After 22 rejections finally she got her dream job - Cabin Crew

 

❤ Love stories such as hers, and stories about people who never ever ever ever give up their dreams/wishes ❤

Written by Mary Clare Inonog

​I had always dreamt of riding on a plane, going to my dream destinations, seeing the places I only see in the movies, while reaching my dream job and having a successful career for my family and my future. I never experienced riding one until I got accepted as a flight attendant. Needless to say, I never knew that I will face tons of depressing moments in those 6 years of chasing my dream. Please be ready folks with the story of my journey towards my dream a dream that started when I was 18.  

After graduating college, I started applying as a cabin crew at different airlines. I can still remember my 1st attempt and my 1st rejection at the first airline I applied.  I went there with my Dad, praying and hoping I will be accepted so I can make him proud! I will never forget what happened in that interview because I didn’t have the chance to talk and to prove myself to them. I got rejected. I never thought it would hurt so bad, I went  home crying with my dad but it didn’t stop me. So I tried my luck at a second airline and, for the 2nd time, I got rejected again. It made me think why they didn't like me. Third attempt was with the very first airline I applied for, then a third airline. I never knew they would accept me for the interview. I learned a lot from that interview that day. It tested my ability to be confident in front of other applicants and the panel, to talk about myself wholeheartedly, to talk about my job experience and it tested my communication skills that time. It was scary. They had a lot of questions. Unfortunately, I again did not make it.
 

As time passed by, I said to myself that I need to gain work experience, I need to improve my skills, my personality, etc. I promised to myself I will not stop until I get it. I landed a job at a reputable company in Manila. I worked for 6 years in the hospitality industry but I still wanted my dream job which was to be a flight attendant. I tried again, this time at a fourth airline. That application for me was the funniest yet insulting one. The interviewer told me she cannot accept me because I was overweight. The funny thing about it is that time I was 54kgs only and my height is 5’4, hence, another rejection, another failure.
 
It didn’t stop me. I still had my job to keep me going on, but while working, I was still pursuing my dreams to be a cabin crew. Due to all the rejections though, there came a point that I stopped applying for months because I needed the time to make sure that I am better, that I would have enough courage and strength to face new rejections again.
 
I researched and made my own interview Q&A, practiced every now and then how to interact, sell myself to the panel, improve on my grooming for the interview, and practiced my communication skills. My training ground that time was my work with my alma mater, STI College Taft. It honed my communication skills and had me speak in front of hundreds of students. That made me somehow confident to talk in front of an audience.
 

At 21 years of age, I started to apply once again at different airlines. I can still remember that I tried eight times for this certain international airline. I always ask my mom to come with me during the interview but during my third attempt at that particular airline, I did not invite her to come because I felt so ashamed. I always fail them. I never reached the final interview for that particular airline. It was so heartbreaking! Maybe it’s still not the right time for me to be a cabin crew. Maybe God is preparing me for something else. Despite all the setbacks, I told myself to never stop and never give up even if it seems like I am being broken down to pieces.
 
I started applying without telling my parents because I don’t want to fail them again. I only shared my secret to my boyfriend. I gained my courage again to apply.
 
Sometimes God will test you and you will never know when that time will come. I can still remember hearing bad things from other people that I you are not qualified to be a flight attendant, I don’t have what it takes to be one. I am not that tall. I am not good looking. Quite depressing, right?
 
I prayed to God and he answered my prayer. I was always with my boyfriend in every application. I can still remember crying in the parking lot where I had my exam for one of those airlines I applied at and I didn’t pass. I even questioned God if he still wanted me to continue because I felt hopeless. I came prepared at every application. I improved everything from head to toe. I even asked myself should I change my dream job? I wanted to give up but then came Qatar Airways.
 

My first attempt, I only reached the second part of the interview. After that interview, on the same day i had an interview with one of those airlines I applied at before again. As always I got rejected. That time I prayed to God whatever airline it is, I will be the happiest. I tried again to Qatar airways for the 2nd and 3rd time but I only reached the 2nd to 3rd stage of the interview. Then came my 4th and last attempt at Qatar Airways, that was September 2016. I can still remember that time I was sick and suffering from a trauma in my legs. Again, I felt God was testing me so all the more I pushed myself. I never knew I will reach up to the final interview for the first time. Every stage I was praying to Him. I said, “God whatever your plans are, I will follow your lead”. After my final interview with QR, one of the airlines I formerly applied at asked me to have my interview a week after. That nerve wracking interview almost gave me a heart attack, out of 20 applicants, only 2 of us passed the interview.
 
