Kaykrizz's Interview Tips Series Part 1: What does it really take to Be a Flight Attendant?

 What does it really take to Be a Flight Attendant?

The million dollar question, what does it really take to get the job? Whenever there is recruitment for the position of flight attendant, people line up to get the job, literally! I have personally witnessed applicants amounting to 1000 plus and people who get the job will only be 50-60! I am not exaggerating this really happened on the first air asia interview in mandarin oriental 2 years ago. PAL recruitment in manila I even seen people line up from the hotel to the streets of Ermita on their open day in Diamond hotel about a year ago or so. On top of lining up, these applicants are wearing full corporate attire (skirt and coat or slacks, long sleeves and coat) under the scorching summer heat. Can you imagine that? It really is not easy. So here is my take on why those people who get the job, get the job?

Patience

Patience really is a virtue. For me this is number 1. You will need this to get through the interview day, the waiting period after the interview day, the medicals, the waiting again and on the job itself this is definitely a must-have! Even more important than your MAC red lipstick.   

On the day of the interview, be prepared by bringing candies and biscuits in your cute corporate bag, gone are the days when airlines provided meals for their applicants. To give you a picture of how it is: On my last interview, I arrived at the hotel at 7am and I left at 9pm. This does not happen on all interviews but more often than not applying involves a lot of waiting. Patience is really required if you want to get your foot in the door (you know what I mean right?) and that is just the first step.

After the interview, and let’s say you got in. First of all congratulations! However, don’t quit your day job yet! Some are very lucky if the airline is in urgent need, their process is sped up 100x! I am saying if you were interviewed today, you might be leaving the country by next month! And that is if you are very very lucky. However, more often than not, it takes months to years after one passed the interview to get to the training class. That is why people say things like: “If it is for you, it really is for you”. Because you just don’t know how these things happen, there is no consistent pattern.  Sometimes it is super fast, sometimes it is slow, and other times it is super slow. Be prepared to wait, we even call it the “waiting game” and when you get a text or email saying you passed or you are ready to go for the next step we call that “golden text” or “golden email” because it is so precious and the waiting to get that news is torture.

Humility vs. Confidence

There is no question, confidence is required to get the job. Flight attendants must be confident enough to be in front of a lot of people who are watching their every move. You have to be assertive in certain situations and you must be able to stand your ground. No doormats allowed when it comes to safety issues. But recruiters do not like applicants that are arrogant and bordering cocky. The nature of the job is a humble job and requires a person that will have no problem with being in a service industry. In short, in-flight more often than not we do service, we serve people food and make sure our passengers are comfortable in the flight. That is part of the job, of course our priority is the safety of the flight but unless there is an emergency, we do the routine of serving the passengers. The recruiters are looking for someone who can be assertive or can carry herself or himself well and in case of an emergency can command authority but can also play the part of providing excellent service to the passengers as well. Balance is the word for it. 

Punctuality

The plane waits for no one. The airline industry is very particular when it comes to punctuality. I can honestly say that after I have become a flight attendant I have become more punctual in other areas of my life. All throughout high school and college I have always been late and all of a sudden I have to be punctual in my line of work! It was hard but it was doable.

The reason I am emphasizing this trait is because once you get the job it is not a guarantee that you will keep it. During trainings you are not allowed to be late, and it can be grounds for termination. In my batch alone some people was sent home because of this. Even if you are late for just a minute!  Once you get the job, and you are already working as a flight attendant, you will only be allowed to be late a few times after that you are given the red slip. Its nice to know you, goodbye! 

Communication

During interview, you have to show your great communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal.  This is an important part of the job, you communicate to the flight deck, ground staff, your co-crew and the passengers on board. Most conflicts happen due to miscommunication and no company wants a person who causes conflicts. Aside from conflicts miscommunication can lead to accidents, in worst case scenario a plane crash. That is why it is vital to have a great communication skill not just for the people a flight attendant is working with but also for the safety of the flight.  Just what do I mean? I mean, no ‘loading moments’, ‘angatch’, ‘tatanga-tanga’ is allowed if the interviewer get wind of this you will automatically be out, no matter how good your credentials are or how good looking you might be. So when on the interview, be alert, be conscious of non-verbal communication skills like listening, body language, sit straight, smile whenever you get the chance, build rapport and communicate well that means no "dead air" when you are talking, be spontaneous on your answers to questions.

Passion

By passion, I mean you should really want to become a flight attendant. Decide if this is really what you want for your life. This is not all glamour and looking good, this career entails a whole lot more than that and is a unique kind of lifestyle. You first need to know if that is the life that you want for yourself first before you waste your time and the recruiter’s time. Because if you are just going with the flow, wanting to “see” if you get it, leave it to faith, or try your luck and not really intending to get the job with a raw hunger, passion and determination in your eyes, I can tell you now it is so easy for your face to drown in your other 1000+  competition. To be able to get the contract and more importantly keep the contract you have to really really want it. You don’t want to end up unhappy in a career that you don’t really want to be in, right? Make sure you know exactly what you are getting yourself into before you dive in with all your heart and soul. Once you have the passion, all the other tips that I may write on this blog, you can easily do naturally and for sure you will pass with flying colors!

xoxo,

kaykrizz