Airline/Aviation Job Preparation: Qualities of a Cabin Crew

Each airline is unique so they may be looking for various traits in their cabin crew applicants; be it physical appearance or personality type. However, the universal role of a Cabin Crew/Flight Attendant is the same no matter the airline. There will be basic qualities that all airlines are bound to look for in their candidates.

Qualities Cabin Crew Recruiters Look For:

1. Empathy

Empathy isn’t just extended to passengers but co-workers too. On the day of the interview, show kindness to the other applicants. Smile. Talk. Help. Give way to other applicants. Don’t ever try to put someone else down just so you could shine. Be a human being. Be genuine.

Airlines do not really appreciate if their employees have Sympathy or Apathy towards the Customer. I shared this picture for all of you to understand the real meaning of all these three words. Hope this will make the meaning of the feelings clear to all of you.

2. Customer Service Orientation

You’ll be asked a lot of problem-solving questions. Whenever you answer one, always keep the customer your top priority. 

- Describe a situation when you have delivered excellent service.

- How do you handle a difficult customer?

- Give me a time when you resolved a customer complaint. 

- Do you think the customer is always right?

These questions bring out how good you are at solving passenger problems leaving them feeling satisfied, appreciated, and heard. In your answers, show that you have the customer’s best interest in mind. Offer alternatives but don’t impose a solution. Let the customer choose the solution they desire.

3. Adaptability

Your plans to spend a weekend with loved ones could be an improbability due to changes in your roster. You’ll have standby duties and may have to be ready for duty within 20 minutes of being called. You’re definitely going to experience flight delays and cancellations.

You may expect to have 30 minutes to do your preflight ground duties but now you only have 5 minutes. You may not have all the resources you had expected to perform a job correctly. But you’ll have to be able to make it happen nonetheless.

Your company’s policies could change overnight – not necessarily in your favor. All these sudden changes do happen very often and recruiters want to see how well you can cope with disruptions. Can you still ‘make do’ and make things work even under the stress and pressure of change?

Common questions for gauging your level of adaptability is:

- Tell me about a big change you’ve had to deal with.

- Give me a time when you had to improvise to achieve your goal.

In your answer, tell a story where you welcomed the change. Mention the positive results from it. End by talking about what you’ve learned from the experience. 

4. Teamwork and Communication

As a cabin crew, you’ll work in teams of people you may have never met before. You’ll have to show recruiters that you’re very capable of working with total strangers towards achieving a common goal.

·         Tell me about a time you worked in a team.

Give a real-world an example where everyone in the group pitched in resulting in a successful positive outcome.

Don’t try to sound like you’re the hero in your story. A good tip is to replace all the “I” with “We”.

For example:

Don’t say: I suggested that we start by arranging the chairs.

Say: We agreed that we start by arranging the chairs.

5. Cultural Awareness

As mentioned above you’ll be working with a different set of teams every time you go to work. If you work for a multinational airline like the ones in the Middle East, you’re bound to be sharing the workplace with people of other nationalities. Cultures and ideas might sound absolutely strange to you but you’ll have to put all these aside and work together as one unit.

- Name the nationalities that you’d love to work with.

This is a very tricky question. Don’t ever attempt to answer this by actually naming the nationalities you prefer to work – or not to work – with. Show that you can work with anyone no matter the nationality, race, and religion. In fact, show that you’d be excited to work in such a diverse environment since it’s an opportunity for you to broaden your knowledge about humanity and the many cultures of this world.

6. Grooming and Grace

Flight attendants are the image of an airline. You must look the part. Your grooming should be impeccable and your posture graceful. You’ll be working long hours and have to look just as fresh at the end of the flight as you did at the start. Throughout the interview, keep a confident and poised demeanor. Watch for your grooming from your hair to your fingernails. Standards are really high in the airline business. 

Keep these qualities glued to the back of your head throughout your entire hiring process. Starting from filling out the application form, onto the assessment day, and all the way to the final interview. Whatever you say or do, always tailor your words and actions to these qualities.

Start preparing yourself. It's not always necessary to have the best Make-up or the perfect Gel styled hair, but it is absolutely necessary to have confidence and positivity in your posture and gesture. All the best everyone.