For many people, the corporate flight attendant interview process is stressful and can be a daunting experience. Your resume and cover letter can “hopefully” get you the actual interview. It is very important to realize that seeking any position with a corporate flight department is not like applying to the commercial airlines. In this series, I will first discuss the importance of the cover letter. Your well-written cover letter is your primary tool to let your potential employer know you understand their priorities, and will be an asset to their company. Read on for interview and cover-letter writing tips, and my flight attendant cover letter example.
Know Your Target
You may be interviewing with the CEO, their HR Person, Manager, or Director of Operations, Chief Pilot or Chief Flight Attendant, or Dispatcher/Scheduler. How you "show up" in an interview, answer hard questions and the way that you handle yourself is the only way that a potential employer can visualize you in their work place. Job qualifications land interviews, but your COVER LETTER and CV/Resume combined with interviewing skills land the job! Every corporate flight department is managed by many people that hold different roles. Every company has a definite corporate personality and profile. It does not matter if it is a Part 91 operation or a Part 135 operation. Every flight department is different. You must do your due diligence and RESEARCH – RESEARCH – RESEARCH that company. Historically, one person receives your actual resume/CV. It is important to make a call to find out who is responsible for receiving your resume/CV. It may be any of the above mentioned people. If not sent to the appropriate person, it could be tossed out or “lost” within their system. It is important to find out who gets the resume/CV and have the correct spelling of their name along with their specific department title.
Research the Company
Google the name of the company and research their CEO, President, Chief Financial Officer and Board of Directors. Study their annual report and where they are on the Fortune 500 list. Are the privately owned or on the New York Stock Exchange? What are their profit earnings and their specific product lines? Know any company slogan that is distinctive for them and their corporate culture or product line.
Understand the Job
Really read the job description, the qualities they are seeking and adjectives/adverbs they use to describe the position or the person who will hold it. Those qualities are important to them, and the words mean something to them. Repeat those exact words in your cover letter and in the actual interview whether via telephone or in person. Pay attention to the way they want to be contacted in the "how to apply" instructions, whether email, hard copy mailed, fax or telephone and be sure to follow their instructions to the "t". The reality is that a cover letter is not about you. It is about THEM and why you want to fly for them. This is a subtle distinction, but an important one to make. Talk about the research you've done on them, and any of their new products, services or acquisitions that you have learned about. Your resume is all about you and that is what got you in the door.… or not. The cover letter is about why you are a good fit for them and that you took the time to learn all about them. It shows them that you are seriously interested in working for that company! Think of these qualities/power verbs in every Cover Letter that you send out:
- Adaptability
- Competence
- Confidence
- Creativity
- Out Of The Box Thinking
- Dedication
- Accountability
- Demonstration Anonymity/Being Discreet
- Enthusiasm
- Leadership
- Resourcefulness
- CRM (Crew Resource Management)
Check out these Internet Sites for additional researching:
- www.careercity.com
- www.companiesonline.com
- www.hoovers.com
- www.wsrn.com
- www.wetfeet.com
- www.myjobsearch.com
- www.dnb.com
- www.harrisinfo.com
- www.adamsmedia.com
The Cover Letter
Make sure that you have your name at the top right hand corner of the Cover Letter in the event that it is somehow separated from your actual resume/CV. Remember, your resume/CV is your work history and experience and training. Your Cover Letter is WHY you want to be employed by THAT [particular flight department. Less is best. They do not want to read a book, so make it clean in presentation, not on paper with designs which is a distraction, and using a nice size font. It should be delivered flat, in a nice folder. The days of resume packages folded and in a business envelope have gone away. Spend the extra time and postage to send it flat. The way that it “shows up” to them is another way you can express your attention to creative detail and professionalism, which is what Business Aviation is all about!
Susan C. Friedenberg is President & CEO of Corporate Flight Attendant Training & Global Consulting. She has been a corporate flight attendant for the last 29 years flying both as a contract flight attendant with a coast to coast clientele list and as a full time flight attendant for Coca Cola Company, DuPont Aviation and American Standard Companies. Susan teaches her corporate flight attendant training course in Long Beach, CA and Philadelphia, PA; conducts In-House training classes for clients in the US and globally, consults within the business aviation industry and also does contract flying. She is committed to raising the standards within business aviation where it pertains to the third crew member, and has been published in numerous business aviation trade journals. Contact her by phone at 215.625.4811.
