How to Gain a Job as a Flight Attendant

One of my goals for the next two years is to have a job as a flight attendant with a reputable airline - preferably one from New Zealand, Australia or Canada. I have a passion for aviation and have attended interviews with Air New Zealand, Jetconnect for Qantas*, Jetstar and Virgin Australia. I know there are a lot of other girls (and guys!) out there who also want in on this sweet gig, so here is a little bit about my experience and some helpful tips to get you going:

I want to be a flight attendant because I have a passion for aviation and flying, along with making sure my customers get the best experience possible. While I initially set my sights on becoming a pilot, the training for that is extremely expensive - often over $100,000 with no concrete guarantee of a job at the end of it. I remember how my cousin, who has worked his way up to being an instructor for Air New Zealand after some thirty odd years in the aviation business, started out flying the mail plane and air ambulance to regional centres around New Zealand.

There are a couple of questions I have been asked many a time when I mention to someone I want to be a flight attendant.

The first one is, "But don't you have to go to some kind of travel school for that? I thought you went to university." When I had an interview with Virgin Australia, I had had another interview with Jetconnect around two months prior. From what a lot of the candidates who also interviewed for Jetconnect were saying, around a third of those Jetconnect selected had previously gone through Sir George Seymour**. So while having a travel college qualification is a major help and can teach you many things, it is not the be all and end all.

The second question is, "Why would you want to be a flight attendant? Isn't that just a glorified sky waitress/Walmart greeter/insert entry level customer service job here?" And the answer to that is, no it isn't. When I first arrived in Canada, I spoke to two Westjet flight attendants about their training. Both of them agreed it was harder than university. I know lots of people working as servers and in retail and none of them have used the expression "harder than university" to describe their on the job training. I also got an opportunity to speak one on one with a cabin crew trainer for Jetconnect who said that flight attendant trainees were required to pass practical and written tests that had a minimum 80-90% pass rate and study an aviation manual that was a couple of inches thick.

*Jetconnect is a subsidiary company of Qantas, similar to the way Air Nelson is a subsidiary company of Air New Zealand.**Sir George Seymour is a travel college in New Zealand that trains travel agents, flight attendants, airport staff and tourist industry staff.

What is the first step in becoming a flight attendant?

The first step in becoming a flight attendant is to network. Ask around to see if anyone knows any flight attendants or even ground staff. Talk to them, ask if they can show you around the airport and maybe introduce you to others. If you're lucky enough to meet a crew trainer, ask them what they typically look for. An alternative but expensive way to network is to go to travel college. Your teachers at travel college will typically have a minimum of five years experience as a flight attendant and will have many good contacts and tips for succeeding at interviews.

The next step is to get some customer facing experience. While I was in university, I worked as a nanny, which gives you many good skills (especially for dealing with angry people!) and will be considered by the airline, but they typically look for more than that. Other jobs I have worked at while living overseas include a ski lift operator, cabin attendant at an aerial tramway, ski instructor, cleaner, cashier and server. All of these jobs, in one way or another, provide you with opportunities to gain customer facing experience and learn vital customer service and practical skills required for being a flight attendant. My last flight attendant interview was a panel interview for Air New Zealand. There were four of us interviewing at that time - me, a woman in her mid twenties who was a guest service agent for a 4 star hotel, a man in his fifties who had been a purser on cruise ships and then worked as a service manager for the Interislander Ferries and a recent very young graduate from Sir George Seymour.

What Not to Do If You Get Offered a Panel Interview

Which brings me to talk about my next topic: How NOT to pass your coveted panel interview. First off, if you're reading this and have been offered a panel interview with an airline (The next interview after the 'cattle call' group interview or phone interview), congratulations - you are doing so well and are on the right track. So without further ado, I will tell you all the dumb, silly little mistakes I made at my panel interview which pretty much guaranteed I didn't get in.

