Aviation Resume Keywords & ATS Expectations

This isn't an article — it's the live data our resume scanner uses to analyze aviation resumes. When the engine improves, this page updates with it.

Core skills per the U.S. Department of Labor

Source: O*NET 49-3011.00 — Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (onetonline.org, public domain)

aircraft inspectionpreventive maintenancetroubleshootingFAA compliancemaintenance documentation

avionics test equipmentmaintenance tracking systemstorque tools

Keywords ATS systems expect on aviation resumes

flight hoursFAApart 121part 135part 91type ratingaircraftairframepowerplantpreflightflight operationscrew resource managementcrm aviationSOPScheckrideinstrument ratingmulti-engineturbineJETrotorcraftairworthinessmaintenance logsinspectionsfaa regulations

Job titles recruiters recognize in this field

pilotcommercial pilotairline pilotfirst officercaptainflight attendantair traffic controlleraircraft mechanica&p mechanicavionics technicianflight instructorcfiaircraft dispatcherground operationsramp agentairport operationsaviation safetyaerospace engineer

Certifications that anchor a aviation resume

atpcommercial pilot licensecplpplcficfiimeia&p licenseiafaa certificatemedical certificatetype rated

What screeners check first in aviation

FAA certificates and clearances belong in your header, not page two.

Common questions

What keywords do ATS systems look for on aviation resumes?

The highest-weight terms in our aviation detection engine include flight hours, faa, part 121, part 135, part 91, type rating, aircraft, airframe. These come from the live tables our scanner runs on every aviation resume — use the exact recognized form of each term you can honestly claim, once, attached to real experience.

Which certifications matter most on a aviation resume?

Our scanner anchors aviation resumes on certifications like ATP, COMMERCIAL PILOT LICENSE, CPL, PPL, CFI, CFII. List the ones you hold with their exact recognized abbreviation — recruiters and ATS searches both match on the standard form.

What do screeners check first on aviation resumes?

FAA certificates and clearances belong in your header, not page two.

How do I check my aviation resume against this data?

Run the free scan — it checks your actual document against these exact keyword tables, plus parsing, structure, and red flags, and returns a full diagnostic report in about 20 seconds. No signup; your resume is never stored.

See how your resume scores against this data — free

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Role-specific keyword guides

Pilot resume keywords →First Officer resume keywords →Captain resume keywords →

Methodology: keyword and title lists come directly from the detection tables our scanner runs on every aviation resume, validated by a pinned regression suite. O*NET data is public domain from the U.S. Department of Labor. See our methodology.