Chief pilots and airline recruiters tend to scan for ATP, current first-class medical, and a clean check-ride record before anything else, so those credentials belong up top. We studied thousands of pilot postings to build this page. The examples run from regional first officer to check airman, covering cargo, charter, and Part 121 paths.
The First Officer resume targets right-seat hiring at regional or Part 135 operators after CFI time or a military rotary-to-fixed transition. It needs to prove ATP-eligibility hours, multi-engine time, and a clean medical and check-ride record.
The Captain resume targets left-seat upgrade at a regional or a direct-entry Captain slot at a cargo or charter operator. It needs to prove PIC turbine hours, current type ratings, and command decisions during IMC, diversions, or maintenance events.
The Check Airman resume targets training department roles at a Part 121 carrier or fractional operator. It needs to prove FAA-designated examiner or APD authority, line-check volume, and standardization work tied to FOQA or ASAP programs.
Theodore Halvorsen
Salt Lake City, UT | (801) 555-0164 | [email protected] | linkedin.com/in/thalvorsen-pilot
Airline pilot with 9,600 total flight hours and 4,900 PIC across the Boeing 737 MAX, 737NG, and CRJ-900. Fifteen years of Part 121 experience with a clean FAA record, current First Class Medical, and active First Officer Standards check airman duties. Comfortable in high-density terminal environments and high-altitude western US operations.
Captain, B737 MAX 8 / Line Check Airman (FO side)
Wasatch Air Connections | Salt Lake City, UT | 2020-Present
First Officer, B737NG
Wasatch Air Connections | Salt Lake City, UT | 2017-2020
Captain, CRJ-900
Mountain Crest Regional | Boise, ID | 2013-2017
First Officer, CRJ-200
Mountain Crest Regional | Boise, ID | 2010-2013
Certified Flight Instructor (CFI/CFII/MEI)
Rocky Mountain Aviation School | Bozeman, MT | 2007-2010
The first line of your summary should name total time, PIC turbine, and your current type rating. Chief pilots read that block as readiness for a sim eval.
Follow with ATP status, first-class medical date, and any restriction-free remarks. A line such as ATP, B737 type, 6,200 TT, 2,400 PIC turbine, FCM current works better than a paragraph about passion for aviation. Recruiters at regional and major carriers filter on these fields before reading anything else.
Break your logbook into the categories airline applications already ask for: TT, PIC, SIC, multi-engine, turbine, instrument actual, night, and cross-country.
Strong bullets name sector counts, ports flown, and IMC approach types. Example: flew 1,400 sectors across 38 Part 121 stations in the Northeast and Caribbean, with 220 CAT II approaches into BOS and EWR. Round numbers honestly; pad nothing.
A chief pilot who spots inflation against your logbook in the interview tends to end the conversation early.
Cluster your work under each operator, then under each aircraft flown, so a recruiter reads the fleet history at a glance.
Within each block, surface the substantive flying: line operations, IOE, captain upgrade events, ferry flights, ETOPS sectors, and any check-ride results. Add training department work if you held it, including line-check authority, FOQA review, or sim instruction hours. For corporate or Part 135, name the mission mix: medevac, cargo, owner trips, ad hoc charter, and the airports you flew into routinely.
Build a page-one credentials block: ATP or commercial certificate, type ratings, CFI/CFII/MEI if held, first-class medical date, FCC RTL, and passport status.
List the issuing authority and currency status for each item, but do not print certificate numbers on the resume itself. Recruiters need to see ATP eligibility, type currency, and medical class before they scroll. Add language proficiency (ICAO Level), TSA badging if current, and international ops experience here when relevant to the posting.
Drop the objective statement, generic teamwork lines, and any reference to high-school athletics or unrelated college jobs more than ten years old.
Pull duplicate aircraft listings, vague leadership claims, and bullets that describe what the FOM already requires of every line pilot. Trim training entries to the certificate, type rating, and date earned. If a line does not move you closer to the sim eval or the interview, it is taking space from the hours table that decides the screen.
The skills below come from our user-built pilot resumes and reflect what chief pilots and airline recruiters search for on Part 121 and Part 135 applications.
Hard skills carry the screen for pilots: type ratings, hours blocks, and IMC approach experience get filtered first, while soft skills earn weight in the panel interview after the sim eval.
Match the hard-skill list against the posting’s required type ratings and minimum hours, and use soft skills as evidence behind your command-decision bullets.
| Soft Skills | % of resumes with this skill |
|---|---|
| Communication | 74% |
| Decision-making | 65% |
| Situational awareness | 41% |
| Crew coordination | 35% |
| Leadership | 28% |
And here are the top hard skills showing up most often.
| Hard Skills | % of resumes with this skill |
|---|---|
| Flight planning | 66% |
| Aircraft systems operation | 55% |
| IFR navigation | 42% |
| Emergency procedures | 36% |
| Weather interpretation | 30% |
Based on data from thousands of pilots’ resumes built on ResumeTemplates.com, May 2026.
