to be air hostess - interview

Want to be a air hostess? We had prepared some interview guide for you.

Imagine you yourself as the owner of the airline looking for air hostess or cabin crew. You would have your own criterias of the type of people that you want. Same thing with the company that you intend to go for the interview. The criterias varies. Some airlines are looking for good looking persons who are able to made the passengers feel as a guests in the aircraft. Some will be looking for person who can entertain the passengers.

These criterias can be broadly divided into:
- education background
- language proficiency
- personality
- team work
- discipline
-world outlook

Theoritically, the interviewers need to be aware of two types of errors that they can fall into:
1. first - the error of NOT selection the good candidates.
2. secondly- the error of selecting the NOT suitable candidates.

It is obvious that they will try to avoid nbr 2. It will be too expensive to employ a not suitable staff.

Happy reading.

1. Purposes
Have you ever wonder, what is the purpose of an interview. Many will say that it is an opportunity to showcase your qualifications to an employer and to show them that you are the most suitable person to fill the vacancy. They are right, but only 50% correct, as the other reason is for you to select and choose the career or the employer. So it is always two ways. Whatever is the reasons, it is always good to prepare for the interview and to show your interest, bearing in mind that you always have a choice to accept or not to accept the job, once you receive the offer.

2. Preparation
Thorough preparation is always expected from the applicants. Basically, you will need to prepare in 5 different areas:

a. Your own record and CV
Review your qualification and experiences, write it down, in case you forget.- Always be ready to describe to the panel your experiences, show them how your experiences are relevant to the job you are going to apply.- Prepare to discuss your strength and weakness, think of how you can help the organization if you are given a chance to contribute.- Be ready to answer broad questions, such as "Why should I hire you?" "Why do you apply for this job?".

b. Your knowledge about yourself
What I mean is, you should know what you want in life, in short what is your life plan. Certainly there must be something you want to achieve before you die. Then, what is your plan to achieve it.
It is always good for you to know your personality type, some people are overt and extrovert while some may be introvert. Some are the drivers type, who talk about the big vision, but leave them alone, they will not be able to implement. Do a bit of research on this, get to know different concepts and thinkings. Topic such the mayer briggs testing can shed some light. Of course you need to know the thinking behind the test. In my other site I mentioned about the other test. Please visit the pramugari site.

c. Knowledge about the job.So if you are going for cabin crew interview, make sure you know the job. The HR personnel tend to find the big words for a normal job. Ask some basic questions, why does the job exist, what is the job outcome required and what do you have to do to achieve the outcomes.

Take for example, the job as the cabin crew, you may say, the job exist as a marketing tool to differentiate the airline to the competitors. So somehow, you are the marketeer, that affect the number of seats booked on a given flight. So the job outcome will be a satisfied customers that will return back. Then you will understand that the inflight services, food and wine are only the mean to the outcomes. Off course, you need to know, the job contents, I mean what a cabin crew does.

d. Knowledge about the organization
Have some idea on the culture of the organisation, and the culture of the Cabin Crew Department. What is the things of value to them. Get to know the top two levels in the organisation. Who will be your boss.What are the aircraft types the airline operates, where do they fly?May be you have the chance to read the airlines web page.

Knowing about the organisation will demonstrate to the interviewers that you are concerned about the job, you have the interest and willing to spend time to research it.

e. Rehearse the interview.
It is good to have a person who have been conducting the interviews to run through a mock interview. Of course the feeling is not the same. If you lucky to have friends that had been conducting interview, then you can benefit more from the exercise.

3. Things to bring- Social Security card/ or for some countries, the passport or identity card or drivers license.- Resume or application. Although not all employers require a resume, you should be able to furnish the interviewer information about your education, training, and previous employment.- References. Some employers typically require three references. Get permission before using anyone as a reference. Make sure that they will give you a good reference. Try to avoid using relatives as references. They may call them or just rely on the written documents.- Transcripts. Employers may require an official copy of transcripts to verify grades, coursework, dates of attendance, and highest grade completed or degree

4. Understand the Selection Process
It will be useful to know how the airline normally select their air hostess. For example, I know of an airline that has 3 levels of interview. The first will be a grouped walk-in interview. You need to bring all the relevant certificate and resume, a letter from a doctor. Before you enter the interview room, you will pass through three persons to check you height, weight, physical appearances and resume and certificate. If you can get clear through them, then you will be put into group of 10, for the group interview. A panel of four personnels will be there to select the personnels for the next interview.

