The E-mail and The Portal

After the Golden Call, expect to receive an email within 2-3 working days. You will love the subject of this email, it says Emirates Group Employment Offer. It consists the user name and password for you to be able to log in to the Selected Candidate Portal and more information on next steps to complete the pre-employment formalities.

Let me warn you, this portal is extremely glitchy and tests your extra patience -like we can never get enough patience already- This portal will keep sending you back into the Emirates career page once you log in or everytime you click on a link, keep on trying with different browsers, on your laptop/PC/mobile phone. I think patience must be one of Emirates rule :)

You have to accept the Contract online, fill in Online Joiner’s Form, and upload Medical form part A (1 page) and part B (3 pages) within 5 days in order to obtain Final Approval

I tried to open the portal on Google Chrome on my PC but it didn’t work, so I switched to my iPhone and it worked immediately. I copied and pasted the password on the portal, it didn’t work. It only worked when I typed it in, but that was my case, some people worked it out when they copy-paste the password.

Once I logged in, I changed the password. It will be easier for you to remember. And there it was, an exciting countdown to your Date of Joining appears on the top of the page, showing how many days left before DOJ. Then I clicked on the left hand panel where there are 4 types of formalities I need to fill in.

• Contract

No matter how excited you are and how you desperately want this job, it is always important to read on the whole contract before you sign it. So the first thing I need to do is to accept the contract online. There are 2 boxes we need to tick, the contract itself and a declaration form that you clearly understand what’s in the contract.

I had hard times trying to open the portal using my PC. So I had to switch to me iPhone, open the contract and read it thoroughly before I accepted it. Immediately after I accepted it, they sent me an email with subject Contract Acceptance Mail, it basically thanked me for accepting the contract and to kindly proceed on to the next step.

PS: I just found out that you can also open the contract on PC, download the unknown file and select to open it with Microsoft Word, it opens as well

• Online Joiner’s Form

As simple as your filling in your personal details and dependents’ name, I only filled in my immediate family and a friend. Be careful on this part, once you’re finished, you can only change or edit it once you arrive in Dubai

• Documents for Security

This part is where you start uploading several documents for your Visa. They would ask you to upload: a colored copy of your Passport, 4,5 x 5.5 cm Passport-size Photo, and updated Resume/CV.

*Make sure your file is in JPEG or PDF format, max size 1 MB

I use the same Passport-size photo as the one I turned in for my Final Interview, with big Emirates smile and they accept it.

• Medical

This is the latest version of the Medical form, please take your time and review the form before filling it out: Medical Form

No need to go to the doctor for this step, unless you are really concerned on your own health, you can go get your blood taken (for HIV, Hepatitis B, and VDRL) or chest X-ray. But it really isn’t necessary at all. However it is unacceptable for Emirates and UAE work visa will not be issued for:

– Positive HIV result

– Signs of active TB or scarring from previous TB

– Untreated syphilis

– Positive Hepatitis B surface antigen

And if you can’t meet the visa requirements, your contract will be automatically terminated and repatriation will be at your own expense.

Medical form that you need to upload within 5 days is ONLY part A (1 page of Employee Pre-Employment Declaration of Health Form) and part B (3 pages of Employee Medical History Declaration) and that’s it!!

Part A basically just needs your name, date, and signature stating that you completely understand the medical requirements

Part B is a yes/no questionnaire to your pre-existing medical condition. Please answer this honestly, as lying on this form would be terrible if EK finds out later on the medical examination they conduct upon your arrival in Dubai. If you have certain condition where you have to tick ‘yes’ don’t be disheartened as well. They will probably ask for additional medical report from your doctor saying you’re healthy and the condition is well-treated or well-controlled

Dental form can be uploaded 3 weeks prior to DOJ. So book an appointment once you get your Golden Call to see if you need any dental fixture. If you need it, then I recommend you to finish all the dental fixture needed at home, and ask your dentist to sign the form once you finished all the treatments, stating that you have good teeth condition and oral hygiene and no further treatment needed

