by Kiki Ward
As I said earlier, do not be intimidated by the other applicants. Enter your interview with confidence and remain positive throughout the interview.
Also keep in mind that there is a big difference between a positive attitude and an arrogant attitude, the latter of which never goes over well in a flight attendant interview. Again, your very best and most essential asset will be your positive attitude. No matter how stressful or long your day has been, put it all behind you when you enter that room to interview. I had a reader who was a former major airline flight attendant who had resigned years earlier and wanted to get back into the business. She interviewed at several major airlines with no luck. After numerous emails we determined that she was going into her interviews as if the airline owed her a job based simply on her past experience. She remembered actually acting bored with the routine as she was already so familiar with it. On her next interview she went in fresh and positive as if she had never worked in the airline business and she was hired. A positive attitude is going to get you further in the airline business than anything else. Recruiters work all day, they are normal people, they get tired or bored with the process from time to time. So many recruiters have told me that an applicant who comes in and is bright and upbeat is like a breath of fresh air. A positive attitude is contagious. As a flight attendant you are going to have to remain positive through long days of serving and working with passengers. Some essential guidelines to follow when meeting the interviewer/s:
-Make instant eye contact. I cannot stress this enough. Your ability to make and maintain eye contact is something your recruiter will be looking for. Maintain eye contact with all of the interviewers throughout your interview and especially when speaking directly to him or her.
-If you have the opportunity when meeting your interviewer, shake his or her hand. This will demonstrate your confidence and professionalism.
-Listen carefully and remember your interviewers name. You may need to know it during the questioning phase and will need to know it at the completion of your interview in order to thank your interviewer by name. If you are able to insert the interviewers name while you speak directly to him or her that is a professional touch as well. I have a reader who was recently hired at a major airline that told me during the open house her interviewers were wearing name tags and standing before the group. When it came her turn to stand and introduce herself, she first said good morning to each interviewer by name and they were visibly impressed. What a great idea!
Know before you go…
As I just mentioned, you will be likely asked to stand and introduce yourself to the group. This may be only one of the many things you may be asked to do throughout the interview. Remember, a flight attendant interview is no place to suddenly become shy! There is no such thing as a shy flight attendant. On board the airplane you are going to be the center of attention, the star. You will be up in front of people all day long and it is imperative that you be as outgoing as possible at your interview. There is also a teamwork element that your recruiter will look for and that will be demonstrated in your ability to interact and work closely with others. At some airlines testing will take place prior to individual questioning. Some tests will presented to you in actual test form with applicants needing to achieve a certain test score in order to proceed in the interview, usually about 90%. These types of test will usually take up about forty five minutes to an hour of the interview. Problems may include:
-State and city location on a map.
-Questions regarding the twenty four hour or military clock. All airlines operate on the twenty four hour clock or military time. You aren’t expected to be totally proficient on it at your initial interview as you will learn it during training, but it is definitely impressive if you know something about it. The twenty four hour clock is listed in the back of the guide.
-Specific onboard scenarios may be given along with the airlines current policies and you will be asked to match the appropriate policy with the given scenario. -Assorted simple reasoning skills may be given. -Basic math questions may be asked. As a flight attendant you will be required to make change when selling liquor, duty free items or headsets aboard the aircraft and you must also be able to compute basic deposit envelopes.
-General questions about the airline itself may be asked. Try and know the current slogan, a brief basic background of the airline, the types of aircraft the airline operates, where the airline is headquartered, etc.. Again, the airline website of an airline is a great place to retrieve detailed information about an airline. As you will read in the questioning phase, you will most likely be asked why you desire employment with the specific airline so it is important that you have some knowledge of the airline.
-The test may include a page of general text that you will be asked to read. Later in the interview you will be asked questions about the text you read. It is imperative that you really read it as it gauges your reading comprehension and attention to detail.
-You may be asked to write a brief essay as to why you want to be a flight attendant or why you want to be a flight attendant for the specific airline. Read the question carefully, many people get lost on this one. If it asks why you want to be a flight attendant a good answer would be:
“I would like to make a career and lifestyle change. I would enjoy a spontaneous work schedule with a variety of work hours in a stimulating environment like aviation. I also have a strong commitment to customer service and to providing quality customer service. I am committed to always going the extra mile in providing my customers whatever they need to enjoy a positive experience. I would be proud to utilize my skills to represent and contribute to the future success of (airline name)”
Answer the question based on your personal situation. If you have wanted to be a flight attendant your whole life, add that. Make it personal but use the example as a general guideline.
