Like many companies, Cleveland-based Flight Options had a recruitment portion on its Web site. Until recently, interested parties could apply online then send in a resume for follow-up.
“What was happening was as the resumes came in, we had to compile and categorize them, then send out cards that we had received them,” says Eric Gerhard, pilot recruiter for Flight Options, a company that sells fractional jet ownership to corporations. “It was a lot of paperwork, as we were averaging about 1,000 resumes a month.”
As the resumes came through, the strongest candidates would be picked out, but it required each resume to be examined. Time and storage were stretched in an attempt to deal with the flood.
That’s when Chicago-based StaffCV, a provider of recruitment software, approached Flight Options with a solution.
With the StaffCV product, applicants apply online and all the information is stored on a server.
“Anytime we want applicants, it allows us to build searches using extensive criteria,” says Gerhard, who notes that Flight Options is the first U.S. airline to use the software. “We have several different aircraft types, but we might be looking for one person with experience in one type of aircraft. The software will search all the people that have applied to us and pick out the best candidates based on our criteria. It can then automatically e-mail them to forward a resume to us.”
The software can be customized with questions specific to Flight Options requirements.
“This will help us use our time more effectively,” says Gerhard. “We won’t have to wait until we can get the resumes entered into the system. I can go to the site and change it around as needed. If I add questions, it can notify every applicant that we changed the application so they can update their answers.”
StaffCV can be used for any position in the company. Flight Options is currently using it only for pilots and flight crew applicants, though that is expected to change as they fine-tune the process.
