Cabin Crew Application Advices

[singaporegrrl]

I will post tips here. It could be from my own experience. It could be from other websites. Some are serious information, some could be just for mere entertainment. Some of them are my posts which I took the liberty to copy from other threads so that the lazy ones don't have to look for them. Enjoy! Good luck!

[singaporegrrl]

How to Apply to be Cabin Crew

1. How to become a member of Cabin Crew
Becoming a member of Cabin Crew is as much about attitude as experience. In fact, many airlines will advertise cabin crew jobs that do not need previous experience. If you have good customer service experience, then make sure this is clear in your CV. But otherwise, a positive attitude, energy and friendliness will get you a long way; experience is not crucial.

Fundamental, though, is your attitude. You must have excellent people skills, confidence and a friendly nature. You will need to be happy, patient and considerate. You will also help yourself to find a job as a flight attendant if you make sure you are well presented and groomed.

Before embarking on your cabin crew job search, you will do well to prepare a strong CV. The CV will need to be clear and short. Include your work experience with your most recent job at the top. Be sure to also include a photograph of yourself inserted within your CV document.

Many airlines advertising flight attendant jobs (for instance Emirates cabin crew jobs) will expect you to complete an application form. Having all your information within your CV will help you when completing application forms.

Essential requirements for almost every airline are: an ability to swim 25m, a valid passport, and fluency in English.



2. Cabin Crew as a Career
Airline cabin crew, also known as flight attendants, are primarily responsible for ensuring passenger safety during flight. They are also required to ensure the comfort of passengers which is why good customer service skills are so important.

Hours can vary so a flight attendant's career is not for those who like to work 9-5 Monday to Friday. But the lifestyle is social, friendly and sometimes exotic - especially for long-haul cabin crew jobs where you will fly and stop-over at world airports. It is hard work, but it is also rewarding.



3. Cabin Crew Jobs / Flight Attendant Jobs
Finding flight attendant jobs is simple. But making a successful application will depend on your CV / Application profile.

Different airlines offer different jobs for flight attendants. Long-haul cabin crew are broadly the same as short-haul, but the specific differences are many and varied. From stop-overs to customer relationships to the number of colleagues on board - all of these issues and more depend on the airline and the types of flights you work on. As an ab initio (inexperienced) candidate you will not have all the options, but it is worth considering what kind of flight attendant job you would prefer. Research your favoured airlines and find out about them.

Once experienced as a flight attendant you will have more career options. You may wish to move to Business Class, First Class or VVIP Cabin Crew jobs - in fact have a look at this job. You will have the experience necessary to apply to some of the world's biggest airlines jobs as senior crew, or even an executive jet airline or private jet operator as VVIP cabin crew.

You may even wish to seek an ex-cabin crew job. Many employers seek ex-cabin crew to work in offices as their excellent customer-facing skills are highly sought after.



4. CV Tips
It's worth addressing your CV now if you've not already done so. Your CV should always be kept up to date to prevent you from forgetting something. You can then use it to apply for jobs. If you need to complete an application form, an up to date CV will mean all the information is to hand.

Sooner or later you'll be asked to also send a photograph of yourself with your application. So sort this out now. You will need 1 full length photograph, and 1 passport head shot. The recruiting employer needs to see you (not you in front of the Eiffel Tower) so make sure you're well in the foreground! This isn't a family snap. You need to be extremely well groomed for the photo, looking smart and smiling.

Once you have a photo you will need to make it small enough to be able to send by email, or to insert into your CV itself.

Your CV needs to be clear, uncluttered and honest. It should work in reverse chronological order, bullet pointing the key skills and areas of responsibility. No wordy paragraphs are required (or wanted). And fancy colours, graphics, fonts and backgrounds are not necessary (or wanted)!



5. Persistence
Eventually you will find the job you're after. But no one said it will be easy. To increase your chances:

a. don't apply for jobs if you don't meet the minimum criteria - it's a waste of your time

b. prepare well - find out about the company

c. be determined - no half measures on the application form or CV... want that job

d. Open Days - be smart, happy and as relaxed as possible. Take a couple of copies of your CV, with photos, clearly labelled

e. stay fully up to date on new jobs

So, that's it. We wish all of you the very best of luck in looking for a job in this unusual, brilliant industry!

[singaporegrrl]

Avoid the silliest job-hunting mistake!

Often in life the worst problems are the easiest to fix.

It’s the same when you’re job hunting.

The silliest mistake to make when applying for a job is not reading the application instructions properly.

It will result in only one thing – the bin.

