Mondrago My Travel Teacher

Helping people into the airline & travel industry since 2007

British Airways Cabin Crew Recruitment

Ok, so last time we met Stephanie she had just been invited to take part in the British Airways online tests (eek!) So, let’s go and find out more.

Ok, so the British Airways online application process is split into three sections:

The British Airways online assessment is split into 3 sections

Ok, so as the title suggests, you are given a range of work-related scenarios and you have to choose what you think are the most effective and least effective solutions to the scenario.

You are given a practice question to allow you to understand what they are looking for and then it’s into the real thing!

The British Airways Work related scenario questions look like this
The British Airways Work related scenario questions look like this

I have to be honest, some of the scenarios were quite difficult and I really had to think about it as the answers certainly weren’t obvious and there were times when I swithered between one answer and another.

My tip to you would be to eliminate the least effective option first of all (i.e. the worst solution) and then think about what would be the best solution between the two remaining options.

Another thing I would advise you to do, is to really think about what cabin crew do and learn as much as you can about the role before applying.

Remember, that the key role is safety on-board and you should always bear this is mind when answering these scenarios.

So, for example, there is a scenario relating to a passenger who won’t do up her seatbelt before take-off.

Passengers must fasten their seatbelts when the seatbelt sign is fastened, and cabin crew cannot deviate from this rule so you would need to INSIST that the passenger fastened her seatbelt or she wouldn’t be allowed to travel.

So, the more you know about what cabin crew actually do, the better prepared you will be for this section.

You also need to make sure that you understand how important good customer service is to British Airways and the more you can demonstrate your understanding of this in these scenarios, the better you will do.

There are 15 scenarios in total, so you really do need to know a lot about the role of cabin crew.

After this you move on to the next section where your working styles will be assessed.

Working Styles

This is effectively a psychometric test which is basically a personality test, to see if your “personality” fits with what British Airways are looking for.

Please don’t try and second guess the airline here and give answers that they “want” to hear.

If you are not being true to yourself, then ultimately, are you making the correct career choice?

So, ultimately, please just give your most honest answers.

When I did it, sometimes I knew what they were looking for (like a good team player) but a lot of the time I didn’t, so my advice is just to be as honest as you can.

People say you can’t practice psychometric tests and to an extent you can’t.

However, an acronym known as OCEAN is often used by airlines when it comes to these tests.

These are often known as the “Big 5” personality traits and they stand for openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

Airlines will generally look for a high degree of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness and a low degree of neuroticism so this is what you should be looking for if you do try online psychometric testing.

The questions look like this:

You had to decide if a statement was completely untrue, fairly untrue, neither true or untrue, fairly true or very true.

As you can see, I chose very true for 2 and fairly true for 2, but it wouldn’t allow me to do this as you are only allowed to choose each category once each time, which I certainly think made it more difficult.

There are 12 of these questions in total and there are four statements in each one, so it did take quite a time to do it!

Then we were on to stage 3 where you were given a numerical and language test.

Verbal and numerical ability

I was surprised at how difficult it was and to be honest, I think a lot of people will really struggle with it.

There are 10 questions in total- 5 relate to your numerical skills and 5 test your language skills.

In order to be cabin crew with British Airways, you have to be a fluent English speaker and the questions they asked would be difficult to answer unless you had a really good grasp of the language.

Because you are also dealing with money on-board your flights as well as bar and catering paperwork, you have to be good at dealing with numbers and that’s why your numerical skills are being assessed.

You get the chance to try a practice numerical and language question.

British Airways Currency Calculations

As you can see, you are given the value of 100 euros in a range of different currencies and you have to be able to do currency conversions.

If this is something you think you would find difficult, then why not download my FREE guide to currency conversion- and I’ll show you how I got the correct answer to the question above!

BA Currency Worksheet

 

British-airways-logo

 

DON’T start your online BA assessment until you’ve read my currency worksheet.

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You are then given a practice language question:

British Airways Language Question

You are asked to read a passage and then asked a question relating to the passage. Please read what they are asking for very carefully and take your time answering these types of questions as they can be tricky.

Now what makes this section of the application more difficult is that it is timed.

