Getting shortlisted for a cabin crew job can feel like a great accomplishment but preparing and passing the interview can be challenging. Most employers use a combination of behavioral and situational questions to test the candidates.
The interviewees should keep in mind that it is not just the answers to the interview questions that they will be assessed on. Little details like what they are wearing, how they are presenting and body language can be among the decisive factors for the interviewers to select a candidate for cabin crew positions.
Let’s dig into some of the recurrently asked questions in cabin crew job interviews and analyse them both for the interviewers and interviewees!
Common Questions
Why do you want to become a Flight Attendant?
This interview question is asked by employers to evaluate a candidate’s interest in the job role and career aspirations. The answer to this question should not be the typical one if you want to land a job as a flight attendant.
The simple and honest way to prepare for this question is to write down the reasons (when preparing for the interview) that compelled you to take up an air steward or stewardess job. Explain in an enthusiastic manner how you want to progress your professional development in this cabin crew role. Stay original and don’t use any canned responses available on the internet.
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
This is a commonly asked interview question for almost all jobs as it gives insight to the employers about the candidates’ qualities and flaws. The answer to this question makes it easier for them to know if a person can fit into a role or not.
When answering this question, the interviewees need to be candid but not too critical of themselves. For instance, sensitivity can be viewed as a personality flaw for a flight attendant job so a candidate can instead say intuitive or empathetic than using words that imply weakness. Exaggerating or making up strengths one doesn’t have should be avoided.
What kind of work environment do you like or prefer?
The working conditions for cabin crew are mostly tough and can be stressful when they have to work for longer hours. This interview question is asked to evaluate the candidates’ ability to adapt to the fast-paced work environment that needs a team effort.
The interviewees should answer this question in a way that shows their commitment to adjust to a challenging work environment and coordinate with their team members to achieve common goals.
Do you like working independently or as part of a team?
This is an important question for the cabin crew job interview as without team spirit the crew can’t really deliver a delightful service experience to the passengers. However, there are some situations and tasks where an individual may also need to make independent decisions.
Employers hiring cabin crew prefer candidates who have the ability to work on their own and as part of the team. The interviewees should thus answer this question in a way that implies their willingness to do both.
What are your customer service skills?
Customer service skills are mandatory for cabin crew jobs so this interview question can be asked for different roles, especially for the ones directly dealing with passengers like flight attendants.
What do interviewers want to assess through this question? They want to know if an interviewee understands the significance of stellar customer service for cabin crew jobs. They are likely to prefer a candidate with the necessary and additional skills for serving passengers’ needs and delivering them a gratifying and personalised inflight experience.
How the interviewees should answer this question? They should provide a succinct answer encompassing their customer service strengths like empathy and providing quick and detailed support to the passengers.
Behavioural Questions
What are your thoughts or opinion on…?
To excel in a cabin crew role a candidate needs to respect others’ views, beliefs, culture and gender. This question can be asked by an interviewer in different ways like what are your thoughts on a particular news or person? The objective of this question is to know how a candidate responds when asked for an opinion.
Answers implying a person’s prejudice towards a person or issue will lead to an interviewer believing that the interviewee can’t fit into a cabin crew position. So when answering this question, one has to be careful with using words with negative or confusing connotations and must not say anything that comes out as offensive or insensitive.
Situational Questions
What would you do if a passenger starts panicking or has a fear of flying?
This question is asked to gauge a potential flight attendant’s ability to handle different kinds of passengers on a flight. The cabin crew is supposed to make the flying experience less stressful for the passengers, they should be good at showing compassion and dealing with sudden challenging situations.
The interviewees should answer this question in a way that expresses their willingness and attitude to provide customers with satisfactory and comfortable inflight service.
How would you deal with an emergency situation on the flight?
This situational question is put forth by the interviewers to know if a cabin crew member is capable of handling emergency situations in the air. Flight attendants need to be quick and smart decision-makers during an emergency, they must know how to calm the passengers and keep them safe.
The interviewees should answer this question keeping the above points in mind and make sure that they don’t skip on any significant small details in explaining how an inflight emergency should be dealt with.
How do you resolve a conflict between two passengers?
Flight attendants often have to face scenarios in which they need effective problem-solving or conflict-management skills. This situational question can give an overview to the interviewers about the capability of a candidate to handle a conflict.
The common issues between two passengers can be over a seat or luggage placement. The question can be a more elaborate one using either of the two situations. The interviewees should come up with an answer that displays their attitude and approach to dealing with conflicts.
The solutions can be creative but make sure to keep them real and the focus should be on exhibiting your communication skills and addressing intense situations.
The group assessments can also be given to a group in a cabin crew interview. The questions are mostly situational in which the interviewees have to come up with a response demonstrating their teamwork and other skills.
Bonus Tips for Cabin Crew Interviewees
When appearing for the cabin crew interview, choose business attire and wear/style it in a way that makes you look good and professional at the same time. Asking questions from an interviewer will give you a competitive advantage, use positive body language when listening to a question and answering it.
