Hiring Manager Feedback

[Resume Writer]

Hi Everyone,

I went to an Hiring Manager meeting the other day here in PHX. Here is more information about what they have to say. I am also including my observations over the years.

1. Do not include personal information on the resume. This includes age, marital status, health, hobbies, etc.

2. Please do not apply to jobs for which you are not qualified. An employer recently posted an ad that was VERY specific about what he wanted in a candidate. He could not believe the responses that he got, with only 1 in 30 having the exact qualifications he was looking for. This is just as valid in the airline industry. Most of the employers now (including aviation) are putting in lines that say, "those who do not meet the criteria or qualifications will be disgarded."

3. "It's not about you." One employer told me that she got resumes from people stating that they wanted to get the best training they could to move on in their career! That may be your intention, as it is when you are starting out in the aviation business, but it does not mean that you have to boldly state it in your objective. The best sentence that you could use in a cover letter is that you want to make a valuable contribution to THEIR organization.

4. Match the background you have to the job description. You may have to alter your resume slightly. Think about the things you have in your background that match the position. Then sell yourself on those areas. A resume should be a good marketing document, with you being the product you are selling.

5. Even if you are in aviation, put a solid job description. Do not leave the employers guessing about what you did in your previous jobs.

6. Write a good SOLID cover letter. This is your chance to sell yourself and yes, they do get read. They should not be more than four paragraphs. Once again, state your qualifications as they MATCH the position.

As a professional resume writer and former Hiring Manager, I suggest that you do some things in your career that make you stand out. Have you been on any committees? Have you helped to develop an operations manual? Have you had a high number of students that have passed FAA checkrides?

I know how tiring aviation can be, with the long hours and little appreciation. However, if you can get some other extra items on your resume, it will make you stand out from other candidates. Perhaps you have worked with Make-A-Wish to grant wishes for terminally ill children. Maybe you have gone and spoken to elementary or high school children on career day to talk about your profession. These are all things that can be included in your resume. It simply shows that you have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Let me tell you something that you are all probably aware of already. As a Hiring Manager, I would go through hundreds of resumes and select the people I wanted to interview. When it was time to sit them down for that interview, I got to a point where I was looking for "something" that set each person apart from the others.

Hiring Managers want to see something that they can relate with in their own lives. Let me put a caveat on this: do not include items relating to politics, religion or abortion. You never know whose desk your resume will cross. When you participate in the areas that I have described, i.e., community service, the Hiring Manager starts to buy into you.

I can remember a client years ago who came to me for a resume. She had just returned home from the Peace Corps. I looked at her and told her that the Peace Corps job would be the thing that the interviewers asked about because a lot of people would like to do that, but do not have the courage to take that as a position. (I am not suggesting the Peace Corps, just an example) I also told her that the Peace Corps job would get her every subsequent job in her career.

I talked to a client today who was a District Manager for Eckerd Drug Stores. For those who do not know, Eckerd was bought out by CVS. This man was a dynamo. In every job he had with Eckerd for 17 years, he had done multiple things that improved his departments. He has to reapply with CVS for his job. I told him that with all he had done he should be a shoe-in. However, if he is not rehired by them, he will be scooped up in a heartbeat. This man not only produced numbers, but he took care of his people. As he stated, THEY were the key to his success. (Geez, can we get THIS man into the airline industry??)


Anyway, I thought that I would share this information with all of you.

Kathy

 

[ThomasR]

Hiring Manager

Kathy,

The government generally requires a curriculum vitae in lieu of a resume. Do you feel major carriers are beginning to lean toward a more academic form of introduction? Are you able to make recommendations to your clients as to those specific companies requiring this form of application?

 

[bafanguy]

Kathy,

For the great unwashed masses ( ie., me and MAYBE a few others ), what is the difference between a CV and a resume ?

 

[Resume Writer]

Re: Hiring Manager

Kathy,

The government generally requires a curriculum vitae in lieu of a resume. Do you feel major carriers are beginning to lean toward a more academic form of introduction? Are you able to make recommendations to your clients as to those specific companies requiring this form of application?

