Mondrago My Travel Teacher

Helping people into the airline & travel industry since 2007

Norwegian Cabin Crew

Ok, so Norwegian Airways are currently recruiting for cabin crew, so I thought I would write you a blog telling you all about their application process.

An hour after I applied I got an email inviting me to the next stage of application process

You see, it wouldn’t be right if I was offering you up advice if I hadn’t gone through the process myself would it?

So in this post I’m going to cover

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 in the travel industry.

Pauline Park, Co- Founder & Director Mondrago My Travel Teacher

And, now I would like to help YOU.

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

So, I applied for a job as cabin crew with Norwegian Airways using one of my alter -egos called Stephanie and I would like to share our experience with you.

So, what’s involved?

To be honest, there really isn’t that much to the application process.

Does this mean it’s easy?

No, not at all and after I’ve told you what’s involved, I’ll explain why it’s not as easy as it may appear.

So, what do you need to do?

Norwegian Cabin Crew Minimum Requirements

Well, first up, you simply enter your personal details:

Firstly you simply enter your personal details

 

Please note that if you answer no to any of these questions, your application will not be taken any further.

However, please DO NOT be tempted to lie as all of these requirements WILL BE CHECKED before you are offered employment.

Norwegian are also quite unusual in that a swim test forms part of their assessment, so if your swimming is not the best, make sure you get loads of practice in!

They will then check that you meet certain requirements

 

With these questions, you have to be able to answer yes to the first two questions. They will then expect you to have a professional working or native/ bilingual proficiency in English and you can have NO visible tattoos or piercings whilst in uniform.

Some more questions that check minimum requirements

 

You also have to answer these questions above as well and then it’s time to upload some documents.

The perfect Norwegian Cabin Crew Covering Letter and CV

These are a covering letter and your CV.

This is simple stuff isn’t it?

Well, it seems so but think about this.

Norwegian gets 1000s of people applying to become cabin crew with them every month.

And, every month 95% of them rejected!

Say what?

Yip, for every 100 people applying to become cabin crew with Norwegian, 95 will be rejected.

Not great odds I’m sure you’ll agree.

And here’s the thing…

The vast, vast majority of people will be rejected at the application stage.

In fact over 80% of people will be rejected at this stage.

So, for every 100 people applying, only 20 will get through this stage.

The vast, vast majority of people will be rejected by Norwegian at the application stage.

Why is this when it seems so incredibly simple?

Well, let me explain…

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

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

So, they have GOT TO BE GOOD

In fact, I’d go one step further and say they have 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 and covering letter- this simply isn’t good enough.

95% of applicants who apply to become Norwegian Airways cabin crew are rejected.

And, the MOST COMMON REASON IS THEIR CV AND COVERING LETTER 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 and covering letter.

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

Your CV and covering letter 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 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!)

My Facebook group “The Departure Lounge” has loads of ex and current cabin crew who are happy to help you.

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!

A Reality Check

The simple fact is that if your CV, covering letter are 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 and covering letter.

So, as I said, I have written a lot about CV’s and covering letters 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 and covering letter is stuffed full of keywords.

What are keywords?

Simple- they are the skills and characteristics that Norwegain Airways are looking for.

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

Norwegian Airways actually GIVE THEM TO YOU!

Say, what?

Yep, Norwegain 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’ll send you a specially written CV as well as a guide about fitting in keywords, just sign up below.

Grab a FREE CV that you know Norwegian will love 

 

 

You’re very welcome!

 

So, anyway, we uploaded Stephanie’s CV and covering letter

An hour later Stephanie received this email from Norwegian…

Within an hour I had received this email from the Norwegian Assessment Team

Woo hoo- Stephanie had got through the first stage of the application process and was on her way to completing Norwegian’s online tests.

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 and COVERING LETTER.

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.

So, if you’re any good at arithmetic, you’ll quickly realise that 800 people (out of 1,000!) will FAIL at the application 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 Norwegian Airways are looking for.

So, you’ve no excuse now!

Go and get working on that AMAZING Norwegian Airways CV and covering letter.

Ok, so Stephanie has just been invited to take part in Norwegian’s online tests, so let’s have a look at what’s involved.

Norwegian Cabin Crew Online Tests

There are two tests involved. The first is a psychometric test that tries to work out if you will be a good “fit” for Norwegian Airways.

The second test checks your understanding of written English.

So, let’s go and look at the workplace questionnaire.

You are asked a range of questions (48 of them!) and you have to allocate points to the statements.

So, every screen has three different statements. You have 6 points to allocate and you need to decide where to allocate them.

