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(Employment) The Facts About Flight Attendant Jobs

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By Josiah Walter

 Airline flight attendants have been glamorized in film and books for decades - ever since the first stewardess pinned on her wings and greeted a passenger at the gate. We all know what airline flight attendant jobs are like, don’t we? After all, we’ve seen the movies and read the books. Flight attendants lead glamorous lives with parties in every city. They’re always impeccably groomed and ready to fly at a moment’s notice. They get to meet celebrities and take advantage of all sorts of job perks - like free travel.

The realities of the job are a little less glamorous, according to those who work in airline flight attendant jobs. Here’s the real lowdown on airline flight attendant jobs according to the people who should know - airline flight attendants.

Before the flight:

- First call of the day, a briefing of the flight crew by the captain. He’ll fill you in on anything you need to know about that particular flight - evacuation procedures, the rest of the crew, the flight details, expected weather conditions and anything important you need to know about the passengers.

- After the briefing, run a check on safety equipment on board - are all the first aid kits in place and stocked? Does all the safety equipment work properly?

- Check the passenger cabin to make sure that you have everything you need for the passengers during the flight - food, beverages, blankets and more.

Flight time - you’re on!

- You’ll be the first one to greet passengers as the board the plane, and responsible for checking tickets and telling them where to store their coats and carry-ons.

- Once the passengers are seated, you’ll inform them about the emergency equipment and demonstrate how to use it.

- Check each passenger to make sure that they’re safety belts are fastened properly, and all their bags are safely stowed before takeoff.

During the Flight:

- There’s all the normal stuff. You’ll have a schedule worked out with the rest of the cabin crew - usually under the direction of the lead flight attendant - that tells you who will be responsible for which seats and cabins. Your job - as long as nothing unusual happens - is to make sure that the passengers are comfortable and have everything they need. You’ll deliver meals and drinks, distribute pillows, blankets and reading material, answer questions about how to use the reading light, how to recline the seat and where the bathroom is. Except for the fact that you’re up a few thousand feet in the air, it’s a lot like any other service job - until something out of the ordinary happens.

- Sometimes the out of the ordinary is a passenger. You may have mothers or fathers with small children that need an extra helping hand. If you have a disabled passenger on board, you’ll anticipate whatever needs they may have, and take steps to make sure that they’re taken care of.

- Then there are the ‘normal emergencies’ like turbulence. You can expect turbulence often - and when it happens, there are always flyers that are worried - or worse - and need reassurance. Some of them will get sick - your job is to make sure that they’re all right. You’ll also make sure that anyone who gets injured or sick while in the air is taken care of.

- It may never happen - most people working in airline flight attendant jobs never have to worry about all those safety drills and emergency evacuation procedures - but if it does, you need to be ready. In the event of a forced landing, you’re the one who’ll be keeping everyone calm and helping them get off the plane as safely as possible. You’ll also be trained to watch for ‘odd behavior’ that might signal a hijacker or terrorist, and told what to do if you see someone suspicious.

Before the Plane Lands:

- You’ll take inventory of all the equipment to make sure that it’s there and accounted for.

After Landing:

Even after the plane lands, you’re job isn’t done. You get to help the passengers deplane, and then check the plane for any articles left behind. There are post flight reports to fill out, and information to be conveyed to the captain and crew. It’s a surprisingly long day for a flight that may be as little as a few hours - but every bit of it is necessary.

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The Typical Flight Attendant Interview

By Josiah Walter

 ”Hi! I’ve just been invited to attend an ‘informational session’ at XYZ Airlines that’s being held next Saturday. I sent them my resume a couple of weeks ago. Is this an interview? Is there anything I should know?”

Yes, Virginia, airlines are hiring flight attendants again - and the so-called ‘informational session’ is often the first step in the flight attendant job interview process. Start off by congratulating yourself - obviously, your resume and cover letter did their job, and now the company wants to meet you in person. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they probably also liked a few dozen other people’s resumes enough to also invite them to this cozy little tea party. Much like acting, where there are dozens of people who want that one job, those who fill positions for flight attendants at major airlines have their interview process down to an art. If you’ve been invited in for a flight attendant job interview, here are some things that you should know.

The “cattle call”

The first stage of the interview process is often called a ‘cattle call’, after the same practice in the acting profession. The airline will invite as many as several hundred applicants to a conference center or hotel where you’ll get to fill out an application, then stand up and introduce yourself. You’ll have two to three minutes to wow the interviewers with your personal statement, and if you do, you may get an invitation to a personal or small group interview later in the day.

This kind of flight attendant job interview is great for the airline, especially if they’re hiring a lot of people in a short time - for instance, when they’re opening a new base in a new city. It’s far less expensive for them to rent conference centers in several cities and weed through several hundred people in a day than it would be for them to fly everyone to the home base for personal interviews. Unfortunately, it’s not so great for you - you need to make a good impression in a very short time. Basically, it’s a ’stress interview’ - you may be asked, “Tell me a little about yourself,” or be hit with a tougher interview question. Your best strategy for this kind of flight attendant job interview is to practice responding spontaneously to many different questions. They’re looking for unruffled poise - and that comes with practice.

Small group interviews

If you wow them in the cattle call, or if your resume is really impressive, you’ll move on to the second round of interviews, usually a small group flight attendant job interview. You’ll be seated in a room with 8-10 other applicants while the interviewer asks questions of the group at large. It’ll be up to the applicants to answer in their own order - and how you answer questions will be as important as what you say in response to the questions. The recruiters will be watching you as much for your demeanor as for your knowledge - remember, they’ll be training you after they hire you, so knowing the job isn’t the most important thing here.

The best strategy is answer first on some questions, last on some questions and somewhere in the middle on most questions. When you answer, be polite and pleasant, never ever belittle another person or their answer, and answer briefly and concisely. The types of questions you might be asked will range from ‘How do you handle a conflict in this situation?’ to ‘What’s the most important thing to remember on an international flight?’

The interviewers are looking for people who are poised, confident and sensitive to other people. Remember, their job in a flight attendant job interview is to find people who will represent the company and make them look good to the customers. As a flight attendant, you are the person that people will associate with the airline. Make sure you project a confident, competent attitude.

One-on-one interviews

So you made it to a one-on-one interview. That’s quite an accomplishment in itself. At this point, the advice isn’t much different than it is in interviewing for any other job. Listen to the questions asked; respond to them briefly and concisely. Take the time to draw out your interviewer a little - knowing whether she or he was a flight attendant, and what his or her experience is in the industry can help you frame your answers effectively. Most importantly, remember that the airlines hire as much for attitude and image as they do for skills - as noted before, they’ll train you in the knowledge that you need. Instead, you should be working to present an outgoing, resourceful and friendly personality - just the kind of person you’d want in the aisles on your flight home.

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Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at 8:05 pm and is filed under employment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.