In Person Flight Attendant interview
How to prepare for your interview
The interview process of any major U.S. airline is very competitive. The recruiters goal is to understand your customer service and leadership skills and your ability to work in a team. Learning more about how to present yourself during the interview. And understanding the interview process can increase your chances of getting hired.
This post will give you guidelines on how to present yourself and tips to prepare for the in person interview.
Getting to the Interview
If the interview is being conducted in another part of the country. It is very possible that the airline you are interviewing for, will pay for your flight to get to get there. You will be considered a non revenue passenger and airlines have policies you need to follow.
- For the flight, dress in business casual
- You don’t have to wear your interview outfit, but it’s best to wear something business conservative
- The airline won’t allow you to wear leggings on the plane
Dress For Success
Make sure you read and follow anything the airline sent you about how to dress for the interview. You want to dress professionally and keep your hemline conservative. So you will want to wear solid colors but no prints.
For Woman
- Blazer
- Dress shirt
- Skirt, at the knee, but not below the knee.
- a hand bag and scarf / necklace are nice touches
For Men:
- A suit
- And tie
- A watch, cufflinks and a tie bar would be a nice touch
Consider researching the airline website to find their uniform or dress code. Then wear something with similar colors to what their employees wear. U.S. airlines have a conservative dress code with neutral or dark colors, such as navy blue or black.
For more information about what to wear, I recommend this post. “How to dress for the flight attendant interview?” They have great suggestions and good images.
Shoes
As a flight attendant you will be on your feet all day, so it’s important that you take care of them. So invest in a good pair of black shoes. You will be able to use them at the interview and when you start work at the airline.
- For women, flats or a shoe with 1 to 3 inch heels will work for any airline. It’s not unusual for women to wear heels in the airport and change to flats in the plane when they start work.
- Avoid suede or any type of fabric, DO wear leather shoes
- No open toed shoes
- No white shoes
- No high boots
- For men, a nice business shoe is fine
- Before you go into the interview, make sure you shine you shoes
Nails
- Consider getting a manicure
- Any conservative color, like red is fine
- Natural , acrylic, gel or any other type of nail is okay
- But you want a short conservative more natural style of nail
What you wear for the interview has to be comfortable, look good and make you feel confident.
And of course, bring your ID, passport and resume, even if it’s not required.
Your introduction
- Prepare a short 1 to 2 minute self-introduction.
- Start by greeting the interviewer with “a good morning” and ask how they are.
- Then state your name, your educational qualifications and past experience, if any. Keep it short and brief.
- Say something about your family background in two-or-three sentences.
- Never say you’re a new hire if you don’t have any experience, Just skip it
- Say “I have worked as, or I’m working as _______
- my job responsibilities include ______
- You may want to talk about a strength you have by giving an example that is relevant to the flight attendant job.
- For example-I have great customer service skills. In my last job I ____.
- Try to end your introduction with a bit of humor.
- Practice this self-introduction in front of a mirror. Check your facial expressions and continue until it feels comfortable and natural.
Smile as much as possible, smiling is a major deciding factor
And of course, you will be able to use this when asked “Tell me something about yourself?”
Preparing for the Q & A part of the Personal interview
It’s easier said than done, but when you’re in the interview, you want to avoid rattling off a bunch of facts in a monotone voice. This is a great way to put your interviewer off.
Make sure you smile and you want to show your personality when answering questions.
Make sure you now your resume / CV
If you don’t have any previous experience, there is a very good chance chance that most questions will come from your resume itself. Your hobbies, interests,extra curriculum etc…
Experienced candidates will be asked about their current job.
When answering the questions don’t forget to Smile, which most candidates fail to do. A good way to improve your confidence and speaking style is to talk in front of a full size mirror, practice will make you perfect.
Have Answers Ready!
When you’re in an interview, you’re already under enormous pressure, don’t make it worse on yourself! Interview questions are somewhat standardized, so make sure you have some answers that you have rehearsed beforehand. The goal is to take some pressure off yourself and allow yourself to relax during the interview.
Do not Forget About The Airline!
Don’t go into your interview not knowing anything about the airline! Read up on the specific airline you’re interviewing for.
- Have they been in the news recently? Make sure you know about it.
- Know what’s happening with the airline industry.
- Check out there social media sites like:
- There company website
- There Facebook page
- Instagram account
- YouTube Channel
- Twitter Feed
- Any thing else you can find
You also want to stand out, so you need to personalize it. Find something about the airline that you like. Maybe the airline supports a cause that is important to you or maybe you like the lifestyle…
You don’t need to be an expert, but you need to know enough to hold a short conversation.
You will want to sell yourself
Not trying to kill this point, but you need to do research on the company you’re applying to. Each company is different, see if you can determine what some of their key qualities they are looking for. Or put another way, what is their crew member ‘culture’ like? What are their values? What kind of flight attendant are they looking for?
- First place to look is the job posting
- Then look on sites like Quora or Reddit for posts from people who recently went through an interview.