So, if you really agree with a statement, then you may allocate all 6 points.

Or, if you agree with all three statements then you would allocate 2 points to each option.

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.

Anyway, there are 48 screens so it does take considerable time.

Good news though- it is not timed at all, so please take your time and give each statement a lot of thought when allocating points.

Once you have answered these statements, you will be asked to take part in the next test.

Now things get a bit more stressful here as this test is timed!

There are 42 questions in total, and you only have 12 minutes to complete the test.

You WON’T manage to answer all 42 questions in this time. I managed 30 and I was going pretty fast as I have done these tests before, so if you get half of them done then you’ll be doing well!

So, how does it work?

Let’s have a look?

What happens is that you have a range of topics across the top of the screen:

You are then asked a question at the bottom of the screen:

So, the first thing you need to do is to work out which topic to select. This question relates to working times, so this is the tab you click on:

Here you will find the answer to the question. You have three options- true/ false and cannot say if the answer is not there. So, let’s remind ourselves of the question:

If we check the text above, we can see that we cannot say if this answer is true or not, so we would click on cannot say.

We then click on the arrow to move on to the next question.

So, you can see why you could never answer 42 questions in 12 minutes!

Anyway, hope this blog helps you and please don’t forget to download your FREE CV that I know will impress Norwegian

Pauline x

Grab a FREE CV that you know Norwegian will love

 

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 written a CV specifically for British Airways. You can get it for FREE below

If you’d like a FREE CV that I wrote specifically for British Airways sign up below

 

You’re very welcome!

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.

If you’d like a FREE CV that I wrote specifically for British Airways sign up below

 

Emirates Application Process

**UPDATE June 2018.  Emirates have stopped using video interviews and are now back using open days.**

READ ALL ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON AT EMIRATES AT MY LATEST BLOG POST HERE 

Hello and welcome to this post on the Emirates Application Process.

Ok, so first up where do you apply?

You can apply via Emirates careers’ page:

http://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/

 

 

Once there, you look for cabin crew positions:

 

 

You click on this job and the application page opens. When it does so, you need to click on apply:

 

You are then taken to the page below where you have to agree with their privacy statement…

If you accept, then you are taken to their home page where you have to create an account. To do so, you would click on new user

 

 

 

Then you have to complete some details to create an account…

 

Please keep these details safe as these are your log-in details so you will need them to keep an eye on the progress of your application!

So, it’s time to start applying!

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE 19 page CV Guide which includes the CV I used to get an invite to the Emirates Assessment Day

 

First up, you need to include some personal details and then they are then looking for some more information about you including your gender, height and weight.

Next, they want to know what languages you speak. You will be asked for your primary (or native) language. You will then be asked to tell them what other languages you can read, write and speak.

Next up they want to know about your work experience. Now here’s a tip for you. You know how I am completely obsessed with keywords? Well, I am going to mention them again!

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE 19 page CV Guide which includes the CV I used to get an invite to the Emirates Assessment Day

 

All of Emirates application is now online and everything is automated. This means that no-one will look at your online application. Everything will be run through a computer program and ONLY those applications that pass this will be seen by a recruiter.

And what is this computer program (or as I like to think of them, Emirates robots!) looking for?

In fact, before I go any further, may I introduce you to Emmy, the Emirates robot?

 

 

Emmy is a good friend of mine and she’s been VERY helpful at letting me know EXACTLY what her and her robot friends are looking for during your application.
They are looking for keywords so give them lots and lots and they will fall in love with you!

 

 

But what does this have to do with your work experience section?

Well, simple really.

This section will also be “searched” by these robots, so you want to fill it with keywords as well.

 

So, some advice for you.

At this stage, I would save my application as a draft and log-out.

I would then spend some time drafting your roles and responsibilities in your current and previous jobs and make sure they are full of keywords.

The old advice used to be to keep everything as brief as possible and summarise as much as you could so the recruiter could scan it quickly.

However, modern technology has turned this on its head a bit.

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE 19 page CV Guide which includes the CV I used to get an invite to the Emirates Assessment Day

 

Because these programs (or Emirates robots) are such fast readers and are able to extract incredible amounts of information really, really quickly, you can actually write as much as you want. In fact, it may be the case that the more you write the better as they love to read!

 

 

However, I would caution you not to write too much!

If your application makes it past these Emirates robots, it will be assessed by a human recruiter and they WON’T to read pages and pages of your work experience.

So, try to have a happy medium!

And a good way to do this is to not write pages and pages but make sure that what you do write is FULL of keywords!

