How to Ace a Cabin Crew interview
“To see the world and look good while doing it” – a daydream we’ve all entertained while sitting in our stuffy office job. But then to hear that a revered airline is hosting an open day for a cabin crew interview in your city? Why it seems like your (air)ship has finally come in!
And yet, upon arrival, you realise to your absolute chagrin that you have been renting a timeshare of this dream with hundreds, perhaps thousands of other applicants looking to similarly launch themselves into the open skies.
How will you succeed? They’ll likely only take around 25-35 people. The odds look overwhelming, maybe you should just give up and go home and hang your wet dreams out with the other forlorn washing.
NO.
This is the opportunity of a lifetime. To cease means automatic failure, but by trying, you already drastically up your odds of success. So, let’s get out your best business attire, your most Colgate smile and keep these simple tips in mind:
Disclaimer alert: Every airline has a different interview process for their hopeful applicants, so I am unable to divulge the exact details of every company’s interview process, but I have been to a few and I’ve had friends who went to several others and lived to share their experiences with me. They aren’t too varied, and the following pointers will work in every single case.
Be confident but not arrogant
First impressions are everything in this job. In most cases, you are showing up among a bulging crowd of other hopefuls and the interviewers are forced to decide within three seconds of looking at how you present and carry yourself whether you have what it takes for this job.
It’s nothing personal, but they have a large number of people to get through within only so many hours and thus confidence is the first key quality they use to sort the chaff from the wheat.
Having said that; if you come off as too cocky and arrogant they might decide you’ll be a difficult person to work with or might constantly cause issues with the passengers.
Find a good balance with this.
Make sure to have your voice heard, but don’t drown out others
There will be scheduled times throughout the day where you will have one-on-one interviews and be allowed your chance to talk and chat at leisure. And then there will be the group interactions, usually performed in the style of a team-based debate. The latter is to determine how you operate in a large group setting; do you quietly fade into the background? Do you talk over everyone and refuse to listen or give someone a chance? Or do you speak assertively while offering respect to others?
The content of what the group will be discussing means little in this case, but the tone and style in which you address others will make or break your chances of getting this job.
Engage in friendly chats with the other applicants instead of staring at your phone
Even when you aren’t interacting directly with the interviewers, they’ll be watching you. This is a social job and they prefer to hire the bubbly chatterbox who is out trying to make friends over the recluse who barely looks up from his phone to answer questions. I’m not saying you always have to be on during the entire process but try to seem more social than you are.
Wallflower behaviour will not win you any points here.
Make sure you are dressed professionally and neatly
Show up in a crinkled skirt or an un-ironed shirt and you can expect to be shown the door before you sputter your name out. Appearance and grooming are critical components in this industry. When you arrive dressed in a professional business suit, you successfully acknowledge your awareness of this fact. Sporting casual jeans or your nicest Sunday dress will earn you a disparaging look and a firm push on the lower back to the nearest exit.
Don’t have a swanky business attire outfit? I borrowed one from a good friend for the occasion since I only needed it for that one day. Or go rent something decent.
Being dressed to impress is the minimum requirement.
Ladies: Makeup on point, Gentlemen: clean-shaven and fresh
For the dames: This industry requires you to wear a proverbial brick-ton of makeup every working hour. Even if you’re a natural beauty with flawless features, they will demand a decadent amount of foundation, blush and lipstick. Rather err on the side of too much than too little. But make sure it’s done well and with professional care; ain’t no-one hiring a clown here – the children’s birthday party is in another conference room.
For the lads: I would recommend going cleanly shaven to this interview. I know a great many of you have amazing beards or a very sexy 5 o’clock shadow, but most international airlines want their male cabin crew to be cleanly shaven. If you know for sure the airline you’re applying to is fine with a bit of facial hair, then at least make sure you trim and clean it up for the interview. No one truly trusts a scraggly face with their safety during a flight emergency.
Be passionate and genuine when you talk
There’s nothing that screams confidence like an eloquent and drawn out “Um…”
You’ll be asked questions about yourself and your previous work, just like a regular job interview, but the vital difference is that it matters not the content of the answers, but how you impart them. You can chat to the interviewers about your love of beekeeping and they won’t care that it has less than nothing to do with aviation, but they will care about your animated personality during the discussion.
Hell – if you have to then try to say ‘Um’ with passion.
Do not talk badly about ANYONE or ANYTHING
It does not matter if your last job was a literal pit of hellfire and your co-worker was Satan herself.
Do not mention anything off-putting about the company or a previous employer or co-worker or anything. Airlines are exceedingly concerned with the portrayal of their image and when you start bad mouthing the people you used to work for, they will start having concerns about you doing the same to them; a risk they’d rather not take.