So, you have 20 minutes to complete this section.

There are 10 questions in total, so my advice is to spend two minutes on each question and if you haven’t got an answer in two minutes, then move on to the next one.

The first few questions relate to local time in different destinations in the world and they were hard!

I have taught this topic, but not for a few years and I have to admit, I found it difficult!

You are then asked a range of currency conversions, so if this is not your strong point, please download my FREE currency conversion guide.

You are then given five language questions, similar to the one above and that’s it- all of your online testing is over!

All you can then do, is sit back, take a deep breath and wait to hear from British Airways!

I think the online tests must be marked automatically because within an hour of submitting them, Stephanie received this email…

Stephanie received an email from the British Airways Cabin Crew Recruitment Team

Hooray- Stephanie got an invite to an assessment day!

So, let’s hope you’re next!

Pauline x

BA Currency Worksheet

 

British-airways-logo

 

DON’T start your online BA assessment until you’ve read my currency worksheet.

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British Airways Jobs – Cabin Crew

Ok, so British Airways are currently recruiting for cabin crew, so I thought I would write you a blog telling you all about their application process. I completed the online application and was invited to THE NEXT STAGE OF THE SELECTION PROCESS JUST ONE HOUR LATER
In this blog I’m going to cover

British Airways Jobs
British Airways are recruiting at the moment

Now, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Pauline Park and my passion is helping people like you become cabin crew. I have extensive experience as I have been teaching Travel and Tourism for 23 years now and, in this time, I have helped 1000’s of students get their dream jobs (including British Airways Jobs in the travel industry.

And, now I would like to help YOU.

As I’ve been teaching for such a long time, I’m (ahem) pretty old!

I’m Pauline Park and I’ve helped 1000’s of people get cabin crew jobs

So, I applied for a job as cabin crew with British Airways using one of my alter-egos called Stephanie and I would like to share our experience with you. Oh, and just so you know, here is the email I got just one hour later inviting me to the online assessment

Within an hour of submitting an application I was invited to the online assessment

British Airways Video questions

So, first up you have to watch a series of 10 videos and then you are asked a multiple choice question after each one.

This isn’t actually part of the application process but it’s been added in there to make you more aware of what the job of cabin crew actually entails.

So, for example, you are shown a video of someone having to get up at 3am to get ready for work and you’re then asked how you would cope with this.

You’ll be asked about how you will cope with early rises

Or, you see someone realising that they can’t go to their friend’s wedding as they are on duty and again, you are asked how you would deal with this.

So, in effect, what they are doing is giving you a range of typical scenarios to help you decide whether the job is really for you or not.

And, it’s not a bad idea as the reality is that the job is not for everyone and these videos highlight a lot of the more challenging aspects of being cabin crew, like the early starts, missing out on important engagements, having to deal with difficult passengers, having to sit yearly exams and having to work with different crew every time you fly.

So, whilst you are watching these videos, do have a good think about whether this is the job for you.
You are asked to answer a question after each video and you are given feedback from your answer.
Read this feedback carefully and take notes of what it says as you may find it comes in useful later in the application process.

So, then the application process begins!

British Airways Qualifying questions

You are asked to answer a range of qualifying questions.

These are the BASIC requirements that British Airways are looking for, so if you are unable to meet these requirements, then the airline will not be able to take your application any further.
You can see some of their qualifying questions below:

British Airways Cabin Crew Interview Questions
Some more British Airways Interview Questions

ONLY if you meet these basic criteria will you be able to move on to the next stage of the process.
Please DON’T lie as all of these requirements will be checked and verified before you are offered a contract of employment.

These requirements are quite detailed, so read them through carefully and do not proceed with your application until you know that you meet them all.

And, if you can’t for example, swim?

Then don’t apply at this time and go and learn to swim!

Remember, if you are unsuccessful with your application, you have to wait 6 months to apply again, so why not prepare well and pass first time instead?

Anyway, once you have answered all of these basic requirement questions, it’s time to create an account on their careers site:

British Airways Careers Portal
British Airways Careers Site

You will then be asked to upload your CV.