Vaccination form can be uploaded anytime prior to DOJ or you can just bring it when you travel to Dubai

*Again, all files should be under 1 MB and better to upload it with JPEG and PDF format

Here’s the list of vaccinations you will need to do:

– Varicella (x 2 doses) or Immunity Screen

– MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella x 2 doses) or Immunity Screen

– Polio, Diphtheria, Tetanus (last dose within 10 years)

– Typhoid (last dose within 3 years)

– Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B or Twinrix (combination of Hepatitis A and B)

– Yellow Fever (last dose within 10 years) *This is mandatory prior to DOJ

– Meningococcal

– PPD and BCG which is NOT mandatory

Better visit your General Practitioner to schedule your vaccination list. I recommend you to complete all the vaccinations at home, but it could be pretty expensive if you don’t have any health insurance to cover the expenses.

However, you can also get it in Dubai, and the expenses will be deducted from your salary. Take note that you might get sick or whatever side effect after those shots, and I will hate it to miss a class on the training.

You will receive a notification by email if your Medical forms have been received and ticked off on the portal. It’s the Medical Completed email

Once I finished uploading all the necessary documents, Contract and Online Joiner’s Form are immediately ticked off. But Documents for Security and Medical are still in progress. This is very normal, because they need to check all the documents before giving you the final approval.

If you want to check all the uploaded documents, you can easily view them one by one and see if you have uploaded the correct documents or if it’s clear enough. Or you can always submit a query to ask a confirmation to your HR coordinator if they have already received all the documents or not.

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There are certain cases I’ve found during the process. One guy had uploaded all documents and needed to wait for 20 days until all ticked off and obtain his Final Approval. A girl had her security ticked off but medical is still in progress after few days, the day when she got medical ticked off and a Medical Completed email, she obtained her Final Approval within few hours, after 10 days since she received the email.

As for me, I uploaded all documents as soon as I received the email. Documents for Security and Medical are still in progress. 4 days later I got medical ticked off and the Medical Completed email, and then in the evening my Security got ticked off. The day after I received my Final Approval which actually is an email with subject Advise to Resign.

Everyone’s timeline is very different as you can see. I obtained my Final Approval within 5 days which is very rare, some people can take up to 2-3 weeks. It really depends on your Medical form and nationality for Visa approval. If it cuts into your work notice, you can submit a query and see if they could speed up the process, it sometimes works ;)

I’m really glad to be able to obtain Final Approval with 50 days left to my DOJ, gives me plenty of time to start preparing the big move out and take few weeks off after I resigned before moving to Dubai.

The GOLDEN CALL

The Facebook group has been very active with people announcing their JFIP status, Golden Call and Date of Joining!! How exciting is that feeling! After so many waiting periods, some of them even waited up to 3-4 months!! I admire them for being so patient. The day goes on but it hasn’t come yet until 04:00 PM. When it rang and I saw the +971 on the screen, I knew it already that it’s my Golden Call. I picked up my phone and there it was, a sweet lady confirming my name and she congratulated my successful application, she asked if I wanted to accept the offer and join on June 5th – though it’s a bit useless to ask me if I would or not, FOR SURE!!!

She then continued by asking me following questions:

• Does the joining date suit me?

Yes, early June suits me well. If I wanted a later date, they would offer some mid or end of June dates or even July dates, as that’s what happened to some people I know.

If you asked for later date, say in August or so, they would put you back on hold because they haven’t got it scheduled yet. But they will contact you 1-2 months later, closer to the schedule or once they have settled the new joining dates

• Are you currently working? How long is your notice period to current employer?

I am currently working and I have 1 month notice period with my current employer. She asked me NOT to resign before they advise me to by sending me the Final Approval email (this email usually with the subject “Advise to Resign”)

• Are you single or married?

