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 Cabin Crew Recruitment FAQ

**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 a TON of “advice” out there on the web about the new Emirates Cabin Crew recruitment process.

Unfortunately, not all of this advice is good:

 

 

Talk to the recruiter as if you’re talking to your lover?!!

I mean, come on!

The problem is, is that there are loads of groups out there but no-one is qualified to offer advice, so you are often given really BAD advice.

There is currently a Facebook group out there for people who dream of being cabin crew with Emirates and it has over 23,000 members.

So, you’d think there would be loads of experts in there right?

Wrong, because that’s where the advice about talking to your lover came from!

So, please, please ONLY take advice from people who actually know what they’re talking about!

I DO know what I’m talking about and if you’d like to check me out, you can do so at:

About.me/paulinepark

Ok, convinced I’m the real deal?

Then, let’s go…

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

 

I get many questions every day about applying to become cabin crew with Emirates.

So, I thought I would put together a guide to the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) I encounter about Emirates.

I will update these questions frequently, so if the answer you are looking for is not here, please check back soon and it may have been answered!

What documents must I upload for my application?

The mandatory documents are:

  • Updated CV in English
  • Formal full-length photo
  • Casual half-length photo
  • Casual full-length photo
  • Formal passport size photo *
  • Education certificate (highest level) *

*-  if you do not have these two things, they can be uploaded prior to the assessment day.

However, EVERYTHING else MUST be uploaded BEFORE you submit your application.

You can also upload additional documents, such as additional photos or a covering letter.

However, make sure you add ALL the mandatory documents first.

Help, there are technical issues with my application. What can I do?

Yes, there certainly seems to be technical difficulties with Emirates recruitment site and no doubt it’s related to the sheer volume of applicants!

In particular, there seems to be a huge issue relating to HireVue, the company who do the video interviews for Emirates.

Many people are seeing this message, despite having already submitted their application.

 

So, they think to themselves, well maybe they haven’t received my video interview, I’ll go and do it again.

So, they click on the link to try again:

 

 

And are told they have completed the video interview

 

 

 

AAARRRGGGHHH- this is SO frustrating especially is there is no-one to ask for help.

So, here’s what I’ve discovered.

There is a disconnect between HireVue’s system and Emirates recruitment site.

If you see this message ONCE:

 

 

 

IT WON’T BE REMOVED!

How annoying huh!

So, what should you do?

Check your email inbox:

If you have this email below then you have absolutely nothing to worry about, as your video has gone through:

 

 

This is an auto-generated email and is sent as soon as your video is uploaded.

If you don’t receive it, then Emirates have NOT received your video interview.

There have been other technical issues with the site.

It seems to be that cookies are holding on to a lot of information and applicants can’t bypass this and move on with their application.

Sometimes, if you click save and continue, on the page you are on, this is enough to move on with your application.

Otherwise, my advice is to log-out of that account and try on a different device.

So, if you did your original application on a laptop, log-in on your phone and see if you can complete it this way.

Unfortunately, there is no technical support available from Emirates.

If, after trying everything above, you still can’t submit your application, the best thing would be to log-in, withdraw this application and start all over again.

And hope this one is more 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

 

What stages does your application go through when you submit?

 Application received– this indicates that Emirates have received your application and it is now sitting in a queue waiting to be assessed.

Application under review– your application is now being assessed

Not shortlisted– you have not been successful on this occasion. You can re-apply after 6 months.

On hold– Emirates like the look of you. However, they can’t take your application further at this stage. This will likely be because they are planning their assessment days worldwide and have to have a certain number of candidates attending before they invite applicants.

Invite to an assessment day– you have been successful at the application stage and have now been invited to attend an assessment day.

 

How likely am I to get a job as cabin crew with Emirates?

The short answer is not very!

Emirates are planning on recruiting 360 new cabin crew per month.

This means, over one year, Emirates will recruit 4,320.

This sounds like a lot and it is.

However, when you consider that in 2014, Emirates received

483,944 applications.

Yep, you read that right.

Nearly half a million applications!

This means, arithmetically, your chance is less than 1%

 So, competition is FIERCE and you will have to work tirelessly to get this job.

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

 

Why are keywords so important when completing your online application for Emirates?

