Jerry Trimble’s 10 Step Program to Getting that First Flying Job!   1.          Vision.  You have to have a clear picture in your mind of what you want to do with your flying career.  Only with a set goal can you keep yourself on track.  A clear mindset is a main requirement to keep you going on your selected path.  A personal example.  When I started out in aviation, I wanted to be either a Crop Duster or a Bush Pilot in the San Juan Islands of Washington .  I didn’t end up flying in either field (pun) but it got me going.  As my career evolved, I changed direction a couple of times.  I have heard it said that “The plan is nothing but the planning is everything”.  What that says to me is that to be successful in our career we need to be planning all the time.  However, when the situation warrants, we need to be able to change direction and not stick to a plan of action that is no longer viable.  You may want to be an airline pilot but if the airline industry is contracting and pilots are being furloughed you  better change your plan and maybe fly corporate.  You will be able to pay the bills until the airlines cycle to a growth period.  If you want to fly ENG for one of the local TV stations you might have to wait years until a pilot retires.  You may have to change your plan and fly a news chopper in another market until your dream job becomes available.  As for that first aviation job you may have to work line service and pump gas for awhile until that first flying job materializes.  To use a football analogy, your first job is like scoring a touchdown.  The team has a plan to move the ball down the field.  They don’t give up if they lose yardage on a play.  Maybe they switch from a running game to a passing game but they keep there eyes on the goal.  They don’t give up and go sit in the stands just because the first half didn’t go the way they wanted.  They keep trying and trying to find what works.  You have to take that same passion and vision to your job search!  If the quarterback went out and said to his coach, “You know I am not sure that scoring a touchdown is what we really need to do right now”,   I am sure that if his coach heard that attitude expressed the quarterback would be holding down the bench and not playing the game.  You can’t lose your vision, you have to keep your faith in yourself and your plan.   2.          Attitude, Attitude, Attitude!  You cannot get where you want to go without a very strong mindset.  There is a joke about the three rules that you learn in Harvard Business School : don’t run out of cash, don’t run out of cash, don’t run out of cash.  Sounds obvious but it is very practical.  You have to keep a positive attitude to keep yourself motivated and on track.  When I started to learn how to fly we were having our first gas shortage with long fuel lines.  Most everyone who found out I was learning to fly said we wouldn’t have fuel to fly airplanes and I was going down a dead end road.  I didn’t listen to my friends and associates.  I wanted to fly, I was going to fly. End of story.  Keep that attitude positive.  Don’t let anybody bring you down.  Stay away from negative people.  Guard that attitude. Nourish it.  Winston Churchill in said in a speech “Never give up. Never, Never, Never…     The next 8 steps in this pamphlet will outline a plan of attack for your first flying job including a suggested contact list and time table. If you’re interested, call to order or go to our secure online ordering page http://jerrytrimblehelicopters.com/Products.php.  There is a small fee involved, but if you read these ten steps and follow the checklist and don’t get that first job, I will give you a refund!