From an employers point of view it says “I’m not really interested in your job. I’m just sending the same application to everyone because I can’t be bothered to read the instructions.”

[singaporegrrl]

So you want to be a flight attendant?

Go to a resale store and find an old, navy suit that an army sergeant might have worn. Add a white shirt and a tie. Wear that same outfit for three consecutive days.

Go to an airport and watch airplanes take off for several hours. Pretend you are standing by for them and they are all full. Go home. Return to the airport the very next day and do the same thing again.

Fill several large boxes with rocks. Lift them over your head and place them on the top shelf of a closet. Slam the door shut until the boxes fit. Do this until you feel a disc slip in your back.

Turn on a radio. Be sure to set it between stations so there is plenty of static. Turn on the vacuum cleaner and garbage disposal. Run them all night.

Remove the covers from several T.V entrees. Place them in a hot oven. Leave the food in the oven until it's completely dried out. Remove the hot trays with your bare hands. Serve to your family. Don't include anything for yourself. Serve your family a beverage one hour after they've received their meal. Make them remain in their seats during this time.

Ask them to scream at you and complain about the service. Scrounge uneaten rolls off the plates for you to eat 6 hours later when you're really hungry. Place a straight-backed chair in a closet facing a blank wall. Use a belt to strap yourself into it. Eat the rolls you saved from your family's meal.

Ask your family to use the bathroom as frequently as possible. Tell them to remove their shoes and socks before entering, and see who can make the most disgusting mess. Clean the bathroom every hour throughout the night.

Make a narrow aisle between several dining room chairs and randomly scatter your husband's runners and loafers along the way. Turn off the lights and spend the night walking up and down the aisle while banging your shins against the chair legs and tripping over the shoes. Drink several cups of cold coffee to keep yourself awake.

Gently wake your family in the morning and serve them a muffin in a package. Don't forget to smile and wish them a nice day when they leave for work and school.

After the family leaves, take a suitcase and go out into the yard. If it's not raining, turn on the sprinkler system and stand in the cold for 30 minutes pretending like your waiting for the crew bus to pick you up. Then go inside and wait by your bedroom door for another 30 minutes for an imaginary maid to make up your room.

Change into street clothes and shop for 5 hours. Pick up carry-outfood from a local deli. Go back home. Sit on your bed and eat your meal. Set your alarm clock for 03:00 am so you'll be ready incase you don't get your wake up call. Repeat the above schedule for three days in a row and you'll be ready to work your first international flight.



REASONS NOT TO BE A FLIGHT ATTENDANT!

1. Spend half the year at home bored because all your friends are at work, it's a weekday!

2. Experience the dread of being stuck in the airport waiting to get on a flight with a standby ticket. Your family/friends/random people you met in the street will harass you to book them cheap tickets for their holidays.

3.Get a lucrative benefits package including healthcare and life insurance (for the severe damage that pressure chang/atmospheric radiation does to your body), employee stock options (your companys way of saying "we go down ur coming with us").

4. Enjoy the unmatched variety of being on standby and not knowing where your going to be going tomorrow at 6am.

5.Get use to maximum flexibility - You're never going to get another weekend off with the rest of the world.

6. Meet some real stuk up assholes, including many celebrities.

7. See the world then get terribly blaze about it i.e. "God not a nighstop new york again".

8. Feel more independant, so you aren't scared to shout at crewing when they call you in the middle of the night.

9. Feel more responsible so you dread the thought that if the idiot who's currently waiting for the toilet while we're in turbulence kills him, you need to revive him.

10. Feel a sense of shame and embarrassment when you get to your destination and the groundstaff totally lets you down (especially when theyre not ready for an unacompanied minor or disabled passenger).

11. Your freinds will hate you for making them jealous of all the places you've been and will eventually stop taking your calls. You will end up not having anymore friends.

[singaporegrrl]

During my training, a lot have started questioning themselves as to why they chose this job after learning all the downside of being a cabin crew, during training. 1 had actually quit after just over a week of training. I've known of many who quit just after a few flights.

Rarely, but it does happen, that you'd see trays flying around in the galley and seniors correcting you brutally in front of passengers making you feel embarrassed BIG TIME. Although they can be reported, imagine the emotional stress you go through with this.

Prospective candidates need to do a lot of research before embarking on a career like this. We're not trying to bring the morale of prospective candidates but are merely stating what we know. It's a harsh world but people like me are surviving with a positive mindset. Even so, I don't think I will stay in this industry for long. It's already taking a toll on my health and I'm only over 20! I'm accepting the fact that it is not a job for me in future.