• I insisted on going into work to do the morning shift before my interview. I am a 'people pleaser' and while that's an awesome quality for a flight attendant to have, doing that meant I had pretty much no downtime to clear my head, do my makeup, make sure I hadn't forgotten anything, find the interview room and think about what I was going to say.
• I didn't wear business wear to the interview. When selecting an outfit, I figured that because Air New Zealand's current uniform has a 'wow' factor and is really different from most Western cabin crew uniforms I've seen, it'd be okay to deviate and wear something a little bit different. So I selected a lovely bright green vintage dress that I had previously used for singing competitions. While it was a gorgeous dress, it didn't really fit in with what the others were wearing.
• I wasn't adequately prepared with answers to their questions. Part of this was just not thinking things through enough, part of it was the fact that I'd never really worked a customer facing job before. I particularly struggled with the question, "Tell me about a time you had a dispute with a colleague." After working a few different types of customer service jobs, I have a much better idea of how I'd answer questions like this.
• I forgot the interviewer's name. Yeah... not a good look.
• I hadn't really worked with actual customers before. I bumped into the guest service agent who was a fellow interviewee a few weeks later, and she'd been offered the job. At the interview, she presented as being very friendly, yet at the same time super professional. She wore her hair in a bun, wore makeup, had a nice business suit on and was able to calmly and accurately answer the interviewers' questions. Added to that, she had some quality customer service experience.

What the Recruitment Process Is Like

Different airlines have different procedures. Jetconnect had an all day recruitment day. In the morning, we met the recruiters, were observed as we mingled, had our height measured, listened to a presentation and participated in a group exercise and presentation. After, we were sent away for lunch break and shortly after got a phone call either inviting us back for a panel interview or inviting us to reapply in six months. I had lunch with several other interviewees and most of them were in the second category - including a lady who had worked at Air New Zealand as a fixed term flight attendant.

Virgin Australia had a process where we spent the first half hour or so in a hotel lobby mingling and being observed, followed by a presentation and group exercise, followed by more mingling, followed by individual interviews of around five minutes long. They sent emails out around a fortnight later informing you if you had been shortlisted or not.

Air New Zealand had a phone interview as their first stage interview along with a short online questionnaire. I got through it easily. I then got sent a time for a final interview where, as I said, there were four of us. We participated in a very short presentation, followed by a group exercise, followed by an individual panel interview.

Jetstar has a video interview as the first stage interview followed by, I imagine, a similar in person interview to the ones I described above.

Some of the questions I was asked at interview:

• Why do you want to be a flight attendant/work for [insert airline name here]? You will almost certainly get asked this, and do NOT do what a thousand other candidates before you have done and say, "Because I love people and I love to travel" or some variant on that. The interviewers are looking for more than that.
• You have a university degree? Why are you applying for a job as a flight attendant when you could do a job that requires a degree? Don't say what I said about not being able to decide between working in the aviation industry or going to teacher's college.
• What are some important qualities a flight attendant should possess? And do you think you possess those qualities? Some good ones are patience, an interest in people, an extrovert, an ability to stay calm under pressure or when angry, an ability to deal with different types of people, willing to accommodate customers' unique needs, not easily upset, an ability to deal with difficult people, physically fit, well groomed and a good work history in customer service.
• Tell me about a time a customer was unhappy with their service. What did you do to make things right? You will have your own answer to this.
• Tell me about a time you had a dispute with a colleague. Again, you'll have your own answer to this. For me, I had an argument with a supervisor who suddenly decided I was ready to give public speeches when I really had no clue what to say and wanted an extra day to prepare. I tried to reason with her, but she wasn't moved and said that nobody would die if I failed. Our passengers started crowding into the tram and I knew I had to do it. I took a deep breath and started talking, and after a couple of minor disasters, was giving the routine speech every trip. At the end of the day, I actually thanked her for having confidence in my ability.
• Tell me about a time you've had to deal with stress at work. Could be from a nasty coworker, difficult customer, limited time pressures, emergency situation, anything.
• They will probably ask you a scenario question. For me, they gave me a scenario where I was on a 7 hour flight from Auckland to Perth and was approached by a very distressed guess who was shouting in another language. What do you do? Examples could include: Asking for his boarding pass and then going back to his seat to question those sitting next to him, or questioning any bystanders. Ask for his passport and then make a PA announcement for anyone who knows the country's national language to please press their call button. Ask your service manager for help. Speak very slowly and use sign language and/or a translator to try and figure out what the problem is. Escort him to security when you land and ask for an interpreter. Above all: You are in a metal tube in the sky, so do whatever the hell you can to keep this person calm.
• If you're running late for a flight and a sobbing, distressed passenger runs up to you begging you to show them where their gate is because they're totally lost, what do you do? Prioritise. Delegate. If you're headed for a gate in the same area, offer to show them. If you're not and you're really pushed for time, grab another airport worker who can or take them to an information booth to get a map.
• Can you tell us something interesting about you? Think of a sensible answer - for example, have you ever done something you were afraid of to challenge yourself? Did you audition for a TV show? Have you traveled overseas to an interesting country or city?
• What are your strengths/weaknesses? Think about a strength that an airline would really value that not everybody else in the room will have. For a weakness, do not give them something you consider an actual weakness - for example, if you curse like a sailor or yell when you're angry, don't tell them that. Just say something like, "Sometimes, I feel I could benefit from seeing things from my coworkers' points of view a little more" or "I'm a very honest person, unfortunately not everyone appreciates that."
• How would you feel about cutting your hair if we asked you to? Are you willing to relocate? Think carefully about your answers to these questions, because they could hold you to them if you're hired.

