An Emirates, Etihad or Qatar Cabin Crew Open Day

A flight attendant or cabin crew open day, as the title suggests is a day when anyone can come to drop off their CV and be shortlisted by recruiters for the cabin crew role. You do not need to be invited to the event, you can just turn up. This is different to a cabin crew assessment day, although after people have been shortlisted on an open day, it will turn into an assessment day.

You do not need to pre-register for an Emirates open day (you can if you so wish!). For Etihad and Qatar recruitment events, you must pre-register online.

Age

For all three airlines, you must be 21 or over to work as cabin crew in the UAE as the age for serving alcohol in the UAE is 21. 

In terms of maximum age, it is unstated but if you have a strong CV and excellent interpersonal skills, there is no reason why you should be discouraged from applying. However, please be fully aware that all three airlines are definitely more focused on hiring younger crew (they don’t often hire crew over 30 years old!). The CEO at Qatar has said in a press conference that they are proud that the average age of their cabin crew is 26.

Your command of the English Language

Please only apply for a cabin crew job when you have a high fluency of the English language (both verbally and in writing). If your grammar is weak and you aren’t able to express yourself or struggling for the right words when spoken to, then you are likely to be rejected. Cabin crew training is tough and you will be studying from aviation manuals which does get very technical. If your understanding of the English language is weak, you are not likely to get through the training and the exams too! During inflight service, you have to understand different accents, deal with impatient and demanding people so it may not be the right role for you if you struggle for the right words in English.

Have the best CV

Having the best CV that highlight your skills and work experience will put you miles ahead at the Open Day. We can help you write a professional CV for you that is likely to be considered by Emirates, Etihad & Qatar. Order here.

What happens if you decide to apply online?

If your application is successful, you will be notified, often a few weeks later and invited to an assessment day.

What outfit should I wear for the Open Day?

For females, please come dressed in a black blazer, white shirt and a knee length black skirt. Please do not show up in a skirt that is above the knee. Remember that Qatar, Etihad and Emirates are airlines based in the Middle East that are Muslim countries. You need to show that you can dress appropriately and respectfully. Do ensure that your blouse is buttoned up quite high, regardless if you like how it looks or not. It does not give a good impression if your cleavage is partially exposed. Don’t fail yourself at such an early stage.

Emirates, Etihad and Qatar recruiter want to know that you are able to conform to a standard dress code, as you will all look the same in the cabin crew uniform. They are after your personality, confidence and a genuine desire to help others, not your attention-grabbing outfit. Please do yourself a favour and adhere to the standard black and white attire.

How should I wear my hair and makeup?

They want your hair in a bun. Please wear your bun low so that the hat can sit on our head without being knocked out the way by your hair. Whether you choose to pull your hair all back or place it in a parting is completely up to you. But hair must be slick and no hairs out of place. Secure fringes with hairspray/pins whatever you see best. If you have hair that is shorter than your collar bone, make sure it is neatly styled (ie: Straightened) and clipped back away from your face. This is the only exception where you can have your hair down, if it physically cannot go back into a bun.

Additionally, if you dye/colour your hair make sure you don’t have roots showing or  an obvious difference in colour. For example, if you have slight variation in colours, make sure you can conceal the colour difference within the bun.

Next for the make up. A good coverage is required for work so get a good foundation to cover your face. Blush is recommended but not required. Mascara is a must and with this you can wear both or either eyeliner/eyeshadow. Eyeshadow colours must be neutral. In college trainees are repeatedly told “think Costa coffee” so a nice selection of browns are acceptable. You can add a little sparkle into my eyeshadow. Eyeliner can be worn both on the top and bottom of your lid. Bronzer and highlight are always a good thing, it brings out the best in your face and adds to that all important smile. And most of all, the red lipstick. Find a colour that is true to your skin tone. What looks good on me might not look as good and vice versa.

What if you have tattoos?

They will ask you if you have any – if they will definitely be hidden underneath the uniform it is fine, you can declare them and not have to worry about it. But if you do have tattoos in the restricted areas for Etihad/Emirates cabin crew such as on your wrist you could be in some big trouble. With Qatar, remember that no tattoos are allowed at all inside and outside of the uniform.

How to stand out at the Open Day or Assessment Day

Be confident, but not arrogant. Despite everyone at home or in the Facebook group telling you you’re going to get the job, it isn’t yours yet and you have to prove yourself at the open day and assessment day.

Be yourself and smile always. Talk to other applicants and make friends – it shows your warm and friendly attitude.

You’re going to be nervous, of course. And there are going to be girls there who are so stunning and glamorous that it will probably intimidate you and make you compare yourself to them, but just try not to.

What happens at the Open Day, Assessment Day?

You will get a chance to meet the recruiter – usually it is a team of 2 or 3, but it can also be just one person.

Etihad/Emirates and Qatar Assessment Days often go in the order of:

• CV drop off

• height/reach test

• recruiters presentation

• individual question

• group exercises

• Final interview. For Etihad and Qatar this is often the following day. For Emirates, it is 5 days later through video interview on the HireVue platform.

The order can often vary though. In between each session you’ll all be asked to leave the room for about 15 minutes or so whilst the recruiters decide which applicants they are sending home. So keep chatting with others, and make sure you bring enough money to buy snacks/drinks in the break if you need (there will be a coffee shop or some sort in the venue).

Once the recruiters have made their decision they’ll send some of you away there and then, so make sure you keep all your belongings with you if you do need to leave. They might leave a list on the door of who got shortlisted and who didn’t, or they might just call in the numbers of those who got shortlisted and are staying, and ask the rest to leave.

I have produced separate blogs covering the role plays you can expect at the Assessment day group exercises so please read through those to familiarise yourself with it before the day. Remember I can also provide one on one training for these assessment day group exercises and they prove very popular with wannabes. Order here.

Likewise, for final interviews, I have written separate blogs on the questions they are likely to ask you and why you need to think of specific examples. You need to invest lots of time to prepare for this as good examples are key to your success and will lead to your golden call in a few days rather than 4 months later or worse still receive an unsuccessful mail! Again, our one to one interview training on Skype have assisted many of our clients to achieve their golden call in under a week! Order here.