By Aviation Recruiting | For aviation job seekers
Your certificates, type ratings, and total time get your résumé opened. In charter and corporate aviation, they rarely decide who gets the offer.
When a Part 135 operator or a Part 91 flight department hires, they aren’t only filling a seat. They’re choosing someone who will represent the company to its most important passengers, often with little supervision, on short notice, far from home base. Two candidates with nearly identical logbooks can leave very different impressions.
Here’s what hiring managers in our corner of the industry tell us separates the candidates they call back from the ones they pass on.
1. Lead with the hours that match the job
A strong résumé isn’t a list of everything you’ve flown. It’s a case for the specific role in front of you.
If the position is a Challenger captain, put your large-cabin jet time, PIC turbine time, and Part 135 experience where a reader sees them in the first five seconds. Total time, multi-engine, PIC, turbine, and time in type should be easy to find, current, and consistent with your logbook. Inconsistent numbers between your résumé, application, and interview are one of the quickest ways to lose trust.
2. Show that you understand service, not just flying
In charter and corporate aviation, the passenger experience is part of the job. Owners and principals remember the pilot who greeted them by name, kept them informed during a weather delay, and made sure the catering was right.
Give examples. A line like “Coordinated short-notice international trips for a Fortune 500 principal, including handling, permits, and catering” tells a hiring manager far more than “excellent customer service skills.”
3. Prove you can be trusted without supervision
Many flight departments are small. There may not be a chief pilot on the ramp or a dispatcher down the hall. Hiring managers look for evidence that you make sound decisions on your own.
Talk about a time you said no to a trip for safety reasons and how you handled the conversation. Mention trip planning, international procedures, or Safety Management System (SMS) responsibilities you’ve owned. Judgment is hard to show on paper, so prepare to show it in the interview.
4. Communicate like a professional before you’re hired
Every email, voicemail, and text is part of your interview. Hiring managers notice:
- How quickly you respond, and whether you follow up when you said you would
- Whether your emails are clear, well written, and free of slang
- Whether you’re on time for calls, and prepared when they start
Poor communication is one of the most common reasons we see otherwise qualified pilots lose a position, or lose it later. Treat the hiring process like a trip you’re responsible for.
5. Be clear and honest about availability and location
Commuting, base requirements, rotation schedules, and on-call expectations vary widely from one operator to the next. Be upfront about where you live, how quickly you can reach the airport, and what schedule works for you.
A mismatch discovered after an offer wastes everyone’s time. A candidate who is clear early is easier to place and far more likely to land the right fit.
6. Keep your records ready to go
Have current copies of your certificates, medical, passport, training records, and a clean, up-to-date logbook ready to send. Expect a background check and Pilot Records Database (PRD) review as standard.
When a company is moving quickly to fill a vacancy, the candidate who can send complete documents the same day often gets the interview first.
7. Manage your reputation; the industry is small
Charter and corporate aviation is a tight community. Chief pilots, directors of aviation, and recruiters talk. How you left your last job, how you treated the line service team, and how you spoke about former employers can all reach a hiring manager before you do.
Give proper notice, leave on good terms, and keep your professional profiles, including LinkedIn, accurate and professional.
The bottom line
Your logbook gets you in the door. Professionalism, communication, judgment, and service get you the job, and keep you in it.
Looking for your next charter or corporate flight department role? Aviation Recruiting connects experienced pilots and aviation professionals with operators and flight departments across the country. Submit your résumé and let’s talk about where you want to fly next.