That way, both the Emirates robot and the human recruiter will be pleased with you!

 

Ok, next section is your education. Be careful not to add too much to this section. Whilst Emirates do want to know what qualifications you have, you don’t need to go over-board and mention EVERY qualification you have ever received!

The next section is for certificates. Again, ONLY mention those that are specific to the role of cabin crew OR if Emirates have SPECIFICALLY asked for them.

Ok, the next section is INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT!

Here you get to upload your documents!

Now, as you can see, there are some MANDATORY documents.

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE 19 page CV Guide which includes the CV I used to get an invite to the Emirates Assessment Day

 

Now, this means that if you apply and you DON’T upload them, then you look like you can’t follow instructions.

And, what do cabin crew have to always do?

Yep, follow instructions!

So, if you don’t upload the mandatory documents, then these robots will realise and put your whole application in the bin!

 

 

Which is the LAST thing we want to happen!

They can be total devils these Emirates robots can’t they?


So, make sure you upload ALL of the mandatory documents or they will NOT be happy!

And, we’re nearly there now…

Emirates have got job specific questions for you and once you have answered these it’s on to the video interview.

Please make sure you are really well-prepared for this stage. It would be a nightmare to get this far and blow it now!

So, once you are good to go, log-in to your account and dazzle them with your amazing video interview.

 

Once you have completed your video interview, you submit your application and that’s you finished- phew!

What a lot of work!

You should be REALLY proud of yourself for getting this far.

Emirates will then send you a confirmation email which is really your receipt for your application.

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE 19 page CV Guide which includes the CV I used to get an invite to the Emirates Assessment Day

 

All you can do now is sit back, cross your fingers and wait!

Good luck 😊

And remember to keep these Emirates robots happy…

 

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE 19 page CV Guide which includes the CV I used to get an invite to the Emirates Assessment Day

 

Qatar Airways Open Day

In 2017, Qatar Airways was named the world’s best airline at the prestigious SkyTrax awards. They have also won numerous awards for best cabin crew AND offer world- renowned training for their cabin crew. They also offer one of the best salary packages in the aviation industry and are one of the very few 5 -star airlines in the world.

In 2017, Qatar Airways was named the world’s best airline at the prestigious SkyTrax awards.

However, there are a LOT of people who would like to become Qatar cabin crew for the reasons outlined above, so you will have a lot of competition on your hands.

Therefore, you need to be so well-prepared to beat the competition and stand out from the crowd at the Qatar Airways open day and this blog is intended to help you with your preparation.  I’m going to cover

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE Qatar CV Guide which includes the actual CV I used to get an invite to the Qatar Assessment Day

 

Now you may find it hard to believe, but the vast majority of people who turn up for Qatar Airways will not have prepared.

However, this is brilliant news as it means that if you have worked hard and prepared, you are already so far of these people who simply haven’t bothered.

But, I’m not going to lie…

… You have got a WHOLE LOT of work ahead of you so let’s get going…

Qatar Airways Assessment Process

Like other Middle Eastern airlines, the whole recruitment process can be very arduous. There are many stages you are going to have to get through before you take to the skies and you need to be prepared to work hard at each and every stage.

So, it’s never going to be enough to have a brilliant CV if you are not impeccably groomed.

Or, it’s not enough to be impeccably groomed if you can’t answer the questions at the open day

And, it’s not enough to be able to answer the questions at the open day if you haven’t practiced for your English test.

Do you see where I am going with this?

One part of the process leads to another and if you fail at ANY ONE part of the process, that’s you finished.

So, it simply doesn’t matter if you did well 95% of the time.

I’m afraid you have to do well 100% of the time!

To get the job you’ll need to do well throughout 100% of the interview process!

Now, you may be wondering if all this work is worth it?

Well, is all this work worth jetting off to Paris one week and then New York the next?

Or what about a trip to Sydney followed by a few days in Hong Kong?

Of course, it’s worth it!

But, you need to fight off a whole load of competition!

How do you do this?

Well, I am going to give you a reality check here

Reality Check

The ONLY way to be successful is to work incredibly hard.

Work hard on your CV, work hard on your appearance, work hard on learning everything there is to know about Qatar Airways and treat the whole recruitment process like a job.

And it all starts with your CV

If Qatar Airways don’t like the look of your CV, then that’s the end of your recruitment journey with them, so let’s focus on this first.

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!

cabin crew video interview
If your CV is not good enough and you fail at this stage you’ll need to wait at least 6 months before you re-apply

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

98% of applicants who apply to become Qatar 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 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!)