Have some clear pre-thought reasons on why you want to join this particular airline
“Because I want to travel the world” is a very vague and store-brand answer. They’ve heard that one in every interview day since time primordial, and it didn’t impress them then. Mostly because that answer can be recycled for any other travelling job interview.
Try looking up what the airline’s company values are, or some awards they’ve won and apply comparisons within that area to yourself or explain how that is what attracted you to them in the first place.
E.g. “Your airline is highly ranked regarding its customer service and with my background/passion in customer care, I feel I am a perfect fit. I would be honored to be working for a company that is recognized for such an achievement.”
Just anything along those lines that shows you did a bit of research and you’re interested in this exact Airline and not just anyone who will settle for you. Even if you at this moment are just window shopping at various companies and feeling out your options – they don’t need to know that.
If English is not your first language then brush up on it
If you were looking to work for a regional or domestic airline for your country and English isn’t a required language, then this wouldn’t matter. But most of the high-end aviation careers and all the international airlines will require you to be competent in English.
It doesn’t need to be your first language, but you should at least be proficient, considering it is the international language and the one most likely to be spoken if your airline flies to diverse regions. Most interviews might have a short written English test to weed out anyone who lacks a firm enough grasp.
You’ll be training and working with others in English constantly, so pick up a grammar/vocabulary book or watch a few episodes of Desperate Housewives.
Wear something in the colour scheme of the airline
This is not a requirement but a tip I’ve heard from others that might just give you a little boost ahead of the other applicants.
Try wearing at least one or two items of clothing in the colour scheme of the airline you are applying for. This makes the interviewers start to almost see you as a Cabin Crew working for them already.
Use psychological warfare, all the cool kids are doing it.
Bring snacks and drinks
They might provide some food at the event… but they also might not.
With so many applicants to work through, these events can typically take up your entire day – mine was over 12 hours long!
Bring a bottle or two of water and some snacks/sandwiches in your bag. You won’t be able to function and show the best of yourself if you’re feeling peckish. And they don’t hire snarky grouches for this job – that’s the interviewer’s prerogative.
Bring along a book or magazine
As mentioned, this interview can go on for ages, maybe even long enough that your phone’s battery dies or dims low enough that you’ll need to conserve it. Bring along some reading materials for entertainment so you don’t lose your mind in the more tedious hours of the cabin crew interview process.
Sit upright and note your posture
How many flight attendants have you seen in the safety videos or airline ads with humpbacks?
The image you present is everything and if you’re a slouching Sally or a lounging Larry, they will rather not have you in the bulletin board advertising their airline. Make sure you are always sitting upright and shoulders back. Show them how prestigious that uniform would look on you.
Make sure all requested documents in order.
Typically, you’ll need your latest CV, two passport-style photos and maybe one or two other prior-requested documents on the cabin crew interview day. These are important and if you arrive on the day without even one of these then the interviewers cannot process your application, even if you were voted “most likely to be a Cabin Crew” in high school.
It looks unprofessional and lazy to arrive without them –try to have it all organized and complete at least two days before the event.
Don’t be afraid to ask tasteful questions about the Airline
Curiosity about your possible new life is natural and the interviewers usually have a short Q&A session during the process. Feel free to ask some of your burning questions about how the cabin live their lives or what’s in store for the airline’s plans but try to keep away from topics that might embarrass the company, like any recent accidents or scandals concerning that airline.
And don’t ask anything that makes it seem like you’re comparing this airline to a rival one; it sounds like you’re debating with yourself which one to try harder for.
And they can help you with that by removing themselves as an option.
Persevere
It’s a long and grueling process, and even if you make it through the Cabin Crew interview and get chosen, there’s a significant amount of work to still be done; background checks, medical paperwork, more pictures and CV copies to be sent to different departments etc. etc.
It’s not unusual for the process to take up to a few months and then there’s still a small chance something pops up and throws up a red flag in the process and you don’t get accepted. It’s exhausting on all levels; emotionally, physically, and spiritually (lots of “Why me Lord?” getting shouted at the skies during this time).
In my case, it was six months from the interview date to when I was boarding the plane to start my new life. There were times I was sure they had forgotten about me and that I would have to start looking towards other ventures in my life.
But when all is done and sorted, and you get that final golden email saying that your application has been fully processed and you will begin training soon…few euphoric moments measure close to it.
And believe me, when you become a cabin crew for an international airline, that feeling is the first among many highs you’ll be going through in your next grand adventure.
See you in the air, my sky siblings!
