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theunknown
10th May 2002, 10:18
Well I finally got the Job of my dreams this morning after hearing from Virgin at last. Had my interview 3 weeks ago so I really thought I hadn't got it, but in my case 3rd time lucky! Just wanted to say thanks for all the responses to my posts about interviews etc it really did help in the end. I also hope that to all those who may have not been quite so fortunate it just proves that determination is the key element try-try again and you will get there in the end! Hope to see you out on the line soon in my new "silver dream machine" and happy/safe flying to everyone else! BYE!!

koru_kid
10th May 2002, 11:25
CONGRATULATIONS!! Well done for you to taste rejection twice and keep persevering! I bet success will be even more sweeter!

I'm waiting on tenterhooks for Emirates to call me, having been successful in getting thru to the final interview in their selection process. Last interview didn't go that well, but I'm trying to keep my chin up! Another 3-4 weeks to wait though! ARGH!

Anyway, hope you don't disappear from the forum! Congrats again! :)

stewardess007
10th May 2002, 12:40
Congrats on your job. While Dj is the topics can anyone tell me what staff travel benefits they get?

Gotta-FOnow
10th May 2002, 12:50
Guys its always great to hear good news like this for all you that dont get in first attempt keep trying had 36 interviews for BA and never gave up just kept on at it.

Good luck to you all and happy flying



:cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

Xenia
10th May 2002, 19:46
Congratulations theunknown ;)

flapsforty
10th May 2002, 19:51
Welcome to the World of the Weird and Wonderfuls :D theunknown!
Well done, here's wishing you a long and happy career!
f40

AtlanticAngel
10th May 2002, 21:17
Congratulations on the Virgin job - you must be over the moon!! Good for you! Unfortunately I got a rejection letter from them yesterday but it was my first attempt with Virgin and I'm pleased to have got so far. I just received a Britannia contract this morning so that will be good experience for my next attempt with VS!

Hope to hear all about your experiences!
Good Luck! ENJOY!

Lou xx

The - Elite
10th May 2002, 22:08
Congratulations on the job.

I am trying to persuade my girlfriend to keep trying even though I dont understand, at all, how thier recruitment works.

She has had 6 interviews and has been accepted to the final stage 5 times but still with no success.

I just dont understand.

Any advice?:confused:

kjay
11th May 2002, 05:25
Well done. It must be a fantastic feeling. I had my first group interview with DJ in Perth on Teusday had a ball , fantastic bunch of people in my group. No matter what happens I enjoyed the expeirence.
Hope to see you in the sky's one day.:D

jackiechan
13th May 2002, 04:30
Congrats on getting virgin mate, hope your dancing shoes are ready!

Koru_kid...I'm also waiting to hear back from emirates...it's been 5 weeks for me now...
Email me and compare stories!

Cheers

flightbunny
15th May 2002, 05:35
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
i just got my rejection letter.. oh well persistence pays off just as the 'theunknow' says, ill just have to reapply in another 6 months!!!!:) :( :D :eek: :cool:

kjay
15th May 2002, 10:41
I too just got my rejection letter. So its back to the drawing board for me. Australian Airlines is next.
:(

padder
16th May 2002, 18:25
Hi There!

So Sorry to hear you got into Virgin! :( Having work on the 'Silver Dream Machine' for three years now, I can tell you it's not all that it's cracked up to be.

Where do i begin?