Mt FREE Facebook group called The Departure Lounge if full of current and ex-cabin crew who are happty to give you tips and advice

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!

#realitycheck2

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.

What are keywords?

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

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

Qatar Airways actually GIVE THEM TO YOU!

Say, what?

Yep, Qatar 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!

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE Qatar CV Guide which includes the actual CV I used to get an invite to the Qatar Assessment Day

 

Ok, so let’s take a look at the Open Day.

Qatar Airways Open Day

This is normally the starting point for your application process. Before we get going though, I’d like to tell you something.

One thing you need to know is that Qatar Airways can be a strange airline to interview for.  Often, on open days they have certain quotas of people they are looking for.

So, they may, for example, be looking for mainly females.

Or it may be people under the age of 25.  Be aware as well that they hold Open Days related to where they need cabin crew from and this is related to their own flight routes.

So, if they are recruiting in London, UK, for example, it is because they are looking for cabin crew who originate from the UK. You may then fly in from France, Germany or Poland, but you won’t be chosen as they are specifically looking for UK cabin crew.

So even if you go to the Open Day with the best CV in the world, you may still not be selected!

I’m not trying to put you off, I just want to make you aware of the situation.

Most of the time, you will simply sit outside a room for a few hours and then have one minute answering a few questions with a recruiter before you handover your CV.

Travelling to their recruitment events can be very expensive.

Their recruitment process normally (but not always!) takes place over three days.

So, if you decide to attend you will probably have to take at least three days off work.

You may have to fly to where they are holding the Open Day and book accommodation for 3 nights in case you are successful at all three stages.

However, and I don’t want to be unduly negative here- it’s just that I know the statistics- but the vast, vast majority of people (around 98%) will be rejected.

So, realistically you could spend all that money and after waiting for many, many hours, be in and out of the Open Day in less than five minutes after spending a LOT of money!

I’m not telling you not to go, but what I am telling you is to work REALLY hard before you go PREPARING for the recruitment process.

However, you can also apply online if you choose to do so. If you are successful at this time, you will be given an invite to an Open Day.

This seems a bit pointless because you can just go to the Open Day anyway, but Qatar Airways say that priority will be given to those who have applied online.

This may be of benefit if the Open Day is incredibly busy. Some of them have more than 1,000 people attending and they may not be able to see everyone.

Qatar recently used the Manila Hotel in the Philippines for an open day which attracted nearly 2000 applicants!

However, if you make sure you are there incredibly early (maybe even an hour or two before they start recruiting) you should be seen on this day so you don’t need to apply online.

Ok, so first up…

You have to make sure that you meet the airlines requirement before going for this event. If you don’t- please don’t go as you will simply be rejected.

Ok, so you are waiting in line to be seen.

What should you be thinking about now?

Well, Qatar Airways are obsessed with grooming.

Remember, they are the BEST airline in the world and you, as cabin crew, have an incredibly high standard to maintain.

So make sure you look absolutely perfect when attending your Open Day.

Whilst waiting in line be very aware of your body language.

One thing in particular to watch for is your posture. Make sure your posture is perfect at all times.

Remember, you don’t know who is watching!

Then your turn will come.

When approaching the recruiters make sure your posture is perfect and you are smiling as you hand over your CV.

The recruiter will ask you questions regarding your CV and other questions such as:

  • What do you know about Qatar Airways?
  • Tell me about yourself?

It is really, really important that you have prepared really good answers to these questions.

So make sure you have really detailed answers prepared for the questions above AND make sure your answers are jam-packed with keywords. Please don’t try and learn them off by heart though as you will sound like a robot when you repeat them back- just learn the key facts and keep your answers natural.

Remember, this is your ONLY opportunity on your Open Day to meet with Qatar Airways recruiters and you don’t want to blow it with a rubbish answer, do you?

The Arm Reach Test

The Arm Reach Test

Sometimes the arm reach test is done on the open day and sometimes it’s on the assessment day, so best to be prepared.

The recruiters will call the applicants one by one to perform a reach test. This is simply pass or fail. If you can reach the marker on the wall then you can continue in the process.

If you can’t you will be asked to leave.

So, before you even think about attending an Open Day, make sure you can reach 212cm. Mark it on your bedroom wall and practice all the time, so you know it won’t be a problem when you apply.

If you can’t reach 212cm then please don’t bother applying.

After the arm reach test, the recruiters may ask you questions about your tattoos, birthmarks, moles, etc.

