Selection Process, Prejoining and Accomodation
Hi All!
It's great that we have the PPRune to share all info here; I wouldn't have made it without you all 
I've been reading through the EK Wannabes Threads for the past 6 months or so and I've just realized I haven't shared my experience with you guys, yet. So here I am, I'm hoping my post will be helpful and also I'm trying to get some more info regarding my future accommodation
To start, let me say it was a real adventure to get where I am now I decided to apply in November 2010 and started reading and preparing for the Interviews. Went to:
OD - 08 January 2011 (Sofia, BULGARIA)
AD - 09 January 2011
FI - 11 January 2011
I was pretty confident my FI had went well and I had nothing to do but wait for a GC...when out of a sudden I received the ****** email, saying "Unfortunately, bla...bla...bla..." ... I was shocked, as I had not expected it...there was a weird thing, though, I got the email in my sister's inbox (in a nutshell - I had previously tried to register via the EK Careers Center, my first application associated with my sister's mail address had expired, so I had to start all over again (did not know what else to do) and filled in another form using my email address this time; later on, during the selection process, I made sure I provided the recruiters with my own email address and not my sister's) ...anyways, it mentioned in that email that I had attended a FI etc etc, so I just said to myself things were what they were and moved on...until one day (beginning of March 2011) I got a call out of the blue...and still not my GC...the lady who called apologized a million times and explained there’d been some mistake and that I should have never received that email. So I did everything she asked me for (had to complete again an online personality test that we were all required to cover after the AD), resent my casual photos and kept waiting for another MONTH or so. Turned out my photos were not appropriate or exceeded the size, I don’t know (KEEP IN MIND YOUR CASUAL PHOTOS SHOULD BETTER BE TAKEN OUTDOORS AND THE FILE SIZE - 1 MB, if I’m not mistaken – I think that’s mentioned in the documents they give you after the AD). Anyways, I would have never known that if I hadn’t emailed one of our recruiters (who had given me her email in case of emergency some time ago)…So, I took new photos, sent them and kept waiting…I think I finally got my GC in May, but that’s OK, because I’d mentioned I would not be able to join until June. However, I had a few exams to take, so I asked for a DOJ in July and I got the:
DOJ: 11 July 2011
Anyways, I know a friend of mine from Sofia will be joining on 18th July, so I asked to move my DOJ so that we could be together, but I’m still waiting for EK to get back to me.
Now, let me share some of the info that I’d gathered before my OD and AD. All of the following questions were really helpful, so again thank you, guys (the info’s all from the PPRune forums):
1)What are your hobbies?
2)What do you do as a job right now?
3) When can you leave to Dubai?
4)Tell me the longest international experience
5)Why do you want to be a cabin crew?
1)Please describe what you do at work.
2)(according to my work) have you ever encountered a situation where you and your customer crossed over a line?
3)Please tell us the best achievement while you've work there
4)Have you ever had a situation where you had to bend your opinion? Please give us an example and tell us how you dealt it.
5)Next is a two part question, please give us each examples where you've followed through a guideline and where you didn't.
6)When was the time when you have undergone a major pressure? Work related examples are preferable.
7) Please read this bit of article.(read it out loud) What does it say?
Questions will vary with airlines and cities the interview is conducted although there a few common or general ones which are frequently used. Below Questions will vary with airlines and cities the interview is conducted although there a few common or general ones which are frequently used. Below are some common questions with suggested answers. Do NOT learn your answers word by word!!! You need to sound natural and honest. Always provide an example from your previous experience to support your answer.
Q: Why do you want to be a flight attendant?
A: I love to travel and my outgoing personality enables me to interact well
with people; strangers alike. I also like to play host and being a flight
attendant presents a great opportunity.
Q: Why would you make a good flight attendant?
A: I enjoy interacting with people and anticipating their needs
is second nature to me. I am flexible and don't have to stick to routines.
I'm independent and practise a lot of initiatives.
Q: Would you be willing to relocate?
A: YES YES YES! That's the part where I'm flexible too. (Even if you aren't,
tell them that you are.) As you can see in my CV, I spent a semester in Denmark with Erasmus scholarship and I also worked a summer in the USA with the US Work and Travel programme.
Q: How do you handle stressful situations?