A perfect British Airways CV

A perfect British Airways CV

Now, I have written many a blog about CVs and you can access them here, but all I will say is that once you have uploaded your CV, there’s not much more to this stage of the application process.

So, they are deciding to invite you on to the next stage of the application process based ONLY on your CV.

So, your CV has GOT TO BE GOOD

In fact, I’d go one step further and say that your CV has to be FANTASTIC!

You really can’t afford to get this stage wrong, because if you do, that’s it for you and you will have to wait another 6 months before you can even try again!

So, don’t upload a bog-standard CV- this simply isn’t good enough.

98% of applicants who apply to become British Airways cabin crew are rejected.

And, the MOST COMMON REASON IS THEIR CV IS RUBBISH!

I see this all of the time and it drives me mad!

Really good candidates with amazing work experience and who would make really good cabin crew, but are let down by using a terrible CV.

It’s simply not enough to use a CV you wrote in school or college.

Your CV has to be absolutely tailored to the job.

And, if it’s not?

Then it will be rejected

Simple as that!

I run a FREE Facebook group called the Departure Lounge (and if you’re not in there you’d be mad not to join, as there are loads of current cabin crew- including BA- in there who would love to help with your cabin crew journey) and some of the posts in there make me laugh (or scream depending on my mood!)

There are SO MANY posts in there asking what colour scarf to wear to the assessment day or if their shoes are too pointy, of if they should wear red or pink lipstick on the day?

Reality check here guys!

#realitycheck

The simple fact is that if your CV is no good, you won’t even make it to the assessment day so all of your worries about lipstick or shoes or make-up are completely pointless!

Focus on what’s important and here, the most important thing is your CV.

So, as I said, I have written a lot about CV’s and I recommend you check it all out, but if there was only ONE piece of advice I could give you, it would be to make sure your CV is stuffed full of keywords.

Using British Airways Keywords

What are keywords?

Simple- they are the skills and characteristics that British Airways are looking for,

And, do you know what’s so amazing about keywords?

British Airways actually GIVE THEM TO YOU!

Say, what?

Yep, British Airways actually tell you their keywords.

Isn’t that incredibly kind of them?

Yes, indeed it is!

So, where are these keywords?

Well, they are found in the job specification.

Now, because I am a nice person and I’ve made it my mission in life to help people like you become cabin crew, I have gone through their job specification and made a list of these keywords for you.

You’re very welcome!

You can download a list of these keywords completely FREE by completing the form above

So, anyway, we uploaded Stephanie’s CV and sent it off.

What happens next?

Well, we sent off Stephanie’s CV and got this email one hour later…

Woo hoo- Stephanie had got through the first stage of the application process.
Go Stephanie!

Remember, this is the stage of the application process that THE VAST MAJORITY OF CANDIDATES FAIL AT.

So, this is the stage you MUST FOCUS ON.

Don’t let yourself become distracted with lipstick colours, skirt length and shoe height.

FOCUS ONLY ON YOUR CV

Because if you don’t get that correct, it’s game over!

The reality is that if you get through the first stage of the application process, you’ve actually got a much higher chance of becoming cabin crew.

The numbers get smaller and smaller as you move through the process, so conversely your chances of becoming cabin crew become higher and higher!

Research has shown that over 80% of applicants will not move on beyond the CV stage.

So, if 1,000 people apply, only 200 will move on to the testing stage.

Approximately 100 will then be invited to an Assessment Day.

And approximately 20 of them will be offered a position as cabin crew.

Why People Fail at the British Airways CV Stage

So, if you’re any good at arithmetic, you’ll quickly realise that 800 people (out of 1,000!) will FAIL at the CV stage.

Yep, that’s 80% of applications will not even make it past this stage.

AND ALL BECAUSE THEIR CV IS RUBBISH!

So, this gives you an amazing opportunity!

Why?

Well because you now know the importance of having a brilliant cabin crew CV.

I’ve also given you all the keywords British Airways are looking for.

So, you’ve no excuse now!

Go and get working on that AMAZING British Airways CV.

Keep getting rejected for cabin crew jobs?

You may already have applied for a few cabin crew jobs and felt crushed that the recruitment team for the airline read through your whole CV and concluded that you weren’t suitable for the job.

