How to prepare for a flight attendant interview.doc

Galley Gossip: How to prepare for a flight attendant interviewby Heather Poole (RSS feed) on Jan 20th 2010 at 11:00AMDear Heather,Im interested in becoming a flight attendant. I was wondering if you could give me a little advice as to what to expect in an interview, how should I prepare for it, etc. I would really appreciate it. DonnaDear Donna,Whatever you do, do not wear a canary yellow suit to the interview. Thats exactly what I did the first time I interviewed with a major airline. Needless to say, I didnt get hired. Not that that was a bad thing because I wound up (上足发条) graduating from college instead. Not to mention, I prefer the airline I work for now. That said, education is key. There arent many airlines hiring these days so competition is fierce. Only the most qualified will succeed. Since the aviation industry isnt as stable as it once was, its always a good idea to have something to fall back on. DRESS THE PART: If you want to become a flight attendant, try looking like one. Start by wearing a blue or black suit to the interview. Skirt length should be no more than an inch above the knee and pantyhose（连裤袜）are a must. Keep fingernails clean and polished and long hair pulled back or styled conservatively. Jewelry should be kept to a minimum - no dangly（吊，挂） earrings! Do not overdo the makeup. Think fresh and neat. BE YOURSELF: First impressions count. Its a nerve wracking experience, but try to relax and dont forget to smile. Introduce yourself to other candidates in the room. Airlines prefer applicants who are friendly. So be yourself, enjoy the moment, and laugh! Have fun. CONFIDENCE IS KEY: If your experience ends up being anything like mine, youll find yourself participating in a group interview with about four other candidates a lot like yourself. Its important to make a good impression. Keep it positive whenever answering a question, especially when discussing yourself or any past employers and coworkers. Also, dont be the last person to answer each question. Be confident. Raise your hand. TALK THE TALK: Use the phrase good customer service and the word flexible as often as possible. Flight attendants spend more time with passengers than anyone else in the industry, so airlines are looking for applicants with experience in customer service. Try sharing stories about the times you provided good customer service. Because a majority of flight attendants do not get based where they live right out of training, and because a flight attendants schedule is constantly changing and many of us are on-call for days, even months, at a time, its very important to remain flexible. Show examples of that as well. SLOW DOWN: All I remember during my one-on-one interview fifteen years ago was reading a safety demo announcement out loud. While I know you can read, otherwise you wouldnt be here reading this, doing it out loud in front of a stranger who does not crack a smile while analyzing your every move and scribbling（潦草书写的） notes on a clipboard, is totally different. Remember to slow down and add a little life to what could be a long, drawn out（持续很长的）, monotone（单调的） speech. Before the interview takes place, try practicing reading magazines, books, whatever, out loud at home. BESIDES TRAVELING AND MEETING NEW PEOPLE. why do you want to become a flight attendant? Trust me, that is a question you will have to answer. So come prepared. I think I may have said something about looking for a career with a reputable（声誉好的） company that I would be proud to work for. And then Im sure I went on to say something about how much I enjoyed providing good customer service and how appealing I found the flexible lifestyle, since I wasnt really a 9 to 5 kind of person. Two other questions I can remember were, How did you prepare for the interview? (I bought a navy blue suit and a pair of navy blue heels) and what question did you think we would ask, but didnt - answer it (When can you start training - now). BUH-BYE, ADIOS SAYONARA, SEE YA LATER: Flight attendants are expected to welcome and say goodbye to each and every passenger while boarding or deplaning a flight. Wouldnt hurt to do the same to the person(s) conducting the interview process. Thank the interviewer for their time and tell him or her you look forward to seeing them again. Lets say you score an airline interview, but for whatever reason you arent hired. Dont give up. Keep on reapplying. Or try another airline. My friend Shirley who worked for a charter airline applied to a particular commercial airline eighteen times - eighteen times! - and never did get hired. Did I mention she speaks three languages and is an amazing flight attendant? Finally Shirley applied to my airline and they hired her on the spot. Two weeks later she attended flight attendant training. Another flight attendant I know attended a yearly flight attendant open house like a contestant on American Idol. Five years after his first open house interview he got hired. Just goes to show, you never know. Just keep on trying.Hope that helps, Donna. Good luck to you! Heather PooleGot a question? Email SReader Comments (Page 1 of 1)Sharon Jan 23rd 2010 3:20AMWhile I agree with almost everything Heather wrote, there is one point I did want to make. After successfully passing interviews for three major U.S. companies, I would advise against the blue suit. EVERYONE shows up in a blue suit. Its simply cliche. I tell people to wear what looks good on them. I got hired in a off-white suit. I was skinny at the time and it really helped me stand out against all the blue suits in the room. (I wouldnt dare wear similar now at my present weight!) For another interview, I wore a dark rose dress with a scarf. It still looked business-like. I wore my hair down for both interviews and I actually got my nails done for two. The rest of it, the low hemline, nails, etc. is too true. I would also add that you need to come up with some negative answers that still reflect positively on you. Did you leave a job? Perhaps the duties were not in fact what you expected. What are the disadvantages of being a F/A? Being away from family at holidays (you love your family), the fact that having a pet is not really in the cards right now (you love animals! Boy did my mom get tired of babysitting my bird!) Oh, and try to come up with something other than travel and meet people. When I was asked, I said I was trying to find a job that used my French and I really dislike 9-5. I went on to explain that I really liked the office. The people were nice. The work was interesting and yet, I was still not getting into the 9-5 routine and knew that even in good circumstances. Try to emphasize any group, performance or team activities youve done in the past. My first airline loved that. I played trumpet for 10 years and performed all over the country in Drum and Bugle Corps, one girl was a former dancer, another an opera singer, I shared a room with a former competitive ice skater and our instructors degree was in acting. Not all airlines are that keen to take on Arts and Sports to such a degree but it helps! Replyteft Mar 23rd 2010 11:04AMSharon, I agree with you on the Navy blue suit. I used to do recruiting for an airline an