So you think you are going to be working for a great company now! Forget it! Virgin has to be the most hated company i know! They work you to the bone and all that for a pathetic wage. Unless you live with daddy and he can pay for your bills then maybe you will be one of the lucky few to be able to spend your allowances downroute. Everyone has to save there allowances just to be able to afford a way of life! So be ready for miserible trips away with crew that are so pissed off and frustrated with their wage and being broke!
Lets suppose you want to use your concessions to take a desserved holiday! If you are lucky to get on a flight on standby and not get upgraded even though there are spaces in upper class, you have to contend with Horrible bitter cabin crew that hate you coz you are travelling for free and they have to serve you! You are made to feel like you shouldn't be there and dare you ask for anything more than a glass of water!
Coz you see there is this 'back stabbing' type of enviroment in Virgin. Everyone is out for their own! So much sucking up to Pursers and IFSs just to get ahead and be Fasttracked! It is very rare you fly with someone who is genuine and nice! They are false and fake and are not one bit interested in you but just gossip about you! They form opinions about you even if they have never met you.
Management in Virgin are just promoted Cabin crew that haven't a clue about management of personal affairs! If you get into difficulties at home, you get the feeling that they just don't care! You can never get through to your assigned line manager coz they are always away on holiday.
I could go on and on but my advise to you is to dump your contract with them and get a better job! There is nothing about this job that could be described as 'Dream Job'! It's a nightmare!
But i guess you have to find it out for yourself! Maybe after a while it will all make sence but by which time it maybe too late!

I wish you all the best and GOOD LUCK coz you are going to need it!

High as a Kite
16th May 2002, 22:07
Obviously "the unknown" you will soon be able to make up your own mind however my advice would be to ignore the bitter and twisted comments above. Whenever you get good news there is always somebody waiting to try and spoilt it for you.

I've worked for Virgin for five years and if it was half as bad as "padder" is saying then I would have left a long time ago. Morale is lower than usual at the moment because there was no pay rise this year.

I don't live with daddy and I've got a mortgage as have many of my colleagues. I certainly do not spend all of my time downroute in my hotel room watching every penny of my allowances. I have had many fantastic trips with genuine people and have established some great friendships.

I've used my staff travel on many occasions and have always been upgraded to Premium Economy or Upper Class when there is space available. The crew cannot possibly treat you any differently as a staff passenger because the revenue passengers would notice.

There is not a backstabbing environment. As you will find in every company there are a small minority who are self centred. Let's face it not everybody gets on with everybody however "false and fake gossips" are very few and far between.

My Crew Line Manager has been very helpful and supportive.

"Padder" if you are really as unhappy with the job as you sound then LEAVE. It's as simple as that.

dickyflys
17th May 2002, 05:30
I've been at Virgin over 5 years and I have to agree with Padder, quite spot on actually!

I am part time, so use the job for my own purposes, mainly to get a free trip to Abercrombie and Fitch each month! Certainly not for the money! :) I couldn't do 6 flights a month, it was torture, and part time got me a life!

Virgin isn't a career, that's for sure and it designed mainly around a few years of fun in your early twenties, then they want you out!
However, the fun has been hard to come by these last couple of years.

High as a Kite, well done on the mortgage, it's no easy task when the salary of IFS, the highest rank you can achieve in Virgin, pays not much more than 17,000 pounds. And that can take 8 years!
Wait till you retire and see the pension! There basically isn't one, another way they design the job just for the young. It has long been a standing joke in the Industry how poorly paid and treated Virgin crew are, and it's true. I mean if Airtours are paid more, it must be bad!

Also High as a Kite, you cannot deny that the general opinion amongst most crew is that the Crew Line Manager position is an overpaid joke. I have many experiences of not being able to contact them due to 'training days', which means they are in Barbados!

When you do speak to them, it is only when they want to give you a hard time or find a reason not to pay you your pittance! They are no use when it comes to your own personal problems.

Also, you cannot deny that many groundstaff do all possible to find an excuse not to onload you on standby flights, or at least be EXTREMELY rude. And as Padder says, is it worth being upgraded as I too have experienced the cold end of the Upper Class service. There are also numerous memos on having to behave, as if we wouldn't! It's like being back at school.

The many friends that you mention are probably the crew from that best trip ever that you did and then they can't even remember your name by the next time you fly together, instead refering to you as 'darlin' until they get a sneak at your name badge! It's quite funny really. Don't tell me you haven't exchanged numbers and never heard from them again? Virgin is too big and impersonal to have good friends.

