The Commute Made Me Do It

Often times we search for opportunities that would challenge us, add health benefits, more money, an exclusive office, or even just a unique type of work that would enhance our resume and work experience.

"Because, whether you want to believe it or not you essentially ended up purchasing the proverbial "glossy brochure" the recruiter, or your imagination, handed your rational brain."

In terms of aviation maintenance what moves most is one, a combination, or all of the following:

1. Increased hourly rates
2. Good health benefits
3. PTO
4. Culture/Environment change
5. Type of work (some like variety, others like routine jobs and the certainty that comes with them)
6. Type(s) of aircraft you would be working on

Whether some or all of these are reasons for searching for your next opportunity make sure you sit down and make a list of your absolute must haves. This list should include your hard limits such as:

1. Nothing less than $XX hourly amount
2. No further than XX miles from your home
3. Flexibility within the schedule
4. This list could really go on...

Remember your list of must haves only depends on what is important to you so your list will probably look somewhat different from mine or anyone else's. It will also change depending on the opportunities available to you in your immediate area and what the fair market rate in that same area looks like. Just remember to do your research.

Understand that it doesn't make much sense to up and move from where you work now to another place you convinced yourself was upgrade at first, but is exactly the same or worse than the place you just left with barely more pay (or other benefit you were seeking). Because, whether you want to believe it or not you essentially ended up purchasing the proverbial "glossy brochure" the recruiter, or your imagination, handed your rational brain.

We all know that work does provide the opportunity to support yourself and engage in the economy how you see fit, but it is not the only thing that matters. Having more financial freedom with no visible end in sight as to when you can actually enjoy it on a day off doesn't make much sense because you now jumped on a bullet train to Burnout Town.

List in Hand

Now that you have your list in hand use any online search engine (think Google or Bing) to find companies in your area that would be a good fit for what you want out of that next opportunity you're searching for. Check out their hiring pages as well as job websites like JSfirm, Indeed, LinkedIn Jobs, target company career pages, and others.

Another resource to getting into a company you really feel passionate about would be recruiters and staffing agencies. Some recruiters and agencies cannot be used once you have already applied on a company website due to contractual reasons, so keep that in mind before you apply if you would like to go this route.

The Bridge

Why is all this important in your job search? It's going to help you narrow your search so you can laser in on the opportunities you actually want. You'll end up focusing on them more because you are passionate about them, rather than procrastinating.

"It was the first time I was seriously disappointed professionally."

Finale

Now, it's story time.

Awhile back in my job search, before I had the job I do now, I was contacted by a recruiter for a company that had interested me for a looooong time. You can imagine my excitement when that same recruiter told me they wanted to put me in for an interview as an A&P Mechanic candidate.

The hangar was a bit further than I had expected, as I noticed on the way to the interview, but I figured if I had to get used to it, then I just would.

During the interview I felt as if I had found my home. The hangar itself was heated and cooled, the pay was better than I was expecting, and I would even get to have PTO and benefits! Not to mention, the maintenance manager and I meshed amazingly well. He told me I would be a wonderful fit for them, and I felt the same way towards the company. He asked me when I wanted to start and I gave him my preferred start date.

After the interview, halfway back home to be exact, I realized I probably had to turn down the job offer I suspected was coming. Why? Because it was 20 miles further out than my maximum of 60 miles from my home, and with the traffic that would mean that I would have to commute 4 hours to and from work daily. That makes for an extremely long day.

Past a long day means:

• Exponentially more money spent on gas and tolls = less monthly take home
• More mileage = more regular maintenance to my vehicle = even more money spent
• Less time for myself (hobbies, professional development, personal development)
• Higher probability of an accident due to more time on the road driving fatigued
• Ultimately less time at home with my family.

Saying yes to that job would mean saying no to so much more because I would just not have enough hours in the day.

It was the first time I was seriously disappointed professionally.

What did I learn from this?

1. Price your time accordingly
2. Know your limits

What was worse is that I had to relive that feeling again when I actually did get the offer and had to officially turn it down. Moral of the story? The commute made me do it.