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? ;)

TT is Off the Hook!

That's TT as in me, not Tiger Airways, by the way. (I was TT way before they even existed in Australia!)

Well if you have read my Tiger Airways trip report, you may recall I had a little run-in with the staff regarding taking pictures on the tarmac. It wasn't so much being told I couldn't take pictures that was the problem, but that the staff member concerned tried to fob me off by saying it wasn't a Tiger policy, but an airport one.

Boy, she picked the wrong person to use that line on. Thing is, I used to WORK for that airport, and there was never any policy in place at that time, which she tried to tell me had been a policy since 2006. (Wrong).

Anyway, just to clarify and make sure nothing had changed since then, I got in touch with the airport authority. I was referred to their security operations manager. I had a nice chat with him regarding this little exchange. (EDIT: For clarity, the airport concerned is Perth)

The outcome was that taking 'holiday pics', or photos for personal use (i.e. not to sell) is ABSOLUTELY 100% FINE according to airport rules. The only time it's not allowed is if you want to do a commercial photo shoot, in which case you just need prior permission & access agreements. In his words, taking a photo of the plane you are boarding is not a crime, it is not forbidden, and it is most certainly NOT against airport policy. So really, Tiger staff were wrong to say that the 'no photo' rule came from the airport. As the security operations manager said, if it were against airport policy, they would have signs saying so, as they do with the 'No Mobile Phones' sign at the gates.

So Tiger, please tell your staff to stop giving out incorrect information to your passengers. You can tell us not to take photos on your planes (if you really want that crappy publicity on your hands) but you can't say no to us taking our holiday pics on the tarmac!

PHOTO: Zimbio.co

EDIT: Tiger Airways responds that Melbourne Airport advise them tarmac photos are not allowed. Perhaps in the interests of clear information, Tiger should add this to their website, as currently there is no information aside from mobile phones. Interestingly, there's a Facebook group for Tiger staff and at least one photo in thhere is taken on the tarmac at what looks to be Melbourne airport. So, either it's a security breach, or it isn't...

Anyway, I'll always do what staff ask me on board flights, but in Perth at least, I'll happily snap my pics thanks very much!

Fly on the Tiger... (Trip Report)

TIGER AIRWAYS TT812/813

AIRCRAFT: Airbus A320

I arrived at the airport well in time to check in ahead of Tiger's strict 45-min cutoff policy. There were only a few people in front of me, so five minutes later I was at the front of the queue.

I was greeted by a friendly older lady, who asked me for my ID. (Being a smart traveller, I put my airline ID in the license holder of my wallet, hehe) This garnered me a plum exit-row seat (on the aisle no less) without having to pay the $25 exit row fee, or the $5 seat selector fee which normally apply. There was a motive on her part though- current rules require a certain amount of passengers to be seated in 'self-help' exit rows.

As I was playing within the rules and only had a carry-on bag, she checked the bag complied with the 7kg limit, and gave me a tag to attach to my bag so that gate staff would know it was ok to board.

I also had a handbag but they didn't seem to notice/care about that. This bag contained my netbook, bottle of water and other similar items which would have certainly put my rollaboard over 7kgs. But noticed most of the other passengers had handbags or laptop bags as well. If they were on the smaller side, they didn't seem to have tags.

Once she gave me my boarding pass (the scannable kind which look like a supermarket receipt)

I headed through security. Aside from a bunch of foreigners thinking it was ok to cut the line while I was about to put my bag on the belt, security screening went without a hitch. I got pulled aside for the screening test, signed my name, and on my way to the departure lounge.



In the lounge I bought a couple of magazines & some water, then browsed the books to pass some time. Soon it was time to board. Our flight was boarding via the tarmac, front & rear stairs according to seat row. This was when I had an interesting exchange with a member of Tiger staff. I took a photo of our plane (flash off of course as it was night time)

and immediately was pretty much shouted at. When I asked what the problem was, she rather rudely informed me that taking photos on the tarmac is not allowed. (More on this issue later-I'm currently following it up with the airport authorities, as I have worked at this airport and there was never a no-photo policy for other than commercial use)

Once on the plane, I stowed my bag & rollaboard in the overhead locker, and took my seat in the exit row, reading the briefing card like a good little passenger.

One of the cabin crew came over to give the exit briefing, while it covered the main points I did note there was no advice on what to do should the exit be unsafe, other than not to open it. Personally, I brief the passenger if an exit is unsafe they must not let anyone exit and direct them to the nearest exit being used. I guess Tiger like to keep basic with this as well as their service.

Here are a few observations from my two sectors with Tiger:

* Seat pitch is pretty cramped. Worse when the person in front slams their seat back the instant the seatbelt sign goes off. When my seat was fully reclined, the (empty) seat next to me was only about 3 inches ahead. According to their website, Tiger's seat pitch on the A320 is 72.5 cm for standard rows. I think they've measured this in the reclined position, as it doesn't look like 72cm when the seats are upright.

Here's a picture taken from the side.

My netbook is only about 8 to 9 inches long from front (screen) to back, and was resting right up on the seatback in front. I wasn't leaning forward, so you can see there isn't much room. I had to prop my elbow up just to type. It wwasn't very comfortable. I suggest don't work on Tiger flights! :P

* If you're right handed & want to use a laptop, go for a seat on the RHS, sitting in the A seat means you can hardly type, without getting pins and needles, especially if the seatback in front is also reclined all the way.

