Opportunities Today : October 2005 Issue

Student Alert Hard Facts of Cabin Crew Interviews and Selection

 

BIJAL PANCHAL talks about how she prepared to get a CABIN CREW job and shares her experience on what it takes to be a Cabin Crew.
Bijal had attended a 1 day Cabin Crew workshop at IHCTM (RBCS GROUP) and here she share here experience of what it takes to be a Cabin Crew, myths and facts about selection and claims made by various institutes. 

How did you go about getting your job as a Cabin Crew with Jet Airways?
It had been always my ambition to work as a Cabin Crew and as I was doing the IATA/UFTAA Foundation Course at IHCTM, I got to know about the one day Cabin Crew Workshop organized by IHCTM and I enrolled for this workshop. The workshop helped me to prepare better for Cabin Crew interviews, as previously I had applied for similar jobs but I could not get through. 

How did the workshop help you?
Earlier too I had applied for Jet Airways and was rejected. However the one day workshop conducted by IHCTM was so comprehensive that it helped me to prepare better-how to dress up, how to answer questions at an interview, how to prepare a C.V. All the key aspects one needs to know BEFORE an interview and whilst preparing for a Cabin Crew interview were covered in this one day workshop. 

To encash the Airline Industry boom there are several institutes which have flooded the market offering Cabin Crew training and charging exorbitant sums ranging from Rs 70000 to Rs 80000. What is your opinion on such courses?
I would personally not recommend anyone to join such courses as firstly they spend exorbitant sums of money and inspite of spending high figure sums, they do not have an edge anywhere in selection. Here I would like to narrate my personal experience. During the interview I had a few other colleagues of mine who attended lengthy courses and paid exorbitant sums of money at some of the institutes and inspite of spending time and money, they were not selected. 

You have completed your IATA/UFTAA Foundation and are pursuing the IATA/UFTAA Consultant Course at IHCTM. How has the IATA/UFTAA course helped you in your selection as a Cabin Crew?
The IATA/UFTAA Foundation course definitely did help me and this was in fact one of the questions asked during my interview. I answered that there would be passengers who may have queries on flight about their tickets or travel arrangements or any other travel related queries. I also feel that in case I wouldn't have got a job as a Cabin Crew as it is extremely competitive- too many people applying for limited opportunities, my IATA/UFTAA course would have helped me in any other travel or tourism related field be it in Traffic, be it in a Travel Agency or a Tour Company. 

What was the reaction of your family members on your selection?
My parents were extremely happy as I am the first person in my family to enter the Airline Industry and they are delighted that I will have the opportunity to explore the world in the coming years.

How did you decide on an IATA/UFTAA course and how did you decide on choosing IHCTM?
IHCTM has tremendous reputation in the industry and it was one of my friends who told me that this institute is one of the best being the pioneers in travel and tourism training. Although I wanted to be a Cabin Crew at the back of my mind since my childhood, I came for counselling and after knowing the realities of the competitiveness of the industry, I decided to do the IATA/UFTAA course as firstly it has international recognition and secondly in case I failed to get a Cabin Crew job, the training would help me in getting a job in any other department of the travel and tourism industry. Eventually, I feel the IATA/UFTAA course along with the one day Cabin Crew workshop organized by IHCTM gave me the edge in the selection. 

What is your advice to those who wish to apply for a Cabin Crew job?
My advice is simple Firstly, you should find out whether you have the eligibility criteria - the proper height, age, etc. in order to apply. Importantly, try and speak to ex-Cabin Crew personnel and if possible, even those who are currently working as Cabin Crew and they would give you valuable tips on what it takes to be a Cabin Crew. However, I would never recommend anyone to spend exorbitant money in lengthy courses unless the course helps you getting into related fields thru practical training. There are many institutes today which conduct courses - It is important not to be lured into joining an institute by various claims in an advertisement as the institute may tell you that 25 or 50 candidates got a job as a Cabin Crew but you should find out the percentage of enrolments in that particular institute vis-à-vis the number of candidates who have got in. For example if an institute has 5000 candidates who have enrolled in locations across India and 50 have got in, it is a mere 1% of the total candidates.


