eeeeEK! What to Do For an Airline Assessment Day

Over the last few years I've dished out a lot of advice on how to get through the circus that is airline recruitment. There's never any hard and fast rules, as everyone is different, but the general principles are the same. You can do a search for the 'interview' tag elsewhere on my blog.

Recently, I was contacted by a flight attendant hopeful, who was worried because she had just gotten the much-hoped for invitation to assessment day for a major airline. Kim has given me permission to share some of her emails with you in the hope that other FA wannabes can find some helpful information from her experience.

KIM: Why I have decided and taken this weird chance and emailing you, as Airline is having an Open day this Saturday in --------. I have been going to the Open days since I was 18 years old with other friends who could register. It's been a lengthy wait, but very worthwhile. I went last year, however was rejected as I was underage. Just emailing you for some advice

TT: Thanks for writing to me, I'm always glad to hear that people enjoy my blog.

My best advise for a resume is to keep it very neat and no longer than 2 single pages (1 side on 2 different sheets)

What experience have you had that would help you as a flight attendant? If you've had a job that lets you face customers, great! Put that down. If not, then what have you done in other areas? For example, in school you may have been on a team for an assignment. Or maybe you have done some babysitting. Highlight things you have done that give you responsibility, or where you've helped others. You could use just about any sort of job and relate it to being a flight attendant. Don't worry that you haven't been a flight attendant before, it doesn't matter! They just want to know that you like people and you have ambition to do well.

When I started out, I looked on the internet for examples of cabin crew-specific resumes. Cabincrew.com has a good 'Jobs' area with some tips as well. And you could also go to one of the job agencies for tips, or even use a book from your local library for advice. (Just make sure that it's not too old). I've used templates from Microsoft Office and adjusted them so they fit- adding in my own information. Just remember to keep it simple- the recruiter can always ask you for more information!

On resumes, cover letters & photos:

To be honest, at the open day the recruiters will not read the cover letter- I have seen people give them cover letters before and they really don't look at it. If they like you, they will ask you to tell them why you want to work for them (all things you mention in your letter) at the interview stage. So it would be best to keep it to just the resume plus the photos, nicely set out.

Colour isn't a problem if it's for things like headings, and if it makes it clearer to see things than if in black and white. Maybe print one of each and see which looks more effective. Sometimes simplest is best.As for paper, white is always best as it's simple and they don't need to see fussy, just professional.

If you haven't already, learn some facts about the airline from their website, so you may know answers to any questions they might ask the group on the first part of the Open Day. And above all, relax and SMILE! :)

KIM:Thank you for helping a stranger. You have given me great and specific advice and will let you know how the day goes!! Reallly excited and nervoussssss! hehe but will remember to Relax and Smile :)

A few days went by and then I got this email from Kim:
Hey TT!!!
You are my lucky charm :) honestly! without your help I wouldn;t have gone this far :)
Well guessssss what! I went along Saturday, there were approx 300 people, got through to the assessment day which was yesterday and now I have made it through to the final interview which is going to be on Wednesday at 4:00pm!!!! OMMMMGGG! I am wrapped, now can I ask u some questions about the final interview if you don't mind? Like how should my behaviour be? I should be myself? What type of questions they might ask?

TT:Just be yourself, think before you speak and remember that when we are nervous, we all speak faster than we think we do. So just remind yourself the recruiters want to know about you- just pretend you are talking to someone at the desk in Centreliyour office. Don't give too much information, just answer what they ask you. If they want to know more, they will ask. E.g. What did you like about working at yor office, you could say 'I enjoyed being able to help people when they were having problems'. If they ask why, you could say something like 'It made me feel I was doing a good job' or 'I like to help others and especially be useful'.

Think about all the jobs you have had and what they might ask you about them. Think about times you might not have done as well as you should. Don't be afraid to admit making a mistake in your job, as long as you show that you have learnt from it. You could say what you would do differently now in the same situation.

