Interview Day - Part 2

We sat for a long time in a lecture room. Airline TV advertisements and PR videos were projected onto a huge screen and put on repeat mode.

Then it was time for my one on one. This felt like the actual interview (the one that really mattered) and it was the one I was asked the most questions. The interviewer was a rather friendly and pretty lady in her early 30s.

I don’t think I have ever been so composed for an interview. Normally I am all jittery and nervous. I say the wrong things or forget the things I planned to say. I think the preparation and self-talk helped.

Typical job interview questions were asked – What are your strengths and weaknesses, what would you do in a particular situation, why you think you are suitable, why do you want to leave your current job, you have a degree so why be a stewardess? Because of my age, I was also asked if I would be comfortable working under a younger superior.

Nothing I wasn’t prepared for. The interviewer was clearly pleased with my answers and wrapped up our conversation after about 15 minutes.

I waited outside for the verdict.

By the time I was given the green light, it was about 1pm. I was asked to go for lunch and come back at 3pm for the final interview with the management. As a reward for making it this far, I ate at the hotel. I think I had a club sandwich.

There were two chatty Eurasian sisters who were also waiting for the final interview. They had friends in the airline and assured me that those who made it through the one-on-one would most likely make it through the final round as well. It was more of a formality and unless you seriously messed up, the next step would be the medical check-up.

The older sister was already 30, but because of her prior work experience (she was a former crew from a Middle Eastern airline) she was accepted. The younger one started cabin crew training about the same time as me.

Two kindly middle aged women interviewed me. One was from the HR department. Noting that I indicated “Christianity” under religion in the application form, they asked which church I was attending.

They also asked about my family and wanted to know if I was independent enough for the job. They asked if I had a boyfriend and if I had immediate plans to get married and have kids. Some questions from the earlier interview were repeated.

A short while after the interview, I was informed that I passed. I almost danced out of the waiting room but was told not to quit my current job yet. I was given some forms to sign and asked to schedule an appointment for the medical check-up. Apparently, some people do fail the medical check-up.

I finally left the hotel at about 4:30pm.

One entire day for the interview and a day well spent. I was ecstatic and unable to contain my joy. It was all I could do to keep myself from fist pumping the air and clapping my feet together in glee. I was grinning like an idiot all the way home.

There are not that many instances in my life that I have felt such elation. It was something that I really wanted and getting it was an impossibility come true.