A: I handle stress well as I am cool headed. I am not rash and have a habit
of thinking things through carefully. For example, once when I worked at the Hyatt as a trainee...
Q: Tell us a time when you had to solve a problem within a group of people. How did you solve it, and what was the outcome?
A: (Think of your last or previous job, and give an example with that)
Q: What is the difference between good customer service, and exceptional
customer service? What do you consider exceptional customer service?
A: It is easy to provide good customer service. Usually by not making a
mistake is good enough for many. Exceptional customer service will not only
make the customer feel satisfied but usually compel him/her to commend or
compliment the staff in writing. It is a service that exceeds the customer's
expectations. For example, when I worked at the Concierge of Four Seasons in Budapest, I always made sure that...
Q: How would you handle a complaint?
A: Firstly, I would show that I am concerned; that I'm willing to listen to
find out what had happened. It is important to let the complainant speak
(this shows I care) and digest the whole situation before offering help or
solution. Then I would assure him that I would investigate the matter and
try to offer some form of compensation or assistance for rectification.
Q: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
A: I am an optimist who has a good outlook on life and thus smile easily.
(If you know a foreign language, you should mention it.) My weakness is I
love to eat and hence need to really refrain sometimes so that I won't put
on too much weight.
DIFFICULT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND SCENARIOS
Why do you think some passengers take their frustrations out on cabin crew, even though the cabin crew are trying to help them?
What would you do if you saw one of your colleagues being deliberately
rude to a passenger?
What would you do if a commercially important passenger complained that
another commercially important passenger is snoring too loudly behind him?
If, for example, there are 60 children on the flight, but you only have 40
toys. How would you deal with this situation?
What would you do if the seat belt signs were on and the aircraft is about
to take off, but a passenger insist that he has to kneel down to conduct his
prayer due to religious reasons?
EMIRATES:
It was all scenario questions like before, a few examples of what I was asked:
- Can you think of a time when you've had to deal with a sensitive situation
- Can you talk to me about when you have had to deal with a difficult customer
- Can you tell me about a time when you have introduced something new in your work
- Can you think of a time when you've had to be very flexible at work
- Can you think of a time when you've had to deal with a difficult rule
Can you think of a time when you had to break company policy and why?
Can you tell us of a situation when your superior wronged you - and how did you deal with it?
Can you tell us of a time when you had a disagreement with a colleague due to cultural differences?
Can you think of a situation when you had to deal with an agressive/upset customer - how did you turn the situation?
Can you tell us of a time when you felt a coworker was doing something which was obviously wrong? How did you approach the situation?
Can you tell us of a time when you went out of your way for a customer?
'What would you change if you were the President/Prime Minister of your country?
Who would you consider a leader and why(famous)
What are the most important qualities for a great cabin crew?
Three aspects of your personality you want to improve?
Tell us about one mistake you made and what you learned from it?
if you could turn back time what time would you go back to and why.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR LAST HOLIDAY AND WHERE DID YOU GO AND HOW IT WAS
OK, that’s it, I hope it will help you get prepared – 80 % of the questions I got were pretty much the same, so just answer the above listed and you’ll be fine J
Ok, so now it’s my turn to ask you a few questions 
Now that my DOJ is coming, I’m starting to get worried about the accommodation. Please, Please, Please, if anyone knows, I’d appreciate it if they could give me some more info on the following:
1) When do we get to know our future address/building? Is it a week before the DOJ along with the e-ticket and visa?
2) What facilities are the in the company accommodation buildings:
- Is there a separate kitchen, a fringe etc
- Do we need to bring sheets for the bedrooms, towels etc – anything important to carry with us?
3) Is there Internet Access in the new buildings and if there’s not, how can we easily arrange that as soon as we arrive? Is there a particular Internet Provider that’s better, because I’ve heard having a 24/7 Wi-Fi Access at home can be quite expensive, is that true???????????
4) When are we required to:
- Choose a bank and open our bank account
- Sign up an Etisalat phone contact (and are we allowed to do that during the probation?)
That’s all I could think of for now, I’d appreciate it if somebody could help me out J
Thank you guys, hope my looooong post’s been useful
P.S. To all of you who keep waiting for their GC – don’t give up, mine took quite long, so keep the faith and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for you J