Also, don't depend solely on this forum. 90% of the people here are NOT already in the job. They do not know the exact description of training and working onboard yet. They only know a lot about interview rounds if they have gone through them already. Even so, a lot of interview procedures, despite any airline, changes through time.

Therefore, if you really want this job badly, take the time to Yahoo! and Google about the job. There are heaps of information just a few typing and clicks away. The world wide web is incredibly filled with information. Make full use of it.

[singaporegrrl]

This is an interesting article I found online.


Flight attendant sues Arkia Airlines for unpaid work on the ground

Arkia Airlines Boeing 757A flight attendant in Israel is suing her former employer for pay she says is owed her for work she did while on the ground. Shiri Segal, who worked for Arkia Airlines for nearly 10 years, recently filed a lawsuit in the Tel Aviv Labor Court against the Israeli carrier on the grounds that the airline does not pay flight attendants for work they do while not flying. Ms. Segal is asking for compensation of NIS 140,000 (equivalent to about US $38,750).

An article about the lawsuit on the Israeli business news website Globes Online explains:

Segal says that as a matter of policy, which is stipulated in labor contracts, Arkia pays flight attendants only for hours actually in the air. In other words, "from the moment that the plane is moving under its own power from the terminal to the takeoff point and until the engines are shut down after landing."

Segal claims that a large part of a flight attendant's work is spent on the ground, before and after a flight. This work includes, but is not limited to, accepting the planes and handing them over, checking the plane before embarkation and after disembarkation of passengers, examining emergency equipment, positioning seat belts, and preparing drink and food carts.

She says that on international flights, she usually begins work at least two hours before takeoff and for two more hours after landing at the destination. Ground work in Israel on the return trip after landing is usually 1.5 hours, for a total of 5.5 hours for which no compensation is paid.

Ms. Segal also notes that Arkia never paid her for the hours waiting for the return flight.

I'm sure that the progress of this lawsuit will be of interest to cabin crew around the world, most of whom are similarly unpaid for work they do on the ground. Most people outside the industry probably are unaware that flight attendants are paid only for "block time" -- that is, from the time the aircraft door closes just prior to departure, until the aircraft's engines are shut down at the destination.

How is it that cabin crew are contractually obligated to perform certain tasks before and after flights, but are not paid for those tasks and the time it takes to perform them? Many of these procedures are safety related, required by government regulations, yet crew are expected to carry them out without any sort of compensation.

Regardless of the outcome of this lawsuit, it calls attention to an entrenched practice in the aviation industry that denies proper compensation to crew for the legitimate and necessary work they do on the ground. Clearly, this practice needs to be reconsidered. If the work is of value to the carrier -- and it is -- then those who do it should be fairly compensated.

[singaporegrrl]

But what's happening? Why airlines like Silkair and SIA are having such high turn over suddenly? Anything bad? Becos i jus saw a big bus ads on career recruitment for SIA, the first time i saw them advertising to recruit cabin crew.

Anyway thanks for all your encouragement..

For the following reasons:

1) Misunderstanding. People think this job is oh so glamorous and got all excited to join the airline industry. When they found out the real jobscobe, they began to lose interest and in time, they resign. That's why I've been telling everyone to do their research well before embarking on a job like this. NO JOB IS FOR EVERYONE!

2) Politics. It's everywhere. As glamorous as it may seem, it's not so fun up there. You'll find it easier to deal with passengers than with fellow colleagues. Bitching and gossiping everywhere. You might just get adapted and addicted and it may cause you some trouble.

3) Time. There is no such thing as public holidays in this industry. You may find it hard to meet your friends coz on a Sunday when all your friends are out together, you might be halfway around the world and missing all the fun. It's worse if your loved ones are celebrating some festivities and you're outstation. Christmas in Paris! Sounds exciting but lame if you're all alone.

4) Feeling lonely. In addition to the above point, crew can sometimes get the same destinations very often. They get bored and end up staying in the hotel room on layovers. If they get zapped, they get miserable with no shoulders to cry on all alone in the hotel room. Some crew can't stand being lonely so they resign.

5) Money. Some crew feel the urge to shop all their allowance money on shopping during layovers. In the end, they are only left with basic salary and hourly pay and think it's not worth it. So they left in search of a better deal. Take note, there is not such thing as OT. You are paid hourly from when the plane pushes back from the gate before take off, until the plane comes to a stop at the next gate after landing. If your aircraft is delayed for 5 hours on ground, too bad, no pay!

I hope I've brought forward some important points to hopefuls here. Any crew who would like to add on to or amend the list?