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

You need to trawl Emirates’ recruitment site to find out which keywords and phrases they were using to describe their “perfect” cabin crew.

You see, what you want to be doing is “mirroring” Emirates’ “perfect” candidate.

The more you do this, the more you will look like EXACTLY what Emirates are looking for and the more likely you are to be successful.

So, use these keywords EVERYWHERE!

In your CV, in your covering letter, in your application answers, in your video interview, on your assessment day.

When I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE!

Think about it.

Emirates have actually GIVEN you EXACTLY what they want.

How kind of them! So, your job, more than anything else, is to give show them that you have these skills and characteristics in abundance!

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

 

Will I have to travel to Dubai for my assessment day?

 No, you won’t

Emirates will hold assessment days worldwide.

They are starting their assessment days in Dubai.

However, as the process continues, they will be able to put all successful applications into a number of holding “pools” throughout various worldwide locations.

It is thought that as soon as they have the requisite number of candidates for an assessment day, they will then plan an assessment day at that location and candidates on-hold for that location will be invited.

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

 

Do I have to be 21 when I apply, or can I apply before this?

In the past Emirates allowed you to apply a few months before your 21st birthday.

The process to become cabin crew is a long one and by the time you started your training, candidates would have turned 21.

However, they now stipulate on their application page that you must be 21 at the time of application.

Please DO NOT apply if you are under 21. You have to complete your date of birth as part of your application, so in order to be able to complete your application you will have to give a false date of birth.

Also, cabin crew HAVE to be able to follow instruction. So, by not following the instructions Emirates have given you, you are letting Emirates see that you are not suitable for cabin crew.

How do I know if Emirates have received my application?

Once you have submitted your application, you will be sent the email below from Emirates:

 

This email can take a few days to be sent, so don’t worry if you don’t receive it straightaway.

However, if you DON’T receive this email, then you have not submitted your application successfully.

If this is the case, log back into your account and complete 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

 

What are the photo requirements for Emirates?

Well, Emirates give you them all in GREAT detail!

Please follow them carefully as failure to do so will mean that your application will be rejected.

I have written a blog about Emirates photo requirements, which you can read here

You can see them below:

 

 

 

You can download these photo guidelines from:

https://cdn.ek.aero/downloads/ek/pdfs/careers/Cabin_Crew_Photo_Guidelines.pdf

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

 

 

What file formats can you upload your files in?

These are the file formats that are accepted by Emirates:

 

 

Ok, so here’s what you need to know about files to be uploaded. When you submit your application to Emirates, the first thing that happens is that it is pre-screened.

Who does this pre-screening?

Allow me to introduce a good friend of mine…

This is Emmy, the Emirates robot

 

 

 

Emmy and her robot friends, work behind the scenes at Emirates doing all the pre-screening and scanning of your documents.

Ok, ok so there are not really robots doing all the work, but there are computer programs hard at work doing all the pre-screening.

What they are doing is scanning your application for information that Emirates has asked it to look for. It then “extracts” all this information.

So, when a recruiter wants to have a look at your application, what they find is all the relevant information that these “robots” have extracted.

These Emirates robots CAN’T read ALL file types and Emirates have kindly provided you with a list of those that their robots CAN!

These are:

 

 

So, you need to make sure that when you upload documents, they are in the file formats shown above.

Don’t worry about your photos though.

Recruiters are able to able to view image files such as .jpg or .png

Please be aware though, that your photos will ONLY be looked at by a recruiter if you pass the pre-screening.

And, you can only pass the pre-screening IF you upload your CV in one of the formats above.

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

 

How does the video interview work?

I have written a blog post all about Emirates’ video interview which you can find here

 How long will Emirates be open for recruitment?

The answer is that no-one knows! Generally speaking, Emirates recruitment was always open for recruitment. It then closed twice- once for a time in 2009 and then more recently, from November 2016 to January 2018. Both times were as a result of financial issues within the company.

However, they have not recruited any new cabin crew since 2016 so we can assume that they will need to replace cabin crew who have left during this time. Estimates claim that cabin crew turnover is around 20% per year.