However, has anyone even LOOKED at your CV?

Because here’s the thing- chances may be that NO HUMAN HAS EVEN LAID EYES ON YOUR CV!

The truth? Your CV may well have been binned by a CV reading robot called an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)Cabin crew Jobs

You’re kidding me right? A robot?

Airlines receive THOUSANDS of applications for cabin crew each month.

So, many airlines are now using Application Tracking Systems (ATS) which is CV- reading software which allow airlines to automate, streamline and manage their recruitment process.

When you’re receiving 30,000 CVs per month, as Emirates do, it’s all about SPEED!

So, how easy is it to get past this robot?

The short answer- not easy at all!

In fact, research shows that these pesky robots reject 75% of ALL CV’s

So I’ve only got a 25% chance of getting my CV through an ATS?

You have indeed! ONLY 1 in 4 CVs sent to an airline ever will reach a pair of human eyes!

cabin crew applicant tracking system

So, why not follow our 4 easy steps (or even better download my FREE ATS Checklist) to making sure your CV gets past these pesky robots?

Download The FREE ATS Checklist

Ok, tell me more…

Step One -Keywords

For every job, there are always keywords associated with it and cabin crew is NO exception

An ATS will be looking for these keywords throughout your CV and these will be the same keywords the recruitment team has programmed an ATS to pick up

Yeah, that’s all well and good but where will I find these keywords?

The job description of course….

Check out the job description below for British Airways cabin crew

Diploma in International Airport Operations

Essential Qualities

“You are passionate about delivering service excellence every time

You are able to confidently deal with challenging and difficult circumstances and remain resilient throughout

You are an effective communicator and you are able to deliver difficult messages with confidence

You understand the need to follow rules however you are able to be flexible depending on the situational needs

You are able to learn new information easily and quickly apply it correctly

You always demonstrate a positive ‘can do’ attitude”

So, if we are thinking about keywords, these would all be good for starters:

  • Resilient
  • Confident
  • Good communicator
  • Flexible
  • Positive

Oh, that’s really helpful, thanks…

And, here’s a wee tip for you…

Find FIVE other cabin crew job postings with different airlines.  Check for keywords in these jobs too. If you find different keywords in these postings, add these to your CV too!

Here is the Cabin Crew Skills List from Thomson Airways to get you going. As you can see, there are LOADS on here…

Thomson airways cabin crew

So make sure you have ALL of the keywords airlines are looking for sprinkled liberally throughout your CV!  The more the merrier- the ATS robots will love you for it!

Anything else I should know about?

Step Two – Be careful of formatting

Don’t send your CV as a .pdf file

Applicant tracking systems lack a standard way to structure .pdf documents, so they are easily misread. They are becoming better at reading .pdf files but they can still misread important things when processing them, so better send your CV as a word document.

Also, stick to standard CV formatting in a normal font like Arial, Courier or Times New Roman. An ATS cannot read fancy font and will reject your CV just because you have confused it!

Confused ats cabin crew robot

ONLY include the usual sections of a CV- work experience, education, qualifications etc.

Applicant tracking systems can’t read graphics and they misread tables. Instead of reading left to right (as humans do), these systems read up and down so a table would be goobledygook to an ATS!

To make sure that applicant tracking systems read and import your work experience properly, always start it with your employer’s name, followed by your title, followed by the dates you held that title as Applicant Tracking Systems will look for company names first and we don’t want to confuse the robot do we?

Ok, got it- does spelling and grammar matter? I mean, it’s not as if a robot can read right? Wrong!

Cabin crew ats robot reading a book

 Step Three – Make sure there are NO spelling mistakes

Now, I know I have said this (MANY) times before, but spelling mistakes really are the DEATH of your CV!

Whilst a human can try and work out what you’re trying to say (before binning your CV in disgust!), an ATS will reject your CV IMMEDIATELY as it simply has NO idea of what you are trying to say! So, whilst it can’t read the way you and I can, it can still identify spelling mistakes (in fact, far more easily than a human can!)

So, double, triple, quadruple your CV before you send it off because ONE SINGLE SPELLING MISTAKE AND YOUR CV IS IN THE BIN!