And don't worry if you're nervous, just tell them you are, they will understand- everyone is! If you need to come back to a question, ask if you can think about it and have another question in the meantime.

KIM:Hey! I did it, I was nervous, did become calm after sometime, they made me do a test after the interview (which last like 25 mins) is that bad? i'm worried now :(

TT:I wouldn't worry too much about the test, usually they pick random people and it's just to see how you work at a problem. If you were on your own they probably want to see how you go about solving a task and work to a time limit. If you had a group it would just be again like the assessment day, seeing how you work in a team.

In my company everyone did a quiz to see our personality, it's nothing to worry about! Well done, all you can do now is relax and wait to hear back. Did they give you a time frame when they will contact you by?

KIM:Hey heyyyy! I'm sooooooooooo happy I got my golden call this afternoon after 11 days from my interview, my DOJ is -------! Can't wait! Got to get all the medical done now!! Just wanting to thank you soo much for being there with me through this journey! :)

TT:I'm so pleased for you! Well done!!! What good news!

Best wishes to Kim as she embarks on her new career in the skies. Be sure to keep us posted on how you are doing. Maybe even start your own blog, eh? ;)

Flight Attendant Style

Browsing the web this morning (due to finally reaching my boredom threshold with work-related reading, I admit it!) I happened upon some photos of flight attendants in the US. What I find really interesting is the difference between the grooming rules there, and how strict the airlines here in Australia are.

For example, one of the photos (found on Google search) showed two FAs doing a service, and the interesting thing to me was that they have their hair down. Many other American FAs have commented to me that they're allowed to have their hair down. Even one of our famous FA bloggers, Heather Poole, has some photos on her site where the ladies have their long-ish hair down. (BTW I think Heather has beautiful wavy hair that I'm very jealous of!!) :P


Here in Australia female FAs are restricted in how they may wear their hair. Generally, if your hair is longer than your collar or touches your shoulders, it has to be up. The most common options are: French roll, chignon/bun or ponytail/plait. If it's worn in a ponytail or plait, it must be 30cms or shorter once tied back, or it has to be completely 'up'.

Etihad FAs show how up-dos are done.

There's also rules about the kinds of hairties you can have. (Plain black, brown or blonde elastics) either covered with a clip, ponytailer shield (in black or tortoise) or a black ribbon tied in a bow. Some crew use hair donuts

but I think they look RIDICULOUS because most girls use one which is too large, you're meant to pick a small one because it gets bigger when your hair goes over it. Also, the idea is to pin the 'edges' of the donut to your head, not just the hair ends, or it looks as though, well, you have a donut stuck on your head!! :P Kind of like some Virgin Atlantic crew I saw in London, who had the donuts up next to their ears. So not classy!

Another difference I've noticed is during discussions about crew shoes (yes, we'll talk about ANYTHING!!!) While were allowed to wear flats in-flight (only after take-off), they cannot be either a) totally flat like a ballet shoe or b) have any straps, be clogs etc. They have to be something like this:


Our other shoes have to be a court shoe, leather no patent, with heels which are a certain height & width.

There's not much scope for personal choice here. No stilettos either, though I do try and push the rules a bit. My 'tarty' shoes LOOK like stilettoes from the side, but actually are a standard wide court heel. Yay for illusion, they look so much better with the uniform than blocky shoes. My other shoe hate is court shoes which are too blocky. Makes girls look like those chickens with the feathers covering their feet!

Rules also cover things like what kind of watch we can have, the size of our earrings (no dangling earrings here!) width of bracelets, nail polish colour, makeup style, what kind of makeup to have (minimium of blush, powder, mascara and coloured gloss), where our name tag goes, what our bags look like, what tags we can have on our bags (most crew ignore this one) and even up to what sort of perfume we wear. Most Middle Eastern airlines are very similar, except I don't think any of them allow for a pony tail.

Here's some nicely turned-out Air France FAs. If you click on the picture it also has information about the photographer and a book he wrote about flight attendants.


