Cabin Crew Assessment Day - What If I Fail?

Failure can still be a learning experience.

Photo: Emirates

The road to becoming cabin crew is often long, with lots of twists and turns on the way. Cabin crew assessment days are not easy and when you fail, it is easy to feel dejected. What should you do if you fail an airline assessment day?

Don't choose just one airline

A candidate should not choose just to be Emirates or Singapore Airlines cabin crew, for example. This sets the candidate up for failure. With the airline of choice and a failed assessment, even after one or two attempts, they may give up entirely. Realistically, it may take 5 or 6 attempts and maybe more to get a cabin crew job. Choose a range of airlines to find the right airline for you.

Remember the numbers

On average, only around 2% of Cabin Crew will get a job after just one assessment day. Competition is very fierce, and the airlines get thousands of applications every week. For example, in one recruitment drive for a major airline in Europe, they received over 75,000 applications in a month, in which 800 were asked to assess days, and of those, only 120 were actually taken on for a six-month contract.

Know the basics

These are just a few of the reasons why applicants are unsuccessful. It is very important to prepare well for the assessment. Research the airline, and know its fleet, destinations, and recent history. Make sure that you are dressed in business attire and meet the typical airline grooming standards. Don't ever be late, and make sure that you have a smile on your face.

Quotas

It is not always that the candidate has done anything wrong. Sometimes recruiters can only recruit for a number of spaces that are available at the training school. So even if you got to the final stage, you may still not get through just because of the lack of availability of places. In some cases, recruiters may be informed that they can only recruit for a certain quota – this could based on a certain nationality, age, language speaker or gender. This is a known 'unknown' in the industry.

Group tasks

Most candidates hate group tasks as they feel like they don't get the chance to shine. Just remember that teamwork and communication are key, and that's what the recruiters are looking for. Ensure you never speak over anyone else or say that someone is wrong. Keep things positive and encourage your team, but never take over the tasks.

Confidence

Confidence can be an issue during an assessment day. Sometimes there are hundreds of candidates, and knowing that only a handful will be picked may leave you under pressure. Remember, everyone else will be feeling nervous too. Try and keep a good posture and have positive thoughts. Do mix with other potential crew members from all nationalities and smile and be friendly. You may think that no one is watching, but someone will be.

Feedback

Unfortunately, airlines do not give feedback as to why you are unsuccessful. This is mostly just down to the number of applicants. It would be impossible to provide everyone with feedback. Remember that over 85% of all applicants do not get through the application stage or pass the assessment day, so you want to be in that 15%. Any assessment day experience is only going to make you a better applicant.