Steps to avoid looking desperate during the Open Day and at the Final Interview.

Please remember that your body language is continually observed by the recruiters through the day.

You will wonder why you get knock-back even after having a good CV, good customer service experience, good university education, ability to articulate etc...

Here are some useful tips and what not to do to prevent yourself being sent home.

1. First impressions - Yes, they count. Smile politely, stay positive, appear relaxed and confident, and the recruiter will warm to you. If you overdo it, you will not get a good score here.

2. Control your humour - Careful with your "throwaway comments" - if you say something spontaneously that you should not be even saying, this is a sign of nervousness and shows you are desperate for the role. Do not cross the line from formal to informal even if the recruiter sets an over-friendly tone. Remember you are there to get a job, not to gain a new friend so please balance this carefully.

3. Be balanced with your answers - Do not overdo this, it will backfire and make you look desperate. Find middle ground and you won't sound desperate. You need to show interest not desperation.

4. Gaps on CV- If you have a few gaps on your CV, don't try and cover up with big excuses. Be accountable for them and don't try to find excuses and struggle with words - it shows your weakness as well as how desperate you want / need this job. The person that gets the offer often isn't the person who has no gaps on his/her CV but one who has gaps but is honest about roles that did not work for him/her, and how she learnt from it. By showing you took responsibility and accountability and learn from employment mistakes, you make a better candidate than someone who is a perfect manager and has that front of house manager role in a 5 star hotel.

5. Never blame the economy or covid lockdown of why you have no job. This is seen as a further indicator that you will blame anything and the company or even your boss rather than accept responsibility. And, don't ever blame the previous employer.

6. Prepare interesting examples but be careful to highlight skills and what you learnt about your own weaknesses too from certain situations.

7. Do not use desperate language - Never say you will do anything to land the role as EK crew. Sell your experience to land the job. Be careful not to oversell yourself. Be humble when talking about your accomplishments. They do not want to hear how awesome you are at your current company and increased their profits.

8. Don't act too available - Give the impression that you are also pursuing other airlines too! Mention you have other interviews and assessment days lined up. This is what we call supply and demand in economics. If you make it out that you are in demand, they have an urgency to want you too! It works!

9. Body Language - 65% of our communication at the open day is derived through our body language rather than what we say. Your body language and demeanor tell them signs that you are confident or desperate and want this role badly. Being interested and being desperate can be seen by your body and facial expressions. Be careful in group exercises, don't be overly active, more often the quiet ones that show positive body language are the ones that get shortlisted than those that participate and show the wrong body language.

Hope the above tips help. Remember it is bad to show you are really desperate to be an EK cabin crew. Focus on your skills.

We conduct interview practice sessions on Zoom to help you plan your answers, help you to discover your strengths, refine your story examples for you, help you to tailor your answers to show success, strength and suitability. Book here: