CV Structure & Content for cabin crew
With so much competition for cabin crew, it's really incredibly important to ensure your CV is totally outstanding! The overall presentation and layout, grammar, and most importantly your content require great attention! If you fall short here, many airlines won't even read your CV and it goes straight in the bin! It can be 10,000 applicants for 300 vacancies but did you know that 9,000 of these CVs don't even deserve togo further as they just fall short of what is required.
TIPS FOR A GOOD CV:
It is imperative that your presentation and CV structure is of a high standard in order to give a good impression:
- Clean and well laid out – use white space to make it easier for the employer to read
- No longer than two pages for the cabin crew / aviation industry
- Use professional fonts like Arial, 10pt. Avoid using italics and use bold text for headings only
- Start each bullet point with a verb such as ‘created’, ‘managed’, ‘increased’, ‘improved’ etc.
- Spelling and punctuation must be perfect, so after you proofread and spell-checked it, give it to a friend to check it over for readability and any errors you may have missed.
I often get asked by wannabes 'What is the basic CV structure or template?'
Contact details
Make sure to use the phone number and email address that you use most often. You don’t want to miss an opportunity by failing to respond to their invitation to an interview in a timely fashion.
Your nationality
This is relevant for airlines that recruit internationally like Emirates, Etihad and Qatar.
Personal summary
Ensure the first area at the top of your CV is a "summary of experience" and includes specific applicable experience in relation to what the airline requires, as opposed to generalities.
Skills summary
Your recruiter will have less than 10 seconds to read your CV, so including a skills section can capture their attention by making it clear what you can offer. Use a brief bulleted list of the skills and experience that you possess that are relevant to the role, such as your highly valued teamwork contribution, an example where your interpersonal skills was impeccable, give an example of your highly organisational skills. Wherever possible, use the same adjectives as those used in the cabin crew requirements of the airline you are applying for. If your recruiter is not motivated by your CV, then after 10 seconds, your CV lands up in the bin! Sorry, but that's reality so you will need to improve your shopfront window if you want to get invited to the assessment day.
Work Experience
Talk about your achievements and successes, therefore selling yourself by showcasing your skills and experience. This is your work history and includes paid work and any relevant volunteer or work experience placements. Don't put routine tasks like cleaning the worktops, showing guests to their tables etc. Work backwards from your most recent job and don’t leave any gaps; if you took a year out, or travelled for six months, say so.
Education and training
Use your common sense here. If you have an advanced degree, few people are going to be concerned about your school education. Make sure to also include any training courses that you have done that are relevant to the job that you are applying for. So if you have passed any cabin crew exams and first aid proficiency tests, please include this too!
Hobbies
These are optional, but we always recommend to include a section on hobbies but keep it brief. We recommend sporting activities here. Most airlines require you to be fit as pushing and pulling fully laden the bar beverage cart at 40,000 feet, and lifting containers in the galley require you to be very fit.
References
Actual references should not be included on CVs. It is usually fine to simply say 'References are available on request'.
Final checks
Don't forget to spell check! Remember, it is the first impression your potential employer will have of you, so take the time to get it right. Ask a friend to proof read your CV to check for any spelling, layout or typing errors.
How can we help you?
We offer a professional CV review and updating service, and focus a great deal on highlighting your transferable skills. Most of our clients have secured cabin crew roles in Emirates and Qatar at first attempt! Visit our CV and Photos link to find out more.