You have to be aware that Qatar Airways has a very STRICT POLICY with regard to tattoos. Tattoos are not allowed, regardless of the area of location. They simply will not tolerate tattoos.

What happens if you are successful?

  • You will receive a letter of Invitation for the assessment stating the details of the location of the venue
  • Reference No. for your application
If you are successful you’ll be invited to the assessment day

 

And if you’re not?

Then you’re generally told that you will get an email or a phone call later the same day telling you whether you will be invited to the Assessment Day.

The truth?

The vast, vast majority of time this simply means you have been unsuccessful.

However, on the very odd occasion, Qatar Airways have emailed and called people to ask them to the Assessment Day.

So, don’t give up hope if you are not given a letter or invitation.

You may still be invited via email or phone, but the chance is very, very small- sorry!

Pauline x

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE Qatar CV Guide which includes the actual CV I used to get an invite to the Qatar Assessment Day

 

How to breeze through your cabin crew video interview

I’ve got to appear on webcam ?

 

webcam

 

 I’m afraid you do!

If your cabin crew online application has been successful more and more airlines will want to take a final look at you before they invite you for the Assessment Day and they often do this by using a video interview. (gulp!)

The cabin crew video interview is all done online using a webcam.  Basically you’ll be asked a number of questions which you need to record yourself answering on the webcam and send to the airline.

The airline recruitment team will then review your performance and decide if they want top invite you to the Assessment Day.  This blog will show you how to get that invite!

Get a FREE CV specifically written for your dream airline

 

Ok, so how does it all work?

What normally happens is that you are sent an email invitation from the airline.

Within that email is a link and if you click on this link you are taken to the video interview introduction page:

Cabin Crew Video Interview

The first thing you will need to do is log-in and create an account.

What if I forget my log-in details?

Please take a note of your log-in details  because if you have to contact the airline for a reminder they’re NOT going to be impressed!

Before the video interview begins, your Internet browser will be checked.

If there are any problems with the browser, you will be told.

Oh, I’m sure it will be fine!

Please don’t ignore this! If there is a problem then the airline WON’T be able to receive your video interview  so if they tell you there is an issue, make sure you get it sorted!

This screen normally includes a company video. It’s really important that you watch this as the airline can tell if you have or not!

When watching the video, take notes of the key points in the video and there is no harm in watching this video two or three times- it will make you look super keen!

Wait, what? There’s a closing date?

Yep, you will also find the closing date on this screen.

You WON’T be able to submit your video beyond this date, so don’t ignore it otherwise you’re waiting at least six months until you can apply again!

Also, there are a load of technical considerations to think about as well. So, if you log-in to do your video interview on the closing date and find out there is a problem with your webcam, then you’ve blown it!

Get started planning your video interview as soon as you recive the link to give yourself plenty of time to get it right!

This screen will tell you how many questions are in the interview and how long you have to complete  it.

Get a FREE CV specifically written for your dream airline

 

Oh, it’s like being back in school!

exam

You’re right, it is!

And, just like in exams, plan your time wisely!

If you have 5 questions and 15 minutes, then you should spend NO MORE than 3 minutes on each question.

Don’t spend 10 minutes on the first question and then hardly any time on the others. Each question is EQUALLY important  so give them all an equal amount of time.

Oh, not KEYWORDS again?

‘Fraid so!

There is usually a section called “About this interview”.

It’s really important that you read this section.

Why?

Because it tells you what the airline is looking for and it’s stuffed FULL of KEYWORDS!

 You’ll see words such as customer experience, friendly, confident and team player.

If that’s what the airline are looking for, then make sure your answers include these words as well!

There is also a section on company information.

Again, they can tell if this section has been opened, so please read it and take notes.

Get a FREE CV specifically written for your dream airline

 

Do I get a chance to see a demo.?

 Yip, often you will be given a chance to view a Demo. interview.

ALWAYS view this, particularly if you have never done a video interview before as it will show you what’s involved and the more you know about the process, the more confident you will be.

Phew! Is that it?

Nope, now your webcam, microphone and speakers will be tested!

The key thing to remember is to make sure you run all the tests as instructed – the better your computer is working  – the better you’ll look and sound.

Once all of the tests are run then you can begin the practice interview.

 

Cabin Crew Video Interview

 

So, I can just wear my pj’s right?

 

pjs

 

I’m afraid not!

The clue is in the word “interview”! Remember, this is the first time the airline have seen and heard you and you want to make this first impression as good as it can possibly be!

You should dress smartly. Remember how important grooming is to an airline, so you want to make sure you look the part.

