Interview and a cupcake.

‘Good Luck’ Flowers!

My final interview with Emirates Airline was the next day. Luckily for me, my shift at work was super early and eight hours later I was off at 1pm. My interview was at 4:30, in San Mateo. An hour and a half away.

And here is where I made the following mistakes..

– I went to Walmart to pick up my passport/business attire pictures I needed to bring. Easy, right? Nope! After spending a good fifteen minutes either waiting on the lovely staff to come help me, or trying to figure out WHY my one-hour pictures I ordered the day before weren’t ready, I realized I had sent them to a different Walmart. So I had to pick them up on my way to the interview. No biggie…right?

-I went home and went on FACEBOOOK. Why did I do that.

-I left 15 minutes later than I wanted.

-ALMOST forgot my shoes.  That could’ve been really bad.

-Some cop activity with a car accident right by my town>> trafffiiiic>>  me stressed. And I’m not a good driver when I’m stressed.

-The other Walmart staff was also not in sight at the Photo department. Luckily they were a bit quicker and I ran outta there with my pics.

-Worst part of this whole experience was when I realized I didn’t have the right size photos. And that was what Emirates NEEDED.

-Best part of the drive was when I found out – thanks to the sister’s help after a phone call –  that the Rite Aid (which was right down the road from the hotel I was headed to) was able to do passport photos. In 5 minutes.

And that is how I ended up getting my passport photos taken AND printed ten minutes before my interview.

Interview went well. Almost too well. We shall see in 6 weeks, which is when they will be letting us Flight Attendant hopefuls know if we made it or not.

Aaaand onto another note.

I made this yesterday at my job.

So cute. But so dang annoying to make.

I’m Elmo!

Tutorial HERE. They are surprisingly easy to make – just a workout for the hands!

Emirates Day 2!

Going back to the same hotel, the next day, was a whole different experience then the first time. Everyone was happy and excited that they got called back. And there was only about 20 people compared to the day before -when there was 120.

Today mainly focused on how you interact with other people. We did a couple exercises, one of them involving us asking the person to our right which celebrity they would be for a day and why. I chose Colbie Caillat, and I know there are a ton of better choices, but I could NOT think of anyone else in that moment. At least it wasn’t Angelina Jolie..3 people out of my group of 10 chose her!

The 2nd activity was a scenario; your plane crashed, you have people who are hurt – out of the 10 items listed, which five things would you grab and why.

They then went around our group asking various questions about why,what,where,and how.

I lucked out and got the easiest one: We chose our 3rd item to bring to be bottled water. Eaaaasyyy.

Next: they deliberated while we waited in the hall. I was almsot positive I didn’t make it. There were a lot more outgoing, loud, confident ladies in my group, and I was just hoping I wouldn’t be the ONLY one going home. How humilating.

Well, they called us back into our room, and they gave us the “Thank you for coming, please leave right away if you do not make it” speech. But the way they eliminated people was so classy! We had all been given a number, and they called us to leave the room in numerical order. On the way out they gave everyone a slip of paper saying if they had made it or not.

I maaade it!

I was so shocked!

Only 8 people made it to the final round.

The only other person to make it from my group was a boy. And he happened to be the one of two boys there that day, and very good looking.

The rest of the day was spent waiting for our flight attendant instructors, and filling out paperwork. They gave us a detailed list of things we needed to bring back the following day to our one-on-one interview.

I was so excited! I left, actually considering what it might be like working for Emirates! And living in Dubai… not my favorite part of the job. That, and along with the 3 year contract you have to sign.

But I was still extremely excited to have made it another round!

I took a picture as I drove home from Day 2, so I would remember dat der daaayyyyy!

When Going to a Flight Attendant Interview..

..never show up late.

{I can speak on personal experience for this one. Showing up late is a major offense in the Flight Attendant world, mainly because they run on being ON TIME. That is part of your job. And if you can’t even show up to your interview on time, then what does that say to the rest of your career?}

Always come professionally dressed.

{Nothing screams “DONT HIRE ME!” louder than arriving at an Open House, wearing last years red hoochie-mama dress, a messy bun, and a loud personality. Come how they describe. Nice pants/skirt, blouse, and a business jacket that neatly buttons up. Nude panty-hose stockings, and black high heals – along with a neat bun and a pretty smile, will all help seal the deal.}

Bring everything that they ask you to bring.

{The normal requirements are a Photo of yourself, a Resume, Cover letter, along with some paper and a pen. Occasionally they want copies of your High School diploma. Double check everything that they want you to bring! And if you have a nice binder to bring it in, even better.}

Research your airline your are applying for.

{They all love it when you can tell them why their airline is the best. How many countries do they fly to? Are they expanding? How quickly, and with what new destinations? What makes their airline unique? The customer service? Do your research, and come with your notes!  }

Find out common questions Airline Interviewers may ask.

{After an interviewer has asked a question, no one likes an awkward pause. So by doing a little research, and pre-thinking of some possible answers will significantly help you when you are in the hot seat.}

Keep smiling, but don’t forget your professional attitude.

{Show them your pearly whites! But dont let them think you are some high school girl who cant be a professional adult. I have made the mistake of thinking they wanted someone sooooo outgoing and smiley and nice, and then realizing afterwards how silly I looked. Make sure you are friendly, but not high school girl friendly.}

And just remember, if you aren’t hired don’t let that get you down. Everyone I talk to has had to interview multiple times!

Good luck!!

Mission: Flight Attendant

I want to be a flight attendant.

This week, I did a lot of things I have never done before..

Things Jessica has never done before:

1) I flew on a red-eye to Georgia.

2) I rode stand-by { I went from not thinking I wasnt going to make the overbooked flight, to making it AND- getting upgraded. see #3}

3) Flew 1st class! {Too bad I slept through most of that flight… But I did get a free banana out of it.}

4) Took a taxi. {I accidentally didn’t tip the guy…}

5) Hung out with a gay guy {he was the only male flight-attendant hopeful}

6) Fell asleep while sitting up. {Not the most comfortable position.}

7)Took BART/Amtrak – alone.

8 ) Managed NOT to get lost while taking BART/Amtrak alone.

The End.

PS I helped educate the east coast on “dirty shirleys”. I cannot believe no one has heard of one before. Shirley temple & vodka people! Drink it! {credit: fellow pastry girl, H., from B.Restaurant}