Get comfortable and close your eyes. Think of your dream job. Nope, bigger. Mmmm, no I think you can do better. Get really specific now. What do you want to fly? Who is riding in the back? How many days a week do you fly? How many hours per year? Where are you flying? What’s your income? Who do you fly with?
Every single image you thought about is attainable. Maybe not 100% all at the same time but I think you can get really close to perfection. But, if it’s too much detail and overwhelms you that’s fine too. Just pick three things to answer. What are you flying? For whom? And where?
One day I was flying a Citation X to Chicago and had a dream that what I really wanted to be doing is flying seaplanes in a warm place with happy people.
Now once you have this big, amazing, scary dream in your head, start telling people about it. Tell your best friend what you want to do. Tell your old coworker or college roommate. Shout it out from the rooftops. You know how once you notice the BMW 5 series you really like, you begin to see them everywhere? It’s practically the same universal law.
When my employer sold the Citation X, I told my best friend about my dream of flying seaplanes. She told me that she used to fly with a guy at Great Lakes Airlines who was now in the Caribbean flying seaplanes.
Keep talking and learning as much as you can about this dream position. Research what it will take for you to get there. Maybe you need to advance yourself with a rating or a new leadership position. Soon you’ll see a comment on LinkedIn or Facebook about someone who flies this dream aircraft you want to fly. Then maybe you learn about a friend who has an uncle who works at this certain company. You run across an agency who can spruce up your resume and now all of a sudden your friend is dropping off your resume to his uncle's coworker, who is in-charge of hiring pilots. Viola! Now your resume is on top of the stack!
I reached out to this contact from my best friend and he recommended I obtain my multi-engine seaplane rating. I did. Then I sent him my updated resume and he walked it into the Chief Pilot’s office and said, “You should hire her, she’s a good pilot.”
Once you become very clear about your desires, start talking to your network (all the people you know), do the footwork, show up with the right credentials, a polished resume in hand, and then you are 100% ready to land your dream job!
Seaborne Airlines called me for an interview and hired me. I then flew the Twin Otter on wheels and floats between Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and St. Croix. I also ended up marrying that guy who walked in my resume.