- Post a question. There are many Flight attendants that post on these sites. You may get lucky and have a senior Flight Attendant answering your question!
There are some key qualities that all airlines look for in a Flight Attendant, such as:
- Positive attitude
- Good customer service skills
- The ability to work under pressure
- Being flexible / being able to think on your feet
- And a good level of physical fitness. You’re fit enough to be on your feet for 10+ hours and still have some energy left.
You will want to sell yourself
Not trying to kill this point, but you need to do research on the company you’re applying to. Each company is different, see if you can determine what some of their key qualities they are looking for. Or put another way, what is their crew member ‘culture’ like? What are their values? What kind of flight attendant are they looking for?
- First place to look is the job posting
- Then look on sites like Quora or Reddit for posts from people who recently went through an interview.
- Post a question. There are many Flight attendants that post on these sites. You may get lucky and have a senior Flight Attendant answering your question!
There are some key qualities that all airlines look for in a Flight Attendant, such as:
- Positive attitude
- Good customer service skills
- The ability to work under pressure
- Being flexible / being able to think on your feet
- And a good level of physical fitness. You’re fit enough to be on your feet for 10+ hours and still have some energy left.
Now sell yourself
How do you sell yourself?
It’s not unusual for a salesman to position their product or service as a solution to a problem.
So the airline has a problem, you’re the solution.
Now you have a good idea of what the airline is looking for, make sure you highlight those qualities in your resume and in the interview.
Do your research, make sure you have an idea of the possible questions that you may be asked. See bellow for some questions and answers!
Use your answers as a way to promote your qualities that would make you a great flight attendant.
- Take a look at the job description and match your qualities with what the company is looking for.
- When answering, be specific when talking about your qualities. Give examples of how you used them and how they helped you
- Use positive words such as ‘reliable’, ‘hardworking’, ‘resourceful’, etc…
And the interview is a great place to show that you understand the role of a Flight Attendant and that you’re up for the challenge.
What you should not do!
- DON’T use cliches! DO NOT SAY “I’m a people person”!
- DO NOT LIE! The company will hire people to do research on you. You will be caught and you won’t get the job!
Now sell yourself
How do you sell yourself?
It’s not unusual for a salesman to position their product or service as a solution to a problem.
So the airline has a problem, you’re the solution.
Now you have a good idea of what the airline is looking for, make sure you highlight those qualities in your resume and in the interview.
Do your research, make sure you have an idea of the possible questions that you may be asked. Click here for some questions and answers!
Use your answers as a way to promote your qualities that would make you a great flight attendant.
- Take a look at the job description and match your qualities with what the company is looking for.
- When answering, be specific when talking about your qualities. Give examples of how you used them and how they helped you
- Use positive words such as ‘reliable’, ‘hardworking’, ‘resourceful’, etc…
And the interview is a great place to show that you understand the role of a Flight Attendant and that you’re up for the challenge.
What you should not do!
- DON’T use cliches! DO NOT SAY “I’m a people person”!
- DO NOT LIE! The company will hire people to do research on you. You will be caught and you won’t get the job!
How to outshine your competition
The interviewer knows that how you responded to a situation in the past can be a good indicator of how you’ll react in the future.
In order to understand what your experience means for your future performance. The interviewer needs an understanding of:
- the situation
- your role in it
- the actions you took
- and the result of your actions.
That’s a lot of information to pack into an answer to an interview question.
The STAR technique helps you to organize your thoughts and answer the interview questions. While keeping you focused on the important parts of the story. And avoiding a rambling answer.
What questions YOU should ask
Make sure you ask questions, it’s a big part of how the interviewer will evaluate you. But limit your questions to subjects related to the work, such as:
- What your day to day duties will be
- what their expectations are in the first month, the first year…
- how the airline will measure your performance, etc…
- Who will be measuring your performance? After all, when you first start, you’ll be working with a different set of crew members each flight.
And save the questions about the benefits of the job to a later interview. Or better yet, wait until you’re offered the job.
Video Interview
If you’re scheduled for a video interview. Find a clean quiet room with a comfortable desk and chair and make sure you’re dressed appropriately.
Just because the interviewer is seeing you through a video feed. Doesn’t mean it’s okay to wear a pair of shorts and flip flops!
Make sure you sign on, a bit early.
Make sure you prepare
Flight attendant jobs are very competitive! You don’t want to lose out because someone else prepared better than you did.
So make sure you prepare as much as possible!
You’ll go into the interview with a lot more confidence if you practice with a friend or family member.
Are You Ready to Become a Flight Attendant?
Still wondering how to become a flight attendant?
Then check out our post: Flight attendant interview process. Where we discuss The group discussion, The personal interview, Flight attendant interview questions and ways to answer them, and What you can do to stand out from the crowd
Or you can check out the next post in the series, How you can stand out from the crowd. Where we give you suggestions on how to stand out from the crowd by improving your resume.