How to get Aviation Position - Engineer/Business

"Dave Jacobowitz" wrote in message
om...

That dude ****ed me off. I'm sure you'll find more energized people
out there. I be the vibe a company like Eclipse is more entrepeneurial
and exciting (if risky). Or Garmin, Avidyne, etc.

If he's been at Boeing since 1970 or so, he's seen the best and the worst
years of aerospace on both the commercial and defense side. To hit your peak
career years in the 80s boom and then watch the bottom fall out after the
cold war ended could make anybody bitter.

If you want to work for a GA manufacturer, consider that you're trying to
sell yourself into a pretty small market. There are relatively few large
companies and everyone knows about them so you're probably going to be
facing too much competition. Small companies typically hire people mostly
through referrals, so if you want to get into a company like, say, GAMI,
cold-calling is probably the best approach. Go to Amazon and pick yourself
up a book on general sales skills- I like "Solution Selling"- and buy
yourself a Plantronics headset on eBay and start dialing for dollars. Call
before 9, during lunch, and after 5 when the person you're trying to reach
will be less distracted. If the company is smaller than say 50 people, my
suggestion is to head straight for the CEO's office. The worst thing that
can happen is he transfers you to HR, so why not take a chance at hitting a
home run? If he says they're not hiring, ask him if he knows anybody else
you should call. Call them, and say, "Bob Smith at Snafu Inc. gave me your
name." Lather, rinse, repeat.

Another way to take it would be to say, "Bob, I'm not coming here looking
for a job. What I'm trying to find out is how does an experienced, dedicated
engineer with blah-blah-blah break into this business? How did you do it?"
Just engage in a conversation, and figure out what it is you have to offer.
This might be better initially, because it helps prevent you from coming
across as desperate, which is the kiss of death. Of course, if they are
looking for/thinking of hiring someone and you fit the profile, they're
going to tell you, and if they do ask for a resume, you can bet it will get
better handling than if you just send it over the transom.

The telephone is an incredible money-making machine, but most people are
deathly afraid of it. And then, of the people who do use it, most use it
very poorly. You don't have to enjoy it but know that if you keep at it you
*will* eventually find what you're looking for.

-cwk.