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What To Highlight In A Pilot Resume

Any professional resume will need to skillfully summarize your skills, work experience, and education for the recruiter. You’ll need to present this information clearly and concisely in a readable resume format so that the recruiter can get all the necessary information. It’s good to use resume templates to help you ensure a well-presented resume.


A professional pilot is a skilled profession that requires considerable training. The perfect pilot resume will outline the following:

  • Your years of experience as a pilot
  • Your certification from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)
  • The receipt of your pilot license and the number of flight hours you’ve completed
  • The specific expertise and skills you have gained



Let’s take your resume section by section and explain what a fantastic pilot’s resume should look like to help you land your dream pilot job.

Pilot Resume Example

Pilot Resume Example

Pilot Resume Example
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Structure Of A Pilot Resume

There are three distinct structures to choose to reflect this, and you should go with the one that best highlights your strength. The following are the three possibilities:

  • The chronological resume
  • The functional resume
  • The combined resume

The chronological resume places your work history first, whereas the functional resume emphasizes skills. The combined resume contains elements of both.

Regardless of which resume format you choose, you’ll need to include the following sections:

  • Contact information
  • Resume summary/resume objective
  • Work experience
  • Skills section
  • Education section

Header

You’ll include your contact information for the recruiter in the header, where it is prominently visible. You should include your full name, address, email address, phone number and LinkedIn profile if you have one. This is so your potential employer can quickly contact you if needed.

Resume summary/objective

A professional pilot resume should include a resume summary or resume objective – there is a slight difference between the two.

A resume summary gives hiring managers a concise snapshot of your flight experience and credentials thus far, demonstrating your suitability.

Here is an example: Commercial airline pilot with 10+ years of experience with more than 2000 Pilot-in-Command (PIC) hours flying multi-engine aircraft. Certified and experienced on the Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A321.

This clearly states your experience level for recruiters. However, for less-experienced pilots, an aspirational resume objective may be better:

An ATP-certified commercial pilot with over 1000 hours as second-in-command seeking an opportunity for further flight hours to transition to the first officer.

Work experience

You’ll list your previous work experience in this section. You’ll need to be specific about your flight hours and experience as a pilot, whether as a commercial pilot or an airline transport pilot, single-engine or multi-engine. As a pilot, it’s all about establishing your flight time and flight experience.

However, if you have other relevant experience in air traffic control, as a flight attendant or flight crew, this can help to show you know the industry inside out.

Education

Since being a pilot is a very qualification-specific position, you’ll need to share details of your flight school and flight training, including whether or not you are a CFI (Certified Flight Instructor).

Almost all pilots go beyond high school, and recruiters expect them to hold a bachelor’s degree.

The perfect resume will see your education section as another opportunity to establish your expertise as a pilot and share any credentials that demonstrate you can fulfill the responsibilities of the role.

Skills

As a pilot, you demonstrate your hard skills through your professional certifications. However, in your skills section, pay particular attention to including some of your soft skills that show you are a team player able to get along with other crew members:

Here are a couple of bullet points to consider:

  • Communication skills
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Teamwork skills
  • Ability to understand complex flight plans
  • Leadership skills
  • Critical thinking skills
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Do's and Don'ts

  • Be industry-specific and mention technical jargon to show expertise.
  • Make your flight hours and experience clear for hiring managers.
  • Use the job description for other clues about the candidate they’re after.
  • Falsify any information to a hiring manager during your job application.
  • Include any experience that isn’t relevant to the role of a pilot.
  • Try to write your resume without the help of resume samples, our pilot resume template or our resume builder.

FAQ: Pilot Resumes

Yes, you should always include a cover letter with your job application. It allows you to expand on some of the details of your resume, clearly pinpointing for the recruiter why you are suitable for the role and why you’d be a great addition to their company. As a pilot, it allows you to talk in more detail about your flight training.

As a pilot, some roles require a certain amount of flight hours. It’s your responsibility to check the requirements of the position you’re applying for and see if you meet them.

During your job search, check the job title, description, and posting for each role you apply for. These can give clues about the candidate the hiring manager is looking for. As a result, you can tailor your resume to clearly mark some of the required skills and experience.

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