British Airways cabin crew recruitment (deadline 14 Nov. )

[piggybag]

HI ladies,
aint you glad it is all over? mine was the 1st dec... i must really say, this is one of the most professional airline interview for CC i ever attended! I have already block out SQ, really wanted to be a SQ gal initially but well i dont think i want to be part of them anymore after my last interview few years back.. the interviewers were extremely rude to the interviewees, mind you, not even their employee YET and they are so rude to everyone... gosh.. BA is totally adverse... impressive and smart. gosh.. i think you are right.. even if i failed i still get to know the reason why i failed... and i think i failed happily! *ha* it was an experience worth the time!
And i met some of the gals there who were also as nervous as myself.. but after the interview.. you just laugh your way home... and not sulk...

Oink oink!

[*aster*]

hello everyone

just to share my experience...

i had my interview on 1st Dec @ 430. Anyone there that time? And, yes i totally agree with all of u, it was one of the best interview expereince i had too. All the professionalism and smiles portrayed were all definately sincere.

My chinese passage was the one abt the Marina barrage one i think..gosh i was guessing my way thru with the words ("you pian du pian") my tranlation was smth on the menu that is being served.....stir fried beef with black bean sauce and chicken mushroom pasta! haha...oh well i tried my best..gave it my best shot...the interviewer were really nice and not at all intimidating in any sense..thumbs up for BA!

and for now we shall all just pray n wait for the phone call.....until the 20th...good luck to all of u!!! Cheers!

[disaster]

lindyhoppe! I was there at 230pm too and I screwed up the whole interview. After looking through the Chinese passage, I just admit the truth to the panel that my Chinese ain't good. She asked me to give it a try. I stared blankly at those bunch of Chinese words. I read the first two words and I didn't know how to continue cause I can't recognize any. She explained to me that they're looking for fluent mandarin speaker as their route are mainly to china and etc. I apologized for taking up her time, she gave me a smile and a hand shake. I'm lucky to have her as panel. And the cabin crew who took our height & weight are lovely!

[trolleydolly]

I had the Marina Barrage Passage and arrival at Amsterdam for translation. My english passage was on science and the only word i can remember for life in my head is "Nematodes". I was so nervous.

Although they told us to wait till the 20th, every now and then when my HP rings and the number shown is a residential/office no., i pick it up lightening quick.. only to know it's some bank, client etc. The wait is killing.

Heads up all! and good luck =)

[jeff2861]

sound realli tough for the BA interview ah

[Flippin]

All those who went can now heave a sigh of relief! From my last 2 attempts, i remember them as very friendly and professional.

They do look for people who are effectively bilingual. If you fare badly for the language assessment, you definitely won't make it to the 2nd stage. But there are also those are proficient but do not make it through. At my last attempt, I sat beside this pretty girl so chatted to her. She told me she scored B3 for English and A1 for Chinese and she knows all the airline terms as her sister was with China airline. Even though she answered me when i strike up conversation with her, she had an air of not-so-friendliness. She wore this super mini skirt with a halter neck top. When i saw her again after the interview, she was so confident as she found the exercises easy. When i emailed her (she reluctantly gave me her email address) to ask her if she made it to the 2nd round, she said she didn't. I can't help but think that it could be her dressing and her unfriendly demeanour that failed her.

They do not only focus on your language skills but also how you behave; are you friendly and approachable; do you dress appropriately etc as all these speak volume about a person and how well suited you are for this job and how much you value the job. If you remember, they took down notes even before you started reading. We are often too caught up with the task at hand we forget to smile and be warm!

All of you sound lovely so i'm sure if you do not make it it is because of the language exercises.

Keep us posted ya!!

[msgrapey]

anyone ever wondered if they were to make this into a reality tv show, the viewership will be high??!! coz so many of us have been so candid...

well.. perhaps, the British Apprentice?

[trenteans]

Hi Lindy,
I'd appreciate your kindest reply regarding my 'any ex crew..' question...It's embarrassing that I couldn't even reply u directly coz I didn't post enough:(
Yeah, I was just wondering whether BA's looking for totally fresh gals who has no flying experiences before or otherwise...I'm a cabin crew, but I didn't get called, i'm fine with it though..guess it's not my fate to be there:)

I'd like to give my best wishes to all gals who went for the interview. Flying is never an easy job but if you have the passion you will make it one day..

[Plavt]

Hi Lindy,
I was just wondering whether BA's looking for totally fresh gals who has no flying experiences before or otherwise..