The crewing and rostering department are another famous joke, friends in BA stand back and laugh at the stories that they hear.
For the unknown, you won't have to stay in your room when you do a 20hour Cape Town night stop as it isn't worth saving the 30 quid that they pay you for the nightmare!

Turning up for your nice trip to Hong Kong will all go wrong when you have to hide under desks from the check in girls who will order you to go to Lagos or somwhere else you definitely DIDN'T pack for or take tablets for!

I have just returned from Hong Kong, one of the mose exciting cities in the world. The crew all went to bed, to save their allowances to go shopping at the markets! Padder is spot on again.

I have taken friends from BA on trips, had them sit in Economy and the crew are so bitchy to them. On a recent flight from LA, the IFS briefed the crew to watch out for some BA crew on holiday. "I want NO messing from them in 56 D E F and G" Why are they like that? BA crew are so nice to staff when we fly with them. We were told that the IFS would sort them out if they stepped out of line. They were the nicest passengers you could wish for, yet were treated like leppers!

I don't understand some of the things that go on in VIrgin. Padder is quite right about backstabbing and creeping to get fast tracked. It's awful. If your face fits, you do OK. If not, the HUGE turnover of crew is testament to all that Padder said!

Ask yourself why they are recruiting now after laying off 600 crew 7 months ago. Because people don't want to come back and the rest are so fed up that many are leaving. Good luck anyway! There is only one way to find out, as the many that leave Virgin will tell you!

dickyflys
17th May 2002, 10:09
Funnily enough, after writing my reply, I read in the Daily Mirror that the cabin crew union within Virgin Atlantic, Cabin Crew 89, is planning Industrial action within the company, mentioning the reason as "Pay freezes <since day 1 of the company if you ask me!>, Working conditions and age discrimination"

There are no annual pay increments to promote loyalty, and pay rises when they have occured have bearly managed to match inflation.

Oh I forgot! Our Christmas presents! Yes I knew there was a reason we worked for Branson! He sent us a nice Virgin Mobile phone, to make more money out of us! I gave up with mine, as with every Virgin product <the Upper Class seat/PLANK> It's all about looking good and a LOT of hype and spin! They don't work!

padder
17th May 2002, 12:27
High as a Kite!

Dear me! Five years! Congratulations for sticking it out for that long! Did you get a Virgin desk clock for your lengthy years service last Christmas? Oh No, you only get that if you have been here for more than 10 years! I can't wait? Can you?

No really I can't wait, so i'm off to better things! I don't have to take the advise from someone who sounds like they are on drugs! I'm leaving because i have changed since i've worked for this crap company! I have become bitter and i admit it! My reply may have sounded bitter but that's how much hatred i feel for Virgin! :mad:

It interests me that you call yourself after G-VPUF as in Puff!?

I'm giving my advise to 'the Unknown'! I think it's a good start you decided to name yourself the unknown coz get used to it! That's all you become in Virgin... Unknown and uncared for! If you had any sence you would go and work for a proper company like BA! Dickyflys, at least i know we work for the same company! High as a kite must be on drugs! Virgin will only make you bitter, wind you up and frustrate you and make you seriously Broke!!! Get a new job!!!!!!

I am! And it's a career with benefits to die for! Literally!

Stay sane!

High as a Kite
17th May 2002, 17:46
No, I'm not on drugs! I've had jobs in the past that I've hated with companies who are uncaring. Believe me, if I thought Virgin was like that I would have left a long time ago.

Everybody is told about the pay when offered the job. If they consider it too low then the solution is simple - do not sign the contract. Then the job can be offered to somebody who does want it.

Good luck to you Padder with your new career. The grass is always greener on the other side (or so many people think). Perhaps you will now earn enough to purchase some of those drugs that you seem so obsessed about....................

