The aviation industry sighed with relief in 2023 when traveling began to return to life and recovered to its pre-pandemic levels. Emirates recorded their biggest revenue in the entire history of the company thus rewarding employees with what is said to be the biggest bonus by far.
Returning to pre-pandemic traveling levels naturally means a higher demand for airport staff, especially cabin crew. The mass abrupt layoffs that happened in 2020 lead to big staff shortages of ground staff and cabin crew alike which is felt mostly now, in 2023, and will probably be felt for some time to come.
Emirates have been actively recruiting new cabin crew members for the past half year and are continuing to do so all around the world. That's why I decided to share some useful tips on how to best prepare for an Emirates Cabin Crew Open Day to increase your chances of making it to the final and individual interview.
Do Your Research
First and foremost, visit the Emirates Careers Website to see if there will be a Cabin Crew Open Day in your home country/city. If there isn't one, you'll have to spend additional time and effort in planning and traveling to a neighbouring country/city.
Next, check out the basic requirements for joining the company as cabin crew. Must-haves are to be at least 160cm in height and to speak good English. There's also quite a lot of information on the Emirates Website regarding the joining requirements and what to expect after your are successful and start to fly.
In addition, read more about the job itself and what it entails. This might not be everyone's cup of tea, the lifestyle is tough, so I'd say, try to gather as much information as possible about the profession in general before you decide to go for it.
Brush Up On Your CV
After you have properly gone through the information available on the Emirates website, it's time to take a look at your CV. Make sure it's impeccably written as you will have to take it with you and give it to the HR in charge of the Day. List nicely and neatly your work experience so far, remember to mention all languages that your speak, including your mother tongue. Describe the responsibilities of your previous jobs clearly.
If you are not sure how to organise your autobiography properly, there are many online tools that can help you, with the layout including. Some of them offer free trials as well, so you won't have to pay for preparing your CV this one time.
Usually, recruiters, HRs or career websites would probably advise you to not include your picture in the document. In this case, however, I would suggest to include a picture of yourself as there can be no selection without the recruiters in Emirates seeing you.
Make sure the background behind you is neutral, for the ladies, no bright makeup, no hair over your face; for the gentlemen - a picture where your beard is shaved. Beard isn't allowed when you go online flying.
Prepare A Proper Attire
Next step is to prepare the appropriate clothes needed for an Emirates Cabin Crew Open Day. Now here, I can speak mainly about the ladies' attire and provide some recommendations. Overall, you have to show up in a business-style outfit, with covered shoulders, knees and without a big cleavage. Let's look at the picture below more closely.
Hair neatly tied back - meaning: you are supposed to put your hair in a bun using a doughnut. For dark hair use the brown/black one and for blonde - the blonde-ish one. Catch unruly hairs with a couple of bobby pins and use hair spray to tame baby hair around your forhead and neck. Make sure there is no flying hair anywhere. Make sure your put a net over your bun to avoid random hairs flying around from there, too.
Face full make up - meaning: you are supposed to wear full makeup including: foundation, natural eyeshadow, black eyeliner, mascara, blush, highlighter, and the iconic Emirates red lipstick.
Here are some of the best red lipsticks on the market that most of the crew apply:
MAC Red Lips - choose the correct nuance, make sure the colour doesn't look orange-y or brown-ish when you apply it.
Too Faced Red Lips - same recommendations apply. Liquid lipstick from this brand never worked for me onboard.
Business attire - meaning: black or dark blue suite, covering your knees and shoulders. The knees should be covered when you walk as well and ideally, when you even sit down. Both the skirt and the jacket should fit you properly. Underneath, wear a plane and classic white shirt, make sure there is no cleavage. The bra must also be white. The shoes should have a slight heel at least, no flats are allowed and in the suitable colour or make sure they are a neutral colour in case you are unable to supply yourself with black ones before the Open Day. Remember to wear stockings as well in a natural, beige colour, appropriate for your skin tone.
Nails - not too long, properly manicured in a neutral colour or best have them in French, ombre or red. I strongly recommend to not show up with bright-coloured nails. In case you can't fix your nails before the interviews, simply remove what your have and show up without any colour at all.
Check Your English
English is the official language of the company and being fluent in it is a must. The entire communication, training, customer interaction, documents etc. are conducted in English. Each Emirates Cabin Crew Open Day is in English as well as all interviews. You won't be allowed to speak in your native language during the day even if you suspect that the recruiter might be from your country. Don't try to chat up the HR in your native language if you think this might be the case as even the casual interactions in English are also part of the test.
In case you are insecure about your language skills or you think they might not be up to scratch in order to work and interact actively in the language, I would suggest to take as much time as you need to improve it until you feel more confident interacting in English.
In addition, you will be given a brief English online test while you are in the beginning of your Emirates training as well as before your individual interview in case you are selected to the final stage of the Open Day.
The Open Day
And this is pretty much all you can before showing up to an Emirates Cabin Crew Open Day. Once the Day begins, you will be given a brief introduction of the company and what to expect.
After that the Open Day continues with a variety of group tasks and assignments that you are supposed to do with your peers. After each round, a certain number of people drops out until the end when a couple of people are selected for an individual interview.
As for your behaviour: It is impossible to tell what the recruiters will expect to see but I would say the safest way to go is to be yourself. Be friendly, kind and open. Smile. Don't act pushy or over confident. Listen to your peers and collaborate with them, don't try to dominate as you have to demonstrate that you are able to work in a team and peacefully reach solutions together with your team mates. Be diplomatic and listen to what everyone says. Should you disagree, do so politely.
Your CV is also going to be collected at some point, so as mentioned, make sure it's impeccable. Your height is also going to be measured as the recruiters have to make sure you are able to reach 212cm.
And that sums it up. As mentioned, it is impossible to know what exactly the recruiters will be looking for but you are supposed to demonstrate that you are polite, speak good English, have put in the necessary effort to abide to the dress code and you know how to communicate with others. Try not to show that you are too eager - in my experience, the company prefers to see people who are not desperate to get the job and are at the Open Day because they believe in themselves rather than for becoming a cabin crew no matter what.
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Traveling and blogging: skygirlandrea.com
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Disclaimer: 1. All products and brands displayed in the article have no commercial connection to skygirlandrea.com and are displayed for merely exemplary purposes and as recommendations. The article does not aim to advertise commercially any of these products.
2. All descriptions regarding an"Emirates Cabin Crew Open Day" is largely based on my personal experience and knowledge of the hiring process. The recommendations do not guarantee a successful outcome after applying for the position of a cabin crew. Skygirlandrea.com is not responsible for any changes of the requirements or differences in the conduction of an "Emirates Cabin Crew Open Day" up to date.
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