If the question asks why you want to be a flight attendant for the specific airline it is important that you center your answer around the airline, not yourself. A good example would be:
“I would like to be a flight attendant for (airline name) because it is an airline that shares my own philosophy and values regarding customer service. As a passenger on (airline name) I have felt as though I were being treated a guest and it is evident that (airline name) operates the airline as family. My commitment to customer service would fit perfectly with the already outstanding reputation of (airline name.) I would be proud to promote, represent and contribute to the future success of (airline name.)
-You may be presented with a personality test or “survey.” The personality test is an indicator of your personal tendencies. It will for example indicate if you are a task-oriented person, a sympathetic person, etc. There are no right or wrong answers on a personality test. Go with your first instinct when answering. The longer you think about a question the more apt you are to change it. Some of the questions will be opinionated statements about yourself that you must read and then agree/disagree/strongly disagree with. Others will be descriptive statements of your personality that you must find to be like/somewhat like or not like yourself. There may be as many as one hundred or more of these questions and you will be given a time limit in which to complete them. Only a handful of airlines will present the personality testing at the initial interview. Do not expect a personality test at an open house interview. Applicants who are invited on to a second or third interview, will generally receive the personality test at one of those interviews. Other types of testing may also take place. Many airlines do not require that you undergo an actual paper test as mentioned earlier, but will evaluate you in other skills instead. Some of these include: -Reading aloud a safety briefing. The interviewer will be looking for your ability to sound pleasant yet read the briefing with authority and control. This is also going to be an indication of your ability to perform in front of others. Remaining calm and poised in any given situation is a basic requirement of the flight attendant position.
&
nbsp; -A variation of reading the briefing card is simply being handed a card with a question on it, unrelated to any specific part of the interview and then being asked to read the card aloud and answer it aloud in front of the group. Examples of questions might be:
“What does safety mean to you?”, or “Do you consider yourself to be adventurous or sensible?” Answers to these questions are included in the question and answer section later in the guide.
-You may be broken down into groups and given exercises to complete. The recruiter will watch to see how you interact with the group, rate how diplomatic you are and if you tend to be a leader or a follower.
Some common group exercises include:
-Rating what you and your group think are the top ten characteristics of a specific profession. For example, a police officer or a retail clerk. You and your group must work together to rate the characteristics while recruiters walk around the room observing. Do not be overbearing within your group. Interject your thoughts but keep it simple. Be sure you participate but do not be the aggressor. The recruiters are looking for the applicant who falls easily into teamwork, and has ideas without needing to be completely in charge.
-You and your group may be asked to choose seven or eight people out of a listed fifteen to go into a fallout shelter to begin a complete new society. Again, you will be observed and rated on your ability to work as a team member.
On both of the previous exercises you and your group may not even complete the exercise before the recruiter ends the exercise. Remember, it is mostly about your ability to work together and not about the answers.
-You and other applicants may even be asked to role play a given scenario. One applicant would be the flight attendant and one the passenger. You may be given a scenario similar to this one:
Pretend you are the flight attendant and you have an obviously intoxicated passenger. He has just asked you for another drink, what would you do? At this point you would be asked to either direct your answer to the recruiter or another applicant. (This answer as well as answers to other scenarios are listed in the question and answer section.) Again, your ability to handle an impromptu scenario is being tested. You may not know the exact policy of the airline concerning the scenarios you might be given so just use common sense and refer to your own personal experiences when answering. Take a deep breath and think of yourself as a flight attendant. Above all, relax. Take the interview seriously but remember to be yourself, be enthusiastic and positive. If you feel you make a mistake, don’t lose confidence.
Tell us a little about yourself…
As you have just read airlines employ various methods of getting to know you and evaluating you in what is really a very brief period of time. The important thing to remember is that they are also making a career decision for you based on only a limited time of observing you and talking with you. The one exercise all airlines employ is that of asking an applicant to stand and introduce themselves. At any interview, whether it be an open house or a standard interview, you are going to hear this request. Some airlines will simply ask for your name, others for a brief presentation. You really need to prepare in advance for this moment as it is going to be your opportunity to take the floor and make your impression on the interviewer. You are going to probably have a time restraint as well. Most airlines will request you to present your introduction in two minutes. Some will request only a certain number of words. The key is to make it as simple and as memorable as possible.
The most common way you will hear the request phrased is, “Please stand and tell us your name, where you’re from and a little about yourself.”
You may also hear:
“Please stand and tell us your name and why you want to be a flight attendant for our airline” or
“Please stand and tell us your name and what you do in your current job position.” Or,
“Please stand and introduce yourself, give us your current job title and a difficult customer service you’ve experienced, the actions you took and the result.