Don’t make the mistake of only dressing smartly on your top half thinking that’s all the recruiter will see because if you move around during the interview or stand up at the end of the interview you could blow your great first impression as you stand there in your old scruffy jeans (or even worse, your pyjama bottoms!)

Get a FREE CV specifically written for your dream airline

 

Ok, so we’re nearly good to go!

Next thing you should consider is the lighting in the room.  Make sure shadows are not being cast on your face.

Make sure you have a plain background behind you if at all possible as the cabin crew recruiters may be too busy checking out your family photos rather than listening to your well-thought out answers!

Anything else I need to think about?

Finally, and MOST importantly, make sure there are NO distractions!

If you interrup or stop the video interview YOU CANNOT RESTART IT!

So, once you begin, you only have ONE chance of completing it.

Therefore, make sure you will NOT be interrupted.

Tell your friends, family, flatmates or your granny that you are taking part in a video interview and they CANNOT disturb you!

Turn OFF all phones, disconnect the doorbell and if your dog is likely to bark, move him to a different room!

Ok, so now we’re good to go!

Get a FREE CV specifically written for your dream airline

 

 Can I practice first of all?

 You will be given the opportunity to try a couple of practice questions first of all, to give the chance to feel comfortable talking to your webcam, so make the most of this practice!

Then it’s time for the interview.

Oh, no!

You are normally given between 15 and 60 seconds to read the question before recording begins, so use it to read through the question a couple of times and then take a couple of deep breaths before you begin.

clock

Treat this video interview EXACTLY the same as you would any other job interview.

Take your time answering questions, speak slowly and clearly and keep your body language postive at all times.

Questions in the video interview are very much “typcial” cabin crew interview questions such as “why do you want to work for our airline?” or “ why do you think you would make a good cabin crew member?”

So, make sure you have prepared REALLY detailed answers for these questions beforehand.

Make good eye contact with the webcam (imagine it is the recruiter) and keep smiling throughout!

I really hope this blog has helped you and yo have any questions please post them in the comments section below and I’ll get back to you!

Cheers

Pauline  x

Pauline Park, Co- Founder & Director Mondrago My Travel Teacher
Pauline Park, Co- Founder & Director Mondrago My Travel Teacher

Cheers

Pauline  x

Get a FREE CV specifically written for your dream airline

 

Emirates Open Day 2018 – Great news, Emirates have now opened their new Career Portal :-)

**UPDATE June 2018.  Emirates have stopped using video interviews and are now back using open days.**

 

READ ALL ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON AT EMIRATES AT MY LATEST BLOG POST HERE 

 

 

In this article I’m going to give you my top 12 tips for getting the most from this fabulous new resource.

Emirates Open Day 2017

You can access the portal by going to http://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/

 

Tip 1 – Only ever apply for  jobs via this website.  There are a lot of unscrupulous websites that claim to recruit on behalf of Emirates but this is simply not true.  Emirates will only recruit cabin crew via the website http://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/

 

Tip 2 – Don’t just jump into the site by clicking on the “Search and Apply” button.  Instead  you’ll see that there is a menu with three items along the top of the page .  Explore each of these because there is a huge amount you can learn about the Emirates Recruitment Process

 

Emirates Open Day 2017
From the top menu click on “Working With Us”

 

Tip 3 – Make sure you use the arrow at the bottom of the page to fully expand your view of the page (you don’t want to miss out on some really cool stuff).

 

Emirates Open Day 2017
Make sure you use the arrow at the bottom of the page to fully expand your view of the page

 

When you expand the Working With Us Section you’ll see some messages from key personnel throughout the organisation and this takes me directly to tip 4:

 

Tip 4 – Start your Emirates Dossier now! It can be an online file or a simple paper notebook, it doesn’t really matter, but what does matter is that you now start to learn about the key people in the company as well as the messages they are trying to communicate.  Imagine how impressive it would be if you could quote The Chairman during your 2 to 1 interview.

 

four
Tip 5 – Make up an information file and start to take a note of key people within Emirates

 

Tip 5 – Make sure you use the expand arrow in each of the relevant sections.  That way you won’t miss out on any of the information that is not all that obvious to find

 

Emirates Open Day 2017
Use the expand arrow to make sure that you can access all the information

 

Tip 6 – Towards the bottom of the “Working With Us” Page is an overview of other companies in the Emirates Group.  Put this in your Emirates Dossier for future reference – it could be useful at some point during the open day

Emirates Open Day 2017
You should try to learn a bit about other companies in the Emirates Group

 

Tip 7 – If you’ve not got one create a Twitter Account and follow Emirates. They tweet all the time and it’s a great source of information for your interview, there is nothing more impressive than somebody going to an assessment day who is really aware of what the company is about.