5. Sample QuestionsThe sample questions are provided as a guide for you to prepare for the interview. Be prepared with the answers and try to rehearse them out with your friends or family .
a. These are the some of the possible questions asked by the interview panel. The sequence of the questions will vary according to the interviewer.-
- Tell me about yourself? (try to talk about yourself for 2 minutes, have a structured answer), they may know you by your application letter, but want to see your response in person.

- What do you know about our company?- Why should we hire you?

- What can you do for us that someone else can't?

- What do you look for in this job?

- What dont you like about a air hostess you come across.?

- How does this assignment fit into your overall career plan?

- Describe your interpersonnel style.

- What do you believe is the most difficult part of being a supervisor of people?

- Why are you looking for a new career?

- How would your colleagues describe you?

- How would your boss describe you?

- What do you think of your present or past boss?

- What were the five most significant accomplishments in your last assignment?

- What were the five most significant accomplishments in your career so far?

- Can you work well under without supervisions

- Can you physically and mentally work 10 hours non- stop (commercial flight can last more than 10 hours)

- Why do you want to work for us?

- What other positions are you considering

- What are your career goals?

- How did you do in school?

- What was wrong with your current or last position?

- What kind of hours are you used to working or would like to work?

- Do you have your reference list with you?

The actual interview can be like a casual chat or it can be like an official discussion. It depends on the panel. The company is looking for a staff with the potential and the right attitutes. From the questions, the panel can judge your knowledge, your potential and attitute. For example,if you are being asked by a specific knowledge of the company which the public normally do not know, he is testing you and want to check how you handle difficult question. If you answer correctly, he will proceed with another, till you do not know the answer.

6. Questions you may want to ask the Interviewer
Be careful on your questioning. Be selective based and depend on how the interview progress.-

- Why this position open?
- How often has it been filled in the past five years?
- Ask them about the job contents
- Their problems with the existing crews.

These questions are presented only as interviewing guidelines. They are meant to help you prepare for the interview. Some questions may or may not be appropriate for your interviewing situation. By practicing your responses to some of these questions, hopefully you will not be taken off guard if asked one of them.
Most importantly, relax, go with the flow of the interview, and before you know it, you'll be in your next job.

7. Interview DayOn the day,
prepare well, especially your personal appearance, go for facial treatment. Be well groomed, your hair, your nails etc. Dress appropriately. Do not chew gum or smoke. Be early and learn the name of your interviewer and greet him or her with a firm handshake. Use good manners with everyone you meet. Relax and answer each question concisely. Use proper English and avoid slang. Be cooperative and enthusiastic. Use body language treatment to show interest, use eye contact and don’t slouch. Ask questions about the position and the organization, but avoid questions whose answers can easily be found on the company Web site. Also avoid asking questions about salary and benefits unless a job offer is made. Thank the interviewer when you leave and shake hands. Send a short thank you note.

8. Presentation
In case you may be asked to do a structured presentation, you may choose to follow the following guideline.a. Introduce yourself. Ideally with a slide with your name on.b. Start with an attention grabber. I love to use a funny story.c. Make one main point in the presentation and use a few visual slides to illustrate it.d. Try to break this point down into a list of three main concepts and present them on a single slide. See the section on the rule of three for more details.e. End on a high point.
The research shows that the ending will be the most remembered. If you can add an element of suspense, so much the better.

9. Post InterviewIf you do not receive the answer, you may choose to call them. Use the experiences positively,in case you dont get the job, ask your self, the question why, and can you improve. This is better that to bear any ill feelings against the organisation.
Hope you will join us as a air hostess.

I include some reference books that can help you for the interview. They may help you.