pilot93

I'm looking for advice on how to make my first "aviation" resume. I'm still working on finishing my commercial license, but I was talking to someone about employment over the summer and they said to send them a resume anywhere. I'm not sure where to start since the only aviation related job I've had is a workstudy job washing my college's airplanes. If anyone could give me tips on where to start or even a sample that they used it would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

JohnBurke

Typically an aviation resume will have a series of headings that break the resume up into segments. Above these will be your contact information: name, address, phone, email, fax, etc.

The first segment is the Objective, which should be tailored to the specific employer. For example, it might say:

Objective: Employment as DA-20 First Officer with Chatchsky Air

The second segment varies, but could be called professional certification. It's usually done in a bullet format and might look something like:

Professional Certification:

* FAA Airline Transport Pilot: Multi Engine Land (DA20, BE300, B757)
* FAA Commercial Pilot: Single Engine Land, Sea
* FAA Flight Instructor: Multi Engine Instrument Airplane, Helicopter
* FAA Ground Instructor: Advanced, Instrument
* FAA Medical Certificate: First Class, No restrictions (12/15/2012)
* FCC Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
* Arkadelphia International University: Masters Degree (Utopian Basket Weaving)

And so on. It's a good place to cite your medical certificate, and other things that might apply (FCC permit, educational degree--some prefer a separate section for education, security clearance, etc).

Below that is another section for your flight experience is useful. Several rows of information take up less space and make the appearance a little more balanced. Your resume shouldn't take up more than one page. Remember that a resume is a very quick readers digest rundown of who you are in terms of qualifications for the job. It is not your biography. It's more like the worm on the hook (the cover letter being the hook, or visa versa).

Professional Flight Experience:

* 15000 Total Time
* 2000 Pilot in Command
* 7000 Multi-Engine
* 3000 Second in Command
* 1500 Night
* 1200 Instrument
* 500 Instruction Given

And so on. The information here isn't my resume or necessarily my experience, but something you should keep in mind is tailoring your experience to the employer. If going for a corporate job or an airline position, the employer might be very interested in instrument experience. If going for an ag job, the employer might be far more interested in utility and ag experience, but have no interest in your instrument time.

The same is true of your work experience. If I'm seeking utility work, I emphasize that kind of work in the next section. If I'm going for more respectable, button-down type work that involves clean hands and a tie, I'll focus on showing my background doing that. Accordingly, because it's not my life story, I'll cite the next section as recent professional experience. It need not be lengthy, but should address a period of time going back several years, and is best tailored to show experience related to the job to which you're applying. If you don't have that kind of experience, then list experience that speaks to your character, the complexity of your work, leadership, etc.

You may have had just one aviation job, for example. Prior to that, perhaps you were an intern, or you had a management position at Burger King. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; work history is work history. If you were the Operations Officer in your squadron, say that. If you were the lice checker at the strip club, say that, but in terms that benefit you (Livestock Display Inspection Specialist, perhaps). Leave out employment which doesn't necessarily work for you at this stage: it's not an all-encompassing history, but a history that shows you're a good candidate for the job. Start with your most recent experience first. If you've come from being a student, you can list your flight training and describe it in one or two lines as a student. You can also list volunteer work such as Civil Air Patrol, or other participations which may enhance your experience or paint you in a good light. Probably not a good idea to list time spent working for Gay Communist Liberation Front, or something like that.

Professional Work Experience: or,
Aviation Career Highlights:

Arnett Flying Service (Jan 09 - Present) Pilot in Command of flying squirrels and mid-size pterdactyls in a Paleolithic environment.

Bobo's Flying Circus (March 07 - January 08) Pilot in Command, performed penny-a-pound rides on a full time basis for weight watchers clinics on the Serengeiti


From there, you can add additional material that you might feel pertinent under other headings. Your material should fill the page and should change and evolve according to the target employer, and as your experience changes. Old jobs drop off, new ones get added. You may have three different degrees and a host of training experience, and you may want a separate heading for that.

Until you get your resume down, paying for some help in setting one up isn't a bad way to go. I believe Word has various formats that show them, too.

My own resume evolved through trial and error many years ago, but one thing I've noticed is that it's not much different from the majority of other resumes that I see.

If you're mailing it, don't get too creative on the paper or formatting. Don't do wild fonts. Make it look as professional as possible. Your resume gets a few seconds of scan time before it either gets dropped in the "keep" pile, or gets thrown in the round file.

You may want to attend a job or career fare where you can sit down with a specialist and work through a resume, and cover letter.

