How about flying around the world, staying in 5-star-hotels and getting paid for it? Today here, tomorrow there, after tomorrow who knows. Luxury hotels and nice passenger, a stylish uniform worn with lots of pride, belong to the elite, admired, even though some people will consider you a waitress.
Only 10 percent of the candidates survive the selection procedure. Flying can be wonderful and as well exhausting, continuous time and climate differences stress the organism, also the radiation above the clouds is not yet completely explored. The thrombosis risk, dry skin and mucous membranes, extreme back problems and constantly changing working times come together. Psychic and physical fitness is prerequisites, because the passengers are in vacation mood, the flight attendants are in stress. Anyway: Get a nice book with flight attendant stories, you wont regret it.
The advantages and disadvantages are obvious: short learning, phase, but the occupation is not officially recognized, high salary however strongly fluctuating working times incl. weekend and holidays versus additional expenses and further privileges (for example on board duty free sales commission) language bonuses, bonus everywhere (for example when buying a new car at General Motors), transition supply until the early pension age, educational vacations, free courses etc, but weakened immune system, high risk of accidents and conflicts, much leisure time however the private life goes frequently down the drain, new contacts but problems to uphold the old friendships, high responsibility, 4 stars hotels versus jetlag. You are replacable anytime, working conditions are becoming harder. Before there were 7 days off in Far East, today there`s minimum rests, less free days and recovering time at constantly climbing flight hours in the air, you probably have heard about that in th e news. Big companies freeze the salaries and stop to hire new staff, decreasing salaries is forbidden by law. And remember: A disease like asthma etc. and your dream is over. At the moment the flight industry is in the high flight, despite September 11thand Air France crash.
If I didnt express it clearly before: You are on board primarily for the security, service comes at second place. You will be trained for fire fighting, to act adequately and fast in emergencies and to take rescuing measures and responsibility and to give first aid. Besides this you will prepare foods and beverages, customs regulations and security regulations, Country infos, gastronomy and etiquette. On your education plan will be first aid, technology and etiquette. Training units like teamwork, passenger care, conflict solution, fire training and evacuation, too. Training place and duration as well as conditions and main focuses vary from one airline to the another.
The hard facts are the following: Minimum age 18, height 157-175 cm for ladies and 1,75 to 1,95 m for men, ideal weight (approximately height in centimeters minus 100 or Body measurement index of 20 and 25), good health, no allergies or respiratory problems, heart, urine, blood, lungs, eyes etc. will be tested, glasses or lenses + / - 3 diopt., second language passport without travel limitations, police certificate and knowing how to swim. Candidates with experience in a service profession or as well completed education are preferred. It is not a good idea to lie about weight, former work etc., because it will be controlled. .If your interviewer finds out about your untrue statements, you are excluded from the further selection process and blocked.
What else should you bring: You show serious, but friendly personality and a groomed appearance, as well under stress, you are diplomatic and simultaneously you have a high stress level, service willingness, you are engaged, reliable and responsible. You speak another foreign language, love foreign cultures and are operational anytime. Then, you will probably not have any big problems with the suitability tests. Language knowledge also is on top of their request list. The conversation with a native speaker changes from one second to the next and can be held in several languages; this depends completely on your interviewer. Big value has further sociability and team spirit. You must bring over a positive overall picture already in the telephone interview. The personnel managers call this soft skills.
If they like your application, then they call you for a telephone interview. After this first hurdle you receive an invitation to the so-called Assessment Center. Prepare yourself well for this important day. You may not be late, however, you should not be more than 15 minutes too early. Go through your records and papers before. Don't forget your passport and the photos.
Tests often repeat questions. They are going to find out your strengths and weaknesses fast. You are called to separate conversations with psychologists and to group dynamics as well as you are confronted with problem situations. Popular situations are: Passenger to fat for safety belt, double booked seat, couple doesn't sit together, tomato juice poured over pants, hand baggage at the emergency exit, dispute among passengers, a male passenger becomes pushy, passenger doesn't want to buckle up, passenger notices in the air, that he/she forgot something at the gate, flight fear, passenger wants to go into the cockpit, passenger complains about colleague, passenger smokes, vegetarian meal is missing. Those tests are trying to find out your stress limit, your communication ability, your contact skills and your flexibility. Language tests are normally multiple choice, often concerning occupation-relevant matters. A good idea is to get a book for flight attendant training. P.S.: Tattoos or piercings, if you have one, may not be visible.
Possibly one will try to make you nervous, remarks like: Your hair is not stylish enough, youd better wear red nail polish, you are over the weight limit Please, dont lose your confidence, answer politely, but definitely, look for solutions. Appear open for advice or requests and listen well. All points, that are discussed with you, are written down and at the next interviewer, will definitely come back to this point, even weeks later.
The usual application questions: What do you know about our company? How will be a typical working day? Why did you decide for this profession? Expect questions like: Are you ready to move? How long do you need from your apartment to the airport? You applied at other airlines? (They can control that). What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of this profession? How does your family think about it? Also surprise questions are popular: How do you recognize a good red wine? What is the capital of the Arab Emirates? Youll learn all this in the course later.
On the last interview day there will be the medical check. You will have a complete exam by flight doctor. Of course, you dont have any diseases, allergies and so on, if so, you are going to fail.
If something should be criticized, candidates are often invited again at a later time, usually after one year. This should gives you the possibility to work on yourself and to develop. You can apply again and in the meantime you have the possibility to realize their suggestions.
If you decide to do this job in your further life, you can be a future chef steward or trainer. Consult the request profiles of the different big Airlines for further information online. Check as well on flight attendant training schools, where experienced coaches prepare you specifically for this job: How you introduce and sell yourself the best, what is required and how you can avoid breakdowns. You learn what this job will bring to you, you find out exactly about you and you can perhaps close existing gaps. You will lose your nervousness and you will appear convincingly and naturally. Candidates are trained for the telephone interview and the psychologist tests as well as for the separate conversations and the group dynamics.
Good luck and happy landings.
Automatic blog by iAutoblog
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