What skills should a Flight Attendant put on a resume?

O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Service Orientation, and Social Perceptiveness among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Flight Attendant list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes AD OPT Altitude, Arkitektia Flight Itinerary, Bid Assistant, IBM Lotus LearningSpace, and Microsoft Excel. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Flight Attendant work?

O*NET records 17 titles for this occupation, including In-Flight Crew Member, International Flight Attendant, Purser, and Inflight Services Flight Attendant. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Flight Attendant need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 70% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Flight Attendant role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Flight Attendant resume example

A resume for a Flight Attendant needs to show the work itself: monitor safety of the aircraft cabin. Day to day that means work like this: verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order; announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

In-Flight Crew Member
International Flight Attendant
Purser
Inflight Services Flight Attendant
Airline Attendant
Airline Flight Attendant
Airline Hostess
Airline Stewardess
Airplane Flight Attendant
Cabin Attendant
Door and Arrival Attendant
Flight Crew
Flight Crew Member
Flight Hostess
Flight Steward
Meal Attendant
Ramp Flight Attendant

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order.
Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets.
Monitor passenger behavior to identify threats to the safety of the crew and other passengers.
Walk aisles of planes to verify that passengers have complied with federal regulations prior to takeoffs and landings.
Direct and assist passengers in emergency procedures, such as evacuating a plane following an emergency landing.
Prepare passengers and aircraft for landing, following procedures.
Administer first aid to passengers in distress.
Determine special assistance needs of passengers, such as small children, the elderly, or persons with disabilities.
Attend preflight briefings concerning weather, altitudes, routes, emergency procedures, crew coordination, lengths of flights, food and beverage services offered, and numbers of passengers.
Reassure passengers when situations, such as turbulence, are encountered.
Check to ensure that food, beverages, blankets, reading material, emergency equipment, and other supplies are aboard and are in adequate supply.
Prepare reports showing places of departure and destination, passenger ticket numbers, meal and beverage inventories, the conditions of cabin equipment, and any problems encountered by passengers.

25 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Monitor passenger behavior to identify threats to the safety of the crew and other passengers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Walk aisles of planes to verify that passengers have complied with federal regulations prior to takeoffs and landings, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

AD OPT Altitude
Arkitektia Flight Itinerary
Bid Assistant
IBM Lotus LearningSpace
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Word
SBS International Maestro Suite
ValtamTech Flight Crew Log

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Aircraft fire extinguishing systems
Automated external defibrillators AED
Blood pressure recorders
Cabin management systems
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR equipment
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR masks
Chemical oxygen generators
Commercial cooking ovens
Desktop computers
Electrical circuit breakers
Emergency exit doors and windows
Emergency locator transmitters

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

AD OPT Altitude
Arkitektia Flight Itinerary

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Speaking
02Active Listening
03Monitoring
04Service Orientation
05Social Perceptiveness
06Coordination
07Active Learning
08Critical Thinking
09Reading Comprehension
10Time Management

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
Public Safety and Security
English Language
Transportation
Psychology
Geography
Computers and Electronics
Personnel and Human Resources

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

70%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
12%Bachelor's Degree
10%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Flight Attendant do?: Monitor safety of the aircraft cabin. Day to day that includes work like verify that first aid kits and other emergency equipment, including fire extinguishers and oxygen bottles, are in working order and Announce and demonstrate safety and emergency procedures, such as the use of oxygen masks, seat belts, and life jackets.
What skills should a Flight Attendant put on a resume?: O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Service Orientation, and Social Perceptiveness among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Flight Attendant list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes AD OPT Altitude, Arkitektia Flight Itinerary, Bid Assistant, IBM Lotus LearningSpace, and Microsoft Excel. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Flight Attendant work?: O*NET records 17 titles for this occupation, including In-Flight Crew Member, International Flight Attendant, Purser, and Inflight Services Flight Attendant. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Flight Attendant need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 70% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Flight Attendant role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.