I am single. I’m not sure why she asked me about this. Probably it’s related to what the contract is going to be. I’ve read somewhere that the contract is different between a single cabin crew to the married ones

• Which city you will be flying from & is it the same city as your Annual Leave Destination?

Jakarta, Indonesia (CGK) is my hometown, also I will be flying to Dubai from here. Emirates will be giving us one free ticket every year, this is called Annual Leave Destination, they also asked us to write this down on the Pre-Joining Administration Form at Final Interview.

She explained that in 2-3 days an email will be sent into my inbox consisting username and password to log into the selected Candidate Portal and documents I need to print – sign – upload to the portal in order to obtain my Final Approval. If I haven’t got the email within the next 3 days, I would have to contact them by calling the exact number they called me from (make sure you save the number).

After confirming my email address and once again she congratulated me, she hung up. BEST feeling ever!! I told my family and friends about it, all they said how fast is that. I was expecting that I will leave around July or August, but well the faster the better ;)

So I already did some blood work and dental check up a few weeks ago and all of them came out GOOD! I can’t be more happier than this. Now I’m going to gather some documents that might be needed, also arrange another appointment with my dentist to ask him signing up my dental form and that’s it for this week.

I will post some more after I got my email and able to log into the portal.

CONGRATULATIONS if you have already reached this step!! And of course good luck to those who will start the application or waiting for the results! Let me know if you want further info, as always, just ask away! I’m not an expert on this but I will try my best to help you out :)

JFIP!!!

My status had changed to Joining Formalities in Progress this afternoon (around 9:36 AM Dubai time). This means that I’m going to get my Golden Call real soon, in approximately 1-5 days, can’t wait! I’m officially glued to my phone now, lol!

These 4 words truly made my day!!!

If you happened to check on your submission portal and had this status, way to go! Relax a bit, a phone call with a Dubai number (+971 xxxx xxxx) will show up on your phone  in 1-3 days, sometimes up to a week, it really varies as you know, everyone’s timeline is different. So if the phone call didn’t come immediately, don’t freak out just yet :)

For your information, Emirates HQ working hours is from Sunday – Wednesday, 07:30 AM – 06:00 PM, Thursday 07:30 AM – 05.30 PM, and Friday 09:30 AM – 06:00 PM (Timezone GMT +4), Saturday is off day. So you do the math and depends on where you are in the world, the phone call usually comes up around that time.

Keep your phone close and turn up the volume. The GOLDEN CALL is on its way ;) 

I’ll keep you posted with the upcoming Golden Call and my Date of Joining :)

The Waiting Game & OH Email!!!

Right after I went out of the room, I was trying to evaluate every single questions and what I could have said to make it sound better. The mixed feeling of being pretty sure that I totally nailed it 100% to feeling devastated that I didn’t do my best is a very normal thing after your FI. Waiting another 2-4 weeks for the result is the hardest part. Some people who attended the interview without bringing all the documents required had 7 days after the FI to email all the pending documents with certain email body, email subject, and details in order to keep your documents in track. All this details were given at the end of your AD Emirates also contacted certain candidates to retake their photos. Remember, your recruiter will present your application and interview to the HR in Dubai who can only see you on those photos, so make sure you gave your best shots. Honestly, after the 3rd day of my FI, I checked on my submission status on the Emirates website which of course showed no difference since the last time I updated them after my AD. It still says “Completed”

I randomly checked on my the Emirates website one afternoon even though I just had it checked in the morning, apparently it became my obsessive to check on my status every day and night, it really is unnecessary. And there it goes, for the first time (that I knew of) my submission status changed into “Interview Completed” only 9 days after the FI, Some girls got their status changed, some not.