 

Emirates Open Day 2017
You should follow Emirates on Twitter

 

Tip 8 – Explore the website section called Dubai, Our Home.  It’s full of videos, information and other resources about what it’s like to live in Dubai. Don’t turn up for an assessment day unless you know what life in Dubai will be like.  If Emirates think you will suffer from “culture shock” and won’t be able to settle in Dubai then they won’t give you the job.

 

nine
You can access the Dubai, Our Home section from the top menu on the front page

 

 

Emirates Open Day 2017
The section of the website called Living in Dubai has an extensive menu that covers everything you need about moving there.

 

Tip 9 – Pay absolute attention to all of the resources about the recruitment process – especially those relating to personal appearance and grooming

 

eighteen

Use the Interactive Guide To Help You With Personal Grooming & Experience

 

Tip 10 – Make sure you learn the Training Journey, don’t turn up to an Assessment Day without a clear picture of what will happen when you are selected

 

twenty
The website includes an overview of the Emirates Recruitment Process – you should learn this

 

Tip 11 – You should be aware the Emirates have now confirmed that THEY WILL BE USING VIDEO INTERVIEWS.  To keep up to date with the latest developments you should join the FREE Facebook Group called The Departure Lounge.  In this group you’ll be able to chat with current Emirates Crew as well as airline recruitment experts.

 

Emirates Video Interview 2017
Emirates have confirmed that they will now be using video interviews as part of their cabin crewrecruitment

 

Tip 12 – If you’ve any questions about the new Emirates recruitment process please ask them below and I’ll do my best to answer you directly

Speak soon

Pauline x

Pauline Park, Co- Founder & Director Mondrago My Travel Teacher
Pauline Park, Co- Founder & Director Mondrago My Travel Teacher

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 to making sure your CV gets past these pesky robots?

Get a FREE CV guaranteed to beat any ATS and specifically written for your dream airline

 

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 the guide below we think you will be!

Get a FREE CV guaranteed to beat any ATS and specifically written for your dream airline

 

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

 

Get a FREE CV specifically written for your dream airline

 

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.

Get a FREE CV specifically written for your dream airline

 

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!

To get this blog sent directly to your email sign up below

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Speak to you soon
Pauline x

Pauline Park

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The 5 things Emirates Airlines Recruiters look for on the Open Day

**UPDATE June 2018.  Emirates have stopped using video interviews and are now back using open days.**

READ ALL ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON AT EMIRATES AT MY LATEST BLOG POST HERE 

There is one simple reason why I have written this blog for you – my frustration at watching really good candidates not being able to get their dream job because of the most basic mistakes at the Emirates Open Day.

Reading this blog and sticking to all of the rules you find it in will put you ahead of the competition- way ahead!

So, let’s begin…

Would you like a career that flies you to major cities all over world?

And, when you arrive, you have a room waiting for you in a five star hotel AND you’re given local currency to do some serious spending!

This same career pays for your living accommodation, bills and takes you to and from work! All whilst you are living in one of the most exciting cities in the world full of beaches, shopping, resturants, bars and so much more!

Add to this free medical insurance, thirty days paid holidays, free leave tickets so you can jet off somewhere exotic on your hols, end of service bonus- oh, I could go on and on!

Now I know this sounds like something from a celebrity gossip magazine, but believe it or not, this is reality for Emirates cabin crew!

Emirates Recruitment Open Day
Emirates is an expanding airline and constantly on the look-out for new crew

Everything I have just mentioned is part of the benefits package for all new crew and the great news is that Emirates, as a rapidly expanding airline, are always on the look-out for new members of cabin crew which is great news for you.

Life as crew is FANTASTIC and the opportunities it will provide you with are incredible. One of my ex-students, Kirsty, is now living the high-life out in Dubai and she has very kindly agreed to give you a peek at her incredible life- I warn you now, you will be jealous!

Kirsty now travel the world with Emirates
Kirsty now travels the world with Emirates

However, here’s the thing to be aware of about fantastic jobs- EVERYONE wants one

Emirates knows that. These cabin crew jobs are VERY competitive and there is NO shortage of applicants

I’m sorry to say that the VAST majority of applicants that turn up at Emirates Open Days are not successful.

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE 19 page CV Guide which includes the CV I used to get an invite to the Emirates Assessment Day

 

Typcially, of 100 people who apply to become cabin crew with Emirates, only 2 or 3 will be successful.