Emirates also placed a US$15.1 billion order for 40 Boeing 787 Dreamliners at the 2017 Dubai Airshow so it’s fair to say that things are looking optimistic over at Emirates and they will need considerable crew for their new aircraft and their new routes.

However, when Emirates closed their recruitment suddenly in November 2016, there were approximately 900 people who had been accepted for cabin crew training whose application was never moved further.

These applicants have now been contacted and asked to submit a video interview and update their work experience.

Emirates reckons they will take 300 new cabin crew from this original figure of 900.

These applicants will be due to start their cabin crew training in April 2018.

Emirates have released information saying they plan to train 360 new cabin crew per month.

This equates to 4,320 cabin crew in one year.

My advice to you is to start an application with Emirates as soon as you can.

No-one knows how long the job will be live for and the application link could be removed at any time.

Therefore, we recommend that you start an application.

You can add in your personal details and then save it as a draft.

That means you still have a live application, even though there is no option for new people to apply for the post.

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How can I improve my English?

To fly for Emirates, your level of English must be FLUENT

The international language of aviation is ENGLISH.

All your training is in English, your briefings will be held in English and you will communicate on board in English.

There are many of you whose English is not yet fluent.

Spend time improving your English.

When you upload your video interview, an audio file is automatically extracted from it.

When this is analysed, if your English is NOT fluent, then you will automatically be rejected.

So, don’t waste your time applying for Emirates until your English is fluent.

Spend time improving your English.

 There are lots of free English courses on the web, so start using them.

There are loads of great resources on the web for improving your English.

The One I would particularly recommend are:

https://esol.britishcouncil.org/

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How long should my CV be?

The quick answer is it very much depends!

However, I’m sure you want a more detailed answer.

The traditional advice was that a CV should be one page, or at the maximum two.

However, this advice has been turned on it’s head a bit!

Your CV WON’T be read by a recruiter but instead will be scanned for information by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) which is a computerised program that “reads” CVs and extracts important information.

Because these ATS programs, or Emirates robots as I like to think of them, can “read” so quickly, you are no longer constrained by this two- page rule as humans aren’t reading your CV.

 

 

So, you can get away with making your CV longer.

However, your CV will be kept on file AND a human recruiter may wish to have a look at it.

If that’s the case, then they WON’T be impressed by your 12- page CV!

So, you have to have a happy medium!

I personally would recommend that your CV is NEVER longer than 4 pages and it is stuffed FULL of Emirates’ keywords so both the robot and the recruiter are happy!

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Why do I have to be 21 before I can be cabin crew with Emirates?

The legal age of drinking alcohol in Dubai is 21, so in order for you to lawfully be allowed to serve alcohol on-board an Emirates flight, you have to be at least 21.

Can I wear jewellery in my photos?

The photo guidelines specifically state that:

 

 

Please make sure you follow these guidelines EXACTLY.

Cabin crew need to be able to follow instructions, so if you upload a photo of you wearing any jewellery, you will look like you can’t follow instructions and you will be rejected.

I have written a blog about the photo guidelines and you can find it here.

What make-up should I wear for my photos?

You should be aiming for a very professional and well-groomed look. I have written about what make-up you should wear in my photo guidelines blog, which you can find here

 I see Emirates are looking for 1+ year’s customer service experience, does this have to be continuous?

No, not at all. They are asking for 1+ years customer service experience combined. So, if you add up ALL of your customer service experience and it comes to more than one year, you’re good to go!

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What do they mean by customer service experience. Do I have to have worked in shop or a restaurant?

Not at all. When they talk about about “customers”, what they are really talking about are jobs where you have worked with the public. So, this could be a whole range of things from working in a bar, to working as a receptionist, to working as nurse. If you have worked with the public, then you have worked in customer service.

This experience doesn’t have to be confined to paid jobs. If you have volunteered at all, think about this. For example, if you have worked in charity shop then this would count as customer service experience. If you have volunteered with a local youth group- all of this would count as customer service.

It says you can’t photoshop or alter your photos. How do you then get a white background?

It’s fine to remove the backgrounds of your photos. However, you cannot alter yourself in any of your photos. So, you cannot use photoshop to remove blemishes for example, and you cannot add any filters to your photos.

