How To Be Crew

People I know (and people I haven' met before) are keen on asking me "How did you apply as a Flight Attendant?" or "Please share with us your experience." and "Can you give us any tips or advice?" And I can go on rambling from my love for airplanes and flying and traveling and the whole actual application process (which differs from airline to airline, and I can't speak on behalf of the company) But I'm glad to share with you my very own journey :) Which is as timely as it can get since I have just completed one year with my company (Yay!) and the recently concluded Skytrax Airline Awards at the Farnborough Airshow - where we maintained at the Top 10 World's Best Airlines of 2016 (Yay!) I too wanna say Mabrouk! to our neighbour in Dubai for winning this year's Skytrax!

I think I finally got the urge to write this one after watching the movie "Get A Job" starring Anna Kendrick and Miles Teller :) Here are some "practical" things I did (which I think) have helped me land a career in Aviation:

1. Research

Without us knowing, most airliners are continuously hiring! Continuously. From Cabin Crew, to Ground Staff, to Customer Service Reps - basically a position that requires manpower. The thing is we have to know where, when and how to apply. In my previous job, I had the luxury of time to spend the whole day online researching and sneaking for interviews (haha!) And read. Read a little something about the company you're applying for.

Most companies nowadays rely on their website for an online application process wherein you have to set up an account on their 'Careers' section, completed with your personal details, educational attainment, work experience etc. etc. before they actually contact you for a face-to-face interview.

I have made dozens of accounts on online job search engines (think LinkedIn) and still get emails for job listings 'til this day. I've had 4 active accounts in 4 different airline websites where I used to check their schedule for an 'Open Day' or Recruitment Event in a particular city. There are also third-party websites or blogs that post hiring events for Cabin Crew (like this and this). I have found out about the recruitment event for the company I work for now on a Facebook ad and just went for it!

2. Prepare

Prepare. Prepare. Prepare! No airline (or any company for that matter) would give second thoughts in choosing someone with incomplete requirements and someone who is, needless to say - late. By the time you've arrived, you're already out. I've seen it. This industry has just so much time and the competition is just too high that a little slip might be a setback on your application. With that, you may also only reapply 6 months after your first application, so make your initial approach a well-prepared one.

And by 'prepare', I also mean 'dress the part'. You are applying in a Customer Service and Hospitality Industry as well. A pleasant personality and professional demeanour is what they're looking for. Especially being based here in the Middle East, we must bare in mind to be conservative on what we wear and be refined on our actions. For the ladies - keep the hair neat and tidy, wear make-up that enhances your already-good-features, a good-fitting blazer, a pencil skirt (which length is below the knees) always looks professional and finally put on corporate heels (No pumps or peep-toes please!) For the gents - keep the hair neat and tidy, wear a good-fitting suit and tie, well-tailored trousers and shine your shoes. For both - keep a good hygiene and the smile! 

3. Be Confident

Probably the best (and most cliché) advice anyone could ever receive. But it's true. Be confident in who you are and how you express yourself. Confidence is something that only comes from within but is something that can be dulled by outside 'forces' if you let it. What was most intimidating from my experience is knowing that I'm sharing a room with so many pretty, tall girls (and others with flying experience under their belts) from all over the world. And hey, I'm not very tall, but it wasn't just the height that mattered. How do I make myself standout from the rest? They are looking for the whole package. But don't try to impress. You'd only have a minute to introduce yourself to the recruiters and say exactly what you want to say (and mean it!) So be confident, stay positive and you'll shine.

4. Ask Questions

Nothing is more interesting than someone who shows interest and being engaged. Ask questions when in doubt and be engaged especially in group activities when you reach the Assessments Stage. Join forums or ask people who are already in the industry (without being too annoying). During my 'Waiting Game', I have found this online Cabin Crew forum so helpful and comforting knowing there are other Cabin Crew hopefuls like me! I got to ask people of their experience and read their shared stories. I also received very helpful tips when I needed one of my online applications to be unlocked for me to be able to reapply again. That took me a while to figure out. I also unbelievably made friends with the girl I spoke to and we operated a flight together to Manila! Visit the cabin crew community here!

5. Have Patience

Truth be told, my patience was tested to the brim of me! The 'Waiting Game' slowly drained my trust and put me in doubt that I cried myself to sleep, painfully waiting... It really took some time before the company reached back to me and I had to do all the follow-ups for months. Most airlines would have to keep you waiting (sometimes with no reason) because the application is really a long and tedious process. Which involves waiting for visas to be approved, waiting for a batch to open and the list goes on... I'm so glad my recruitment coordinator was patient enough to respond to my emails. I also realized that you cannot get a thing you want at once. You know, great things take time. So please, please, kapit lang and have patience! 