Ok, ok- so they can read (in their own peculiar way!) Anything else I NEED to know?

Step Four – Put the most important information at the TOP of your CV

Now, we know you know this already, but no harm in reminding you! Make sure your key information is at the top of your CV, so when your CV does make it past the robot and encounters a pair of human eyes, they will be able to see very quickly just what an amazing individual you are!

So, what does this robot actually do??

An airline’s  ATS scans CV’s against the skills which have been entered by the airline.

Guess where these skills came from- yes, you got it- the keywords!

The airline may, for example, be looking for THIRTY SKILLS and the software produces a report which tells the airline how many of their required skills have been matched and also how many times this skill has been mentioned in the candidate’s CV

It will also tell the airline which skills they require are missing from the candidate’s CV. In addition, it can give an overall percentage of how well the candidate and the job “match” each other. All of this is done in literally seconds- what a clever robot!

cabin crew ats robot graduation

Often airlines are looking for a “match” criteria of 90% or over. So, are you and your dream airline a match made in heaven?

Well, if you use our ATS checklist before you send off your CV, we think you will be!

Download The FREE ATS Checklist

ATS Checklist
Download The FREE ATS Checklist

This CV Got Me An Interview For EVERY Cabin Crew Job I Applied For

Over 90% of CVs sent to airlines end up in the bin!

Cabin Crew Jobs
Follow the 5 step plan below and make sure your CV is not binned!

My name is Pauline Park and I’ve been teaching Travel and Tourism for more than 20 years.  In that time, I have helped 1000’s of students get their dream job and now I’d like to help you.  To fully understand the cabin crew application process I applied to loads of airlines and was invited to interview to every single one.

In this blog I’m going to tell you the exact five steps I used to create a CV that got me an interview with every airline I applied to.

Step 1 – Avoid the biggest Cabin Crew CV mistake you can make

Step 2 – Use Pinterest to make your Cabin Crew CV irresistible to airlines

Step 3 – Bin the CVs you can NEVER use if you want a cabin crew job

Step 4 – Match your Cabin Crew CV to what the airline wants EVERY SINGLE TIME

Step 5 – Use My Cabin Crew CV layout that got me an interview with every single airline I applied to

If you haven’t done so click the button below to download the actual CV I used to get a cabin crew interview with every airline I applied to

 

Send me the Cabin Crew CV Layout

Step 1 – Avoid the biggest Cabin Crew CV mistake you can make

I have lost count of the number of generic CVs I have read and honestly, it’s one big giant BORE! Nothing will make me switch off quicker than a bog standard CV that has obviously been written with no thought whatsoever to the job they are applying for.  Now, put yourself in your recruiters shoes.

Surely you’d want people who were passionate about wanting to work for your particular airline. Instead, I am constantly bombared with CVs which have a personal statement along these lines…

“My objective is to be able to work in a position where I am able to utilise my skills and abilities effectively, learning and growing with the company in the process. My goal is to reach a position in a company where I am able to progress into positions of higher levels of responsibility”

Now, would you think this person had a DRIVING PASSION for being cabin crew?

Nope, me neither!

Let’s talk about passion for a wee minute (and no, not the type of passion you are probably currently imagining!) I’m talking about a passion for becoming cabin crew!

So, so many of you talk to me of cabin crew being your dream job- and I don’t doubt it is! However, I cannot think of one CV I have read that demonstrates this desire.

This isn’t just my opinion however. All of the cabin crew and travel industry recruiters I have spoken to lament this lack of passion as well.

So many CVs mention they love travelling away down at the bottom of the CV.

Who is going to read away down there? No-one!

So get that statement right up the top of your CV and then back it up with some examples.

cabin crew jobs

You spent 6 months backpacking around South-East Asia? You did a summer in Boston on the Camp America programme? You went Inter-railing around Europe? Then TELL the airline this! This is infinitely more useful for them to know than that bland statement above.

Step 2 – Use Pinterest to make your Cabin Crew CV irresistible to airlines

I have written on the importance of creating an online profile before ( you can download my top 10 tips here). One thing this online profile can demonstrate SO BRILLIANTLY is your love and passion for travel.