 

 

Again, by doing so, you look as if you can’t follow instruction which would make you very poor cabin crew.

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When I am completing my work experience in the application should I just copy and paste the information from my CV?

No!

It is another opportunity to “sell” yourself using different keywords. I would probably change it up a bit from your CV if I could so that when your application is pre-screened it extracts even more information about you which may give you a higher score.

Here’s a tip for you. You know how I am completely obsessed with keywords? Well, I am going to mention them again!

All of Emirates application is now online and everything is now 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.

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!

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What should I wear for my photos?

You are told what to wear on the Emirates photo guidelines:

 

 

 

Try and look as much like the example photos given above

If you would like more guidance about your photos, you can find out more at my photo blog here

Can I have tattoos?

Please use this photo to guide you:

 

If you have tattoos in ANY of the red areas above, then you CANNOT be cabin crew with Emirates.

They DO NOT allow any covering on tattoos in the red area.

You may be tempted to “hide” your tattoo and apply anyway.

That’s your choice but I should warn you that you will have a medical in your own country and one by an aviation doctor when you arrive in Dubai. If your tattoo is discovered during your medical, your contract will be terminated.

Also, if any of your fellow cabin crew report your “hidden” tattoo then you may be dismissed.

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Am I too old to apply to be cabin crew with Emirates?

The first thing I would say is that there is no upper age limit for Emirates. That said, it will probably be a bit more difficult for you if you are older. Just because they don’t have an upper age limit doesn’t mean it you have an equal chance. They will prefer younger candidates simply because they are likely to stay with them for longer. However, you can convince them that you intend to stay for a long time! Also, the job is very physically tiring.

You can be on your feet for up to 18 hours and this would exhaust anyone. Then you have to deal with the constant time differences. So, if you are older you will have to convince Emirates that you do have the stamina to deal with the job. Talk up how fit and healthy you are.

If you are more mature, then you will have more experience to bring to the job, so you want to highlight this as well.

You may look at photos of Emirates cabin crew and assume they are always so young. But the reality is that it is mainly young people who apply to be cabin crew in the Middle East as they enjoy living in Dubai and the constant travelling that comes with the job.

However, that’s not to say that there are plenty of older crew flying with Emirates, so if you fancy it, then go for it!

Am I tall enough to be cabin crew with Emirates?

 

You have to be a minimum height of 160cms.

The height restriction very much relates to the aircraft you are flying on. The bigger the aircraft, generally speaking, the taller you have to be!

For flying on most commercial aircraft, the minimum height is generally 5’2” which is approximately 160cm. The maximum height is 6’2” which is 190cm.

Why do they have these restrictions?

Well, it’s to ensure that you can reach the emergency equipment that is carried on-board the aircraft.

This emergency equipment is usually stored in the overhead lockers, so you have to be able to reach in and access this equipment in the event of an emergency.

There is also a maximum height as any taller than this and you would be incredibly uncomfortable working within the confines of the cabin!

Emirates also you to take part in what is known as a reach test.

This involves you reaching a marker on the wall. This marker will be placed at 212cm.

You have to easily be able to reach this height without wearing shoes and you can stand on your tiptoes!

The reach test takes part early on in the assessment day.

Why is this?

Well, it’s simple.

If you can’t reach the marker, then you cannot be employed as cabin crew and you will be asked to leave the assessment day.

 

 

So, if you are worried about the reach test, is there anything you can do?

Well yes, there are a few things you should do.

First up, put a marker like the one on your photo on your bedroom wall. Make sure it is at 212cm. You should maybe put it a few cm’s higher so you know you will definitely reach it on the assessment day.

Then practice, practice and practice some more.

Each time you are practising, you are stretching which will make it easier for you on the assessment day.

Now, this may sound a bit crazy, but some of my ex-students have also used yoga and pilates to help them stretch and become taller and it has worked!

So, if you are very, very close to reaching 212cm, do as much stretching as you can and you may pull it off on the assessment day.

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Am I too fat to be cabin crew with Emirates? 

Why is it relevant?

You will need be able to fit into a crew seat (the foldaway seat where cabin crew sit for take- off and landing) and be able to use a seatbelt WITHOUT a seatbelt extension as part of their application process.