*There was a giant wad of chewy on my tray table, and in both airsick bags in the seat pocket. Menu card wass really tatty. Tiger would do well to spend the extra 10c laminating each card, instead of having to replace them all the time. Crew were obliging when I asked for wipes to clean table, but didn't take them away again. I had to go to the lav to dispose of my trash as only one trash run was done on the whole flight- understandable on a SYD-CBR perhaps but not a 3 hour flight.

* Although the cabin crew walk around while the seatbelt sign is on, at least they DO enforce it, asking pax who stand up to be seated until it is off.

* For a newish A320, the toilets sure reeked a lot! Not just 'during the flight' smell, but the deeply-ingrained smell of pee that a men's toilet in a park might have. Not sure why this is, maybe they don't deep clean them very often. As you can see, the pee spends a bit of time on the floor of the lavatory.


* Service consists of one run-through with the carts (selling small snack items & some beverages)

followed by the trash cart. No more trash runs, even toward the end of the flight. Seeing as TT crew get comission on sales, you'd think it'd be worth one more quick run with the cart on night flights, as not everyone sleeps, and they'd make more money on sales. Not to mention that there's plenty of time on a 3 hour flight, and the crew seem quite bored (judging from the huge pile of magazines on the galley bench that even a well-read mag hostie would be amazed by)

* Another interesting thing to note: While soft drinks are served, the only choices are Coke, Diet Coke & Solo Lemon (like Lift or Mountain Dew). No lemonade to be seen. The Tiger website also advertises their menu as having the good old cheese & crackers pack that Virgin also sell. The crew tell me they haven't had them on board for quite some time, around 6 months I believe. Seemsan update is in order!

* With regard to alcoholic beverages, Tiger really cater to the 'bogan' stereotype, serving only wine or the pre-mixed bourbon & Coke in cans. Not even a pre-mix Smirnoff! What about vodka drinkers, Tiger??? While I'm sure they do very well with old Jim, it couldn't hurt to add vodka to cater to a wider audience.

RETURN FLIGHT NOTE: Check-in was fairly quick, although enforcement of the 7kg carry-on luggage limit seemed to be a bit hit and miss. Most of the check-in staff seemed oblivious to the old 'hide the bag' game, which I witnessed several passengers play as I waited in line. trust me, you wouldn't get away with that at Virgin! Tiger also make you put a tag on your bag which means it's passed the weight check at check in. The only fault with this system is I freely bought bottled water, several magazines and some food items which would have taken my bag above the 7kg limit. (Let's not talk about the handbag on my shoulder, which I would have happily given up for weighing if they had actually asked to) Then again, I don't think other airlines weigh bags after check-in, unless they're obviously heavy-looking or oversized.




Overall impressions? if you want to get somewhere cheaply, albeit a bit uncomfortably for my 5'5" frame, then Tiger is for you. The service is about what you'd expect at your local Coles, but then again there's not much chance for the crew to go 'above and beyond'.

If you want more comfort, a bit of a laugh and a reasonable selection of food, drinks & entertainment, fly Virgin. If you want better legroom on Virgin, book your trips on the Embraer E190 (no tv's but the legroom is way better than the 737, and leaps ahead of Tiger)

If you want pretty good seats, the chance to upgrade on points to 'real' business class and unlimited booze (between capital cities weekdays & Perth and everywhere else 7 days a week) fly Qantas' CityFlyer service.

Tiger: Cheap A-B, but they'll growl if you don't read the T&C's...

PS- Don't take photos... well, at least until we find out if this 'no-photo' policy is enforceable or not...

This one was in Adelaide, for testing purposes. Once again, Tiger staff pounced... Interesting, as photos on the tarmac have never been a problem when taking Virgin Blue or Qantas flights at this airport...


Adelaide Airport check-in area


Tiger check-in desks


Baggage collection

Blogging Live from Adelaide!

I'm sitting at gate 19 of Adelaide's lovely new airport terminal building, awaiting my 2nd flight with Tiger Airways.

The reason I'm loving being online right now is that I'm not on my smartphone (which although great to type on is not so good for blogging) but my trusty EeePC netbook. I've been 'surfing the webs' for the last 3 and a half hours courtesy of Adelaide Airport's FREE wifi access throughout Terminal 1. BRILLIANT!!! All I can say is, BEST. AIRPORT. EVER. I have to say in the Internet aspect, they even beat out Singapore's Changi Airport (TOUGH GIG!) -because you can use your OWN computer with the provided wifi. So far, I haven't been able to do that with my own laptop.

I've been happily doing work, sending emails & organising my iTunes library. Hey, if it means I pay an extra $5 tax every time I fly here on a bought ticket, so be it!

Currently, I'm gathering thoughts for my Tiger Airways Trip Report (TR).

Unfortunately photos aren't as forthcoming, being as it's been nighttime sectors, and the Tiger staff seem unusually camera shy for an airline who have their own tv show.

Got to go, time to board!!! Wish me luck...

Stay tuned for the TiGRRRRRRRRR trip report