Making a Hit With Your CV
Over the next 20 years, North America alone will need some 170,000 new flight attendants, as air traffic is projected to grow at an annual rate of four percent worldwide. Even despite the pandemic and its impact on international travel, the jobs of flight attendants and cabin crew remain the most sought out jobs in the UK. So, brace yourself for stiff competition. To be successful in this tight job market, you need to have a smart CV.
Developing a CV that is informative and impressive, yet succinct and easy to digest is important for any job-seeker. CVs are often more important than your application or interview because recruiters may simply judge your merits by the information you include in it. If done poorly, you might not even make it to a shortlist.
While you can have one master CV, you should update or rearrange it with a view to the requirements and criteria of each prospective employer. The CV should not only list your jobs and qualifications, but it also needs to demonstrate the core and essential skills that every airline would want you to possess. These include communication and interpersonal skills, customer service experience, and your ability to stay calm under pressure.
We offer an overview of the 6 steps you can take to come up with a successful, attention-grabbing CV.
● Add a snappy statement
It is not a bad idea to include a punchy statement, which will make your CV stand out. Grab the attention of recruiters by highlighting your best skills or quality. Don’t forget to pick one that is related to the requirements of the advertised vacancy.
If unsure about your statement, you might as well skip this since it is better to omit it rather than have a lukewarm or bland one.
● Make it short
In general, it is not advisable to go beyond two pages. Anything more than that is generally difficult to digest for busy recruiters. Make it short and sweet, albeit without losing any important detail. If you have a lot of experience and a lot of jobs to include in our CV, add a summary.
Recruiters rarely read lengthy CVs when shortlisting applicants, so it would be an absolute must to have a brief summary. Again, make it relevant to the job requirements and include only key achievements and skills.
● Make it focused
Talk about your achievements rather than just a set of responsibilities. After all, your prospective employer would be more interested in your results rather than the scope of your job role only (which you might or might not have performed well). If possible, make your achievements quantifiable. If your actions have ever led to significant savings for an airline, don’t forget to mention them.
Even if you have multiple professional and educational experiences and qualifications to include, make your CV focused on the most recent jobs (spanning the last 1 to 3 years). This is what recruiters will be most interested in. You can also elaborate on this job or jobs a bit more in the main body of your CV.
● Match your CV with job requirements
Keep revising your CV to match your achievements, skills, and qualifications with the job requirements. Of course, this does not mean you should lie, but you can always find a way of highlighting those very achievements or skills that are most relevant to a given job.
See if you can make your CV speak to some of the most valued and sought-out skills and characteristics in your trade, such as your ability to adapt to changing situations and requirements, emotional intelligence, and your ability to retain self-control under stressful and demanding circumstances.
● Make in neat
You want to make your CV stand out, but you don’t want to overdo it with either a clumsy layout or inappropriate style. This is where you should be more conservative not to irritate recruiters with flamboyance or too much bragging. Opting for a user-friendly, clutter-free, and professional format will do the job.
Remember that the white space is your friend. Don’t overcrowd your CV with excessive information. Eradicate extraneous details and ensure a logical flow.
● Check, proofread and check again
You cannot allow typos, spelling errors, or clunky wording. Don’t just leave it to your spellchecker to catch all errors. Make sure you read the CV several times, proofread and check yet again. It’s always a good idea to sleep on it for a couple of days, give it the once-over and finalize then. You cannot make a mistake by doing multiple reviews. To get a professional help with it you can explore writing services and check their reviews on websites such as LetsGradeIt. This will give you confidence that your CV is well structured and professionally written.
Final Thoughts
If you are interested in joining an airline as a cabin crew member, brace yourself for fierce competition. While you are likely to be competing with hundreds if not thousands of other applicants, you want to design a CV that grabs the attention of recruiters at first glance. Your goal is to communicate the best of your achievements and skills. In doing so, make sure recruiters can see a direct connection between these and the job requirements. Keep revising the CV in light of these requirements. Choose a layout and style that are professional and help you formulate your statements in a clear, easy-to-read, and convincing manner.