High as a Kite
17th May 2002, 18:11
dickflys - I stand by my original comments. Just to clarify a few things:-

Six flights a month is not torture.

I am not in my twenties (early or otherwise) and neither are a lot of the people I work with.

The friends I have made are from a number of excellent trips I have done over the years. I speak to them and see them regularly out of work. I can honestly say that I've never had the experience of exchanging numbers from someone and not hearing from them again.

So many people see BA as the promised land and hold it up as a shining example. You mention that BA crew have a good laugh when they hear about our Crewing and Rostering. They get TWO trip requests a year compared to our TWELVE and most months they have to do a back-to-back. It takes years and years and years to get any seniority within rank. If people believe that BA is so wonderful and Virgin is so awful then why not hold out for that job offer from BA in the first place??

FloatJockey
18th May 2002, 04:27
Don't want to break your debate but I NEVER READ PPRUNERS COMMENTS/COMPLAINS ABT WORKING FOR VIRGIN BLUE HERE IN OZ... Virgin in the UK might be another story...

Just wanted to mention that.


Mrs. FJ

dickyflys
18th May 2002, 12:44
High as a kite,

Wouldn't you love to do a back to back at BA! You know that you get 139 pounds EXTRA on top of allowances to do them. As you do with a Miami and Vancouver, that is EXTRA to the allowances that are better than Virgin. And lets's not even start on the BA box payments vs Virgins couple of pounds per sector trip pay. You have to admit, it's a bit of a joke!

BA don't NEED trip requests! They don't need to wait 5 years to be senior enough to be able to request a Narita for an extra 180 pounds a month! And you will also note that Virgin recently halved the number of trip requests that you are entitled to and have plans to get rid of them all. Who ever get's their request anyway? There is always an excuse about leave or outbid or didn't fit in the plan.

Please let's not start an argument on the merits of BA vs Virgin as everybody knows Virgin is the BA drop out zone, I should know, I was one of them! No problem admitting it.

And wait, there is now more news. As there weren't enough volunteers for the Lagos core crew on the cheapo leased out Air Atlantic Classic, they are going to allocate people to it! Wow, that should improve morale no end!

Anyway, I have a life, and it's definitely nothing to do with Virgin so I am leaving it there and wish you all well, especially Padder, you are one of many and I can tell you, you won't regret it!

jongar
22nd May 2002, 19:45
wow you are a bitter bunch. I have flown with VS up front for years, and have come to know more than a few of you, outside the aircraft. The allowances you recieve are derisable I agree, but Virgin is not the career airline BA is. VS is all about having fun in your 20s and finding a rich fella on Upper Class for your 30's. But the atmosphere created by the crew on most flights is wonderful and while saving your allowances is quite often requires, you can have a lot of fun with them in JNB and CPT.

Lagos is a unique flight, and not one anyone wants to do. But it makes money and keeps the whole thing afloat. If your on a the JNB flight on the 24th May, let me know

Jon Gar

becster
27th May 2002, 16:10
well now my dreams have just been slashed what else is there in this career to do??! ive been flying with Britannia since last february after dreaming for many years about this job. My general plan in life was to gain experience with a smaller airline and then move on to live my lifelong ambition of flying for Virgin. More recently ive begun to entertain the idea of moving abroad to fly, perhaps for Emirates, or Quantas. i must admit im only 20 and have no idea how id go about trying to do that. Do they both interview in the UK? how old do you have to be? Would i need to be resident in Oz to even get an interview for Quantas? so many questions and not too sure where to go for answers? Can any of you guys help me out?!!!!!!!!!!
Ive been rejected by virgin once before and had planned to try again if i get laid off by Britannia again this winter. I guess its really a single persons lifestyle but can you choose between career or a guy ? ive wanted this since forever so surely some of you guys can tell me some happy success stories?!