Why do they ask such a thing?

Well, being cabin crew is an incredibly physical job as you are on your feet for long periods of time.

You are also trained in how to deal with a range of emergency scenarios and you must be fit to be able to deal with these.

Also, you are working within the confines of an enclosed aircraft cabin which can often be quite tight spaces.

So, ultimately, because of the physical demands of the job, you cannot be overweight.

So, how do airlines judge whether you are too large to be cabin crew.

Airlines will expect you to have a BMI of less than 25.

What’s your BMI?

It’s simply your Body Mass Index which is a calculation based upon your weight and height.

There are many calculators online which allow you to measure your BMI.

Here’s a good one…

https://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx

You are aiming to have a BMI between 18.5 and 25.

Anything less than 18.5 is classed as underweight and over 25 is classed as overweight.

Anything over 30 is classed as obese.

So, go and check out your BMI and if it is over 25, you need to think about losing some weight before applying to become cabin crew.

A great way of doing this is upping your exercise.

Not only will this help you drop some pounds, it will also get you fitter.

The fitter and stronger you are, the more you will be able to cope with the rigours of the job so it’s a win-win situation!

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Can Emirates cabin crew wear glasses?

Emirates don’t allow glasses at all and ask you to wear contact lenses instead.

If you struggle wearing contact lenses (and many people do!) then the Emirates’ doctors will provide you with a written letter to state this and you will then be permitted to wear them.

However, within their uniform and grooming guidelines, Emirates would ask that your glasses blend with their uniform.

 

 

 

For that reason, I would suggest that if you are attending an assessment day with Emirates, you should consider wearing contact lenses.

What are the cabin crew qualities Emirates are looking for?

First up, although many people think the key role of cabin crew is to serve tea and coffee, it’s actually to keep people safe.

Cabin crew are first and foremost, safety professionals. Think about it. You can’t call the emergency services at 36,000 feet in the air, so they have to be able to deal with a range of potential scenarios.

If there’s a fire on-board, they can’t call the fire service, they have to don portable breathing equipment and deal with it themselves as a team.

If someone takes a heart attack or goes into labour, they can’t call an ambulance, they have to take control of the situation themselves.

If a passenger has had too much to drink, the police are not on hand to put them in handcuffs and arrest them, so the cabin crew will need to work together to restrain the passenger and restore order in the cabin.

So, for these reasons, cabin crew are incredibly highly trained. As well as their initial training course which covers fire training, conflict management and first aid, cabin crew also take part in continuous training in order to keep their skills up-to-date.

So, what type of skills will airlines be looking for in order to manage in any of the scenarios highlighted above?

All airlines are looking for staff who are able to take control when required, able to follow procedures and can stay calm under pressure.

But, let’s be honest.

Although cabin crew are highly trained individuals who are more than capable of dealing with a range of emergency procedures, the vast, vast majority of the time they won’t encounter emergency situations on-board.

So, what other skills are they expected to have?

Well, it’s important that cabin crew have empathy skills.

Why is this?

Well, just think about the number of people cabin crew encounter on a daily basis- it’s a lot!

So, cabin crew have to like people!

They have to like meeting new people and they must really enjoy helping people.

It’s also really important that they have good customer service skills. Ultimately, you will be working with customers day in and day out, so you need to enjoy working with a range of different people and you need to enjoy going the extra mile for them and impressing them with your level of service.

Remember, cabin crew are ultimately the face of an airline, so it’s really important that they enjoy giving their passengers great service and actively enjoy helping them.

Cabin crew also need to be very flexible.

If you like the routine of a 9-5 job then cabin crew is most definitely not for you!

Your roster will generally only be given to you one month in advance, which makes planning difficult. You may be flying to New York one week and Tokyo the next, so you have to be very adaptable and actively enjoy change.

You also will work on standby which means you have to be within 90 minutes of your base airport in case you are called in for duty.

So, unless you are someone who thrives in this type of environment, cabin crew may not be for you.

Teamwork is massively important when working as cabin crew. You have to work with your colleagues to ensure a smooth cabin service during your passengers’ flight.

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Also, in any kind of emergency situation, you have to work with your colleagues to help respond to the problem. So, if you are someone who doesn’t enjoy teamwork, then you will find working as cabin crew very difficult.