You could have Pinterest boards set-up showing where you have travelled to as well as where you’ve dreamed of travelling.

Even more sneakily, you could set-up a few boards on your dream airline, so when they Google you online (and take it from me, they will!) they will be absolutely “wowed” by your love of their airline.

It’s so simple to do as well. All you need to do is add your personal profile url to your CV and then the airline have a perfectly curated version of you which demostrates so brilliantly your love of the travel and aviation industry.

To find out more about Pinterest boards and other cabin crew stuff I’ve written about take a look at my free tip sheets

Anyway, I digress!

Let’s go back to the topic in hand- the very bland and boring CV!

Step 3 – Bin the CVs you can NEVER use if you want a cabin crew job

You see, here’s the thing!

The VAST majority of candidates when asked to upload their CV (and ALL airlines ask for one), just upload their standard CV without giving a thought as to whether the CV is relevant to the job at all.

So, if you have a CV from school or college or university or, EVEN WORSE, a template from the Internet, I have some news for you and you probably aren’t going to like it!

IF YOU EVER WANT TO WORK AS CABIN CREW THEN YOU CAN’T USE THIS CV!

Wait, what?

Yep, you read it correctly.

If you really are serious about becoming cabin crew, then you CANNOT afford to use your standard CV.

Now, not to frighten you or anything, but consider these statistics…

When United Airlines opened their last recruitment drive, they got 75,000 applications (yep, you read that right!)

Of that 75,000 ONLY 800 were invited along to an Assessment Day.

Now, this may seem a lot but when you do the maths (as I have done for you!), then only 1.06% of candidates are invited for interview.

This means that 98.94% of applications are REJECTED and if we look at this in terms of numbers , then…

74,200 CVs were REJECTED!

Isn’t that incredible?

  • Figures from British Airways show that only 4% of applicants are invited to an Assessment Day and that 96% of CVs are binned!
  • Bloomberg has calculated that it is 4 times more difficult (in percentage terms) to get a job with Delta Airlines than to get into Harvard University!
Figures from British Airways show that only 4% of applicants are invited to an Assessment Day and that 96% of CVs are binned!
Figures from British Airways show that only 4% of applicants are invited to an Assessment Day and that 96% of CVs are binned!

A student I was recently helping went to an Open Day for Emirates Airlines in Manchester, UK. 600 people turned up at the Open Day, where they got the opportunity to hand over their CV. Of these 600, 30 were invited on to the Assessment Day, 8 got through to the final interview and 3 were offered a job- a success rate of 0.5%

I’m pleased to report my student was one of them and is currently in training in Dubai as we speak! As I said, I don’t tell you these figures to scare you (although they are pretty scary!)

I tell you them because getting a job as cabin crew is REALLY, REALLY DIFFICULT and it will NEVER HAPPEN unless you are prepared for some serious hard work.

So, is your bog-standard CV that you wrote whilst back in school really going to cut it?

Of course not!

And are you going to impress anyone with a CV template taken from the web?

No chance!

Again, put yourself in your recruiters shoes.

Whose CV would you choose?

Someone who has obviously spent the time crafting a CV SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS JOB or someone who has just uploaded a CV they last wrote three years ago?

Of course they would choose the CV that had been written for the job.

So, I DON’T WANT YOU TO USE YOUR CURRENT CV WHEN YOU APPLY TO BE CABIN CREW!

Now, having read so many BAD CVs I am tempted to tell you to put your current CV in the bin, bit you’ll be relieved to hear I don’t want you to do that!

I want you to keep your current CV BUT I don’t want you to send it to an airline.

Wait, what?

Nope, I don’t want this to be the CV you use, but I will allow you to keep it so you can transfer some information from it over on to your NEW CV (that’s nice of me, right!)

Yes, you read that correctly- I want you to write a NEW CV!

Step 4 – Match your Cabin Crew CV to what the airline wants EVERY SINGLE TIME

However, there are a few things I want you to do before we get to this stage.

Now, I know I’m asking a LOT here, but competition is stiff right?

Ok, so the STARTING POINT is the job specifiction.

The what?

Our starting point is finding out what the airline are looking for.