What to Wear to an Interview

Women:

Business wear, meaning: Knee length black, grey or navy skirt (trousers are fine if you don't like skirts). Business shirt. Blazer or jacket. Maybe a small cabin crew style scarf around the neck if you've got one. A moderate amount of makeup, preferably in the airline's colours.

Nail polish - clear polish is fine. Business shoes that are polished and don't have a heel of more than a couple of inches.

Get your hair done beforehand. You don't have to wear a bun, but should have it neat and tidy and tied back if it's longer than shoulder length. If you want to stand out.

Men:

Trousers, shirt and jacket in the above colours. Business shoes that are polished. Tie in the airline's colours if you have one. You should ideally be shaven and have hair above the collar and your overall appearance should be neat and tidy.

Hair should be a natural looking colour, neat and tidy and in an appropriate professional style. If you don't want your hair in a bun, consider a bob or high ponytail to allow yourself to stand out.

If you have any facial piercings, take them out for the interview. Some airlines such as Westjet allow nose piercings, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Do not get any tattoos on your face, neck, feet, hands, arms or legs. If you already have them, see if you are able to cover them up with concealing makeup such as Thin Lizzy. If you can, don't tell the airline you have them as they frown on tattoos, even if they are able to be covered with makeup.

Any tips for interview day?

• Allow yourself ample time to prepare, to get dressed, to get to the interview location and to find the room.
• Practise answers to possible questions.
• Get a good night's sleep the night before.
• Iron your clothes and polish your shoes.
• Make sure you have everything you need, such as passport, photos, forms, etc.
• Smile until your cheeks hurt.
• Be polite and friendly to the staff there, as they may be training you.
• Be polite and friendly to the other interviewees, as you may be training and working together.
• Be polite and friendly to the reception staff, as if you are not, it will get back to the airline.
• If you have to leave or have to go to your car to get something, let the interviewer know. Do this in training as well, as I have seen someone get dropped from training for failing to let the staff know she was leaving the building and getting herself locked out.
• Arrive at least ten minutes early. Do NOT arrive late.
• Turn your phone off. If there is a genuine reason why you cannot, let the interviewers know beforehand.
• Have fun. Maximize your work experience and personality traits. Don't let them see you're nervous.

Some Last Pieces of Advice

You will most likely have social media accounts on websites like Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, etc. You may even be part of some groups like, "A Fly Guy's Cabin Crew Lounge." Be very careful of what you say on social media, whether it is about you, other people or the industry. You are representing who you are and if you are hired, will be representing your airline as well. One Jetconnect recruiter in particular talked about people who took a sick day and then uploaded pictures of the wild party they went to the night before.

If you're offered a place in training school, prioritise that above your normal life. It is not forever and is the ultimate deciding factor in whether you get to be a flight attendant or not. If you are offered a place in training school or get through and are offered a position, be careful of how you conduct yourself in person, especially at the airport and when in uniform, as again, you are representing your airline. Respect all passengers and staff, even if it's the guy who cleans the toilets.

While I don't think that airlines in the Pacific do this, I have heard of some airlines having staff members pose as recruits and talk negatively about the airline or a competitor airline to see how candidates react. Be careful.

Be aware that if you're working for an airline based in North America, you will most likely get paid much higher than minimum wage, but for flight hours ONLY. So if you're working for one of these airlines and get guaranteed eighty hours of flight time each month, expect another twenty to thirty hours of unpaid ground time. Most airlines in other parts of the world pay salaries.