The time came when I had my final interview for an airline and medical for Qatar Airways. It happened on the same month but received a bad news, the other airline I was going for suddenly called me and said they will need to reschedule my interview to 2017 (the following year that time) because there was a conflict.
 
I then continued with my QR medical process and finally got the golden mail in December 2016! I almost fainted when I received the text message and the email. I immediately said the news to my boyfriend and we both surprised my family that I passed!  
 

After all the failure, the stressful interviews, the negative things people, the trials and the challenges, I finally made it! Finally, I got accepted.

​That same day I tried summarizing all my applications & rejections. After 24 attempts, 22 rejections, twice at airline 1, eight times at airline 2, three times at airline 3, six times at airline 4, once at airline 5, and four times at Qatar Airways, it made me realize that God really made things so hard for me because He wanted me to improve my skills, my personality, my weight, to prove myself to the people around me, and to learn in LIFE as well.
 
Sometimes, failure can be your partner but for as long as you do not give up, it will break up with you and you will meet success.
 
God has a reason why all of these things are happening, and for me, it made me realize that there is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve, the fear of FAILURE.
 
Don’t ever be afraid to fail, because it is always a part of the process of success. God will always guide you in every way. For my experience, I realized that God has a deep reason why I failed a lot of times before I landed my dream job as a flight attendant. He has prepared me for the Best Airline in the World!
 
It is true that someday, everything will fall into place. Don’t ever rush, when the time is right, it’ll happen. Just be super patient, always have faith and believe in yourself. 

Source: 

http://www.itsacrewlife.com/inspirational/finally-a-flight-attendant-after-twenty-four-attempts-and-twenty-two-rejections

 

Ex Emirates Cabin Crew – This Is Her Story

By: Anna Genevieve Louise

When I was growing up, I never dreamed of becoming a member of a cabin crew. However, I always dreamed of traveling to faraway places all over the world — and that is what led me to join Emirates Airline in 2012. When I got my confirmation call, I was ecstatic; I was going to live in Dubai and get to travel the world for free! I also had major travel anxiety about moving 7,000 miles away from everything I knew. But after a couple reassuring talks with my friends and family, I realized nothing was going to stop me from seeing the world. So, in October 2012, I headed to JFK Airport in New York City with a one-way ticket to Dubai.

As I said goodbye to my family, I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. I took a deep breath, quickly said goodbye, and headed toward security. The next hours were a complete whirlwind. I boarded the A380 double-decker plane, which was by far the largest aircraft I had ever been on in my life. After I told one of the crew I was a new joiner, he showed me all around the plane and introduced me to the other crew. All my fears disappeared; I immediately felt like being part of a family. After landing, I was brought to my furnished, paid apartment right in the heart of downtown Dubai.

Just three days later, my six-week training course with new joiners from all around the world started. My training covered everything from safety and emergency procedures to image standards. After those intense six weeks, I finally received what I was waiting for: my very first roster. It consisted of different layover destinations (where we stayed in a hotel), as well as turnaround destinations (a one-day round trip from Dubai). My first roster was full of places I could not wait to explore. 

My First Ultralong-Haul Flight: Dubai — Melbourne — Auckland

I was so happy to see a six-day Melbourne-Auckland trip show up on my first roster. This trip was broken down into smaller segments: Dubai to Melbourne (24-hour layover in Melbourne), Melbourne to Auckland (24-hour layover in Auckland), Auckland to Melbourne (24-hour layover in Melbourne), and Melbourne to Dubai.

On the day of my flight, I woke up at 6 a.m. (for a 10 a.m. departure) and started my routine. Since the flight to Melbourne was so long, I made sure to apply everything as perfectly as I could. I put on my full face of makeup and tied my hair into a neat doughnut bun. I then grabbed my suitcase and headed to the shuttle that brought me to Emirates headquarters.

On the way to the airport, I felt a mixture of emotions; on one hand, I was so nervous because I was still completely new, but on the other hand, I was so excited about traveling to countries I always dreamed of going to. "Fake it till you make it," I told myself and went to my preflight briefing room.

The preflight briefing room was buzzing with energy. We were flying on the A380 plane, so there were over 20 crew members in the room. I got my documents checked by one of the senior crew members. After this came the moment I was dreading: a "Safe Talk" question. This is a question asked by the purser (the manager) of the plane and it's required to be answered by each cabin crew member. Not answering the question correctly could lead to getting offloaded (which meant getting taken off the flight and reported to your manager), a fate no new cabin crew member wanted. These questions were directly related to what we learned in our training, but there was still so much to remember. On that day, I answered the question correctly and felt a weight off my shoulders disappear.

