Good morning!
A word that has come up consistently is 'flexibility'. I assume that means I'd be willing to schedule my life around the demands of the job.
Basically yes.
The only point on my CV that alludes to any kind of the sort is my single status (I suppose).
I have met enough colleagues, whose (unmarried) girlfriend gave them a much harder time when they wouldn't be there on her birthday or had to cancel the planned weekend trip at the last moment, than any (married) wife would have. So it is not really the single status that counts.
Again, be honest about it. Tell them you can offer this kind of flexibility only if you really can (maybe you want a family and children in the near future?). I never did have this flexibilty, because I really only started flying _after_ I had met my wife. I have my familiy plus home, garden, animals here and reallly want/need to be home as often as possible. I told them within the first five minutes of the interview. And they said: "Fine for us, so you won't run away at the first opportunity to a bigger aeroplane with more pay. We are so fed up with pilots who use our company only as a stepping stone towads the airlines..."
As you see, no two employers are equal...
But what would some other examples be which illustrate that a person is flexible?
For example: Being able to adapt to living standards below one's personal minumum level of comfort from time to time. Sometimes and in some places, you won't be able to get food for yourself. So you will have to take what the passengers left over or skip the meal altogether. Some colleagues always carry their own "emergency rations" for two or three days along, but with the stupid security measures in some countries (a group of large islands to the north of France comes to mind first
) these can get confiscated and thrown into the bin. So I don't bother any more and just skip the meal. We are all overweight anyway. Or they will put you up in really sub-standard hotel rooms. Not with the intention of saving money, but because nothing else is awailable within reasonable distance. But again, as a pilot you must have a healthy immune system and what does not kill you will only make you stronger.
And then there is this flexibilty in bending the rules, that some operators take for granted. Unfortunately, business aviation and the duty and rest time regulations stand in opposition to each other. Unfortunately, weather minima and runway lengths sometimes stand in opposition to the urgent needs of your paying customers. Rumour has it, that some operators require their crews to be "flexible" in these regards. Some, I am told, do ask questions during the interview, that may be interpreted in such a way. Of course, they will not ask you bluntly "are you willing to falsify your flight log if we can't meet the duty times otherwise?" But you will know what they are after once the conversation starts taking that turn. I personally would not offer anyone such a flexibilty of mine (it is my - only! - life and my - only! - license/career that willl be lost it something goes wrong) and my current employer never asked for it. But I have flown (freelance only) for companies who expected one to do these things. All of them are out of business now, by the way.
So, my advice, if it is this flexibility they are after, don't work for them. Another opportunity will come along.
Good luck,
max