[soulsiz]

thanks for the advices.

[singaporegrrl]

This is taken from the internet and it applies to every job interview out there. This would be a helpful advice for the personal 1-1 or 2-1 airline interviews, usually the last round.



You know enough to bring a list of questions to a job interview. When the interviewer asks you, "So, do you have any questions for me?" the last thing? You want to say is "No." But that could be the best option if you're at a loss for words, because some interview questions are better left unasked.
Here are 10 highly unsuitable interview questions that should never make an appearance, unless you don't want the job:

1. "What does your company do?"
This was a reasonable interview question in 1950 or in 1980, before the Internet existed. Today, it's your job to research any company you're interviewing with before setting foot in the door. We need to show up for a job interview knowing what the employer does, who its competitors are, and which of its accomplishments (or challenges) have made the news lately.

2. "Are you going to do a background check?"
It is amazing how many job candidates ask this question, which provokes alarm on the part of the interviewer, instead of the more general, "Can you please tell me a little about your selection process, from this point on?" Lots of people have credit issues that cause them worry during a job search, or aren't sure how solid their references from a previous job might be. If you're invited for a second interview, you can broach any sensitive topics from your past then. Asking "Will you do a background check?" makes you look like a person with something to hide.

3. "When will I be eligible for a raise?"
Companies fear underpaying people almost as much as they fear overpaying them, because a person who's underpaid vis-a-vis his counterparts in the job market is a person with one eye on the career sites. Instead of asking about your first raise before you've got the job, you can ask (at a second interview) "Does your organization do a conventional one-year performance and salary review?"

4. "Do you have any other jobs available?"
A job search requires quick thinking about straight talk, and if a job is far below your abilities, you're better off saying so than beating around the bush with this question. You don't have to take yourself out of the running; you can say, "The job sounds interesting, but frankly I was earning 30% more and supervising people in my last job. Could you help me understand the career path for this role?" That's the cue for the interviewer, if he or she is on the ball, to highlight another job opening that might exist.

5. "How soon can I transfer to another position?"
You're broadcasting "I'm outta here at the first chance" when you ask this question. If you like the job, take the job. If it's not for you, wait for the right opportunity. Almost every employer will keep you in your seat for at least one year before approving an internal transfer, so a job-search bait-and-switch probably won't work out the way you'd hoped.

6. "Can you tell me about bus lines to your facility?"
Get online and research this yourself. It's not your employer's problem to figure out how you get to work.

7. "Do you have smoking breaks?"
If you're working in retail or in a call center, you could ask about breaks. Everyone else, keep mum; if your need to smoke intrudes so much on your work life that you feel the need to ask about it, ask your best friend or significant other for smoking-cessation help as a new-job present. Lots of companies don't permit smoking anywhere on the premises, and some don't like to hire smokers at all. Why give an employer a reason to turn you down?

8. "Is [my medical condition] covered under your insurance?"
This is a bad question on two counts. You don't want to tell a perfect stranger about your medical issues, especially one who's deciding whether or not to hire you. Ask to see a copy of the company's benefits booklet when an offer has been extended. This is also a bad question from a judgment standpoint; no department managers and only a tiny percentage of HR people could be expected to know on a condition-by-condition basis what's covered under the health plan. Anyway, your pre-existing condition won't be covered under most corporate plans for at least a year.

9. "Do you do a drug test?"
If you have a philosophical objection to drug tests, wait until they ask you to take a drug test and tell them about your objection. Otherwise, your question sounds like, "I'd fail a drug test," so don't ask.

10. "If you hire me, can I wait until [more than three weeks from now] to start the job?"
Employers expect you to give two weeks' notice. If you're not working, they'd love to see you more quickly. If you ask for tons of time off before you start working -- unless you have a very good reason -- the employer may think, "How serious is this candidate about working?" In any case, a start-date extension is something to request after you've got the offer in hand, not before.

[singaporegrrl]

1. If the passenger says he'll never fly your airline again you'll see him on your next flight.

2. You'll always arrive to New York one day after the Madonna concert.

3. At least once a month a friend will ask you to put him in your trolley.

4. When passengers stand after landing before the seat belt sign is off you'll always wish the pilot we'll hit the breaks.

5. When the pick up time is getting closer you will always want to stay another day, when the pick up time is far you will always want to make it closer.

6. Someone will always offer you a flight in exchange for a flight you really want. When you have a flight you don't want you'll never find a swap.

