Hiring periods for Northern Ontario... and beyond?

[DanWEC]

Hello everyone... I am finally (after 3 years, and 1 year behind schedule) at the end of my initial CPL flight training. I say initial because I know I'm just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how much more I will be learning.

I have just the CPL ride to do, and just 15 hours of TT before hitting 200. I will be finished in February, in a position to take advantage of spring hiring.
My resume is just about ready (Group 1, float, night, CPL.... all moot since I have 0 experience ).

Could anyone please offer their insight on hiring times for Northern Ontario? What month are most pilots (I should say dock hands) hired by? Any suggestions as to the most opportune time to hit the highway to knock on doors?
Alternatively, do the operators in the far north, eg Simpson, Buffalo, hire seasonally or is it more of a year-round scenario?

I am currently in Toronto... so a trip through Northern Ontario is only about 4-5 days worth of driving.

Thanks very much friends. Hard to believe that I've accomplished this finally, and actually looking for work. I'd be lying like Madoff if I said I wasn't incredibly nervous. I feel like a freaking newborn puppy.

Dan

[Redneck_pilot86]

Send your resume as soon as you have your commercial, and again in mid March. Ontario/Manitoba is more seasonal that farther north although there are seasonal jobs there as well.

You are right that you can drive Toronto to NWO and back easily in 4-5 days, but if you are planning to visit a lot of companies it is going to take significantly longer. I would plan on a day per northern town in order to cover all the companies without just being in the door and out again heading to their competition. Plan some time to help load a plane, unload a truck or whatever else is being done when you arrive, show you are willing to work and it will put you ahead of all the other 200 hour wonders out there.

Look around the forums here, there are lots of threads already about road trips and visiting companies while looking for that sometimes elusive first job.

[sheephunter]

Agree with Redneck that the 4-5 days isn't enough to cover N. Ontario. Toronto - Kenora is pretty much two working hour days without stopping. Then add-ons like Pickle Lake or Red Lake and then deciding on hitting hwy 17 or 11 one way or the other and then what about 101 to cover Timmins & Folyet. Just a lot of real estate to cover up there. I'd also pack so that you could stay just in case someone says "can you start today?" Never know, good luck.

[Bede]

I did a road trip 13 years ago. I ended up with a job, but didn't do very good road trip based on what I know now. Go to smaller communities with lots of flying and few pilots. NW Ont has lots of these. Just apply for a ramp job; the CP know's you want to fly, but it shows some humilitiy and that you know what you need to get a foot in the door. Ask the pilots if they need any help loading. Like the other posters said, you will need more than 5 days.

Good luck.

[mattedfred]

Determine what your limits are. Are you willing to live anywhere, under any circumstances, for any pay, to fly any type?

Then narrow down which operators have hired pilots with your experience in the past.

I think your best bet would be to get on a small cessna on floats.

Find out who operates small cessnas on floats.

Send them a resume then call them then visit them based on your conversation.

Depending on when you do your road trip you may need to be prepared to start immediately so plan accordingly.

Travel as inexpensively as possible so you can stay on the road as long as possible.

Follow up with every operator that you visited once you get back home.

[cdnpilot77]

Determine what your limits are. Are you willing to live anywhere, under any circumstances, for any pay, to fly any type?

Then narrow down which operators have hired pilots with your experience in the past.

I think your best bet would be to get on a small cessna on floats.

Find out who operates small cessnas on floats.

Send them a resume then call them then visit them based on your conversation.

Depending on when you do your road trip you may need to be prepared to start immediately so plan accordingly.

Travel as inexpensively as possible so you can stay on the road as long as possible.

Follow up with every operator that you visited once you get back home.

+1
I was fortunate enough to get a job without a road trip but I was gearing up and planning out one when I was offered a job. I think most people really look over that last point and figure "they didnt have anything for me right now so I will move on". I spent at least 2-3hours a day working the phones + email, with various CP's, owners and line pilots trying to find my way. Follow up is just as important as an initial visit.

[Doc]

Here's a simple guide line
If you are looking for a job, nobody's hiring.
If you're happy as a pig in Sheet with your current job. Everybody's hiring.
True.

[cdnpilot77]

Don't forget that you can also make a lot of new friends in this process!

[Dagwood]

Travel as inexpensively as possible so you can stay on the road as long as possible.

If you plan to drive in winter, plan to stay in a warm place every night. I know a quick search online will say how easy it is to sleep in your car to save $100 on a hotel every night, but in winter it's just not worth the risk.

In Lansford, Penn., a 49-year-old man died after spending Friday night in his car. A woman in North Haven, Conn., died after she apparently fell in a driveway Saturday night and froze to death.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2011/01/ ... z1Byh6zJpR

[DanWEC]

Thanks for the replies guys. Great tips on putting yourself out there.. and the concerns of staying in a car overnight. I wouldn't be doing that anyways. I wouldn't expect to be hired if I looked (and smelled) like I've been living in my car.

I'm fairly tenacious when it comes to face time with potential employers, something I was taught from a young age- It's very simple: People will hire who they remember, and and employer doesn't want to work any harder than they have to sifting through resumes, they usually have more important things to do. Make it easy on them.

As for the trip- for a bit of income on the side I flip vehicles (resell, not roll over..... mostly....) so I'm looking at a cost differential of grabbing an older conversion van or camper, as opposed to hotels, flipping it after the trip. I've never had one before, and not sure at the accessibility and cost of service hookups per night.

So taking home what you guys are saying, I will plan on more like a week or two of travel. Thanks.
I will definitely send out resumes as soon as I'm signed off, and I should look at mid March for the trip?

I'm more optimistic about the trip outcome as opposed to just firing resumes. I've never been offered a job without being face to face, but 90% of the time if I can get an interview, I can get an offer... but this is an entirely new field for me.

If anyone who comes across this thread will be in NWO, let me know and we'll try and cross paths.

[North Shore]

So taking home what you guys are saying, I will plan on more like a week or two of travel. Thanks.
I will definitely send out resumes as soon as I'm signed off, and I should look at mid March for the trip?

I initially went in early February, and everyone said "Come back in late March" the next year I did so, and the comment was "You shoulda been here in February!"

Public Swimming pools are great places to take a shower and shave. MacDonalds has free coffee refills. Canadian Automobile Memberships can be worth their weight in gold if you have mechanical troubles. When you get to XYZ Air at Fort Lake Nowhere, ask if any of the guys can lend you a couch for the night - it's cheaper than a hotel, even if you do have to spring for beer or pizza. Speeding tickets aren't worth the hassle. Make sure your work gloves are dirty, and your work clothes are clean..


Good Luck!

[DanWEC]

All of your responses are very much appreciated- within the thread and also those who have PM'ed me. Thanks to all.

So it looks like March is a good start to "hunting season". My itinerary of completion over the last year is working out. I suppose there isn't any harm in calling and asking camps when they usually do their hiring. I'll start hitting the phones.

Cheers

[Redneck_pilot86]

Just a side note, don't waste your time with Pickle Lake, its a relatively long drive and there is nothing there.