Finally, I went to get my image and uniform checked by another one of the senior cabin crew member. This part of the process always made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I felt like a doll on display for someone as they went through their checklist looking for the following: that my nails were of the right length and color (either clear or red), that my hair and makeup were up to standards, that my uniform was in perfect condition, and my tights were of the right opacity and color. The standards were meticulous; even the slightest difference meant getting a note about it on your flight review. That's why on my first few flights I always made sure to take extra time getting ready.

After all my fellow crew went through this process, we sat down and were briefed on our upcoming flight. Once finished, we got into a shuttle that brought us to the aircraft.

Seeing the A380 without passengers made me realize how huge the plane was. There were over 400 seats in economy and two galleys (kitchen and storage area) for us to use. I went to my station, dropped off my carry-on bag, and got straight to work. First came doing safety and security checks in my designated area. Then I had to prepare the cabin and hot towels for when our passengers got on board.

At 9 a.m., it was showtime. All the passengers started rushing onto the plane. I was happy to be in the back of the plane, where it was calmer than in the front. Once everyone was on board, we handed out towels to our passengers. Then we prepared the cabin by conducting our final safety and security check. I sat down on my jump seat and prepared for takeoff.

The flight to Melbourne was hectic; it was over 13 hours with nonstop work. There were three different services, and since I was still so new I was confused half the time. I barely had time to breathe. Even after we finished our service, the call bells were ringing every other second. I must have walked several miles on that flight going back and forth from the front of the aircraft to the back. We had a short break of about three hours, but I had so many thoughts rushing through my mind I couldn't sleep.

Before I knew it, I could see Australia from outside the window. I couldn't believe that those 13 hours had passed so quickly. After landing and getting to the hotel, my adrenaline kicked in. I had been up for almost 20 hours but it didn't feel like it. I rushed out of the hotel with some of the other new crew and explored Melbourne. The next day my wake-up call came and I repeated my same routine. Then it was off to Auckland.

My first months of flying were amazing — nothing I had done previously in my life could compare. All the new experiences outweighed any negative side of the job. But, eventually for me, that scale tipped the other way.

Saying Goodbye to Emirates

Whenever I posted photos to Facebook of all my amazing trips, my friends would comment telling me how envious they were of me or how glamorous my life looked. While it was true that I lived an exciting life, it was far from being nearly as glamorous as people thought.

There were so many advantages of working for Emirates: living in Dubai for free, staying in amazing hotels across the world, traveling on your days off while only having to pay 10 percent of the airfare, having friends from all over the world, and having a tax-free salary.

But there were also so many disadvantages: being away from family and friends, missing holidays, feeling lonely, dealing with jet lag and health issues, having passengers yell at you for things out of your control, being looked at all the time for your appearance, dealing with delays on flights, waking up at any hour during the day or night for flights, and so much more.

There came a day when the disadvantages outweighed the advantages for me, and that's when I decided to leave Emirates. When I first left, I felt so happy to be on ground all the time and sleep normal hours again. Eventually, I did start to miss many things about being crew. It wasn't really the travel I missed; it was the sense of camaraderie I felt with the crew. I missed being so tired on long-haul flights that we'd all sit around in the galley deliriously giggling and telling jokes to stay awake. I missed hearing stories about the life and culture in different places around the world. Most of all I missed the sense of family I felt with crew.

I'm so glad that I took the chance to work as cabin crew. It changed my life in so many ways and gave me a new sense of confidence in myself. I'm happier being on ground now, but whenever I see a plane flying above me, I always wonder what kind of interesting things are happening at 38,000 feet.

Source: https://www.popsugar.com/

Pictures :

https://www.instagram.com/rajiv_2000/

https://www.instagram.com/vietnamcabincrew/

https://www.instagram.com/emiratescabincrew_lovers/

Etihad Cabin Crew Assessment & Interview

A Etihad Cabin Crew sharing her journey from her assessment, to interview, joining, training, life in Abu Dhabi & flying. Very useful reading 😊

Check out her blog:

http://www.monicablaset.com/
https://www.instagram.com/monicablaset/

Her application timeline::::::::::

March 3th 2016: Application sent
March 7th 2016: Invitation to the assessment day
March 15th 2016: Assessment day
March 16th 2016: Final Interview
March 17th 2016: Successful e-mail
March 31st 2016: First date of joining offer (3rd of july)
April 3rd 2016: Second date of joining offer (24th of july)
April 4th 2016: Received the contract
June 6th 2016: All required approvals completed e-mail
July 10th 2016: Ticket receipt
July 14th 2016: Visa receipt
July 21st 2016: Flight to Abu Dhabi
July 24th 2016: Date of joining!

