I've met four managers face-to-face so far. They seemed mostly uninterested in the process. I'm not the most social person, so that is probably working against me a little bit. It's a lot different from bidding on transfers when I still in the FAA... I put in a few bids and had facilities fighting over me. I'm great on paper, I ace training programs, and I'm top-notch on the scopes... but my bland personality works against me and I'm not good at faking it. My first job out of high school was in sales and I bombed horribly.
That's why I've changed my tactics a bit and am trying to enlist anyone who's trying to get out of their facility to work on the manager from the other end. I know a guy who pulled off something similar a couple of years ago and he suggested it.
I've got a couple of job prospects on my desk. The pay is killer sweet, but spending the next 3 years of my life in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan is not my first choice.
I appreciate the insight. I'll just keep plugging away. If it doesn't work out within 3 or 4 months I'll probably just accept one of the contract jobs.