Monday, August 22, 2011

What are the airlines looking for in a candidate? Here are my Secrets :)

Apart from the usual stuff like grooming, being outspoken and confident, friendly and etc etc which you have already known, maybe I can share with you the method that I use personally and that of my fans ( those who pass and successfully got the job). By the way, I have helped hundreds of them achieve their dreams and from what I observed, though they are all from different background, they share similar attitude.

It is being proactive which simply means that you do and plan things ahead even though you are not required to do so. Confuse? Let me give you an example. Most will ask me when is the next interview and if you are a proactive person, your question would be” can you tell me what do I need to know or prepare for the next upcoming interview “. The difference between them is the second question shows that the person is preparing even though there are no opening currently. They do not wait till the last minute and take small baby steps in order to make sure they are well prepared, win over other candidates and be successful during the interview.

Basically there is no right timing to get things going. If you want it, you do it today or from this moment. There is no such thing as “try”. I will try my best, will try to study next week and blah blah blah. For example, if you want to call someone, you can’t say I will try to call, is either you pick up the phone to call or you don’t. 

I know it is “easier said than done” , but when I want something, I am very focus towards achieving my goals and will do whatever it takes to achieve it. I still remember, to get my first pilot job, there was a briefing but was only made known to me one day before the event. Well, the next thing I knew was I am inside the plane the very next day to be there on time.

Next, it’s very important that you can ‘taste’ success now, regardless of how small it is. That itself will propel you to continue your journey and ignite your flame of passion to keep you excited. Before I was a crew, I use to go to the airport just to catch a glimpse at all the pilots and cabin crew walking out in their smart uniform and imaginating myself in their shoes. Most or my friends thought that I am crazy but that is exactly what I did and guess what, I actually told that to the Emirates interviewers and boy was she impress.

In my recent event organizing a pilot recruitment, some of the candidates are really proactive. I don’t know them and though they are from all over the world, whatever is needed from them such as documents and all, they are very fast and efficient and making sure that I have receive all of them. On the other hand, I have some whom I personally contacted since I know them  and yet they can’t be bothered to even let me know whether they are coming or not. Funny thing is, they are the ones who keep telling me that their life is a mess now and it is so hard to achieve their dreams. So point is, when you want something, you got to be a responsible person.

As usual, normally those who did not pass will come and feedback to me and tell me that, hey, that girl is so ugly , or that person talk too much and how on earth she manage to pass. Before you start criticizing others, maybe you should take a good look at yourself on the mirror. You may be the best candidate around but that may be the very reason the interviewers did not want to pass you. Airlines certainly do not want to hire a person especially with an attitude.

So how do I know that I have talked to little or too much? My advice is, only mention or say whatever is needed and don’t go overboard. For example during my interview, I even told them I know exactly when Ek started flights to Malaysia, how many times per day, their exact flight number and their STA and STD. You see, though I was not ask to give such a detail answer, I answered “ extra” and show them that I am serious and genuinely want to join their airline and most importantly I did my homework. So back to the point, as you can see from this example, I did talk more compared to the other candidates but I make sure it is relevant and something which would impress the interviewer.

So there you go, some of my personal secrets to be a better candidate.  I know some of you will say, Hey Andy, it is easy for you to say the above as you use to work for one of the best airline in the world and you achieved your dreams now. Well, don’t forget, I was once in your shoes before. I am bless to be where I am today but It did come with my fair share of failures, sacrifices, disappointment and etc etc. Most of you who know me personally know that it is not easy to be where I am today. Well , I took small baby steps to achieve success. After all, Rome wasn’t build in a day. If I can do it, so can YOU!!!

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