What private flying does for you?

[no sponsor]

Picture this: I'm getting nervous at meeting a very senior member of my company - its a very big company - as I applied for an internal job. With sweaty palms, and a smart suit, the interview started, and the first question was: 'I see that you fly'. Damn I thought, he's gonna think I'm some risk taking know-it-all hot shot. He asked what I flew, and very carefully I explained what a GA aircraft is, thinking I need to show clarity in explanation. Yes, but what do you fly? he asks. I told him. To my surprise, (and embarassment after explaining what a CSU is) he tells me that he flies too: and has been flying since I was a wee nipper.

I knew I was halfway through the interview when I said: 'well that's enough about flying, lets talk about me!'

Do others put down that they fly on their CV?

[QDMQDMQDM]

What private flying does for you

Renders me bankrupt and ridden with guilt at squandering my children's future on such a selfish pleasure.

QDM

[Aerobatic Flyer]

QDM

Don't be guilty - a Super Cub is an appreciating asset! If you'd invested the money somewhere else, you'd have lost out.

No sponsor - I hope for the sake of your interview that the senior chap had more hours & ratings than you!

[FlyingForFun]

The director of my department is a private pilot. I haven't flown with him, and I doubt I will, since I don't like him. The head of equities trading at my company, one of my biggest internal customers, is a private pilot - he's just sold his Yak and bought a Sukoi-29, we've agreed to go flying with each other, although I wonder if my Europa will be a little disappointing compared to the Yak and the SU. And there's a guy who sits about 15 yards from my desk who saw my Europa backgound on my computer screen and started talking to me about flying... turns out he's got a lapsed PPL/IMC, so I took him flying and he's decided to get back into it himself next spring. I work in a company full of pilots!

I do mention my PPL on my CV - it's one short line at the end, under "other interests". I've only been asked about it once, at the end of an interview - it made a good informal topic of conversation while the interviewer was showing me out. Can't have been too bad, because I got the job! Definitely don't write more than one line though... if your new boss-to-be is not particularly interested, he'll probably ignore one line, but if you write a whole paragraph it will work against you if you get the wrong interviewer.

FFF
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[poetpilot]

I have a one-liner under "Mobility".....

"Car owner/driver (clean licence). Aeroplane owner/pilot."

It got me an interview/job once - they were intrigued & the interviewing director wanted to explore the idea of business travel by aeroplane.

...but nobody has ever asked me whether I have a clean pilot's licence...

[drauk]

I think it highly likely that if an interviewer asks about your flying early on in an interview, they too are interested in flying. If they ask you about it first, they're most probably a pilot. Both of these scenarios are likely to be a big plus for your job chances, even if only subconciously on the hirer's part.

I see no downside to putting it on your CV. Before I flew I would be impressed if I was interviewing a candidate who could fly - shows they've got some get up and go (no pun intended). Now I know a little about it myself I might use flying as something to talk about to evaluate how they think.

[Whirlybird]

Recently someone applied to the company I do lots of freelance work for, and mentioned that she had a PPL. One of the partners is a lapsed PPL, and the immediate response was that she must be fairly bright and also determined to have got it. As has been said, mentioning it briefly can't do any harm.

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

Always mention it - if nothing else, it's a differentiator. It makes people remember you, which is a good thing in the job market. Sometimes I meet people I've not seen for years, and they often ask "how's the flying going?", even though they don't fly themselves.

Doubt they'd ask '"how's the golf" unless they themselves were keen golfers.

SSD

[Dr Jekyll]

So what does that say about the partners determination, having let theirs lapse?

Personally I never mention flying if I can avoid it. Once I start talking about it, I might not be able to stop!

[foghorn]

I don't mention that I've got a commercial licence - it might give the wrong idea - in the interests line at the end of my cv it says 'Pilot Licence holder (Instrument and Multi-engine ratings held)'.

[pulse1]

In better times I do a fair amount of personnel selection and interviewing.

Occasionally I have come across pilots, most often glider pilots.

There is no way I want to employ someone who is going to waste as much time as I do thinking about flying, talking about flying, planning flying (especially since the NOTAM debacle) and keeping up to date with Pprune.

Do not mention it on your CV in case you meet someone like me

[Wonko The Sane]

I have a one liner at the end of the CV stating I'm training / studying for my private pilots license. Sometimes they ask, sometimes they don't.

A consultant once asked me something like "From being a trainee pilot, what new skills/ experiences can you bring to the workplace ".
I said something like "learning to land taught me to maintain focus on the important tasks, whilst under pressure, with cr@p flying in all directions, unqualified idiots constantly talking in both ears, and the guy in the seat next to me whinging about how much he hates his job".
(Which I think is an important skill).

[GearUp CheerUp]

I always had it on my CV at the end under interests. It simply said Aviation - I hold a UK CAA Private Pilots Licence. I never thought it did any harm but I was never asked about it at interviews.

I had to take that line off though when I got a commercial licence and was applying for a flying job