Your worries and questions answered

 

Many of my readers send me questions on a daily basis on various topics that ultimately summarize the worries that come up when going for an interview. It goes to an extent where some people can not even bring themselves to go to the interview and give it a try for fear of rejection. I am here to shed some light on the common issues that might come into your mind.

 

Scars

 

Scars can be from chicken-pox marks, stitches, cuts or burns. If you have any marks on your face, neck, arms or legs, you need to see if they can be concealed with make-up, masked by hair or hid under a pantyhose.

 

If you can do that, the scars should not be a problem.

 

If you are a man, then you only have to worry about your face and neck, as the uniform consists of long sleeved shirt and long pants. Man are not allowed to put on make-up while wearing the uniform, so the standards are more rigid here.

 

Scars can fade in time with laser treatments or by using ointments such as BioOil.

 

Acne

 

There are numerous treatments for acne nowadays. See a dermatologist (not a cosmetician or beautician) who will give you prescribed medication for acne. If you have scars caused by acne, then see the previous point.

 

Teeth

 

Very few people have naturally straight and white teeth. Must you have perfect pearly whites? Absolutely not. However, teeth are important because the trademark of the flight attendant (or any other person working with customers) is the smile. Your teeth must be clean and without cavities. Even if they are not perfectly straight, if your smile is pleasant and warm, then you should be fine. See your dentist for a cleaning and check-up before the interview.

 

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Braces

 

Teeth braces are not allowed by the grooming regulations for a flight attendant. If you are wearing your braces during the interview, explain to the interviewers when will they be removed.

 

Alternatively, you might consider having braces only on the inside part of your teeth.

 

Beauty marks

 

Beauty marks are brown spots or moles located on your body. You do not need to remove them to become a cabin crew. It is absolutely fine and natural to have them.

 

Tattoos

 

Tattoos have become very common, however, body art is not appreciated in this industry. If you want to be a flight attendant, you must be ink free in the following areas of your body: arms, legs, neck, face.

 

Mark on the below drawing the location of your tattoos. LADIES

 

 

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GENTLEMEN

 

If your tattoos are outside the colored area, you will not be accepted to work as a flight attendant.

 

You will be asked during your interview to describe the location and size of your tattoos. You might think you can skip this info, however there will be are located.Be truthful, as you will go through a thorough medical check once you are hired. If it is discovered then, you might be sent home.

 

If you are considering laser removal, make sure you check with your doctor that there will be no visible scar left.

Piercings

 

The only visible piercings allowed are ear piercings (one in each ear) and earrings for ladies. No piercings and jewelry wearing for men.

 

If you have piercings in your nose, lip or eyebrows and there is no visible hole when you remove the jewelry, then it is all fine.

 

 

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You must be willing to remove the jewelry from your facial piercings.

If your ears are not pierced, you should not pierce them to get the job. It is not required.

 

Height

 

The only requirement is the vertical arm reach. Emirates and Qatar Airways require you to be able to reach 212cm(6'11" ) on your tip toes.

 

Etihad Airways only requires 210cm (6'10" ).

 

You can be 158cm (5'3" ) or 180cm (5'11" ), as long as you can reach the 212cm or 210cm mark, you will pass this part of the interview.

 

You can practice by measuring the required height on your wall and mark it with some tape. Some airlines require you to reach it with one hand only, while others want you to reach it with both hands. Practice, stretch and remember that arm reach can be improved with time.

 

Weight

 

Am I too fat or too skinny? The airlines require you to have a normal Body Mass Index (BMI). That is a formula that takes into consideration the proportion between your height and weight.

Find out your BMI here.

Eye-sight

 

You need to have a vision of 20/20. This can be your normal eye-sight, or your vision can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. You can have myopia or hyperopia. As long as you wear the prescribed glasses and you are able to see 20/20, then it is ok.

 

Bear in mind though, that some airlines require you to wear only contact lenses while on duty (not glasses). Make sure you are comfortable with that.

 

Once you are hired, you need to have a pair of glasses that comply with the grooming regulations: black, silver or gold

 

 

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frames of moderate design, without stones or other decorations.

