Mar 09 2020

The List Posted 4 years 258 days ago ago by Admin

When I was transitioning out of the military, my friend, Nico, told me that there are three things that will influence job satisfaction: location, pay, and your boss. “If you are lucky you will get two of the three,” he said. Nico later modified the list to include schedule and equipment bringing the total to five, and you are lucky if you get three out of the five. The advantage we had in the military was that every two to three years we would move, but in civilian industry you may be at the same job for many years, so choose your career wisely. 

Before you start your hunt for your new career in “Life 2.0,” you should list these five things and add in a few more if needed. For example, career progression, company reputation, job title, daily responsibilities, or your job role may be a priority for you. When your list is completed, put them in order of your highest priority to your lowest and what is best for you and your family. For example, being closer to home (location) might be a huge factor for you, so it would be at the top of your list, and what you are going to fly (equipment) perhaps isn’t that important and  would go to the bottom. To someone else, their work-life balance may be a priority (schedule) over how much they make (pay). 

How everything stacks up isn’t the same for everyone. You or your family unit’s  unique priorities should be considered before accepting any position. I was once offered a very prestigious position with a well-known company for really good pay, but when I looked at my list of priorities, which included the additional priority of giving back to my community of transitioning military members, this offered job  wouldn’t allow me to do that, so I passed. 

The only outlier from Nico’s list when applying it towards a new job is the “boss” category. It isn’t always an outlier; you may have worked for him or her before or have friends that work for your prospective employer that can help you make an informed decision. However, for a majority of people transitioning out of the service, what it will be like to work for a new boss, possibly for many years, is a complete unknown. My best advice is during the end of every interview, do not pass on the opportunity to ask good questions. Remember, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. 

Some great questions to ask at the end of the interview include: (1) Is there a large turnover rate in your department? (2) How long have you been working at this company? (3) What do you see for the future of the flight department or what do you think the makeup of the flight department will be in five years? (5) What opportunities do you see available for company pilots in the future? (6) You have talked about some of your successes in the flight department; tell me about some failures and how they were dealt with? (7) How would you describe your management style and what traits do you look for in an employee? Using these or similar questions,  can give you a good idea of what it is like to work at the company and, more importantly, how it is to work for your potential boss.

Nico’s list has served me well the past four years and I hope it serves you well also. At the end of the day, I hope this helps you make a well-informed decision, but most importantly, trust your gut!