Very hard to say; one view is they might want somebody with no experience so the the company can train them their particular way. On the other hand experience counts for a lot in a recession when employers are not keen to spend money on training.

I assume you made your application in writing so maybe that had something to do with it?

[saraqz]

I've been to many airline interviews and I must say that the BA interview I attended on 2nd Dec was the best I've attended so far. I was in the 4.30pm slot and all 13 people in my slot finished their interview session before 5.30pm! Waiting time was kept to the minimal. It was a very well organised event.
The BA crew present were warm and friendly, and made you feel genuinely welcomed.

I was ushered into a room directly opposite Clemenceau 1. My interviewer was a very nice young man with a warm ready smile and the interview was conducted in English (surprise surprise! since i read on the forum that the intros are usually done in Mandarin). He was very nice and made me feel very comfortable.

My reading passages were on Queen Victoria's reign (Eng) and the economic ties between Sri Lanka and Singapore (chi). The translation part was difficult cos the interviewer read very fast and there were lots of info to catch. I was scribbling like crazy. He did read out the passage twice though. It was a typical landing announcement.

For the benefit of all, here's what I remember of the passage:

"Ladies and gentlemen,
The seatbelt sign has been switched on and we will be arriving in Amsterdam soon. Please stow all your personal belongings in the overhead lockers or underneath the seat in front of you. Please fasten your seatbelt, put your seat upright, put down your armrests and pull up the window shades.You are to switch off all electronic devices. If you are wearing headsets, please remove them. May we also remind you to take some time to identify your nearest emergency exit.
Thank you."

My advice for all who's thinking of trying out for BA would be to go borrow the inflight announcement booklets of friends who are cabin crew. You will then be able to have a good idea of the written style of a typical inflight announcement and pick up useful vocab from it. Also, take down notes in point form when the interviewer is reading out the passage for you to translate,then try to string them together. As long as you've got the points right and manage to put them into a paragraph that makes sense, you'll do fine. Oh and smile, smile smile!!

That said, I didnt do very well for my interview but I learnt from it. Hope my little tips can help you prepare for the next BA interview=)

[Plavt]

My advice for all who's thinking of trying out for BA would be to go borrow the inflight announcement booklets of friends who are cabin crew. You will then be able to have a good idea of the written style of a typical inflight announcement and pick up useful vocab from it.
That said, I didnt do very well for my interview but I learnt from it. Hope my little tips can help you prepare for the next BA interview=)

A very nice post but don't limit the extent of your Chinese conversational ability to this. As you say yourself;

My reading passages were on Queen Victoria's reign (Eng) and the economic ties between Sri Lanka and Singapore

...more for other readers, remember passenger enquiries will vary and won't always be related to the airline.

[purplelily]

saraqz~ u got the same interviewer as me! as we had the same passages.

he's very friendly. becos i did not tie my hair up that day, he told me:" a personal tip from me to you, next round should you managed to get in, pls tie up your hair, you will be able to score more points on presentation."

[trolleydolly]

i got the same guy as well i think we are very blessed to meet such warm friendly people. yeah he too told me that i spoke with an accent in both my english and mandarin conversation and suggested i play it down. how do i "play down" my accent?

oh well..

[pinklush]

hi all, i went for the interview on 01 dec at 12pm slot.. And i gotta agree with you gals that the people there are really friendly and nice. They make me feel at ease, unlike some other cabin crew interviews. It feels great to know that if you got selected, you'll be working with such fabulous colleagues.. No wonder their turnover rate is low.

I got the Queen Victoria eng passage and the economic chinese passage. My interviewer was a vry nice lady, who ask me to take my time to read through the passsage and she was smiling throughout the whole interview and assuring me at the same time.

I was quite worried as i think i might be frowning when i was reading the passage as there were a few tough words.. And my translation passage was quite messy, but i think i manage to capture a few main points.

Surprisingly, i just got a call. informing me i got thru to 2nd stage. It'll be on 8 Jan..

I'm so nervous now. Don't know what to expect for stge 2. Anyone got any idea?

[BA_wannabe]

hi pinklush!

i jus received the call for 8th Jan too!! omg, to think i screwed up BOTH my eng n chi passage i still get the call..but i had confident only in my translation. My interviewer mentioned that Rd 2 will be spread over 3hrs...but Joe, the caller, mentioned it will take up half a day..hmm..wondering how long it'll really last...any idea wad does Rd 2 consist of??? im so nervous!!