If you have an airline in mind, then head over there and find out what they are looking for in their cabin crew.

A good way to do this is enter the name of the airline you’d love to work with, the term cabin crew and job specification or person specification and let Mr (or Mrs) Google do all the hard work for you…

 

cabin crew jobs
Search for the person specification using Google

 

cabin crew jobs
Emirates are telling you what they want – your CV must PROVE that you have these skills and qualities

So, this is what I want you to do…

  1. Write down ALL of the skills the airline are looking for
  2. Match them to your OWN skills
  3. THE MOST IMPORTANT BIT! Write down examples of when you demonstrated these skills. It’s not enough to simply tell the airline you have the skills, you have to SHOW THEM as well.

Ok, so time for a wee recap of what we’ve learned so far…

  1. It’s REALLY, REALLY hard to get a job as cabin crew!
  2. The VAST MAJORITY of people will fail at the application stage
  3. If you send in your standard CV that you’ve always used, you are GUARANTEED TO FAIL
  4. The starting point is to find out what the airline are looking for, match them to the skills you have and then, give EXAMPLES of when you displayed these skills.

Now it’s time to get to the CV itself (phew!)

Research over the years has shown that recruiters don’t spend a lot of time reading your CV. When you think about the sheer number of CVs they get, it’s no great surprise is it?

It is reckoned that the average time spent reading a CV is 5-7 seconds (yep, that’s it!) If a recruiter likes what they’re reading then they’ll keep reading after the 7 seconds.

If not, your CV is in the bin! So, that is why it is SO, SO IMPORTANT to get all the good stuff right at the top of your CV!

I read a CV the other day that had the person’s name, address, email address, telephone numbers, gender AND mum and dad’s names (?) RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THEIR CV!

So, imagine you were a recruiter and that’s all you read in 7 seconds? Do you think they’d be keen to keep reading?

I would suggest NO!

Here’s something you can try for yourself…

Get someone to read your CV for 7 seconds and then get them to write down everything they can remember about you.

Is what they have written down EXACTLY the most important stuff you want an airline to know about you?

Yes? Then well done you!

No? The keep writing and re-writing until it is!

Now, I bet you’re thinking, come on- surely we don’t need to work this hard on your CV?

Well actually, you do!

Remember how hard it is EVEN to get to the Assessment Day!

You need to take this process REALLY SERIOUSLY AND BE PREPARED TO PUT THE WORK IN if you really want to be cabin crew. And, it all starts with your CV!
You need to take this process REALLY SERIOUSLY AND BE PREPARED TO PUT THE WORK IN if you really want to be cabin crew. And, it all starts with your CV!

Another thing I’ve noticed is that most CVs are WAY TOO LONG!

Make sure your CV is NEVER more than 2 pages as no-one wants to read any more than that!

Most of the CVs I read contain TONS of stuff that would be of no interest AT ALL to airline. So unless an airline needs to know about it- take it out!

Now you’re probably getting fed-up reading now, so last thing I want to mention is CONFIDENCE!

Many, many people often downplay their many strengths on their CV in case they come over as conceited or boastful.

Please don’t do that!

Remember, more than anything else, your CV is a sales document and the thing it’s selling is YOU!

You are fabulous and you are fantastic, so make sure your CV reflects this!

So, hopefully this blog has given you LOADS of ideas on how to improve your CV.

Step 5 – Use My CV layout that got me an interview with every single airline I applied to

To get the CV layout that got me an interview with every airline I applied to click the button below. But remember you’ll need to match it to the person specification for the airline you’re applying to – if you don’t do this you won’t get an interview.

 

Send me the Cabin Crew CV Layout

 

Oh, before I forget- there’s one wee thing I want to mention before I go!

Because of the HUGE VOLUME of CVs they receive, some airlines are now using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to read CVs.

The bad news for you is that these pesky computer systems are VERY specific in what they’re looking for and if they don’t find it, they’ll simply spit your CV out and it will NEVER be seen by a pair of human eyes

The good news though is that I know EXACTLY what these pesky ATS robots are looking for so I can outsmart them and I’ll tell YOU how in my next blog!

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Speak to you soon
Pauline x

Pauline Park

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