A photo of my first day of training.
Wow, what an adventure! So yesterday, I finished the final part of the hiring process with a major airlines to become a flight attendant. It was not an easy process or a quick one, and I hope this blog post helps answer any questions that you might have about the whole process. I became interested in this position thanks to my uncle, who has been a flight attendant for over 27 years with US Airways, and who absolutely loves it!
This is the process I went through to get hired.
The Video Interview
It all starts with a video interview. This was actually not what I expected. I thought that maybe I would be connecting through Skype or some other program to a live representative and we would be initiating a normal interview that way.
It is actually a video recording of you, talking to your webcam (or if you don't have a webcam, they have a call in option that allows you to record your voice), and asking you questions.
These questions are very basic, and two of them that stood out to me where "Why do you want to become a flight attendant" and "Why do you think you would make a good flight attendant."
This was easily the scariest part for me, since I was not able to see the person, and you only really get one try per question. I had a lot of Umm's and Ahhh's in there, and was sure I did not pass at all.
Thankfully I did, and I attribute a lot of it to SMILING!! I am a happy person in general, and this helped a lot! I smiled throughout the whole thing. A few days after the video interview, I got an email stating that I had passed the video interview, and I was ready to move on the next part of the interview, the in person group interview.
In Person Group Interview
This was easily the most fun out of the whole process! They flew me out to Dallas TX to interview with around 30 other applicants. I was given the option to fly out the night before and pay for my own hotel, or fly out the day of. I went the day before, so I would be rested for the interview.
When I arrived at the training area, it was amazing! It is like a giant resort, mostly for their trainees and a few other companies. The trainees live there for two and a half months during training, and it becomes a home away from home.
After checking in the front desk, because I was an hour early, I sat down and noticed a few other people waiting, and started up a conversation with them. They were also applicants, and they were just as excited and nervous as I was.
After we entered, the process was pretty straightforward. They had different team building exercises and activities to get to know us a bit better and to see how we interacted with each other.
My advice to you here is this. SMILE! Smile smile smile! Be happy you are there, and excited! Greet everyone you meet! Try to be a leader in the activities if you can, and show the interviewers that you are confident.
At the end of the day, we had our two interviews, a four person panel interview, and a one on one interview. Just remember to be yourself, and again, smile! If you did well, you will be taken separately and fingerprinted in anticipation of the next step, the background check!
The Background Check
This part is pretty straight forward. If you passed the group interview, you will be asked to provide a history of your work background, and more information.
This will take a few days, and if you pass, you will need to go back to dallas for the next step in the process, The Drug Exam and Agility Exam.
The Drug Exam and Agility Exam
This part should be quite straightforward, you will be required to do a drug exam, and agility test, although in my case, I was flown out to Dallas to do this as well. I think the drug exam part is pretty straightforward of course (make sure to disclose any medication you are taking, and be prepared to have your doctor send a letter regarding any strong medications you take on a regular basis), but the agility exam could be difficult if you are a smaller woman.
You will be required to push a certain amount of weight (they don't tell you exactly how much, but the general consensus is 60 pounds to push, pull, and lift, all the while maintaining a specific heart rate. Thats pretty much the final step. If you pass here, you will be invited to the next part, the Training Process.
The Training Process
If you have continued to read this, congrats! But here is the tough part. If you make it through all of this, then you will be invited to go to the Flight Attendant training. Please keep in mind, you it is two and half months of unpaid training (room, board, and food will be provided), and from everything I have read, it is not easy training. Make sure you have enough money in the bank to cover your bills during that time. I am super excited to start my new adventure as a flight attendant, and I am looking forward to it! The perks are awesome, and being able to see the world is an opportunity I don't want to miss out on. Hope to see you in the air!