These are the must-haves hiring teams look for when scanning a pilot resume.
Pilots fall under FAA and DOT drug and alcohol testing programs. Recruiters look for a clean record and current enrollment status before they advance an application.
Note that you are enrolled in an FAA-approved Part 120 drug and alcohol program, or willing to enroll on hire. Do not list test results or dates on the resume.
If you hold a current PRIA (Pilot Records Improvement Act) or PRD (Pilot Records Database) clean status, you can reference willingness to release records on request. This signals to chief pilots that the records check will not stall your file.
Chief pilots and airline recruiters search by fleet, seat, and operating environment. Group your keywords by sub-niche so the ATS surfaces you for the specific posting.
| Niche | Keywords ATS scans for |
|---|---|
| Airline (Part 121) | airline pilot, first officer, captain, ATP certificate |
| Regional | regional airline pilot, CRJ first officer, E175 captain, R-ATP |
| Corporate and charter (Part 135) | corporate pilot, Part 135 pilot, Gulfstream PIC, fractional pilot |
| Cargo | cargo pilot, freight captain, 767 freighter, overnight cargo |
| Instructor and training | CFI, CFII, MEI, check airman |
Aviation credentials carry the first screen. Group them in a page-one block so chief pilots and recruiters read your qualifications before your work history.
Lead with your highest certificate, then type ratings, then instructor ratings if held. Add medical class with the most recent issue date and language proficiency at the ICAO level.
Name each type rating using the operator’s notation, including series numbers. List currency on each aircraft so the recruiter sees fleet fit at a glance.
Beyond your ATP and first-class medical, the certifications below tell chief pilots and airline recruiters which fleets, missions, and training authorities you carry, and how current your qualifications are. List the issuing body and the most recent currency or completion date for each item, without the certificate number.
The 90th-percentile pilot out-earns the median by a wide multiple, which tells you the market rewards type ratings on widebody equipment, PIC turbine hours, and seniority at a major carrier far more than total years in aviation.
Geographic concentration follows the hub map, not population, so pay clusters around carrier domiciles rather than large metros. Lead the resume with the fleets and seats that the top band actually flies, not a chronological hour count.
| # | State | Avg. Annual |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $239,200 |
| 2 | Georgia | $239,200 |
| 3 | Illinois | $239,200 |
| 4 | Kentucky | $239,200 |
| 5 | Michigan | $239,200 |
| 6 | New York | $239,200 |
| 7 | Ohio | $239,200 |
| 8 | Virginia | $239,200 |
| 9 | Washington | $239,200 |
| 10 | Alaska | $226,490 |
| # | State | Workers | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 10,050 | $214,670 |
| 2 | California | 9,890 | $239,200 |
| 3 | Florida | 6,640 | $220,350 |
| 4 | New York | 6,530 | $239,200 |
| 5 | Illinois | 6,440 | $239,200 |
Resume Templates offers HR approved resume templates to help you create a professional resume in minutes. Choose from several template options and even pre-populate a resume from your profile.
A pilot resume in 2026 runs one to two pages. Page one carries the credentials block, hours table, and current type ratings.
Experience sits below, grouped by operator and aircraft flown. Chief pilots want total time, PIC turbine, ATP status, and first-class medical date visible without scrolling.
Build a small hours table near the top of page one. Use the categories airline applications already ask for.
Include TT, PIC, SIC, multi-engine, turbine, instrument actual, night, and cross-country. Round honestly to the nearest ten hours and match your logbook totals.
List the certificate, rating, and medical class with the issue or currency date. Leave the actual numbers off the resume.
Provide certificate and medical numbers on the application form when the carrier requests them. This keeps your PII off documents that get forwarded and stored.
Translate military airframes into civilian equivalents in parentheses. Convert sortie counts to hours using the accepted method for your service.
Call out FAA ATP-CTP completion, R-ATP eligibility, and any civilian type rating you have earned. Name the instructor pilot, evaluator pilot, or flight lead authority you held, since training departments read those as check airman potential.
For a pilot, an ATS-friendly template is the safest pick, because it puts your certifications and experience where a hiring manager scans first. A basic template is a solid alternative. Whichever you choose, keep the formatting clean and easy to parse: clear section headings, a standard font, and no graphics a parser can choke on.
Executive Resume Writer and Career Coach
Andrew Stoner is an executive career coach and resume writer with 17 years of experience as a hiring manager and operations leader at two Fortune 500 Financial Services companies, and as the career services director at two major university business schools.
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