking for a pilot position with us, but I thought I’d follow up, as you are qualified.  We currently have all the pilots we think we need, but that can change rapidly. If you are still interested in the position let me know and I will keep your resume to call when we need someone.

 A tip for the success of your career going forward: when a company is advertising for pilots, they are busy with flying and inundated with resumes from 200h pilots.  Stand out by including your TT or possession of a relevant PPC on the subject line, or at least in the email body. When you know you are qualified for a position, and hear nothing, it’s worth a follow up.  I completely missed seeing your resume six months ago when I needed to meet you, and I expect I missed out on a couple of jobs in my own career by not following up. No answer can mean no time and not no interest.

I’m writing this knowing there is a decent chance you’re currently flying for Air Canada, and need no career advice of this sort, but it’s likely it would have got you this job six months ago.

The email subject of his application was the title of the job posting, and the body merely:

Dear Madam or Sir,

My name is [redacted]. I found your job advert on the [website] for [position]. Enclosed you will find my resume for the position. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Thank you for your time and consideration

Best Regards

Don't be this bland.  At the time I was working 14-hour days, doing the work of the two pilots I needed to hire, and skimming my email in cabs. I honestly don't know if I saw it at all, but nothing about this e-mail suggested that he was experienced and fully qualified.

Am I Breathing?

We work in unpressurized aircraft, often at high altitude, wearing oxygen masks.  Hypoxia is a risk, and one of the symptoms of hypoxia is euphoria, the feeling that everything is fantastic. To mitigate this, crew members test O2 levels regularly and report them to each other as a sanity check. The saturation, given as a percentage should be enough to get an A on a test, so 87 and up. If someone gets a B, they have to check their equipment and retest in a few minutes.

Before the pandemic, I stocked the planes with pulse oximeters, within reach of each crewmember, and then had to test them monthly and change batteries, because apparently that's something pilots can't do at the end of their flight. After a few years, a couple of them were held together with duct tape because the battery covers wouldn't stay on. So I ordered some more. And they were terrible. I have a box on my desk labelled "pulse oximeter graveyard" where I toss the ones with dead displays, broken springs, pilot-reported terribly inaccurate readings and the like. 

During the pandemic, everyone around the world wanted a pulse oximeter and manufacturers churned out millions of barely functional ones with no durability.  Or expensive hospital grade ones with bluetooth and recording functions I don't need or want.  So I keep ordering a few of a new kind, hoping they will be better.  I laugh because some of them advertise, "no struggling to change batteries, easy-open battery compartment." Documenting those battery covers that won't stay on to make them into a feature. (That's the difference, my programmer friends tell me, between a bug and a feature. The latter is documented in the user manual).

This baffled me, though:



I understand that trade regulations and taxation policies might forbid shipping some things, but what could be MORE digital than an electronic device that has a digital read out, and into which you insert a digit of your hand?  Also, I logged into the company account, which is on the Canadian site, so how did I even get here.  And it's 29 degrees in the office, so I'm going home before I melt into a puddle.