Cabin crew will need to have good cultural awareness and a genuine interest in working with people from all over the world, particularly if you are keen in flying with a middle Eastern airline.

And, finally, grooming!

As you know, cabin crew are the face of the airline and, as such, have to be impeccably groomed at all times. So, if you enjoy personal grooming and looking your best at all times, then this is may be the perfect job for you!

So, please, please make sure that you mention these qualities ALL THE TIME during your application and assessment day as this will help convince Emirates that you are the PERFECT person for the job.

So, here is a quick summary of the qualities Emirates are looking for:

  • Able to stay calm under pressure
  • Able to take control
  • Ability to follow procedures
  • Empathy
  • Excellent customer service skills
  • Flexibility
  • Adaptability
  • Teamwork
  • Cultural awareness
  • Excellent grooming standards

 

What would really, really impress Emirates would be if you can give them an example of each and every one of these characteristics!

So, before you even apply to Emirates (or in fact, right now!) take 5 minutes to write down an example of when you displayed EVERY quality listed above.

Then use these examples throughout your recruitment process.

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Do you need perfect teeth?

Your teeth should be of cosmetically acceptable appearance as cabin crew are expected to smile all the time.

As far as teeth are concerned, anything which does not look natural is unacceptable, including braces or noticeable missing teeth.

This is the guidance Emirates’ give to their dentists when they are carrying out medical checks on new cabin crew:

· Teeth should be free from caries and all necessary fillings completed.
· Roots etc. should have been removed. Sockets clean, uninfected and healthy.
· Temporary fillings are not acceptable.
· Gingiva and oral cavity to be free from infection or disease.
· Teeth should be free from plaque, scaled and polished. Good level of periodontal health.
· Crown and bridgework, if present, should be in good condition.
· On initial examination in EK clinic, if treatment is found to be unsatisfactory or uncompleted, it will need to be restored at the patients’ expense.
· Dentures, if applicable, should be in good condition and fit properly.
· Root canal treatment should be complete and satisfactory. For recent RCT, a post treatment periapical X-ray should be supplied
· Wisdom teeth which are normally symptom-free (i.e. which do not compromise adjacent teeth or do not create recurrent infections) do NOT require removal.
· Dentition should be of cosmetically acceptable appearance
· Gaps / missing teeth do not need to be replaced by bridges etc. if posterior and unnoticeable.

Can I be cabin crew and wear braces?

The short answer to that is no.

You cannot wear braces whilst working in cabin crew.

I have known candidates to attend assessment days wearing braces. These braces were due to come off in the next couple of months, so the recruitment team asked for them to send them photos once they were removed.

However, if your braces can be removed, I would recommend doing this temporarily whilst attending an assessment day.

What do Emirates think of scars and birthmarks?

So, first up, how worried should you be if you have scars or birthmarks?

The truth is, it depends where they are!

If they are under your uniform, then you really have no need to worry.

Most airlines allow you to wear long-sleeved blouses, so you can request these if you are worried about scarring on your arms.

However, if the scarring can’t be seen whilst in uniform, there really is no need to be worried.

So, what if it can be seen?

Well, it very much depends on the size and the location of the scarring or the birthmark.

You can cover the scarring or birthmark with make-up.

If this then means the scar or birthmark is covered, you shouldn’t have a problem.

What make-up to choose?

That is completely up to you!

I have helped 1000s of people like you become cabin crew and I asked them the brand they would most recommend.

The one that kept being mentioned over and over again was Dermablend, so it may be worth checking this out.

Another one I have heard mentioned a few times is Covermark.

We don’t receive any commission at all from either of these companies, I’m just telling you ones that have been recommended to me, so I hope you find them useful!

Should you tell Emirates if you have scars or birthmarks?

The answer to this is yes.

You will have to undertake a full medical if you are successful at your assessment day, so it’s best to just to be upfront about it at the assessment day and tell the truth.

Emirates are only concerned about scarring as it may impact your ability to carry out your cabin crew duties, so if you can convince them that you will be perfectly able to carry out your role, you shouldn’t have a problem.

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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!

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Pauline x

Pauline Park

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