By Aleta Vinas, ANN Correspondent

Kit Darby, B-757/767 captain and president of AIR, Inc., shared his knowledge of airline pilot hiring with the ladies attending his session at the Women in Aviation International Conference.

A workbook with statistics and helpful hints was passed out before the presentation so everyone could follow along. Darby presented statistics, as well as hints, on the hiring process.

Darby mentioned some women not wanting to "use" being female as a tool to get hired. "They don't want to have any special consideration."  Darby tells the crowd that the airlines divide the applicants into categories. They are looking for the best people in each category. Gender is one of the categories so competition is with other females.

Once your qualifications get you to the interview, Darby says, "The airlines do not hire the most qualified people. They hire the people they like."  The interaction, performance in the sim, and any tests and communication weigh heavily during the interview.

"A college degree is an absolute must to be successful as a professional pilot," says Darby. If you don't have a degree, you should be working on it.

There should be five to ten companies on your list to send your resume to. Don't lose time by holding out for your favorite.

"If you meet the minimums, you must apply," states Darby. Don't think you're not ready, let the airline make the decision but you "must get in the stack," adds Darby. If it's not a Major airline, apply when you're close to the minimums, as the minimums may be changing.

Keep watch on who's buying airplanes. Perhaps 40% -- 50% of the new buys are for growth, and these planes are going to need pilots.

"Learn about the application process before you fill the form out," Darby warns. Whether you fill out an online application or send in a resume, it will be broken down into a number which determines your sequence for getting an application or an interview.

Know about the airline you're going to interview with; the history, the type aircraft, and major hubs. "Nothing turns off an airline rep more than somebody who comes in and doesn't know about the job they're trying to get," Darby says. During lunch he was sitting with a rep from AirTran who said, "can you believe it, they walk up and say they want to work for me and they don't know what kind of airplanes we fly."  Use the internet, friends and the local papers for the airline's hub.

When you dress for an interview, think banker, think uniform. A dark suit with white blouse is a good bet.

Know the answer when they ask, "Tell me about yourself. Why should we hire you?"  This is your time to shine.

"Eighty percent of pilots are never furloughed," states Darby. "The perfect time to get into this is when it's at the bottom," adds Darby. He believes that the bottom was last year.

Darby threw out some statistics that showed some good news on the horizon. There will be about 10,000 new jobs this year. There are less aircraft parked in the desert now, and many have been brought back to flight status. Load factors are up, people are flying. Profitability will probably need to come from restructuring, maybe merging... ticket prices are probably not going to increase.

The membership for Darby's organization costs $199.00. You've already put over $50,000 into your education and ratings. What's it worth to have more help on your side to help market you?

Oh, and by the way, practice your handshake.

FMI www.jet-jobs.com