Be sure that if you submit electronically, you experiment first to ensure that your formatting won't get screwed up. Resumes are best sent stabilized, which means not in the body of your email, but as an attachment. Find out if the employer takes attachments; some don't. A .doc, .docx, or .pdf format works best. Ensure that other means of electronic submissions don't skew your resume around.

Faxed resumes don't look very good. There aren't many fax machines that deliver resumes that look very decent, so you're better off either going electronic or sending it through the mail. Check with the employer, or do a little research, to find out what's preferred.

bcrosier

I agree with most of what John has to say here (other than I've generally found the "Objective" section somewhat useless, but that's just me).

In particular:

This is a mistake many people make - they create one resume and utilize it for everything. Granted, I'm at a different place than you are career-wise, but I've found I have three basic formats depending on what sort of employer I'm targeting. One emphasizes my flight times, another work experience by employer, and a third experience in types of things I've done. Those three serve as templates which I will then customize (as best I can) for a specific employer I am targeting - sometimes I just have to pick the stock template that seems most appropriate for the type of operation.

Really take time to sit down and think about what you have that will make you appealing to a particular employer, then structure your resume in a way then highlights those attributes. What makes you stand out from your peers?

To take one on John's statements a bit further, an airline is largely interested in your times as a way to establish your qualifications, and knowing if you have formal training in your background which will help you succeed in a very structured environment. A corporation or charter operator on the other hand may be far more interested in other aspects of who you are: What experience do you have that indicates you are good at working with people and understand dealing with very demanding personalities and what skills other than just operating an airplane do you bring to the table?

JohnBurke

It is redundant, and it isn't. It is, because obviously one is interested in a job with that employer; stating that one's objective is to gain a job with that employer becomes a bit pointless. However, it's not redundant if one uses that line to tailor the resume by name to the employer. The line is there by convention, but it's also there as a place holder to state that you're interested in working for XYZ employer.

Everyone loves to hear their name, and the HR person or chief pilot that reads the resume is no different; addressing the objective to the specific aircraft platform, vacancy announcement, job title, and company name has merit, vs. simply handing that employer a generic resume that looks one handed to anyone else.

As an example, prior to attending a job fair, I've typed up individual resumes for each employer, customizing each for the specific employer with whom I'll be speaking, and tacked on a cover letter with names and addresses dedicated to that particular company and person. It's much better than simply handing the employer a sterile resume.

rvrabel2002

If you want to make your resume truly stand out, you can get a great ebook on AirPloyment's website that details several time-tested specifics for resumes/cover letters that have worked for aviation professionals (plus, it's free!). Additionally they have a variety of sample documents you can use as a reference. If you ask, I'm sure they could point you in the direction of a professional who could help you craft a killer resume.

Anyway, the ebook is free, so you've nothing to lose by checking it out.

Looking for a pilot job? Check out my Facebook Page.

HSLD

Did you download the free sample from APC?

There are "how to" guides as-well-as downloadable samples that you're free to modify and use as your own.

Airline Pilot Central - Downloads | Job Search

pilot93

Thanks for the advice and the links!

Hawker445

Sounds like some good feedback.

RemoveB4flght

I did a lot of interviewing in my previous life at an office job, at the flight school I worked at, and also reviewed resumes for the chief pilot at my second airline. Here's just a few things I've noticed over the years:

*Spelling and grammar. Don't rely on spell check, have someone you trust read it over before you send it.

*Be concise. One page. Unless you have left out your time in the space program and years spent as chief designer of the 777, you don't need a second page. People who look at resumes read so many that they really don't want to come across a long rambling paragraph about your first job in McDonalds.

*Be clear. Don't embellish for the sake of filling up space, every word on the resume should have a point, to describe yourself and your experience.

*Breakdown of flight experience. If you are applying for your first jet job, there's not much need to separate out all your single engine flying into a dozen categories (C172, PA-28, DA-20) etc. If they don't ask for a specific hour total, and yours is not that impressive, consider leaving it out (i.e. 22 hours actual IMC). However consider other categories that may be relevant, significant glass cockpit experience for example.

*Generic phrases "Self starter", "people person", instead give a brief specific examples that show this. (i.e. employee of the month 3 times in a row, volunteer firefighter, etc.)

*Cover letter, one paragraph, who I am and why I want this job. Be honest, be direct, don't brag.

Good luck out there!

LowSlowT2

If you've got the space and the advertised position has a 'duties and responsibilities' section, you can tailor past experiences to explain exactly how it fits with the list of duties & responsibilities. You want to match as many key words as possible. This is more true of non-aviation jobs, but it still applies, particularly when applying to large companies who do use computers to filter resumes. This works in the 'skills & experience' columns as well. But don't skimp on the essentials listed in the above posts to do this necessarily...know your audience.