6. Never Stop

If there is some truth about me achieving the things I want to achieve, it's because I never stopped.  I never stop for them. Really. I was rejected a couple of times that even my family and my Mom were telling me off to let things go, to not expect too much and just redirect my energy to something else. But I tried and I tried so hard. And me being matigas ang ulo, couldn't stop myself from things that make me feel alive. See?! A little bit of crazy, impatience and hard-headedness can take you places.

7. Pray
Nothing is made more wonderful than in God's time.

Wings Day

From the day I have received mine and my batchies 'wings' to fly, to ditching in Dubai, to operating my first flight (two observation flights), first solo flight and first layover later - the feeling of getting high and floating mid air still lingers. I've been a very busy bee this past week alone and I feel that this time should be allotted to express and share my stories!

As the month of July came to a close, it was the opening of a whole new chapter of our lives! We made it. We had our Wings Day, our Graduation Day from training for that matter. It was the culmination of all the hard work - physically, mentally, emotionally, practical and written exams - we've put through out the training. We've earned our licenses, pins and name badges engraved in a gold metal plate next to Oscar (the Oryx). Our trainee days may be over, but the learning never stops!

We had a few speeches throughout the day which reminded us of our responsibilities/duties we were trained for, how we should uphold being part of this bigger family, how we should be proud every time we wear our uniforms. To think that for every 3,000 applicants on a recruitment day, only 50 goes on forwards, and we get to be one of them. It is a rare privilege to be part of this family. That alone made me tear up a bit, when flashes of memory came back when I too was lining up outside a hotel lobby along with thousands of other hopefuls.

I would love to write a dedicated blog to our ditching drills in Dubai at the Emirates Training Center, but for now, let me just say how impressed I am of the facilities and simulators EK can boast of. Back when I was living in Dubai, I would just stare out the car windows on our way to DFC as we pass by the Crew Training Center with it's Aircraft-shaped building and wondering to myself - how or will I ever get to enter that place? Emirates' facilities are unspoken of. 

God, is just amazing for blessing me this once in a lifetime kind of experience! I remember when I used to live in Deira, our building was right next to a travel agency with a huge Qatar Airways ad of a Cabin Attendant in full uniform. Every time I would pass by it going to and from work, I can't help but stare at it like a mood board or inspiration. Now, I am staring right back at the girl in Burgundy. When I was in High School, we were asked to write our favourite quotation on our class bulletin board. Most of the class quoted writers/authors/novelists/thinkers, but me being a deviant wrote simply "Follow your dreams, wherever they may take you."

Those times I 'tried'

I feel it's about time to share (or rather express myself) on what I've been really up to in fulfilling my dreams. I've been reiterating (and even ranting) over and over on my dreams to fly. I sure am not the best candidate, the smartest girl or the prettiest face out there. Not to mention my middling in height. However, there is something wild in me that couldn't be tamed. Could this be the thing they call 'Passion' or in other words 'Calling'? I don't know.

 

Etihad

When I first came to Dubai last year, I knew I had a better chance of getting into the most prestigious Middle East Airlines and took it! Not knowing all the challenges, obstacles, hurdles and tedious processes that come with it. After receiving an email from Etihad inviting me to an Assessment Day, I was soooooo over the moon! Having with me a huge heart and will, I even made a list on 'why I think God wants Etihad for me'. But during those times, I was just convincing myself  to be brave and confident. I travelled all the way to Abu Dhabi, for the first time, solo. And what I expected to be a whole day's event for me was cut short. It was over even before I knew it. In short, I didn't make it past the first stage. It was just the first. And the most devastating rejection I've had experienced. But (in time) all wounds heal. My trip to Abu Dhabi was not a failure. I was reunited with my cousin I'd barely even see in the Philippines; my feet have taken me to the Grand Mosque which made me realize how vulnerable I am, how there is a greater God; and the whole experience is in itself a realization of who I am, what I'm capable and what I'm made of.

 

Qatar Airways

Fast forward towards the end of the year, and what a way to end that year! I had another amazing opportunity to go and tryout for both Qatar Airways and Emirates. Call me the girl who attended every Open Day/Assessment Day there is or the 'most experienced' Assessment Day attendee... After Etihad, I now know better that I can do better. I remember preparing well for Emirates upon receiving an email for their Open Day. And by preparing well, I meant buying myself a new G2000 Blazer, borrowing a black corporate skirt from my cousin's and getting a manicure. Since QR and EK happened almost simultaneously and within the same month, it has been a whirlwind of events!

Qatar Airways was special to me. It has been the wild card amongst my applications. Believe it or not, I only found out of their Open Day on a Facebook Ad few days before them hosting the recruitment event in Dubai. And I said, why not? I won't lose anything by trying, but more likely gaining. With that said, Qatar Airways was the second recruitment event I 'auditioned' for and those things I've supposedly set aside for EK was unconsciously preparing me for QR. I was one of the many (hundreds) of hopefuls who lined up, waited and showed up for less than a minute to score the recruiter's approval.

