The initial interview is based around group exercises. It includes asking the other candidates questions, filling in crosswords and making up an advertising jingle. The interviewers are looking for teamworking skills. My advice would be don't be too quiet and equally don't try and take over. Strike a balance somewhere in the middle.
Those who are successful at this stage are then required to sit a maths test. This is followed by checking that height and weight are in proportion.
The two to one interview is based around situation questions such as give an example of good customer service and a difficult situation you have to deal with.
The training course lasts for six weeks and is based at the Virgin Flight Centre in Horley. You are paid whilst attending the course.
The pay works out at about £800 per month plus allowances. The allowances vary depending on what trips you are rostered.
Company benefits are excellent. Virgin has one of the best concessionary travel schemes. There are pension, private health insurance and life assurance schemes after a qualifying period.
The average roster includes six trips a month. Usually a mixture of one and two night stopovers.
The longest trips at the moment are five nights in Delhi and four nights in the Caribbean and Las Vegas. There are no firm plans for new routes at the moment. It is likely that Chicago and Toronto will be reinstated in the not too distant future.
The Crewing and Rostering departments get a lot of flack which is not deserved. They will help you if they can and Virgin has a unique pre-ops department who can help out on roster issues. You are entitled to request one trip a month based on seniority.
Airbus training is usually rostered around 12-18 months after your start date. We do not yet know if everybody will be trained on the A340-600 straight away.
The crews are sociable downroute. Sometimes people like to do their own thing. There is a social club who provide facilities such as crew vans, bikes and sports equipment for use downroute.
The ranks are Junior, Senior, Purser and In Flight Supervisor. At the moment it takes about 3-3.5 years for promotion from Junior to Senior. There is a fast track which is not exclusive to previous flyers. It is based on performance monitoring and attendance records.
The probation period is six months. Leave is not normally given during this period. If you have a holiday already booked the company will normally honour it however it will be unpaid.
You are assessed on every flight by the Purser. It is based on several different competencies and tick box format ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. There is a computer at the crew check in areas where you can find out how you are doing.
Hope this helps answer your questions. Good luck and I look forward to seeing you on line sometime soon.