Resume and cover letter info

[tarheelaviator]

On 11/2/2019 at 10:55 AM, iRobot said:

@Terminator5lf send it 🤙🏼


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Hate to resurrect an older topic but I'm in the same boat formatting a resume for a few Reserve units.  One even requested a single page PDF resume with nothing else.  I've made plenty of these for civilian jobs and Guard boards but given we only have one page and can't include anything else not sure what's essential and what can be left off.  I'm assuming you want to fit your flying hours/quals, PCSM and AFOQT on there at minimum correct? 

[iRobot]

On 1/7/2020 at 2:22 PM, tarheelaviator said:

Hate to resurrect an older topic but I'm in the same boat formatting a resume for a few Reserve units.  One even requested a single page PDF resume with nothing else.  I've made plenty of these for civilian jobs and Guard boards but given we only have one page and can't include anything else not sure what's essential and what can be left off.  I'm assuming you want to fit your flying hours/quals, PCSM and AFOQT on there at minimum correct? 

I would make the most and put as much info as you can. Focus on putting in pertinent information (obviously), like your objective, work experience, education, scores, etc. I had a place for my hobbies and skills as well. i.e. Computer hacking skills, nunchuck skills... Lastly, put a picture on your resume, helps to put a face to an application.

Hope that helps, good luck!

[tarheelaviator]

14 hours ago, iRobot said:

I had a place for my hobbies and skills as well. i.e. Computer hacking skills, nunchuck skills... 

Appreciate it but damn I've clearly been partaking in the wrong hobbies.  

[xwingexplorer]

Is there a recommended limit on the cover letter length? Traditionally I've always understood it to be 1 page. But when I drafted mine, and added background on the various top-level points that I think might separate me from other candidate, I ended up at just over 2 pages. Would appreciate any thoughts / guidance. Thanks!

[N730]

Is there a recommended limit on the cover letter length? Traditionally I've always understood it to be 1 page. But when I drafted mine, and added background on the various top-level points that I think might separate me from other candidate, I ended up at just over 2 pages. Would appreciate any thoughts / guidance. Thanks!

Cut it down to one page. Full stop. If it's just over one, mess with the formatting to get it down to one.

Honestly, there is no way your cover letter should be 3 pages. No one is going to read the whole thing.

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[xwingexplorer]

11 hours ago, N730 said:

Cut it down to one page. Full stop. If it's just over one, mess with the formatting to get it down to one.

Honestly, there is no way your cover letter should be 3 pages. No one is going to read the whole thing.
 

Thanks. I was expecting that to be the case. I'll take another chop at it to get it to 1 page. 

[ryleypav]

Definitely 1 page on the cover letter. 3 paragraphs. Just look up the standard format and you'll be all set. Use it as a very top level introduction. Use the interview to explain the rest in detail. 

[xwingexplorer]

20 minutes ago, ryleypav said:

Definitely 1 page on the cover letter. 3 paragraphs. Just look up the standard format and you'll be all set. Use it as a very top level introduction. Use the interview to explain the rest in detail. 

Got it - will do. Yep, I pulled the standard format from my application and will follow it. Thank you!

[N730]

Got it - will do. Yep, I pulled the standard format from my application and will follow it. Thank you!

I'll add. If you haven't visited a unit, this is the only way they can learn about you. So use the whole page and avoid spending a paragraph full of generalized every other candidate will using.

i.e. don't just saw "I want to fly X". No shit, everyone that's applying does. Explain why you want to fly it, what draws you to the mission/platform.

Also use it to mention anything that sets you apart, but wouldn't be covered in your resume.

At least that's what worked for me! Good luck!

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[xwingexplorer]

10 hours ago, N730 said:

I'll add. If you haven't visited a unit, this is the only way they can learn about you. So use the whole page and avoid spending a paragraph full of generalized every other candidate will using.

i.e. don't just saw "I want to fly X". No shit, everyone that's applying does. Explain why you want to fly it, what draws you to the mission/platform.

Also use it to mention anything that sets you apart, but wouldn't be covered in your resume.

At least that's what worked for me! Good luck!

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Thanks for all the advice. That's kind of what I was thinking too about the cover letter - avoid generalized stuff that everyone will include, and cover anything not addressed in resume.