After the successful completion of the Cabin Crew Assessment Day, you’ll be invited to a one to one interview with the airline’s recruitment team.
Some airlines incorporate the interview into the assessment day – you’ll be informed accordingly if this is the case. Others will invite you back on a different date – this is a good situation to be in, as it gives you additional time to prepare for the interview questions.
In this blog, our industry partner, Cabin Crew Wings, share their thoughts on what happens during a cabin crew interview, and they also provide some handy tips to help you through the process.
What Happens at a Cabin Crew Interview?
You can expect the interview to last around 30-40 minutes, and to be made up of competency based and behavioural questions.
You can recognise competency questions by the way they are worded:
‘Please provide an example of a time when you have….?’
‘Please describe an occasion when you have…..?’
‘Tell us about a time when you….’
You should draw on your own experience for these types of questions and describe a situation where you have performed a task or carried out an action yourself. This will most commonly be from your previous work experience.
The most common mistake when answering competency questions is for people to not explain well enough how their actions led to a situation being resolved. The interviewer is not looking for a generic list of skills which you claim to have – they are looking for you to describe a time when you have displayed those skills.
Answering Competency Based Questions Using the STAR Technique
You should use the STAR technique to answer competency based questions during the interview.
S – Describe the situation i.e. set the scene
T – What was the task or activity you were involved in?
A – What action did you take?
R – What was the result?
The majority of your answer should focus on the action you took. Describing what you did is the most crucial part of your answer so do make sure you give this aspect priority. It is a common mistake to spend too long on setting the scene.
Some interviewers also like you to highlight what you would have done differently, given the chance. This allows the interviewer to see that you can assess and learn from situations which you have faced.
Interview Preparation
The old saying, fail to prepare and prepare to fail, has never been so true for an interview situation.
Make sure you have prepared answers to the most obvious questions. Why do you want to work for this particular airline? Why do you want to be cabin crew? What are your career ambitions? What are your main strengths and weaknesses? You may not be asked these questions, but it can’t hurt to have a slick answer prepared just in case.
If you are trying to show that you are reliable, don’t just say ‘I’m really reliable’. Go on to describe evidence of this, for example, “At my last job, I had a 100% attendance record.”
If you give a clear example, you are giving a much more compelling reflection of who you are; remember, actions speak far louder than words.
A good idea is to ask family or friends if they’ll do a ‘mock interview’ with you; it will give you a good chance to practice in this environment.
A word of warning for the real interview though, don’t try to memorise ‘stock’ answers and squeeze them into an answer where they don’t fit – it will be very obvious to the panel if you try to do this.
Interview Day Tips
- Make sure that you have all your documents to hand (and that they’re up to date) You’ll be given a list of what to bring to the interview
- Bring a copy of your CV to refer to
- Be punctual, polite and smile! This could be their first impression of you!
- Give yourself plenty of time in the morning to get ready
- Plan your journey beforehand so there are no last minute hiccups
- Dress to impress in formal business attire
- Take your time when answering – pause and take a sip of water if you need to
Article provided by Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Hannah Vallance, Cabin Crew Wings
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