Secret Squirrel
17th Feb 2001, 20:59
Every so often I pop into the wannabes forum just to see what's goin' on. It seems to me that there are a lot of people who have trouble getting noticed by the airlines, and yet there are others who never have any trouble at all. There are many things involved in getting that first job. Often, hours are the least of your worries unless you are setting your sights too high. There's no doubt that they help, but if they're the wrong type then you may as well not declare them.
Some people have friends in low places and manage to get their CV placed on the top of the pile. There's nothing you can do about that; if it were you you'd take advantage too. To a certain extent there is also a certain amount of luck involved. Again, there is very little you can do to advantage yourself there.
I apologise if this seems a trifle patronising, I assure you it is not meant to be; I am merely setting a stage.
All these things aside, there is definately something you can do about your CV. Some of you may have sought advice, as I did many moons ago. I do not profess to be an authority on CV's but I hope I can offer some guidance. Some of the things I am going to say may seem obvious and old hat to some of you but there are others who genuinely don't have a clue how to write an aviation CV, so please bear with me or read another thread.
1) The most common error made on CV's is that people write CURRICULUM VITAE in huge letters at the top of the page. The most important part of that CV is YOUR NAME! Think about it: next time you buy a bag of flour or bread is it these words, or the name Homepride that you see first? I'm pretty sure Mr(s) Recruitment is well aware of what they're looking at. Yes, write it at the top (in full), but in size 12. Give your name size 16 or 18 and center it. Below it, put your address and contact numbers, below that write the position you are going for (i.e first officer). Center all this too.
2) Next come the hours. If you use Word, use the table format and make it simple; if you've flown six different types of light singles put it all under 'single engine'. At this stage your hours should be split into P1 or P2. In total make four columns: 1) A/C type, 2) P1, 3) P2, 4) total. Below the singles should come twins and below that turbine time, if any. The last row should be a totals row. As you may surmise, the totals row should cross check. The bottom right hand box should be highlighted as it gives an overall total. Incidentally, if you have a particularly relevant aircraft on your licence and hours on it then yes, by all means specify it in the A/C type column.
3) Below this you should have your training history. i.e where, when and, on a seperate line, your licence endorsements; AFI/QFI ATPL (Frozen) etc.
4) A reference to your educational achievements is also desirable but don't go into too much detail. A mere numerical value attached to 'O' & 'A' level should suffice at this point together with the school's name. If you have a Degree or Diploma this should be next, and here it is desirable to specify what degree/Diploma it is (Unless it's Star Trek Studies!), all the finer details will be asked of you by the application form.
5) Below all this you may put things like marital status, D.O.B.; personal details.
6) Lastly, you should put a heading of present employer in case they want a quick reference, together with contact, number and address.
It is very difficult to provide you with a picture of how it is supposed to look. However, if any of you would like, e-mail and me I'll send you a template copy.
Another mistake people often make is to adopt the templates and verbose layout of the typical 80's CV. placing headings like 'Personal Attributes'. Under this they write cringe sentences like 'outgoing, able to work under pressure, people orientarted', gushy crap. Believe me, they're not interested in that. If you're not able to work under pressure, you'll soon be found out in the sim check! If you’re a knob, they’ll find that out at the interview.
The idea is to keep it ALL on one page; the person reading your CV is going to give it about a minute's attention. If they see three pages of sentences, they will bin it. Many, but not all, recruiters are pilots themselves and like information to be concise and easy on the eye; they should be able to see information they seek at a glance.
One last thing, it goes without saying that the CV should be accompanied by a SHORT covering letter. Don’t repeat the information you have provided in the CV, don’t get clever, familiar or ‘gushy’, and most important of all, DON’T FORGET TO SIGN THE BLOODY THING!!!!
I hope this helps.
Regarsds SS.
[ 25 July 2001: Message edited by: Secret Squirrel ]
Some people have friends in low places and manage to get their CV placed on the top of the pile. There's nothing you can do about that; if it were you you'd take advantage too. To a certain extent there is also a certain amount of luck involved. Again, there is very little you can do to advantage yourself there.
I apologise if this seems a trifle patronising, I assure you it is not meant to be; I am merely setting a stage.
All these things aside, there is definately something you can do about your CV. Some of you may have sought advice, as I did many moons ago. I do not profess to be an authority on CV's but I hope I can offer some guidance. Some of the things I am going to say may seem obvious and old hat to some of you but there are others who genuinely don't have a clue how to write an aviation CV, so please bear with me or read another thread.
1) The most common error made on CV's is that people write CURRICULUM VITAE in huge letters at the top of the page. The most important part of that CV is YOUR NAME! Think about it: next time you buy a bag of flour or bread is it these words, or the name Homepride that you see first? I'm pretty sure Mr(s) Recruitment is well aware of what they're looking at. Yes, write it at the top (in full), but in size 12. Give your name size 16 or 18 and center it. Below it, put your address and contact numbers, below that write the position you are going for (i.e first officer). Center all this too.
2) Next come the hours. If you use Word, use the table format and make it simple; if you've flown six different types of light singles put it all under 'single engine'. At this stage your hours should be split into P1 or P2. In total make four columns: 1) A/C type, 2) P1, 3) P2, 4) total. Below the singles should come twins and below that turbine time, if any. The last row should be a totals row. As you may surmise, the totals row should cross check. The bottom right hand box should be highlighted as it gives an overall total. Incidentally, if you have a particularly relevant aircraft on your licence and hours on it then yes, by all means specify it in the A/C type column.
3) Below this you should have your training history. i.e where, when and, on a seperate line, your licence endorsements; AFI/QFI ATPL (Frozen) etc.
4) A reference to your educational achievements is also desirable but don't go into too much detail. A mere numerical value attached to 'O' & 'A' level should suffice at this point together with the school's name. If you have a Degree or Diploma this should be next, and here it is desirable to specify what degree/Diploma it is (Unless it's Star Trek Studies!), all the finer details will be asked of you by the application form.
5) Below all this you may put things like marital status, D.O.B.; personal details.
6) Lastly, you should put a heading of present employer in case they want a quick reference, together with contact, number and address.
It is very difficult to provide you with a picture of how it is supposed to look. However, if any of you would like, e-mail and me I'll send you a template copy.
Another mistake people often make is to adopt the templates and verbose layout of the typical 80's CV. placing headings like 'Personal Attributes'. Under this they write cringe sentences like 'outgoing, able to work under pressure, people orientarted', gushy crap. Believe me, they're not interested in that. If you're not able to work under pressure, you'll soon be found out in the sim check! If you’re a knob, they’ll find that out at the interview.
The idea is to keep it ALL on one page; the person reading your CV is going to give it about a minute's attention. If they see three pages of sentences, they will bin it. Many, but not all, recruiters are pilots themselves and like information to be concise and easy on the eye; they should be able to see information they seek at a glance.
One last thing, it goes without saying that the CV should be accompanied by a SHORT covering letter. Don’t repeat the information you have provided in the CV, don’t get clever, familiar or ‘gushy’, and most important of all, DON’T FORGET TO SIGN THE BLOODY THING!!!!
I hope this helps.
Regarsds SS.
[ 25 July 2001: Message edited by: Secret Squirrel ]