Resume Suggestions

MaRiO FDZ

MaRiO FDZ

JJ Abrams you Insensitive Bastard.
Hello Fellas

I've been flying expat for 10 years now and things are lining up for me to come back to the States. I have an interview in a couple of days, and It's a no brainer to hand my Resume there and then - but there is a catch: 99% of my professional Pilot career has been done abroad, so the Resume I have is made with local mentality in mind. I have never done an Aviation Resume for a U.S. based operation. I'm aiming at a Large Part 91 operation, but I'd like to have the document ready for Part 135 ops as well. I've never fancied 121 but If the opportunity arises I'd take it.

I've already googled some examples but I can't figure out a couple of things. Among them:
  • Inlcude all certificates and type ratings. Obviously. But do I have to include like dates for obtaining PPL?? Dates for each Simulator Course?? How thorough do I have to be here? How about Foreign licences?
  • Include my complete aviation employment record. That I've heard more than once. However, should I add every job's full addres and contact information?? I haven't seen that in the google examples. No contact information what-so-ever. Yet I understand leaving at least a contact number for references, but adding the full address and job description - I'm not sure if that's the norm. Again, unsure of how thorough I should be on this as well. What if the company went under or the employer passed away??
  • DO NOT leave any large gaps in your employment record. This I understand. Pretty easy red flag.
  • Leave any non-aviation jobs, references, hobbies or other interests out. So like any SMS certifications stay out? How about... next point:
  • If you have a college degree only mention it, no details are necessary. They Aren't?? I would think this is important. Heck that Engineering degree I'm proud of at least let me brag it some!!!
  • Use a Cover letter. What the heck is that? I googled some examples but are these common for Aviation jobs?? How different is this from a regular day job letter?
  • Have a thorough flight time breakdown. That I have and I do understand.
Thank y'all for the pointers!
 
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I would say for the certificates just the ones relevant to the job. Commercial or ATP, CFI ratings, Type Ratings and I don't think it could hurt to include things like float and tailwheel ratings and endorsements. Listing a high altitude endorsement along with any training you've done for RVSM could be helpful if you have them.

I'm not the best of experts on being organized and having good paperwork, but I always felt a cover letter should be something explaining some of my accomplishments and abilities and how that may benefit the company that I am trying to get on with along with any additional reasons why I might be interested in joining that particular company.

I think your SMS could be valuable to lots of aviation companies and smaller ones would probably be more interested so I would definitely think to include it somewhere.

I think for your aviation record you can just list companies, time frame for each and I would always at the bottom list references available upon request. You can even attach another document with relevant references too and some online apps will even ask you for references along with their contact information so I don't believe there is a one size fits all approach. Also for each company I ever worked for in my resume I tried listing a few bullet points on what I did while I was there to explain all of my responsibilities and anything I felt was noteworthy, though like I said I'm hardly the expert.
 
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Don't get too hung up on the details. Highlight your professional/work experience, flight time, and any other educational extracurriculars. For most places flight time is a box to check for insurance and not necessarily a deciding factor. 91 and 135 operators are generally far more interested in the individual than the pilot experience - they want someone who will stick around.
 
My wife is head of talent acquisition for a big (non-aviation) company. Her general advice is don’t sweat the cover letter, they don’t get read. Internal recs are much more import and having someone on the inside that can vouch for you is huge. Also like @amichael said, keep it simple. No massive paragraphs or generic “helped VIPs get from point A to B”. Those that need to know, usually know what your previous operator did (eg. “ABC Charters Global Captain” is self explanatory)

Good luck!!

oh edit to add: leave the stuff off there that everyone has (Microsoft office skills, etc.), use the resume to highlight how you’re different from the other candidates and stand out.
 
Take a look at Raven Careers to redo your resume. They do fantastic work.

A large mistake that a lot of people do is submit a resume in .doc format. Always submit a resume in .pdf format.

MaRiO FDZ said:
I've already googled some examples but I can't figure out a couple of things. Among them:

  • Inlcude all certificates and type ratings. Obviously. But do I have to include like dates for obtaining PPL?? Dates for each Simulator Course?? How thorough do I have to be here? How about Foreign licences? Include type ratings, highest license, and foreign licenses. No need to include sim dates unless you have special training.
  • Include my complete aviation employment record. That I've heard more than once. However, should I add every job's full addres and contact information?? I haven't seen that in the google examples. No contact information what-so-ever. Yet I understand leaving at least a contact number for references, but adding the full address and job description - I'm not sure if that's the norm. Again, unsure of how thorough I should be on this as well. What if the company went under or the employer passed away?? 10 years or your first real job. Yes, include a description with bullet points that highlight your abilities.
  • DO NOT leave any large gaps in your employment record. This I understand. Pretty easy red flag.
  • Leave any non-aviation jobs, references, hobbies or other interests out. So like any SMS certifications stay out? How about... next point:
  • If you have a college degree only mention it, no details are necessary. They Aren't?? I would think this is important. Heck that Engineering degree I'm proud of at least let me brag it some!!! That's your discretion. If you were entrepreneur at anytime, you may want to include that.
  • Use a Cover letter. What the heck is that? I googled some examples but are these common for Aviation jobs?? How different is this from a regular day job letter? No need for a cover letter.
  • Have a thorough flight time breakdown. That I have and I do understand.
Thank y'all for the pointers!
Click to expand...
 
EIR said:
Take a look at Raven Careers to redo your resume. They do fantastic work.

A large mistake that a lot of people do is submit a resume in .doc format. Always submit a resume in .pdf format.
Click to expand...
This is pearls right here. Thanks!!
And thank y'all for the tips. Very helpful indeed!!!
 
1. Pilot data. Certificates held (ATP, CFI, etc ... Dates not necessary), type ratings held. Flight time breakdown, tuned to what they’re looking for. This generally includes total time, TPIC, possibly time in a specific type, multi, etc ... try to mirror what’s in the job posting. If you’re still current on a type they fly, mention that too.

2. Chronological listing of relevant jobs held. Employer, job title, type flown, and such. No need for a lot of flowery language because anybody hiring pilots know what you did. However, if you did extra work like managing or training work it in there. Notice that I said RELEVANT jobs. If you worked at Home Depot between flying jobs, you can probably leave that off of your resume. If they want to hire you, they’ll probably ask you to fill out an application later - this is where you list ALL jobs. If you worked at Home Depot for three years between flying jobs, that might make it more relevant.

3. Education, such as college degree.

4.Any other relevant certifications, if applicable.

5. Honors/awards if you have any that are relevant.

6. hobbies, interests, volunteerism etc. optional, and shouldn’t be too long.

Try to keep it to one page. A good resume basically gives The interviewer a “road map” of questions to ask that will help you show why you’re the best candidate.

And, as others have said, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, it might be good to work with a company that specializes in resume prep for pilots.
 
Spellcheck spellcheck spellcheck. When I was screening candidates I can’t tell you how many resumes I passed over due to grammatical errors. Sounds petty,but if they can’t take the time to pay attention to detail on their resume,what can I expect from their work?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
EIR said:
Take a look at Raven Careers to redo your resume. They do fantastic work.

A large mistake that a lot of people do is submit a resume in .doc format. Always submit a resume in .pdf format.
Click to expand...
Ha! One of the guys from that place was in my interview at the zoo.
 
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