Cabin Crew applications - CV and interview preparation

Preparing a good cabin crew CV can be the toughest challenge for most young cabin crew applicants.  I have seen lots of submissions from young adults in their 20s, and the standards are far from what recruiters at Emirates and Qatar would expect.

Did you know that most recruiters in the airline industry recruiting cabin crew / flight attendant roles spend no more than 10 seconds scanning each CV resume before either putting it in the 'Yes' pile or in the bin.  It does seem harsh but that is indeed reality.  Emirates now uses HireVue to scan and shortlist application CVs, and only the best CVs with sufficient skills and experience will get to the next stage.  Your CV gets scored by the intelligent software.

We are here to help you push those barriers and understand the CV requirements for Emirates, Qatar or Etihad.  Never forget these are all top 5 star airlines and have some of the highest recruitment standards in the world.  All stages of the recruitment are important to them.  You must make an impression with your application photos, have a remarkable and outstanding CV with strong relevant skills and experience, perform exceptionally well in the digital video interview (for Emirates), and finally be a strong performer on the Assessment Day team exercises and last but not least shine through the final interview.  A weakness in just one of these stages, and you're out!  Sure, I understand you will be disappointed and feel the airline is wasting your time etc., but please try and see this from their point of view, they need the very best cabin crew to continue to win top annual awards.  If you fail, don't blame the airline, the reason is you did not score high enough in one or more of the cabin crew recruitment stages.

Recently, some Emirates 'on hold' cabin crew applicants from the late 2016 batch, were asked to refresh their long on-hold status, by topping-up a video interview.  If they cleared this, they would then receive the offer.  Several did, however, a small number did not make the grade due to poor performance in the video interview or did not prepare well for it.  Some even took the interview almost immediately. The questions asked were not as straightforward as they would appear to be.  Questions asked included 'What have you been doing since the final interview.... OR what was the best day for you....'.  This is an opportunity to sell yourself by showing two very recent examples that show teamwork, achieved high team performance where you made a significant contribution, and then describe a strong case where you exceeded customer expectations, showing empathy for wanting to help customers.  You should not be saying, I am in the same role as before (with no new stories), or I had taken a holiday.  When a recruiter asks this question, they are hoping to give you a higher score if you show additional remarkable customer or teamwork experience, particularly in the last 6 months.  They don't really care whether you are in the same role, nothing has changed or if your holiday was out of this world.  

The video interview questions need refection before you answer them.  Make full use of the 30 seconds and focus on your transferable skills and experience, never on yourself.  Then use all three minutes for the answer.  Remember you are there to sell yourself.  If you do not say much, then you do not have much for them to give you a high score for those answers.  If it were an exam question, valued at 30 marks, and you gave your answer in a sentence or two... well, are you expecting to even score 15 marks?  The computer software will evaluate both the length and the content of your answers.  

Next, let's focus on the key essentials of CV resume requirements before you submit this on the online recruitment portal.

Length of CV

Keep it to no more than two pages of an A4 sheet.  Keep it concise and do not provide too much details.  You have the interview to do just that.

Be specific

Tailor your CV for each cabin crew role you apply to.  The reason is every airline has nuances to the cabin crew role.  Use the job description supplied by the airline recruitment portal to work out precisely what skills you should point out to them.  This is more than likely to make your CV stand out.

Personal statement

At the start of your CV, always use a personal statement to explain why you are the best person for the cabin crew role.  Remember not to share or show details of your CV to your peers.  If you start discussing format and your presentation online with fellow peers, you will lessen your own chance of getting the role.

Gaps in your employment

Don't leave gaps in your CV.  Explain why you have been out of work for certain periods and what you have been doing.  If you have taken time to learn soft skills like communication, team work, helping others - mention it!  

Keep your CV up-to-date

You must always keep your CV up-to-date.  You can email us to review and help you to do this.  

Errors on CV

With massive applications for cabin crew roles, do not give recruiters a chance to dismiss your application all because you made typo or grammatical errors.

Leave lots of white space

Recruiters dislike seeing a CV where there are many columns on a single page CV with all the information everywhere filling-up the full page.  trust me, it's not easy on the eye, it's like reading the telephone directory, and this goes into the pile for the bin.

Dates of employment

Remember to tell the truth about employers you work for and the employment dates.  These are checked-out as part of HR background checks and I do not mean references here.

Submitting your CV online through the airline recruitment portal

Remember to check the CV at least 6 times before you press SEND.  

For many of you reading this who do not have past experience of being a cabin crew, writing a CV can become even more difficult.  We are here to offer advice and help to ensure your CV does not get rejected at the early stages.

Remember, we review and update CV and application pictures for candidates applying for cabin crew roles and have achieved a high percentage of first attempt passes!  A small investment here saves you repeating the whole process again and again. Do it once and get it right.  Getting to be a cabin crew is not difficult.  You just need the right CV and a strong interview technique.  We are here to help you achieve both and fulfil your dream in the shortest time.  

1. Have the best CV
2. Prepare well for the interview
3. Only submit the best application pictures
4. Prepare well for the assessment day.