CV and Cover Letter

So you have taken the plunge, slogged it out through ground school and flying training and are now the proud holder of a Commercial Pilot's License and Instrument Rating. Firstly, Congratulations! Your achievements to date are great, and you are now literally knocking on the door of a fantastic career. But there are still one or two hurdles for you to conquer, and the first is the preparation of your CV and Cover Letter. Let's deal with these separately.

Curriculum Vitae - "Course of Life" - Latin, also known as Résumé "Summary" - French

The Curriculum Vitae, or CV, is designed to be a snapshot of your working life that employers use as a method of deciding whether or not you have the desired skills for a role that they are filling; it is usually the precursor to an interview.

Although one might be tempted to rush the process, and fire off your CV to as many airlines as you can think of, you MUST resist the temptation to do this. The CV is a valid part of your entire offering to an employer, and as such it deserves as much (if not more) effort as every other part of your training to date. Sending a rushed, poor quality CV would be like buying a £5000 stereo for your home, and at the last step using cheap cables to connect the speakers to the amplifier!

Pilot CVs should never be more than 2 sides of A4 in length - although virtually everybody we know wants one side of A4 only - and tend to include your flying experience as the key focal point. They should be printed on white paper and free of all spelling and grammatical errors. Some top tips include:

• Use a computer, and if possible a laser printer, to prepare your CV.
• Use good quality, clean white paper to print on.
• Stick to one page, especially if you are a low-hours pilot.
• You don't need to write 'CV' at the top of the page - it's obvious!

Covering Letter

Another analogy: would you buy a top-end sports car, and then paint it yourself with a brush and a pot of car paint? No of course not! To look good, the car would need to have 'wow' factor, looking clean, neat and polished. Okay you say.. what's your point? The point is that an amazing product, be it sports car or CV, can have its effect spoiled by poor presentation.

The covering letter is the CV equivalent of a good paint-job. It is the piece of paper that will be seen first by the recruiter, and will help form their initial impression of you as a candidate. Pilot recruiters are busy people, often being line or chief pilots as well. With that in mind, time is of the essence when they read job applications and your covering letter must make a good first impression. If it doesn't, it might be impossible to regain the reader's interest or confidence regardless of the quality of CV that follows.

So, what are the tips for the Cover Letter?

• Again, use only one page.
• Print via laser printer on quality, white paper.
• Address the letter correctly, to the correct person (there is at least one UK airline that still receives letters addressed to a now deceased former Chief Pilot)
• Check your spelling!
• Be punchy, pointing out the exact role you are applying for, and some key points that make you worthy of interview.
• Be polite, and to the point.
• Hand sign the letter, neatly.

Where to find help and advice?

We offer a large selection of CV guidance books, and you will find them in our Jetscreen Pilot Shop. Click here to jump straight to the CV books pages.

We are also pleased to recommend a one-day Airline Selection Preparation course offered by Oxford Aviation Academy. Click the link below to find out more about training provided at London (Oxford) Airport in Kidlington, Oxfordshire:

OAA Airline Selection Preparation Course