 

Swimming

 

You are not required to know how to swim freely, but you are expected to be able to be comfortable enough in water and swim with the aid of a flotation device. This skill will be practiced during your initial training, where you will learn how to evacuate to aircraft during a ditching situation (emergency landing on water). You will be wearing a life-vest during this exercise.

 

Beauty

 

When you say flight attendant, we all think of the model-like girls, tall, skinny with perfect hair and teeth. The misconception here is that all flight attendants must look like that in ordered to be get this job. This could not be farther from the truth. If you have a pleasant appearance, relevant experience, you speak English and you make a good impression at the interview, you will be hired even if you do not resemble a Barbie doll.

 

Education

 

The only education requirement in order to apply to be a cabin crew is a high school diploma or a general education diploma (GED).

 

Everything on top of that is an advantage. This can be either college, university or vocational courses.

 

You do not need a cabin crew course to get the job. All the training will be done in the airline’s training academies after you are hired.

 

Relevant experience

 

To apply for a flight attendant position, relevant experience means any customer experience you have. That can be work in restaurants, bars, hotels, shops, schools, hospitals, offi ces or airports. Any work can be translated from a customer service perspective. To see examples, jump to Creating your CV.

 

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No experience

 

If you come straight from school and have absolutely no work experience, but you would like to start a career as a flight attendant, that is absolutely fine as well. Mostly, your interview questions will be based on your school experience or other work you did while in school. To score extra points, make sure that you include the organizations you have been involved with, internships or volunteer work that you have done.

 

If you show during your interview that you are open to learn and willing to become good at what you are doing, you will be hired even if you don't have any experience.

 

Languages

 

You need to be able to speak, read and write English fluently. This will be observed from how you present your CV, to dialogues during the group exercises, an English test and the final interview.

 

All the languages that you speak in addition to English are an advantage.

 

You are not required to speak Arabic in order to work for Emirates, Etihad or Qatar Airways.

 

Age

 

This is by far the most popular question. The only age requirement for becoming a cabin crew is minimum 21 years old at the time of the application. If you are younger than that, you will have to wait until your 21st birthday.

 

If you are older than that, it is absolutely fine. 27 is not old, 35 is not too old, and even when you are 42 you can become a cabin crew. Then why are all the flight attendants so young? The reason is that when you are in your 20's or early 30's, you are more likely to prefer this lifestyle: travel, share an apartment, be away from home, have an unpredictable schedule and change the team and the customers you work with all the time. The more you advance in age, the more you

 

 

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prefer stability, a family and a schedule that will allow you to have the weekends or holidays off.

 

That does not mean that you will not be considered for this job when you are over 30. If you want to do it and you are a fit for the job, there will be no problems at all.

 

Marital status

 

You can be a flight attendant if you are married, single, engaged or in a relationship. In the Middle East, there are fewer married people doing this job. And that is because you are moving away from your country, and it is much easier to relocate and find one job instead of two. Also, people who are married prefer to have a regular 9-5 job that will allow them to spend time with their families. Why are they not as many married people doing this job? Because they do not apply for it.

 

When applying for Qatar Airways, please note that if you join the company having single status, you must maintain the single status for the duration of the 3 year contract.

 

Children

 

Having children is an amazing experience. You would want to spend as much time as possible with them, and while working as a flight attendant, it will be quite a challenge. You might be away from home for days at a time, you might miss school plays or major milestones. If you want to do this job and have children, then you must have an open mind, a very understanding partner and help either from your parents, in-laws or a hired nanny.

 

Be aware that kindergarten and school in the Middle East is quite expensive and you will be expected to pay that yourself, without any assistance from the company.

 

Also, if you decide to relocate to Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha with your family, you will not be able to live in the shared company provided accommodation, but find your own apartment for which you will be off ered a housing allowance

 

 

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from the company. You can apply for the housing allowance only after the first 6 months of probation.

 

Nationality

 

There is absolutely no discrimination based on the color of your passport. Airlines in the Middle East cherish the diversity of their crew. If you come from Australia, Mozambique, Peru, Tajikistan, Germany or Philippines, you will be off ered the same fair chance to interview for the flight attendant job as any other candidates, and your culture will be celebrated among the other over 100 nationalities working for the airline.

 

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