Ok, so British Airways are currently recruiting for cabin crew, so I thought I would write you a blog telling you all about their application process. I completed the online application and was invited to THE NEXT STAGE OF THE SELECTION PROCESS JUST ONE HOUR LATER
In this blog I’m going to cover

• British Airways Video questions
• British Airways Qualifying questions
• A perfect British Airways CV
• Using British Airways Keywords
• Why People Fail at the British Airways CV Stage

Now, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Pauline Park and my passion is helping people like you become cabin crew. I have extensive experience as I have been teaching Travel and Tourism for 23 years now and, in this time, I have helped 1000’s of students get their dream jobs (including British Airways Jobs in the travel industry.

And, now I would like to help YOU.

As I’ve been teaching for such a long time, I’m (ahem) pretty old!

So, I applied for a job as cabin crew with British Airways using one of my alter-egos called Stephanie and I would like to share our experience with you. Oh, and just so you know, here is the email I got just one hour later inviting me to the online assessment

British Airways Video questions

So, first up you have to watch a series of 10 videos and then you are asked a multiple choice question after each one.

This isn’t actually part of the application process but it’s been added in there to make you more aware of what the job of cabin crew actually entails.

So, for example, you are shown a video of someone having to get up at 3am to get ready for work and you’re then asked how you would cope with this.

Or, you see someone realising that they can’t go to their friend’s wedding as they are on duty and again, you are asked how you would deal with this.

So, in effect, what they are doing is giving you a range of typical scenarios to help you decide whether the job is really for you or not.

And, it’s not a bad idea as the reality is that the job is not for everyone and these videos highlight a lot of the more challenging aspects of being cabin crew, like the early starts, missing out on important engagements, having to deal with difficult passengers, having to sit yearly exams and having to work with different crew every time you fly.

So, whilst you are watching these videos, do have a good think about whether this is the job for you.
You are asked to answer a question after each video and you are given feedback from your answer.
Read this feedback carefully and take notes of what it says as you may find it comes in useful later in the application process.

So, then the application process begins!

British Airways Qualifying questions

You are asked to answer a range of qualifying questions.

These are the BASIC requirements that British Airways are looking for, so if you are unable to meet these requirements, then the airline will not be able to take your application any further.
You can see some of their qualifying questions below:

ONLY if you meet these basic criteria will you be able to move on to the next stage of the process.
Please DON’T lie as all of these requirements will be checked and verified before you are offered a contract of employment.

These requirements are quite detailed, so read them through carefully and do not proceed with your application until you know that you meet them all.

And, if you can’t for example, swim?

Then don’t apply at this time and go and learn to swim!

Remember, if you are unsuccessful with your application, you have to wait 6 months to apply again, so why not prepare well and pass first time instead?

Anyway, once you have answered all of these basic requirement questions, it’s time to create an account on their careers site:

You will then be asked to upload your CV.

A perfect British Airways CV

A perfect British Airways CV

Now, I have written many a blog about CVs and you can access them here, but all I will say is that once you have uploaded your CV, there’s not much more to this stage of the application process.

So, they are deciding to invite you on to the next stage of the application process based ONLY on your CV.

So, your CV has GOT TO BE GOOD

In fact, I’d go one step further and say that your CV has to be FANTASTIC!

You really can’t afford to get this stage wrong, because if you do, that’s it for you and you will have to wait another 6 months before you can even try again!

So, don’t upload a bog-standard CV- this simply isn’t good enough.

98% of applicants who apply to become British Airways cabin crew are rejected.

And, the MOST COMMON REASON IS THEIR CV IS RUBBISH!

I see this all of the time and it drives me mad!

Really good candidates with amazing work experience and who would make really good cabin crew, but are let down by using a terrible CV.

It’s simply not enough to use a CV you wrote in school or college.

Your CV has to be absolutely tailored to the job.

And, if it’s not?

Then it will be rejected

Simple as that!

I run a FREE Facebook group called the Departure Lounge (and if you’re not in there you’d be mad not to join, as there are loads of current cabin crew- including BA- in there who would love to help with your cabin crew journey) and some of the posts in there make me laugh (or scream depending on my mood!)

There are SO MANY posts in there asking what colour scarf to wear to the assessment day or if their shoes are too pointy, of if they should wear red or pink lipstick on the day?

Reality check here guys!

#realitycheck

The simple fact is that if your CV is no good, you won’t even make it to the assessment day so all of your worries about lipstick or shoes or make-up are completely pointless!

Focus on what’s important and here, the most important thing is your CV.

So, as I said, I have written a lot about CV’s and I recommend you check it all out, but if there was only ONE piece of advice I could give you, it would be to make sure your CV is stuffed full of keywords.

Using British Airways Keywords

What are keywords?

Simple- they are the skills and characteristics that British Airways are looking for,

And, do you know what’s so amazing about keywords?

British Airways actually GIVE THEM TO YOU!

Say, what?

Yep, British Airways actually tell you their keywords.

Isn’t that incredibly kind of them?

Yes, indeed it is!

So, where are these keywords?

Well, they are found in the job specification.

Now, because I am a nice person and I’ve made it my mission in life to help people like you become cabin crew, I have gone through their job specification and made a list of these keywords for you.

You’re very welcome!

You can download a list of these keywords completely FREE by completing the form above

So, anyway, we uploaded Stephanie’s CV and sent it off.

What happens next?

Well, we sent off Stephanie’s CV and got this email one hour later…

Woo hoo- Stephanie had got through the first stage of the application process.
Go Stephanie!

Remember, this is the stage of the application process that THE VAST MAJORITY OF CANDIDATES FAIL AT.

So, this is the stage you MUST FOCUS ON.

Don’t let yourself become distracted with lipstick colours, skirt length and shoe height.

FOCUS ONLY ON YOUR CV

Because if you don’t get that correct, it’s game over!

The reality is that if you get through the first stage of the application process, you’ve actually got a much higher chance of becoming cabin crew.

The numbers get smaller and smaller as you move through the process, so conversely your chances of becoming cabin crew become higher and higher!

Research has shown that over 80% of applicants will not move on beyond the CV stage.

So, if 1,000 people apply, only 200 will move on to the testing stage.

Approximately 100 will then be invited to an Assessment Day.

And approximately 20 of them will be offered a position as cabin crew.

Why People Fail at the British Airways CV Stage

So, if you’re any good at arithmetic, you’ll quickly realise that 800 people (out of 1,000!) will FAIL at the CV stage.

Yep, that’s 80% of applications will not even make it past this stage.

AND ALL BECAUSE THEIR CV IS RUBBISH!

So, this gives you an amazing opportunity!

Why?

Well because you now know the importance of having a brilliant cabin crew CV.

I’ve also given you all the keywords British Airways are looking for.

So, you’ve no excuse now!

Go and get working on that AMAZING British Airways CV.