Emirates

And by fate, God's grace, and the universe conspiring - I have been invited to Qatar Airways' and Emirates Airlines' Assessment Days! Getting through the day, stage after stage, already felt like winning! Another thing that makes me proud to be part of an event like this is to know that I was the only Pinay in a room of people from basically all over the world! It's not everyday you get to experience something like this. To successfully complete all those stages was a blessing. And a blessing is something that is freely given. Therefore I reflect - what have I that I didn't receive? What we do with our blessings is our gift back to Him. But God won again in the gift giving game, for these were early Christmas gifts :)

Before all of this even happened, I was in darkness, deep in the dumpster, stuck in a rut (maybe even hopeless). I too felt like it's not happening to me, but I can't just sit and mope. So I created and paved the way myself. My being hard headed and stubborn have paid off and brought me to life's unexpected surprises. It's moments like these that keep me alive. I might not be the best, but the fact that I have the guts to stand up with the rest of hopefuls and like-minded dreamers prove that time is not to be wasted, that I'm up for any challenge that pushes me to be BETTER. I know there is something in me that is in constant search to be satisfied. Hunger, maybe?


To close this already long post, I am fortunate to have made it up until the final interview with Emirates... and currently (still) waiting for the golden email from Qatar. (Inshaallah!) I would love to share how the Assessment Days went for each I've attended in detail, if it's something you - my readers hope to see. A dream is a dream. Therefore, I can't make myself stop. These are the things I have been excited for 2015.  And in all things, to God be the glory!


<<p.s. As of posting, I have already filed my resignation 
from my employer and currently waiting for the next steps to fly to Doha! InshaAllah>> 



Inch by Inch

  

Hello 2015! 2014 seemed to roll off so fast... So let me kick start here with some powerful motivation to get our game face on and help us get through the year. This has been by far the deepest motivational speech or quotable quote I have stumbled upon on (thanks via 8tracks) until today. No cutesie quote from weheartit or tumblr could encompass the wisdom and strike on the soul of this one. Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting Al Pacino in his 'Inch by Inch' motivational speech from the movie Any Given Sunday.

 

I also look forward to bringing something new on this blog and excited for AlysonWonderland to turn One this year! Getting there, inch by inch <3


"I don't know what to say really.
Three minutes
to the biggest battle of our professional lives
all comes down to today.
Either
we heal
as a team
or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch
play by play
till we're finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen
believe me
and
we can stay here
and get the shit kicked out of us
or
we can fight our way
back into the light.
We can climb out of hell.
One inch, at a time.

Now I can't do it for you.
I'm too old.
I look around and I see these young faces
and I think
I mean
I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh....
I pissed away all my money
believe it or not.
I chased off
anyone who has ever loved me.
And lately,
I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.

You know when you get old in life
things get taken from you.
That's, that's part of life.
But,
you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game
life or football
the margin for error is so small.
I mean
one half step too late or to early
you don't quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast
and you don't quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second.

On this team, we fight for that inch
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us
to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know
when we add up all those inches
that's going to make the fucking difference
between WINNING and LOSING
between LIVING and DYING.

I'll tell you this
in any fight
it is the guy who is willing to die
who is going to win that inch.
And I know
if I am going to have any life anymore
it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch
because that is what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face.

Now I can't make you do it.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You are going to see a guy
who will sacrifice himself for this team
because he knows when it comes down to it,
you are gonna do the same thing for him.

That's a team, gentlemen
and either we heal now, as a team,
or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is.
Now, what'ya gonna do?"

Keep Calm and Briton

Finding a shot of inspiration is something I'd want to keep, and amazingly ironic, share! We've always had that dream house, or thought of living in a palace or the Windsor Castle. (But mine has always been living in a beachfront, InshAllah!) At this stage of my life, I already do want to have a pad or space of my own. Not just exclusively, but something that's me! I opt for the minimal muebles, natural bright lighting, functional and colorful (probably pastel) fun pieces, my photographs and cats & dogs inside the house! A quick overnight in this British Family's home gave me (and our fam) a wonderful weekend and a concrete idea of how I'd want my dream space to look like. (See how cosy I was?) You would know a Breton is housed there because of the "Keep Calm" posters and frames found in each and every corner. I loved their quirky pieces and oh-so-beautiful portraits (which were  literally the first things I saw there) of iconic stars, or should I say women - like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. I too made new furry friends with their pets - Rambo, Eddie and Paci (I just love animals!) and slept with the cat on the bed. I'm glad I wore my pink "Barbie Wants To Be Me" t-shirt, it really worked it! (Haha) The highlight of the house, was the lap pool right out the patio. And in the morning, I like when we pulled-open the curtains, the sun beamed the girls' bedroom.

I wish I have taken more pictures!