Could you be Cabin Crew?

A love of travel is often the first thing that comes to mind when asking why you want to be cabin crew. But is that enough for the airlines? Not even close.

They are looking for a lot more than that. But what?

Trying to guess what airlines are looking for might not seem easy but when you know where to look it is quite straightforward to guess.

Most airlines now run assessment days. These happen after the application (or CV/ resume) stage. These assessment days are usually designed to look at your competencies.

Competencies are your personal skills, qualities and aptitudes.

The airlines will have a list of competencies they want from their cabin crew. You need to make sure your behaviour and personality are a good match.

What competencies are they are looking for?

These will vary, depending on the brand and mission of the airline, but given that the role is pretty similar wherever you work, there will be a lot of similarities.

To help you figure out what competencies your airline are looking for try these places:

The job description. This will list essential and desirable criteria such as qualifications, work experience, personal details and characteristics.(This may be sent out to you or be on the website)
The person specification- this will list what sort of person you must be to be considered for the job. (This may be sent out to you or be on the website).
Description of their values- from this you can work out what staff must show so that the company can meet these
Description of the airline’s mission statement. For example, BA’s mission is “To Fly to Serve”. so you can gather from this that customer service is something they regard very highly.
The airline competency framework- sometimes this is included in staff booklets or on the website as it helps guide all personnel on how to behave.

What are the competencies likely to be?

Cabin crew perform a very varied role with a lot of responsibility. The competencies which airlines may measure you against include:

Communication
Teamwork
Flexibility
Reliability
Confidence
Conscientiousness
Problem-solving
Planning
Motivation
Organisation
Resilience
Honesty
Integrity
Safety awareness
High standards
Patience
Assertiveness

Different companies have their own distinct ‘personality’ which you need to consider with every application. Virgin has a very different brand approach to British Airways or Emirates for example; Ryanair has a different ethos to Easyjet. Research online or through their adverts to see what their values and identity is so you can make sure you match well.