Yep, you read that right- of those who turn up at the Open Day, only 2-3% will be successful.

You’re probably sitting there thinking “Well, what’s the point? Those odds are rubbish!”

But, do you know the mad thing?

The VAST, VAST majority of people are turning up for these Open Days completely unprepared, which is GREAT news for you!

Why great news? Well, if you follow the advice I’m going to give you in this (and subsequent blogs) then you will be totally prepared and know EXACTLY what the recruiters are looking for. So, you’ll be well ahead of the other 97 candidates who just haven’t bothered!

Do you really think that Emirates is going to give such an amazing job to people who just turn up at Open Days without having prepared?

Of course they’re not, so that’s why you’re going to be at such an advantage. Is this unfair? Of course it is, but hey, if you’re prepared to put in the work then you should be rewarded for it shouldn’t you?

Now, I’m not going to lie. Getting a job with Emirates is going to be a LOT of hard work, but I’m sure you’ll agree that all of the work you’re going to have to put in will be worth it in order to secure the “Golden Call” when Emirates call to offer you the job!

So, where to begin?

Well, it probably makes sense to have a think about the role of cabin crew with Emirates, as every answer you give at your Open Day and beyond should relate to the skills that Emirates are looking for.

The first thing you need to realise is that you are trying to become cabin crew for one of the world’s most PRESTIGIOUS airlines. So, the first step is having a clear understanding of what the job requires and what will be expected of you.

Emirates has built its reputation on uncompromising luxury, service and presentation to its passengers. Emirates will rely on you to provide the extremely high level of service its passengers are accustomed to.

Now you know now what the benefits the job brings, so you have to understand that with those benefits come strict standards and VERY high expectations from its employees.

You are THE face of customer service and so you are the most important part of the airline. Remember , passengers are paying a premium for flying with Emirates and when they consider their experience, who will they remember?

It won’t be the pilot, sitting up front, flying the plane and making the odd passenger announcement. It won’t be the guy who checked you in, took your boarding pass and wished you a pleasant flight. Nor will it be the baggage handler who made sure your bag made it to the flight on-time.

No, passengers will remember YOU and your fellow cabin crew members and the service you offered them on-board.

Emirates Cabin Crew working with children
Passengers will remember YOU and your fellow cabin crew members and the service you offered them on-board.

Studies show that the single biggest negative memory passengers retain from a flight is an unfriendly experience with cabin crew. Passengers will forget about long delays, bad food and cramped seats but will NEVER forget bad service.

You will be expected to provide OUTSTANDING customer service on long flights all around the world. It won’t matter what time of day it is, how long you have been on your feet or whether you’ve now been awake for more than 24 hours- if a passenger in 23C wants some champagne then you have to serve it to them with a SMILE on your face.

Sign up and I’ll send you my FREE 19 page CV Guide which includes the CV I used to get an invite to the Emirates Assessment Day

 

You will also have to deal with some difficult situations on-board. A drunk passenger in 12A has just been sick all over the baby sitting in the passenger’s lap next to him? Well, you’ll have to deal with this situation, calm everyone down and then- to add insult to injury- clear up the vomit! It really isn’t a job for the faint-hearted (particularly when you have to clear up vomit with a smile on your face!)

You will also be trained for any emergency you encounter on-board, so you must be able to remain calm and composed at all time. In an emergency situation, your passengers will look to you for guidance and you must be able to provide it.

So, why am I telling you all of this?

Well, these are some of the qualities that Emirates recruiters are looking for, so you MUST be able to convince them that you are capable of this and SO MUCH MORE.

The very specific qualities Emirates are looking for are:

  • Professional
  • Empathetic
  • Progressive
  • Visionary
  • Cosmopolitan

So, you need to ensure that everything you say and do during your Open Day must reinforce these qualities and prove to the recruiters that you have them in abundance.

 

I am asked all the time about how the Emirates interview process works, so in my next blog  I am going to tell you in great detail EXACTLY what’s involved.

Want to know more?

If you haven’t already joined The Departure Lounge then you might miss out on my next blog but you are definitely  missing out on loads of free resources including our new Facebook group where you can ask our team of experts anything you want about getting a job.  Click  below to join The Departure Lounge for free.

Join The Departure Lounge For FREE

If you’ve already joined The Departure Lounge then I hope you are learning stuff that will be useful when it comes to your cabin crew interview and I’d love to hear how you are getting on.  Please email me pauline@mondrago.org

 Speak to you soon.

Pauline x

Pauline Park

 

 

 

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