7. The plane will have a mechanical problem on a round trip only when you forgot to put clothes in your trolley.

8. At least once a week you'll hear a passenger or a friend telling you he always wanted to be a flight attendant.

9. Gay flight attendants on your crew will always have a friend at the destination you are flying to.

10. (#9) If they don't have one they'll have one after this layover

[Plavt]

2. You'll always arrive to New York one day after the Madonna concert.

That sounds good to me.

[Plavt]

1. "What does your company do?"
This was a reasonable interview question in 1950 or in 1980, before the Internet existed. Today, it's your job to research any company you're interviewing with before setting foot in the door. We need to show up for a job interview knowing what the employer does, who its competitors are, and which of its accomplishments (or challenges) have made the news lately.

Agreed there is nothing worse than an applicant trying for a job in which there is savage competition and not showing an inkling of interest. Use the company's website, Internet, books and go on a flight if you can.



2. "Are you going to do a background check?"
It is amazing how many job candidates ask this question, which provokes alarm on the part of the interviewer, instead of the more general, "Can you please tell me a little about your selection process, from this point on?" Lots of people have credit issues that cause them worry during a job search, or aren't sure how solid their references from a previous job might be. If you're invited for a second interview, you can broach any sensitive topics from your past then. Asking "Will you do a background check?" makes you look like a person with something to hide.

Many companies won't bother doing credit checks - they cost time and money. Besides if you are working in the retail sector then what you sell should tally up with with your waybill or inventory. On the other hand if you work in a bank or for the security services, credit checks are more likely if not certain.


3. "When will I be eligible for a raise?"
Companies fear underpaying people almost as much as they fear overpaying them, because a person who's underpaid vis-a-vis his counterparts in the job market is a person with one eye on the career sites. Instead of asking about your first raise before you've got the job, you can ask (at a second interview) "Does your organization do a conventional one-year performance and salary review?"

That would indicate your intention to have an interest in the job and attend regularly. I expect serving flight attendants know only to well the FA that can't be found when needed.

[singaporegrrl]

This is taken from a website written by an experience flight attendant.



The importance of researching your potential employer cannot be over emphasised. Nowadays, with so much information at our fingertips, there is no excuse not to do your homework. Probably the easiest and quickest way to access up-to-date information is via the Internet. Spend some time exploring the company’s web site.

If you haven’t got easy access to the Internet, use more traditional methods - visit a business library and read through annual reports, or call the company and ask for information to be sent out to you.

Prepare answers to the most frequently asked interview questions. In particular, those questions that you may find difficult to answer and work out how you will cope with them.
Here are some examples of common questions:
Why did you apply for this job?
What do you know about our company?
Why should we give you this job and not someone else?
What are your outstanding qualities?
What are your weaknesses?
What would you like to be doing five years from now?
Why do you want to leave your current job?
Why did you leave your last job?
What motivates you?
What is your ambition?
What is your biggest achievement?
How do you handle rejection?
How do you handle tension?
How do you take direction?
What would your last boss say about you?
What were the minuses of your last job?
What have you done that shows initiative and willingness to work?
What do you see as the main responsibilities of a ___________?

For a comprehensive list of interview questions and answers you may want to consider purchasing or borrowing “Great Answers to Tough Interview Questions”

[inuya]

hiii there....its been of great help reading ur heartfelt experience as a flight attendant...in fact it did was an eye-opener for me...Im always carried away by how to get all this application thingy being done *tho i still have yet to submit one* cos our CV really does make a huge impact and failure of rejection is always in one corner of my mind. But now i've been able to feel all those real pressures forseen in a cabin crew's career through ur sharing. Ultimately, sheer hard work is always required to survive in this world. It gets tiresome someday too but i guess working the extra mile and to be able to live ur dream must have been a great achievement for all working flight attendants. Im already facing some pressures and Im sure in a working environment, it will be even more tensed-up and challenging. Its been quite hard to get informations regarding airline jobs as Im quite new to Sydney and it would be a totally different situation if i was in Spore...unfortunately, i missed the sydney open day for QA and emirates recruitment. I was wondering if they will still consider my application if i submit it. Nevertheless, ur posts helped me heaps today and im thankful to u and all.

Ps: still a lost amateur:), trying to reach my mark

[Khalid]

Hi Guys

I am a 36 year old Singaporean who is looking for an opportunity to be a cabin crew with either Qatar, Emirates or Eitihad.
However it worries me that this job seems to have more downside than the glamourous hype I thought it always had.
I kept reading the horrible things that a cabin crew has to go through and are all these really true ?

I am currently with a very stable job and am earning a comfortable salary.
Is it a good option to join the airlines ?