A Ticket to an Interview: A Professional Pilot Resume

Having a strong resume is the key to getting the job you want. Remember that the person who receives your resume will only look at it for an average of 15 seconds. It is therefore very important that you are able to emphasize the skills that make you stand out from your peers. Resume Example Remember when building your resume: RESUME  It is best if your resume is one page  Have your resume saved as a .PDF file for submission  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  Do not leave employment gaps of more than 2 months  Basically list 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 Examples:  B.S. in Aviation Management from Metropolitan State College. To assist with college and flight training expenses worked all four years as a fueler/airplane scheduler/ground instructor for local FBO  You may title your separate sections whatever you please (i.e., Work History could be Experience, Employment History, etc.). No matter what titles you choose every resume should include:  Flight Time/Certifications/Ratings, Employment History, Education  Individualized sections may include:  Specialized Training, Community Involvement, Interests, Honors/Awards  You may list your PERSONAL INFORMATION (birthdate, height/weight, etc.) but it is not necessary Once your resume is converted to the .PDF format, the best place to share your resume with Airline Recruiters is on a relatively new website called PilotPool.com. Placing your Resume and qualification on Pilotpool.com allows a pilot to target the Airlines that they would like to fly for most effectively. Once a pilot has opened their account on PilotPool and listed their qualifications, they can compare their ranking compared to others on the site and project when they will meet the published minimums for any of the airlines using PilotPool. Airlines likewise use PilotPool to view the pilot pool relative to their company's minimums and recruit pilots earlier in the qualification process. Your resume is a sales tool intended to get you an interview for the jobs you have applied for. Think about the job you are applying for and then set up the resume accordingly. It is ok to have a standardized pilot resume, but making a few adjustments before you send it to an airline may help you gain the recruiters attention. Remember that all airlines do not have the same hiring requirements; therefore your resume will stand a better chance if you tailor it to the airline you are applying for. And before you send it - make sure to proof read, check any spelling errors, and have someone else proof read the resume for you. Automated spell checking, like in MS Word, does not guarantee it is free from miss-spellings and grammatical errors.