Aviation Resume Example

This comprehensive guide will give you all the tools you need to craft an aviation resume that positions you strongly against other candidates. You'll learn how to show employers you've got the relevant qualities, skills and experience for the job, all presented in a format that employers prefer to see. The article also includes tips for formatting your resume according to your experience and strengths. Continue reading to find expert tips and advice from Jobseeker that will help you with your aviation resume.

Main elements of an aviation resume

The key sections to include in an aviation resume are similar to those for any role or profession. If you're an entry-level candidate without much work experience, that section may be less prominent in your resume. You may focus instead on sections that showcase your skill set, such as education, projects, hobbies and hard and soft skills lists.

You will have some choice over your resume layout and structure, but be sure to include these sections as the core of your document:

Resume Header with Contact Details

A aviation resume header contains your name and contact information. Add your first and last name, your phone number and your email address. Include your address or location, but avoid adding any other personal information. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can add the URL to your header so the hiring manager can get a better understanding of your work history and experience. Make sure your resume header is as brief as possible and doesn't take up too much valuable space. Choose a clear, professional design that sets the tone for your application.

Opt for a professional-looking email address based on your name. If your email address could be construed as unprofessional or inappropriate because it contains nicknames or unsuitable language, create a new, more professional email address for your job applications. Always check your contact details to make sure they're up-to-date before you send your resume.

Resume Summary

The next section is the resume summary. The section might also be called 'resume objective' or 'personal profile'. This is a brief introduction to you, your key skills and your career achievements and ambitions. While a resume summary focuses on your career achievements and experience, a resume objective typically focuses on your ambitions for the future. Always make sure your summary reflects the job description and highlights some of the key skills required for aviation professional roles.

Alternatively, use this section to emphasize your career objectives and explain how and why this role is a suitable step for you at this stage of your career.

A great resume summary should highlight why you're an ideal candidate for aviation professional roles by showing key skills and qualities that reflect the job description and provide evidence to support them. It should also introduce your personality and unique qualities to the reader, to help them start to form an opinion about you as a candidate. You can see some positive examples of a resume summary for aviation professional jobs below.

Alternatively, a poor resume summary would include bland, generic information that does little to prove your suitability for the role, while failing to provide any useful insights on you as a person or as a candidate. In the graphic above you can find some negative examples of how to write a resume summary.

Hard and Soft Skills

Adding a list of your key skills provides a quick reference for the reader of what you can bring to an aviation professional role. Skills such as pilot-in-command certification or teamwork and collaboration are particularly useful for aviation professional jobs. Again, refer to the job description and make sure you include skills that the employer has listed as essential or desirable for employment as an aviation professional.

Highlighting your hard skills

Hard skills are specific skills related to the job you're applying for. They include particular abilities, technical skills and industry knowledge that relate directly to jobs as an aviation professional. Furthermore, your list of hard skills provides a strong indication to the reader of your expertise in aviation professional roles, and how well you'll fit into the position. Add up to five key hard skills that show you're an ideal candidate for the role. It can also be beneficial to add context to each skill, showing how you've used it to positive effect in your career to date.

For an effective resume hard skills section, focus on the technical skills that are most essential in the job description, and that match your specific expertise. Some examples of the best hard skills for an aviation resume are listed below.

Soft skills on your aviation resume

In your list of soft skills, add any personal strengths, qualities or transferable skills that make you a good fit for the job. Soft skills are often less specific to different industries, but that doesn't make them any less important. In fact, as technology develops, soft skills are growing in importance for recruiters and employers, so be sure to add several of these to your resume. Aim to include approximately five soft skills that reflect the skills listed in the job description.

The strongest resume soft skills sections include a mix of skills that match your best personal strengths, and that reflect the skills listed in the job description. See below for some examples of effective soft skills for an aviation professional resume.

Education

Your resume's education section provides space for you to list your highest and most relevant qualifications for aviation professional roles.

Opportunities as an aviation professional and similar roles in the sector usually require a specialist degree. If you have a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Management degree, be sure to mention this in your resume. You might also want to list any qualifications that highlight your flight operations management or pilot-in-command certification.

For each entry in this section, add the name and level of your qualification, the institution you studied at, its location and your dates of study. If you have space, include some bullet points outlining any specialist areas of study, awards or high grades, so the employer can learn more about your unique skill set and knowledge.

If you took part in any volunteering or you were a leader or member of any university societies, you could also mention these in your education section.

