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Commercial Pilot resume example

A resume for a Commercial Pilot needs to show the work itself: pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft on nonscheduled air carrier routes, or helicopters. Day to day that means work like this: check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly; co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required. 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.

  • Captain
  • Helicopter Pilot
  • Pilot
  • Charter Pilot
  • Check Airman
  • Commercial Helicopter Pilot
  • EMS Helicopter Pilot
  • Emergency Medical Service Helicopter Pilot
  • First Officer
  • Line Pilot
  • AAM Operator
  • AAM Pilot
  • AAM Technician
  • EMS Pilot
  • EMS Rotary Wing Pilot
  • FO Pilot
  • UAM Operator
  • UAM Pilot

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

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.

  • Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly.
  • Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required.
  • Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become airborne.
  • Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor.
  • Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.
  • Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights.
  • Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment.
  • Plan flights according to government and company regulations, using aeronautical charts and navigation instruments.
  • Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight according to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.
  • Check baggage or cargo to ensure that it has been loaded correctly.
  • Obtain and review data such as load weights, fuel supplies, weather conditions, and flight schedules to determine flight plans and identify needed changes.
  • Conduct in-flight tests and evaluations at specified altitudes and in all types of weather to determine the receptivity and other characteristics of equipment and systems.

24 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.

  • Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become airborne, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor, 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.

  • Adobe Creative Cloud software
  • Aeronautical charts
  • AeroPlanner
  • Airdata
  • Airline Pilots Daily Aviation Log PPC
  • AirSmith FlightPrompt
  • ArduPilot Mission Planner
  • Calibration software
  • CloudCompare
  • doXstor Flight Level Logbook
  • Electronic aircraft information databases
  • ESRI Site Scan for ArcGIS
  • Flight simulation software
  • FLIR Thermal Studio Suite

33 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

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

  • Air conditioning systems
  • Air data computers
  • Air pressurization systems
  • Airborne collision avoidance systems ACAS
  • Airfield lighting equipment
  • Anemometers
  • Anti-skid systems
  • Autobrakes
  • Automatic direction finder ADF radio systems
  • Automatic landing systems
  • Autopilot systems
  • Battery chargers

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.

  • pilot aircraft

What this job rates as most important

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

  1. 01Operation and Control
  2. 02Operations Monitoring
  3. 03Monitoring
  4. 04Critical Thinking
  5. 05Active Listening
  6. 06Judgment and Decision Making
  7. 07Reading Comprehension
  8. 08Speaking
  9. 09Active Learning
  10. 10Complex Problem Solving

Knowledge areas

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

  • Customer and Personal Service
  • English Language
  • Transportation
  • Geography
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Mechanical
  • Law and Government
  • Computers and Electronics

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.

  • 36%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
  • 29%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 17%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Commercial Pilot do?
Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft on nonscheduled air carrier routes, or helicopters. Day to day that includes work like check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly and Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required.
What skills should a Commercial Pilot put on a resume?
O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, and Active Listening 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 Commercial Pilot list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Creative Cloud software, Aeronautical charts, AeroPlanner, Airdata, and Airline Pilots Daily Aviation Log PPC. 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 Commercial Pilot work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Captain, Helicopter Pilot, Pilot, and Charter Pilot. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Commercial Pilot need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 36% reported their level of education as "Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Commercial Pilot 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.