Jimbo The 747
27th May 2002, 16:32
Becster...
Had an interview with both Gulf Air & Emirates about 3 years ago & both ints were held in London but to be based in Dubai. I believe the min age for Emirates is 22 but it might have changed now, not sure about Gulf Air. Quantas i believe you have to live in Oz to even be able to apply. If you fancy moving abroad to fly have you tried Quatar Airways, their recruiting at mo, go to flightinternational.com you'll find it their.
Good luck

qfcabin
27th May 2002, 23:00
hey jim and bec..if you're serious about oz and the east, better start to spell them properly...it's QANTAS and QATAR.... and you do need to apply in oz for QF. i think you also need permanent residency.

sweety
28th May 2002, 11:03
Well, one of them is not serious - working for a real cool company already - so no need to waste time on checking spelling, I guess?! ;)

Northern Hosty
28th May 2002, 11:35
Absolutely Sweety:) Some people are so serious about spelling things correctly.

FCNK
28th May 2002, 15:51
just had my fourth VS interview and more or less told along with the other rejects "to go away and look at yourselves, you dont need me to tell you what your not doing right, maybe you need more customer care experience or more team work skills or just more interview practice" "we're not a recruiting consultancy, we're an airline, therefore do not give feedack".

i currently work for BA as crew and felt patronised by the selectors. on my previous three selection days, i've always been selected for the two on one interview. the previous time i was interviewed, i worked for a charter airline which made a difference - however on this occassion, because i mentioned i worked for BA (Eurofleet) i was put i my place.

the girls (cabin crew) who were selecting, spoke about richard branson as if they'd known him all their lives...richard this...richard that.... is this a professional relationship with cabin crew and the boss?? if the girls who recruit for VS are reading this and happen to catch a BA flight that i am operating on....then take note of my teamwork skills and customer service experience as theses qualifications got me the job at BA in the first place..

maybe virgin could learn a few people handling and respect skills from BA... at least we interview every single candidate that shows an interest in the company. even if people are not selected for the job, we at least give them the chance to find out why (even if it does cost).

i count myself lucky that i was not offered a job at virgin, maybe you will like it but it is not a job, it is more of a fashion statement

as for working for airtours, been there, fantastic airline (destinations), good money and allowances. ;)

qfcabin
30th May 2002, 06:39
hey guys, don't jump on me!! all i was suggesting was that if you apply for a job it does you no favours to spell the name of your potential employer wrongly..i'm certainly not a member of the spelling cops!!

dickyflys
31st May 2002, 15:13
FCNK, well I think you hit the nail right on the head. Virgin is an ODD place. Yes, the interviewers probably knew the boss VERY WELL! YUK, can you imagine? I even know who you are probably talking about and she is even worse to fly with, if you can believe that. They are just taking revenge on BA as they have a BIG chip about the rubbish package at Virgin and the joke that they are seen as.

BA, even Eurofleet, is a more professional and friendly place to work. Everybody rejected by Virgin is a victim of the bitching and backstabbing atmosphere that runs rights through the company.
You probably looked TOO good and you are a threat to the little empire buliders that live in the Virgin Flight Centre.

Believe me, leave them all to it and enjoy working for a proper company with real prospects for a career and a decent salary and pension etc.

Good luck!

AtlanticAngel
31st May 2002, 23:19
Dear Dickyflys, Padder etc.

Just a short note to thank you very much for giving me an insight to what it is REALLY like to work for Virgin. From what you both have said, the reality is obviously much different than what I had imagined. Like FCNK, I also had the misfortune to go through an interview process feeling I had done well only to get a rejection letter in the mail with absolutely NO feedback. Having worked for BA, I am aware of how well organised their recruitment is - they inform you of a decision within 5 working days and also offer feedback to unsuccessful applicants. However, with Virgin it is impossible to know where you went wrong and therefore how to improve. :-(

I'm sorry to hear of your bad experiences and wish you al the best for the future.

Take Care & Thanks Alot!