Licenses and Certifications

Your certifications section is the place to mention any relevant professional aviation professional certifications, licenses or qualifications. Add any official certifications or accreditations that increase your level of qualification and suitability for working as an aviation professional. Therefore, include the details of any licenses and professional certifications required for aviation professional roles, along with completion dates so employers can see you're up-to-date.

Take a look at some example certifications for an aviation resume below:

Work History

In your work experience section, list any previous relevant roles you've worked in, as well as your key achievements as an aviation professional. Include any relevant jobs you've held in reverse-chronological order. Start with your current or most recent roles and work back through previous roles. For each job, list your title, the name of the company, its location and the dates you worked there.

Add some bullet points under each job entry, explaining your achievements in the role, so the reader can see how you contributed towards success for the company. Provide evidence of your impact and make sure each point addresses a requirement listed in the job description.

A good resume work experience section includes your most relevant previous jobs and highlights your key achievements in each role. To make the best possible impression on hiring managers, make sure each entry in your work experience section references skills and experience listed in the job description, and shows how you added value to each role with quantifiable evidence and outcomes. See below for some good examples of what to include in your resume work experience section.

See above for some of the pitfalls to avoid with your resume work experience section. A poor resume work experience section would typically use vague descriptions of activities in previous jobs, while focusing too much on responsibilities rather than achievements. Failing to focus on the skills and experience that match the job description is likely to harm your chances of success.

Optional Sections

As well as the main sections of an aviation professional resume, optional sections can help you prove your credentials to employers. Choose optional sections from the list below, if they help to showcase your relevant skills and experience.

Hobbies and Interests

Add any hobbies and interests that reinforce your credentials for the position. These are particularly useful for your resume if you're short of work experience and need to showcase a particular skill or experience. Don't include hobbies and interests in your resume unless they showcase a specific interest or aspect of your personality. You'll want them to add something to your application that you can't add elsewhere.

Volunteer Work

This section can be valuable for an aviation professional resume, if you've done any voluntary work that showcases your relevant skills. Add any voluntary roles, including your position, the name of the organization, the dates of your voluntary work and a brief explanation of your responsibilities and achievements.

References

References aren't a standard aviation resume section, but employers do sometimes ask for them. Check the job advert and only include them if requested. Add two or three professional references, and be sure to approach each referee before you include them.

Best words to use in an aviation resume

Using strong action verbs in your work experience bullet points can make a stronger impression on employers and show the value you added to your previous roles. The suggested action verbs below will help the reader to understand your key qualities and the impact you made on the organization.

If you need help creating a resume that impresses HR managers, take a look at Jobseeker's professional resume templates. You can also access beautiful cover letter templates that help your application stand out.

Example of an aviation resume

The aviation resume example below incorporates all the information from above into a full-designed resume template, so you can see how a final resume will look:

Tips on creating an ATS-optimized resume

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) help recruiters and employers to streamline their hiring process. They can store and process data, including applications and applicant data, quickly and efficiently. One of the jobs ATS applications are increasingly responsible for is initial candidate screening. The systems can quickly scan and rank resumes based on how closely they match the job description. When you're writing your aviation resume, there are several things you can do to make sure your resume stands the best chance of passing the ATS stage.

Follow these simple rules when writing your resume, to make sure it's ATS compliant:

• Choose a resume structure that matches the traditional, reverse-chronological layout or alternatively, the functional resume structure. This should make your resume more readable for ATS applications.
• Use of job description keywords throughout your resume will help it rank higher in the ATS scanning stage, as it will more closely match the requirements laid out in the job description.
• Include clear headings that make it easy to identify each section of your resume. This will help any ATS software navigate your resume during the scanning process.
• Use design elements that help make your resume more readable. These might include white space, clear, professional fonts and subtle color accents to help certain elements stand out.
• Make sure your resume is as concise as possible, so ATS applications can easily scan and identify the required details.

Takeaways for a winning aviation resume

The key to a strong resume is to showcase your relevant skills and achievements through your work experience and other activities. Select a resume format that suits your experience levels and the job you're applying for, and make sure you tailor your resume for each application.

Remember, Jobseeker resume templates and other tools make it easy to create a resume and cover letter that leaves a positive impression on hiring managers. Sign up now to start building your perfect resume. A stylish, professional cover letter can make all the difference to your job prospects. See Jobseeker's cover letter examples, written by careers experts, to help you craft an eye-catching application.

Sources:

(1) Writing a Resume, California Department of Human Resources: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/resume-tips.aspx

(2) Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications, New York State Department of Labor: https://dol.ny.gov/resumes-cover-letters-and-job-applications