6 Things Pilots Need to Know Before Their Next Career Expo

By Phil Chan

If you weren't at PAPA 2026 this year, here's what you missed. And more importantly, what you need to know.

We were on the show floor in Las Vegas last week, talking with hundreds of professional pilots and the recruiters actively hiring them. The conversations were candid, specific, and full of the kind of insight you don't always get from job boards or online forums. We're passing it on.

1. Your interview answers matter. So does everything else.

Pilots often prepare for technical questions. Recruiters consistently remind us they're looking at the full picture: passion, personality, cultural fit, and professionalism.

Airlines hire for the long run. In the inevitable downtime between flights, people want to work alongside colleagues they genuinely get along with. Never underestimate how much drive matters, especially if you're still building hours. Pilots told us repeatedly that they were hired by recruiters who remembered them from years earlier. Someone who took note of their ambition, stayed in touch, and came back around when a seat opened up.

First impressions have long runways.

2. Your logbook is part of the interview.

Recruiters are evaluating your records alongside everything else. A disorganized, incomplete, or inconsistent logbook raises questions you don't want to answer in the room.

LogTen by Pilotbase came up on the show floor, and we weren’t the only ones bringing it up. Recruiters did. It's the digital logbook they recognize, trust, and tell us they prefer to see. A logbook that's organized, accurate, and easy to navigate helps them quickly verify your experience and focus on what matters most.

3. Switching logbooks is easier than most pilots think.

One of the most common conversations at our booth was about moving data from paper or another electronic logbook into LogTen. Most pilots assume it's a massive project. It doesn’t have to be.

With LogTen, records can be migrated directly, preserving your full flight history without hours of manual re-entry. Once imported, features like Smart Groups, Limit Groups, inSight, Audit Tools, and hundreds of reports are immediately available.

Learn more about importing records

4. Audit your records before someone else does.

Discrepancies in a logbook are a liability in an interview. Pilots who arrive knowing their records are clean arrive with confidence. Pilots who find issues mid-interview don't.

LogTen's Audit Reports scan your flight records, flag discrepancies, and surface potential issues before they become problems. Run them regularly. Especially before any career event, interview, or airline application.

Learn more about Flight Audit Reports

5. Professional reports communicate what your experience is actually worth.

You've put in the hours. Your records should show that clearly, in formats recruiters recognize and trust.

LogTen includes over 100 built in reports, making it easy for pilots to present their experience clearly and professionally. From detailed summaries to application ready formats, we were excited to share the many ways LogTen helps pilots showcase their flying life and make their experience stand out to recruiters.

Learn more about Reports

6. Smart Groups keep your qualifications organized and interview-ready.

Smart Groups let pilots quickly filter and view their flight time based on virtually any aspect of their flying. From PIC time and instrument approaches to aircraft specific totals, student records, duty limits, and currencies, pilots always have the information they need at their fingertips.

For applications, interviews, upgrades, or checkrides, that means key totals are easy to find when they matter most.

Learn how to build your own Smart Groups

One more thing: Pilotbase Careers.

For pilots actively job hunting, Pilotbase Careers is the only career resource built directly into a digital logbook. It automatically matches your qualifications, currencies, and experience against available opportunities, so you can see what you're eligible for today and track your progress toward what's next.

No separate platform. No manual cross-referencing. It lives where your records already are and you can access it right from LogTen.

Career expos are high-stakes moments. The pilots who walk in prepared, with clean records, professional reports, and a clear picture of their qualifications, walk out with better outcomes.

That's what we're here for. And if you make it out to a show this year, keep an eye out for our exclusive commemorative challenge coins (our first ones for PAPA were a hit!). We're releasing new ones at events throughout the year, and each one is gone when it's gone.