What do you think? Do you prefer more 'casual' crew (like Southwest) or do you like it better when the crew look 'perfect' (Singapore, Etihad, Air France). I'd love to hear your comments!

Virgin Blue crew

Qantas crew

Jetstar crew

Flying the A380- Singapore Airlines Trip Report (Part 2)

Once I had boarded & stowed all my stuff, I set about getting some pictures. As I hadn'tdone much long-haul flying as a passenger, I erred on the side of caution & requested an aisle seat. It was a bit annoying as I usually like a window seat for that reason, but the people sitting in my row were nice enough to let me lean over them to snap a few pics.




(The seat layout on the SQ 380 is 3-4-3 on main deck economy- I think it's the same for upper deck as well, though I only got a brief look)


I'd also like to add I really love the seat pockets- not only was there a section for the afore-pictured magazines & safety card, but additional elasticised pockets for iPod, camera, water bottle or whatever else one wants to cram in there. I could fit all the essentials near to hand without having to resort to rummaging in the overhead every 10 minutes.

Another neat feature (sadly forgot to photograph it) was the footrest. I found it a bit awkqard when sleeping, but good when I was awake watching tv,and wanting to take the weight off my feet. I think this might be better than the foot-net that Qantas have, but as I haven't yet tried that I can't be certain.

After take-off, the crew came around with a drinks service. Looking at the menu, I saw they were offering a Singapore Sling. Of course, I had to try it, in honour of my first trip on the SQ A380. I had thought it would be made with a pre-mix, but no, the friendly Singapore Girl mixed it all to order from the drinks cart:


That was really cool, but quite strong, so I also got a lemonade to have with the peanuts.


Next was our meal, which was really tasty. Again with the metal cutlery, which is kind of strange to see after dealing with plastic knives for so long! I ate pretty much everything, and then they gave out some icecream which was small pieces of icecream covered in chocolate. They were really good!

After lunch, most people went to sleep or watched movies, so I took the chance to have a wanfder around and look at the plane. I'm still kicking myself, at the time I felt like I was taking lots of photos but later when I looked at them I realised I didn't have any of the stair case or upper deck. Oh well, next time!



View out of the Right 5 door viewing window. The clouds were really cool, but they also gave us some turbulence. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I found it odd that the seatbelt sign didn't seem to be enforced. An announcement would be made, but after that people still got up and walked around with not really any interference from the crew. (They do things differently I guess!)

The plane nerd in me had to take a picture of this...
Airbus logo on each of the doors.



One for my flight attendant readers:
The door mechanism is a lot different from what we might be used to... although it does have similarities to others in the Airbus family.

Just think, it once took a week to make this trip! Now it's under 14 hours.



Getting there...


About an hour and a half before we arrived we also got a supper/dinner. This was chicken with noodles and was really good! Kind of like chicken noodle soup, but without the soup :P

And a few final 'plane geek' photos :)

The Heathrow Express train from Paddington to the airport. It's pretty high-tech, a lot like a plane itself. See the exit-row lighting, and the folding seats near the door which look like crew jumpseats. It even had wi-fi!! Took about 15mins to make the trip, which was well worth 16 pounds. (Hint: If you're crew, show your airline ID, the nice guy at the ticket counter gave me a crew ticket for 8 pounds!!)


The iPod connector on the seatback entertainment console:

The A380 also has AV input for a portable DVD or similar, and also allows you to view content from a USB stick like PDF files and Word documents. If you're not sure about what plane you're flying, or what facilities it has on board, check the airline website or the ever-handy Seat Guru website.


The IFE handset. The reverse side has a keyboard (for seat to seat messaging that hot guy ;) and gaming buttons for the multitude of games such as Mummy Mania and WHo Wants to Be A Millionaire. Hours of fun!

And I found this amusing:

The A380 is so big they give you a map to fiure out where your seat is!!!

Overall, I really enjoyed the flight and the crew were great- nothing was too much trouble. It's true- Singapore is a great way to fly!

Stay tuned for a Singapore Girl pic on the Galley Curtain blog =)