Actually Thomas, the Federal Government does not require a curriculum vitae for every applicant. Every agency is different. Some require a federal style of resume, which for some candidates, depending upon the position "may" resemble a CV. Some others require the Federal Resume and the KSA's. (knowledge, skills and abilities questions) These documents are known as the "paper application." Sometimes you also have to complete a supplemental data sheet, which is in addition to these items. Then, there is also the OF-612, which is basically the paper form (personnel form, i.e., legal document) of everything you have in your Federal Resume. (This form replaced the SF-171's, however, some agencies are still accepting SF-171's) Some of the agencies use only the Resumix system, which relies on keywords in someone's resume to see if they match the position and ranks you based upon requirements and relevancy, which is part of the scoring process.

I could go on about each Federal Agency and the type of resume they require to be submitted, but the list is long. For instance, the required resume format for the FAA is the online resume, federal resume and the KSA's. On the other hand, the Defense Agencies are only the Resumix format.

I am sure as you can see Thomas, that there is no one "standard" answer to the blanket statement you made.

I have not seen a lot of carriers that are going toward a more academic form of instruction, with maybe the exception of a few. I know that ATA's application has a lot of "what-if" type questions that are to be completed in essay format.

There is no way possible to know every company's hiring practices. While I know a great deal about many companies in the aviation world, I cannot possibly predict what new system they may put in place. (for instance, the new SWA system defies logic as to how they are selecting people. There seems to be no reasoning behind it.) Most companies can put in their own selection criteria in their database to search for candidates with specific qualifications. However, I do stay abreast of changes in the industry as much as possible.

I hope that clears things up, Thomas.

Kathy

 

[Resume Writer]

Kathy,

For the great unwashed masses ( ie., me and MAYBE a few others ), what is the difference between a CV and a resume ?

That is a good question. Once again, no standard answer!

Let me give you some brief differences and then some exceptions.

The resume is either a chronological or functional history of your employment. It is used by about 90% of job applicants. Typically they should be no more than two pages, unless you are a HIGH level executive.

The Curriculum Vitae is a format that is used primarily for physicians, attorneys, high level educators, scientists or someone who may be doing expert testimony. In addition to descriptions of "work history," they also detail presentations, publications, committees, board memberships, etc. They are academic in nature, meaning I am using typical citing of works in a standard bibliography format. There are no page limits; I have done some that are 14 pages in length!

I just completed a CV for an orthopaedic surgeon who is going to start doing expert testimony. His CV was six pages and detailed everything, as he needs to appear to be an expert with the kind of money that is charged for expert testimony.

Now, here is the catch I was talking about. In Europe, "CV" is the standard term for a resume. However, the CV has more information on it than a typical resume. They include personal information, hobbies, birthdates and places, what country these people want to work in and other information. Understand that they do not have the same EEOC laws in Europe that we do in the U.S. So, they can include the information that I always suggest that people do not here in the U.S.

Those are the basic differences. Each country is also different in what they require on their CV's. So, as you can probably tell, I have to know a great deal about a lot of different topics. I have clients all over the world, so I have to be familiar with each different format. There are also huge differences in the work status. For instance, in some European countries, you have to be a resident for a year before you can work.

Hope I have not made the water muddy on this explanation!

Kathy

 

[Resume Writer]

Re: Hiring Manager

Kathy,

The government generally requires a curriculum vitae in lieu of a resume. Do you feel major carriers are beginning to lean toward a more academic form of introduction? Are you able to make recommendations to your clients as to those specific companies requiring this form of application?

Thomas - one more thing. I think you may have thought I was talking about CV's in my post, but I was talking about CVS Pharmacy that bought out Eckerd!

Kathy

 

[ThomasR]

Hiring Manager

.......... I think you may have thought I was talking about CV's in my post ......

Kathy

Kathy,

I understood, but the post rang of a double entendre which I though appropriate to introduce the complexity of your profession. Good job. Thank you.