TimKirkwood
July 8, 2001, 05:37 PM
GET AHEAD BY LOOKING BACK
By Tim Kirkwood
It used to be that you would arrive at an interview with letters from your teachers or priest, extolling your virtues as a potential employee. Armed with copies of your diplomas, certificates and transcripts, you hope your barrage of accreditation would put you far ahead of other eligible candidates.
While these assets still lend weight to an interview, in today’s litigious world, companies are more worried about your past, and not your future. This is especially true in the realm of aviation.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, several accidents involving airlines shed light on the fact that the pilots responsible for operations of the aircraft, either misrepresented their job history, or did not make it known to their employer that their past history was not as stellar as represented. In response, in 1996, the President approved the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996, which includes the Pilot Records Improvement Act.
Today, background investigations are a standard part of the hiring process and a major headache to aviation HR departments across the US. Before an applicant can be hired by a US airline, or US aviation related industry, a complete background investigation must be performed on that applicant. This includes, but is not limited to, FAA records, air carrier records, National Driver Register Records, and certain other records before hiring any job applicant. The job history records date back to 5 years proceeding the date of the employment application. For the HR departments, this needs to be completed in 30 days or less, though at times the process can take months to be completed. Multiply this by 50 to 100 or more applicants per month, and you can grasp the scope of the problem.
Most applicants consider the background investigation to be an “eyes-only” top-secret program, and they can never learn the results of the investigation. One company, the Aviation Employee Placement Service (AEPS), has been instrumental in lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding the background investigation, and in the end, is giving applicants one of the best tools they can bring to an interview: a copy of their background check to date.
AEPS pioneered the use of the Internet in aviation job placement, and remains the leader in on-line aviation employment. In 1996 AEPS began to database the results of background investigations performed on its members. This information is viewable by employers on the AEPS website, and exportable to employment verifiers and background investigation departments around the world.
One incident caused them to eliminate the “veil of secrecy” from the process. One of their members had been applying diligently to aviation companies, and while he was well received in the interviews, he never landed the position. After approaching AEPS with the issue, they suggested he perform a background investigation on himself. In the results, the applicant discovered a bad recommendation from a previous employer that was totally in error, and not at all related to him. He was able to speak to his former employer and repair the error for future investigations, and was subsequently hired after his next interview. Since then, AEPS has offered members and non-members alike the ability to perform a background check on themselves, and have their information databased on the AEPS system, available to future employers.
So, in your next aviation interview, you can still pull out copies of your degrees, class transcripts, and letters of recommendation. But the trump card you pull out will be your completed background investigation booklet. 90% of your potential employer's work has already been done, and can be verified for free by AEPS. And since you would be eligible to be hired that much sooner, you may be fast-tracked to an earlier training date than your fellow applicants.
Sources:
The Aviation Employee Placement Service (www.aeps.com)
Robert Latcham, Background Department
Bobl@aeps.com
The Flight Attendant Job Finder & Career Guide
Tim Kirkwood, Author
Crew4jets@aol.com
Pilot Records Improvement Act of 1996 www.faa.gov (http://www.faa.gov)
Reprinted with permission from AviationCareer.net Magazine (www.aviationcareer.net)
By Tim Kirkwood
It used to be that you would arrive at an interview with letters from your teachers or priest, extolling your virtues as a potential employee. Armed with copies of your diplomas, certificates and transcripts, you hope your barrage of accreditation would put you far ahead of other eligible candidates.
While these assets still lend weight to an interview, in today’s litigious world, companies are more worried about your past, and not your future. This is especially true in the realm of aviation.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, several accidents involving airlines shed light on the fact that the pilots responsible for operations of the aircraft, either misrepresented their job history, or did not make it known to their employer that their past history was not as stellar as represented. In response, in 1996, the President approved the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996, which includes the Pilot Records Improvement Act.
Today, background investigations are a standard part of the hiring process and a major headache to aviation HR departments across the US. Before an applicant can be hired by a US airline, or US aviation related industry, a complete background investigation must be performed on that applicant. This includes, but is not limited to, FAA records, air carrier records, National Driver Register Records, and certain other records before hiring any job applicant. The job history records date back to 5 years proceeding the date of the employment application. For the HR departments, this needs to be completed in 30 days or less, though at times the process can take months to be completed. Multiply this by 50 to 100 or more applicants per month, and you can grasp the scope of the problem.
Most applicants consider the background investigation to be an “eyes-only” top-secret program, and they can never learn the results of the investigation. One company, the Aviation Employee Placement Service (AEPS), has been instrumental in lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding the background investigation, and in the end, is giving applicants one of the best tools they can bring to an interview: a copy of their background check to date.
AEPS pioneered the use of the Internet in aviation job placement, and remains the leader in on-line aviation employment. In 1996 AEPS began to database the results of background investigations performed on its members. This information is viewable by employers on the AEPS website, and exportable to employment verifiers and background investigation departments around the world.
One incident caused them to eliminate the “veil of secrecy” from the process. One of their members had been applying diligently to aviation companies, and while he was well received in the interviews, he never landed the position. After approaching AEPS with the issue, they suggested he perform a background investigation on himself. In the results, the applicant discovered a bad recommendation from a previous employer that was totally in error, and not at all related to him. He was able to speak to his former employer and repair the error for future investigations, and was subsequently hired after his next interview. Since then, AEPS has offered members and non-members alike the ability to perform a background check on themselves, and have their information databased on the AEPS system, available to future employers.
So, in your next aviation interview, you can still pull out copies of your degrees, class transcripts, and letters of recommendation. But the trump card you pull out will be your completed background investigation booklet. 90% of your potential employer's work has already been done, and can be verified for free by AEPS. And since you would be eligible to be hired that much sooner, you may be fast-tracked to an earlier training date than your fellow applicants.
Sources:
The Aviation Employee Placement Service (www.aeps.com)
Robert Latcham, Background Department
Bobl@aeps.com
The Flight Attendant Job Finder & Career Guide
Tim Kirkwood, Author
Crew4jets@aol.com
Pilot Records Improvement Act of 1996 www.faa.gov (http://www.faa.gov)
Reprinted with permission from AviationCareer.net Magazine (www.aviationcareer.net)