So would it be wise to spend Rs 50000 or more in a course when you have only 1% chance of selection and 99% chances of rejection. Don't be carried away by hyped-up advertisements. We all know that there is an Airline boom and increasing demand for Cabin Crew. So why spend your parents hard earned money when there are instances of people who have got jobs even without doing a course or in my case I just invested less than Rs 950 for a one day workshop and that helped me in preparing better for a Cabin Crew career , that too in one single day. Resist yourself from “follow the herd” mentality. 

Instead invest the money in something fruitful. For example, the IATA/UFTAA Foundation course which will cost you less than Rs. 35000 and gives you an internationally recognized qualification valid anywhere in the world. Besides, it still makes you eligible for Cabin crew as well as other travel related jobs. Look at my personal experience where I had a win-win situation. I got a Cabin Crew job- The IATA/UFTAA Foundation course would have helped me to get any other job in the travel industry in case I would not have been successful at the interview.

Tell our readers especially Cabin Crew aspirants as to how you went through the entire process till you got selected.
I applied online and I was called for the interview. During the initial interview the focus is on your looks, your communication and posture. So it is very important to focus on these three areas. This also includes your body language and the way you speak. During the interview there were three rounds - the first round you have to introduce and speak about yourself, the second stage was when they review the bio-data and take your copies of photographs and you are asked questions from your bio-data and this is followed by a group discussion. The final round is one to one interview where you are interviewed by one of the persons from the panel. Thereafter, you are called for a final interview in case you are short listed. This normally happens after two to three weeks of completing the first stage of interview. At this stage there is a grooming check which comprises verification of height, weight and other details as mentioned on your C.V. Then there was one more round of group discussion where we were 10 of us facing a panel of 8 interviewers and eventually 7 out of 10 were selected. 

In all how many were eventually selected ?
Out of approximately 700 candidates who applied 63 were short listed for the final interview out of which only 13 were selected which means less than 2% of the original number of candidates who eventually applied were selected.

Is it that candidates from any institute were given preferential selection as is claimed in advertisements by various institutes?
This claim is absolutely untrue. It is just you and how well you perform at an interview which gets you eventually selected. Unfortunately the institute takes the credit for the hard work put in by the candidate. If an institute was indeed given a priority in selection, then institutes wouldn't be advertising so frequently in the media. Instead, if the institutes are getting any priority in selection process, then the airlines should be advertising that preference is given to candidates of a particular institute and the institute wouldn't need to advertise at all as there would be long queues of people at the institute wanting to join these training programmes. I feel some of the institutes are merely trying to encash on the gullibility of the cabin crew aspirants thru exaggerated claims and false job guarantees. 

So what next after the selection?
After the selection there will an intensive three months training given by the airline. There will be practicals, viva, written tests which we have to clear. The training will comprise of everything that the cabin crew has to learn from service to security and safety. I am really looking forward to the training. 

Do you think swimming or knowing languages play an important role in Cabin Crew selection?
I don't think so swimming was important in my selection as I don't know swimming although personally I feel one should know swimming. However, knowing languages is extremely important. You should know at least two or more languages besides Hindi and English. The more languages you know the better your chances of selection and probably that was one of the things that worked in my favour as I speak 4 languages. 

How important is it for somebody to know Safety procedures, how to speak on the intercom, etc. for being short listed as a candidate for a Cabin Crew job?
These procedures on safety, security and speaking over the intercom are taught by the airline after selection. What you need is pre-selection and not post-selection training. Unfortunately, most institutes today focus on training in areas which will be eventually taught by the airline after you are selected. Presentation and Communication skills are the key factors that one should focus on before going for the interview.