Hi Krisky,
I have just attended an open day in dublin, before I went I found this on the " Anything to do with emirates interviews" threadsI found it very helpful. If you take your time and have a good look through all those pages there is a some posts about preliminary interviews. Good Luck!
Amelia xx
QUOTE:
Hello everyone, my name is Andrew, EK cabin crew.
Ive had alot of people ask me about the interview process and also tips on how to make it through.
Thanking everyone on PPrune for their support and what i wanna do is just let you know what i went through and the exact process for the day when i attended in Melb!
Hope it helps. Although this was not a walk in process. It was an interview by invitation. Anyways here goes!
Day started at 9am. I walked into the foyer and waited along with about 30 people for approx 30 mins before the recruiters turned up. This is a very important time to get your confidence up for the day ahead. I simply walked around and introduced myself to every single person and had a small chat with each of them. Talk about how you applied, how long it took to get a response, etc. Again, a fantastic opportunity to get the confidence up for the long day ahead! Keep that smile on the dial too!
We then entered a big room with 4 round tables, and got given a numbered name tag and got told to take a seat anywhere in the room. I found a table with no guys on it at all and had a seat there. I thought this will help to stand out a little!!
They then put a video on about dubai and what its like to be a cabin crew member. This went for approx 45 mins. Stay interested during the duration of this video.. very important. Also concentrate on all the details given throughout the video because the last thing you want to do is ask a question that was already answered during the tape!
Once the video finished we had a question session. The recruiters basically asked the group to ask any questions about absolutley anything we want to know or any concerns we may have. I was the first to put my hand up (i had this planned as i knew they appreciate the person who asks the 1st question, especially being in a big group like this one) and i the question i asked was "i understand the contract with emirates is for 3 years, but at the end of this period is it up to me to continue or is it a decision made by the company?" I felt that this question will atleast make them feel im in for the long haul. Questions went on for about 90 mins. People were asking about wages, how many crew members are there, how long is training (which was answered in the video ) etc, etc. Once this session was finished the recruiter actually went out of her way in front of the group to acknowledge that i was 1st to ask a question. So this must be important to them. Remember... keep smiling.
We then got split into 2 groups of 16 for our first group discussion. The topic was 'If you got the job and moved to dubai, what difficulties do you think you may have'. During the discussion make sure you get your opinion across. Refer to other peoples opinions (shows listening skills) and then give yours. I said "the transistion to a muslim country requires respect for the people around you and total respect for the religion". Agree with people and back it up if you disagree. Dont talk politics and dont show that you might be hesitant to move to dubai. Keep smiling and make it seem that you are really looking forward to the move!
The time was creeping up to about 12pm at this stage and we got asked to take a 15 minute break.
When we got back we all sat down and the recruiters looked at us all and said, "guys this is the hardest part of the day for us as we now have to cut the group down. Please dont be discouraged and your more than welcome to apply again after 6 months." Out of the 32 in the group they cut 20 and it was down to 12. 10 girls and 2 guys!
We then did a 180 multiple choice questions psychology test. One thing i noticed in this test was that the same question was being asked over again every 20 or 30 questions away but in a different form. This could be a wrong theory but i felt it was important that i answered this the same way everytime in came around. It shows up as level headed once the statistics come up. This is my thoery, but i could be wrong. Also, dont think about the answers too much, first answer that comes to mind.. go for it!
We then did another group discussion. This time they gave us a list of 14 people that have just got the job with EK and there was 7 appartments we had to put them in. Which 2 would you put in each appartment and why? First girl said to put the aussie and the english guy together as they would most likely have more simular backgrounds compared to anyone else and so on. It then came round to me and i said, "thats a very good point and it might actually work well, but dont you think moving to a country like this and with all the different cultures we will have to accomadate for it would be a good idea to put the arab with aussie, the french with chinese, etc, etc... as this will teach us to learn about different cultures that will ultimately be extremely important to our positions". The rest of the group ended up agreeing with this theory. Same applies with any grp discussion, dont talk over anyone, listen well and KEEP SMILING!!!
I thought i was doing pretty well at this stage.
Time was about 3.30 at this stage and we got asked to do an activity. We got split into 2 groups of 6. We got given pieces of cardboard and paperclips and we were asked to build a tower out of these materials and that we were competing against the other group. What they look for here is TEAMWORK!! but unfortunatley not too many people realise this. Who cares who wins...lol. In this activity show you can work well as a team, talk well, encourage your peers, give them well dones when they do something good and show that your a team player. Do not look over to the other group and say "oh ****.. theyre winning" WRONG!! Stick to what your doing as this shows you work well around others. And dont be afraid to show leadership skills here... i did. Stay focused and caring for your team... Keep Smiling too!
They then told us to have a little break and be back in 15 mins.
When we came back they said they had to do it again and cut the group down one more time. This was nerve racking! They cut out another 6 and left 6. 5 girls and me!
We then got told that this was it and we had made it passed the screening session. We got pulled away from the group seperatley and got asked some personal questions about the family and about why we applied and also why do we think we would make a good cabin crew memeber. I talked about customer service. I remember being really excited at this stage and had to control myself.
Thats it guys, lastly i can say dont try to be something your not... as they will see right through you! Remember, Smile Smile Smile!
Good luck to all.
Andrew Dima.