General Aviation Resume Tips

What Aviation Employers look for in a Resume
It's important that your resume be as strong and positive as possible. An incomplete resume tells employers that you are not serious about yourself. And if you are not serious about yourself, you are probably not serious about the job you are eyeing, either.

Resume Guidelines
The thought of writing a resume intimidates job hunters needlessly before their search has even begun. Remember, a resume is merely a capsule summary of your history; you are on your most familiar turf. Your resume should provide enough information in an easy-to-read format to interest potential employers without inundating them with irrelevant details. Before putting pen to paper, you need to think about what you have accomplished, where you are headed and how you want to represent yourself. Your resume is intended to be a verbal picture of you, designed both to give an employer your factual data and to create and leave a favorable impression. It connects you, the prospective employee, with the employer, so it must be written in a language commonly understood by both. The Avjobs Resume Builder does just that.

We could throw some frightening statistics at you, like employers spend less than a minute screening a resume and then discard 95-99% of those screened. Rather than become discouraged by such ominous numbers, however, recognize the importance of attracting the employer's interest through a concise, attractive content and presentation. It is crucial that your resume reflects your personality and individuality, yet there are general principles which should serve as guidelines regardless of your choice of format or style. It is also important to remember that resumes may be "general" (useful for seeking positions in a variety of career fields) or "job specific" (a stated objective is usually present at the beginning of this type of resume). Resumes that are job specific tend to get the best results.

Determine your job search objective prior to writing the resume.
Once you have determined your objective, you can structure the content of your resume around that objective. Think of your objective as the bull's-eye to focus your resume on hitting. If you write your resume without having a clear objective in mind, it will likely come across as unfocused to those that read it. Take the time before you start your resume to form a clear objective.

Think of your resume as a marketing tool.
Think of yourself as a product, potential employers as your customers, and your resume as a brochure about you. Market yourself through your resume. What are your features and benefits? What makes you unique? Make sure to convey this information in your resume.

Use your resume to obtain an interview, not a job.
You don't need to go into detail about every accomplishment. Strive to be clear and concise. The purpose of your resume is to generate enough interest in you to have an employer contact you for an interview. Use the interview to provide a more detailed explanation of your accomplishments and to land a job offer.

With your resume before them, employers can visualize how you will operate within the framework of their corporation, and how your skills and abilities will be utilized in the future development of the company. Make yourself fit the job.

A concise, error-free resume will add a professional, organized touch to your "paperwork" presentation. A resume also comes in handy if there is special information you want the interviewer to know but cannot find an appropriate place on the company application to list these important facts. Writing your own resume and completing company applications can be relatively "pain free" if you spend the time to collect all the information you need BEFORE beginning the writing process. This information has been provided to help you in composing both your resume and specific company applications. This information is a standard part of our Resume Builder System located in The Avjobs Applicant Portal.

Points to Remember

• Have your resume professionally crafted and printed
• Use white or light ivory colored paper, 25lb., 100% cotton weight. Use the same paper for your resume, cover letter and reference sheet
• Do not put the word "resume" on your resume
• Do not include references on your resume.
• References should be on a separate sheet, and only provided if requested
• Do not leave employment gaps of more than 2 months
• Only your "adult work history".
  • If you worked during high school or college, list your descriptions under EDUCATION and place it after the listing of your degrees and/or course work title

You should also take a look at our 15 Tips for Writing Winning Resumes Log In - View Aviation Jobs.