Her Assessment & Interview::::::

'''''My AD was in Amsterdam on the 15th of March and there were about 90 people. We had three recruiters: 2 females and 1 male. The recruitment day started at 8:00 sharp and if you want any chance to get the job, you are required to be there at least 15 minutes early. During the assessment day and the training they have stressed a lot how important on time performance (OTP) is for cabin crew, so if you are late at the AD this is a very bad first impression. The AD took place in the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam and we were all guided to a big meeting room for our CV drop off and height measure. To work for Etihad you must reach 210 cm without your shoes on, however you are aloud to stretch as far as you can. During the CV drop off two of the recruiters took their time with their applicants, while one of the recruiters kept it very brief. I went to the woman that kept it very brief and she asked me one question about my recent experience and its fit with being cabin crew. After the CV drop off there was no cut, so I did not worry about my short chat too much.

After the CV drop off all applicants were sent to the hall and we were all called back in one by one to ask us a random question. E.g. If you could change anything to better the world what would it be? What would you do if you were invisible? If you could choose one superpower, what would it be? If you could choose one woman in history to have dinner with, who would it be? The questions are very random and impossible to prepare. My question was: Do you think lying is OK? I was kind of relieved because it was such a straightforward question. I guess they just want to see your confidence in handling an unexpected situation and your posture.

Then there was the first cut. We were with about 90 and about 30 of us were sent home. 

After the cut, there was the group assignment. These were also very different. We were in a group of 5 and they asked us what 5 items we would bring to a deserted island. Within a few minutes we agreed and went back to the hall. We were kind of worried about finishing so quickly, but only one of us did not make it to the final interviews. Other questions are hard for me to remember, but this assignment is all about how you cooperate with your group members.

Then there was another cut and again about 30 of us were sent home. 

Approximately 30 of us made it to the final interview, which is quite a lot. People that came from far had the final interview the same day and others had their final interview the day after. The questions I got at the final interview were very standard but I did not get a lot of them. I had the final interview with a really nice recruiter and she asked me how I would think living in a country like Abu Dhabi would be like. Then she asked me a lot about my internship in Mexico, because she would love to visit the country and we talked about this for 10 minutes. Furthermore, she asked me questions about a challenging situation in my job and how I handled it. Also, she asked me a time where I went above and beyond to meet customer demands. The questions for the final interview can be easily found in google, but maybe it is better not to prepare too much and just make it a nice conversation.'''''

Qatar Airways Cabin Crew Recruitment Process

A candidate who attended a Qatar Airways Cabin Crew OD/AD/FI in February 2017 shares her experience. Very informative 😊

OPEN DAY
 

4 recruiters from Qatar arrived at 9 am. Everybody was told to stay in line for their turn. When it was my turn i gave the recruiter my CV and then talked for 1 minute answering her questions.

She asked me two questions:

How old are you?

Is it your first time applying to Qatar Airways?

Got an invitation for assessment day right away.

(These days they hand out invites for the assessment during the open day, if you didnt get one usually it means you were not selected)

 

ASSESSMENT DAY

Around 100 people attended this assessment day the next day.

Next we had essay & English test - Basic multiple choice test and math.

After essay was elimination.

Recruiters will ask you to do the reach test, then will ask you about scars or moles.

They asked me what I was doing now, and how old I was etc. They check your make up & your arms & legs.

After that was another round of elimination.

Then we had our group discussion  & dynamics. We were separated  into 4 groups and told to discuss the pros of working abroad.

Important Tips:

1.) Do not cut other people off or be over eager to shine - one of the candidates did that and was eliminated

2.) Wait for your turn to speak and speak with confidence. Make eye contact with other candidates. If you have additional contributions, raise your hand

3.) Maintain poise even when not talking. Nod your head and look at the person speaking.

Always act like you're being watched! From the moment you attend the event, act like you're being assessed. Always smile.

After group dynamics we had another round of elimination.

That was the end of assessment day. We were down to only 19 people from 100. We were then given the medical forms to fill up & application forms and watched videos about the company.

The recruiter told us to apply online so we have an applicant ID.

There is no need to apply online before attending the recruitment event, you are given the choice to apply later on.

FINAL INTERVIEW

The next day (3rd day) i had my interview and it was a very quick interview, only 10 min. 

The questions i got during my interview were these:

What do you do right now?

Why do you want to work for Qatar Airways?

Do you live here or did you flew in for the event?

Would it be difficult for you to adapt to living in Doha

That was it, than they told us we would get results within 10 day.

.................................................................................

Source:

glassdoor.com