As you can see the requests will be similar, but listen to the specific request. The worst thing you can do is to ramble or forget to include something that was specifically asked for. Be concise and specific in your answer.
One major airline will ask that you stand, state your name, read aloud a briefing from a card and answer a question that is also printed on the card. The question will have nothing to do with the briefing. This one will really test your ability to focus.
The best way to prepare for this inevitable portion of the interview is to compose a short biography of yourself before you interview. Include your name, where you are from, your current occupation and then add some of the jobs you have held in your past, or other interesting things you have done. Include qualities you possess that would make you a good flight attendant and why you desire a flight attendant position specifically with the airline you are interviewing with. Refer back to the descriptive adjectives listed earlier and utilize them when describing yourself and the airline. If you speak a second language, a good catch is to say hello to the group in your second language. An applicant who spoke fluent Japanese did that at my initial interview and I still remember her to this day. Try and think of something to interject that would make you memorable to the recruiter. When I interviewed I was very young and feeling very unsure of how to compete with some of the other applicants who had been so expert in their introductions.
I simply started my introduction as “Kiki from Kentucky” and one of my recruiters just latched on to that. Many years later I had the opportunity to work a flight with that very recruiter and she still remembered me and the memorable phrase I had used. Try and think of something unique that will stand apart from the other applicants. Use a little humor if it is indicative of your personality. As silly as mine sounded, it worked in getting me noticed. You can also insert something about the airline, some significant fact or the motto. Lastly, thank the interviewer/s for allowing you the opportunity to interview before you take your seat. Now, all of that information must be condensed into a brief presentation and only the specifics asked for be included in your actual presentation. It is going to help you to write out all of the information I suggested though for use later in your interview when you are asked more in depth personal questions. Rehearse your presentation but not so much that it sounds like you are speaking from memory in the interview. Be sure to utilize all of the physical skills mentioned earlier while speaking, especially eye contact with others in the room and the recruiter/s. Most of all, don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself. Everyone is nervous. I have a reader who mistakenly used the name of another airline in his presentation. He just laughed in disbelief, explained he was nervous and apologized to the recruiter and went right on and he ended up being hired. Many recruiters have told me that it is often charming when an applicant makes a mistake and is able to laugh at themselves.
Another form of presentation is one in which you will be given a paper with three questions about particular achievements near the beginning of the interview. You must choose one question to answer, write a brief essay and then make a presentation on that achievement and what you wrote later in the interview to the group. The choices might be as follows:
Tell us about a time you handled a customer complaint effectively.
Give an example of a time that you did more than was required of you in your job.
Tell us about a specific day when you worked the hardest and felt the greatest sense of achievement.
You may even be asked to sit before a recruiter or a panel of recruiters and discuss your personal philosophies regarding customer service and your interest and understanding of the flight attendant position, all while giving examples that highlight your customer service skills.
Paperwork review
At some point as you move through the interview process you will meet one on one with a recruiter to review your application or resume. If you attend an open house you most likely will not do thi
s until the second or third interview. The recruiter will go over your application or resume with you and ask questions regarding your employment history and education. It is at this time that you may be able to explain any circumstances that you feel merit explanation. Some of my readers have been able to explain prior minor arrests or reasons for leaving previous employers in detail allowing them a more fair chance at selection. I have a reader who was terminated from a previous job for a very complicated matter and she went on to be hired at a major airline after she was able to explain the situation in detail to her recruiter. It is important to realize that you are not going to be able to explain away everything and some recruiters are simply not going to accept the explanation you might have due to the hiring regulations in place at their airline. Again, it is solely dependent on the airline and their policies. There is one major airline that asks all applicants with a prior arrest to leave after the career overview. I have readers who have felt slighted by the policy of this particular airline, but again, each airline reserves the right to interview and hire as they see fit, in keeping with applicable hiring laws.
The paperwork review is also the time when it is imperative that you have completed your application or resume completely and honestly.
Your recruiter may ask you some very in depth questions regarding your past employment and you must be prepared to answer clearly and coherently. Think carefully about what you list on your application or resume and who your references are so as to avoid being surprised during the review.
Your current phone number and address will usually also be verified.
You may also be given a page or two to fill out and sign enabling the airline to complete the required ten year background check on you. As mentioned earlier this background check is a condition of employment as flight crews are allowed into secure areas of airports. Many times these forms will have been enclosed with your initial application. I cannot stress enough that you be honest in your application or resume. Often, your references will be completely checked right away, but the background check sometimes isn’t completed until after you have begun training as it is usually performed by an outside company.