Cabin Crew CV/ Resume

Once you have decided to become cabin crew, this is your first hurdle. You need to write a cracking CV to get your foot in the door, and most people don’t manage this.

Airlines can get hundreds of CVs/ Resumes sent in. If they ask for an application form instead of a CV, they can judge your motivation by the effort you put into completing it! If you just need to submit a CV, which is much easier in many ways, you need to make it stand out from the crowd.

You will probably be tempted to send in a standard CV/ Resume that’s not been updated for ages, but it really is worth updating it to fit to the job and company you are applying to. If you’ve had quite a few jobs include the ones which are most relevant (e.g. roles in customer service, catering, first aid, safety related or dealing with the public). Keep your CV to 2 pages and make sure you only include what is relevant, and not ‘padding’.

Here are five tips on how:

Don’t list a job title alone, leaving it to the recruiter to work out why they should care– make it clear. Include what your duties were, making sure you use the ones which fit best/ are transferable to the cabin crew role.
Make your CV/ Resume stand out by explaining what you did well in you role. For instance, instead of ‘finance assistant- 2012-2015’ also write what you did e.g. ‘duties- updating spreadsheets, responding to customer enquiries, maintaining records and databases. I made processing expenses claims more organised by… (then explain what you did that made you better, showing that you are better than any ordinary finance assistant!)
Don’t list hobbies; think about the achievements associated with them. For instance, if you mention ‘fitness’ you could also add ‘I trained for a 10k run and raised £££ for charity’. It’s the extra details that make you stand out. Of course, always be truthful as you could be caught out in interview if you have made up any details.
Formatting
Space out your paragraphs and lines so its not too difficult to read. Don’t cram in too much detail at the expense of how easy and appealing the text is to read. But don’t focus so much on fancy formatting and fonts that you don’t have space to properly sell what you can do either.
Remember who is reading it.
Avoid acronyms, jargon or any specific terms no one outside of your industry will have a clue what they mean.

Take a look at: A CV/ Resume with a difference

CV templates often start with a personal statement and then follow up with your qualifications then employment history. The problem is, what goes into each of these sections can be very bland and unoriginal.

Personal statement– avoid making generalisations such as ‘I am reliable’ and ‘I’m hardworking’. Make yourself stand out by backing these statements up with an example. This will prove it far more than just writing it will, and be much more interesting and influential for the reader. Eg ‘I’ve proved that I am very reliable, by always arriving to work on time and never being late in the 3 years I have worked there.’ You will have your own examples you can use, but it is this personal detail which most applicants miss but will make you stand out.

Employment history–Try to keep your employment section original and interesting. Instead of including every aspect of the job, include the key points and then have a heading such as ‘my contribution’ or ‘successes’ and explain how you made a difference to the role/ organisation. Focus on jobs and skills which have relevance to the role you are applying for.

Hobbies–would it grab your attention to read yet another CV/ Resume which lists, ‘socialising with friends, keep fit and travel’ as your interests? Be different and follow this up with what sort of fitness you do, what sort of socialising, where have you been to in your travels and how did it inspire you? What achievements have you had with any of your other activities?