Submission status is NOT something you can rely on. I found out along the way that IC status could be a good sign that 80% chance you would eventually get an OH, but there are also some people who got IC status and still got UM. As well as no changes to the status would not guarantee that you would accept UMs, I know some people who didn’t have their status changing into IC and still got their OH, sometimes it changed straight into JFIP, and getting GC on the next day, it is a very rare case but it sometimes happens. Emirates is always full of suprises!! So help yourself by staying positive throughout the process, and whatever the outcome is, accept with good attitude :)

While waiting for my result, I started to do my research on Emirates cabin crew blogs and social media accounts, Trying to compare the timeline and what to do after FI. Timeline is also very different one person to another, but you cannot rely on it as it really depends on many factors.

Exactly 2 weeks later after the FI (March 9th, 2015), some girls in my WhatsApp group said they have got emails from Emirates, unfortunately it’s the Unsuccessful Emails, I was really sad as those girls were really beautiful and lovely, at the same time I was checking my email hoping no emails coming in from them that day.

On March 12th, 2015, when I least expected it and was overwhelmed with my workload, a girl in the WhatsApp group said she got her On Hold mail. I was really excited for her and went straight into my inbox, where there is an email from Emirates Group Career with a subject Emirates Group Application. I instantly knew this is the email I was waiting for. But I was too nervous to open it. After staring into my computer’s screen too long, I decided to open it and it says …

Congratulations! Getting your OH means that you (almost) got the job. All you need to do is sit back and wait for your Golden Call, that normally happens within 1-2 months, again it depends on the training slots, your nationality, gender and else, you could get your GC within few weeks or up to 3 months. For guys it takes longer time, because they only have very few slots for guys on each training batches.

While waiting patiently for your GC, you can do several things:

• Checking the Medical Forms, doing research on what you can do to prepare beforehand.

I know many people said that you will still have plenty of time to take care of that once you get your GC. I’m thinking the other way round. As the workload is getting crazy, I’m thinking to do whatever I could just for the peace of mind. I went to my dentist one week after my OH mail, only to find out that I needed to remove a wisdom teeth and filled in some cavities. Which is good, so next visit to my dentist, I only need a cleaning treatment and asked him to fill in the dental form. I also went to get my blood taken and check on some things I’m worried of. You don’t need to do this if you don’t want to. Honestly, I wouldn’t suggest you to pay anything before your GC, unless you are really concerned about it and you know it might take time to fix it.

For example, if you got your blood test results that is unacceptable, you still have time to fix it by eating healthy food and doing strict diet on your intake.

Another thing you can do is make a checklist on what kind of vaccinations you had taken or you should get before flying out to Dubai. Yellow fever vaccine is mandatory prior to joining, and in some countries it can also be very low in stock, so better to do your research on where you can get all the vaccinations needed and the time frame needed, and of course how much you will spend on it. As all of the medical check up that you do at home and vaccinations are all under your expenses.

• Reading the Emirates workbook

This 44 page workbook consists of everything you need to know about Emirates and your job, Just like the title, it prepares you to take off on your exciting journey to Dubai. Information from an insider, try to learn and memorize the alphabets, aviation terminology, and airport codes. They are the most useful information you could learn for the training and exams. Let me warn you, there are sooo many of codes and terminology you have to familiarize yourself with. Learn, learn, and learn! This is what you signed up for ;)

Final Interview

So the day finally came, after waiting almost 2 months for the Final Interview, I felt my AD had passed long ago already. Even half of my batch already got their OH mail on mid of January. I was really happy for them but also nervous about my upcoming FI.

Luckily I have such a long time to prepare myself by reading more blogs, asking some people who already got their OH mails on tips for the interview, and I also had time to make casual photos, I ended up bringing 10 photos to the FI and my lovely recruiter helped me choosing the best ones she liked the most. I also managed to review my previous experiences in all sort of things, from organization experiences in college to current working experiences, trying to pick up some good samples for different questions.

Documents to bring for Final Interview:

• Complete online Psychometrics Test (the link will be given prior to the FI)
• Fill in the Pre-Joining Administration Form (will be given prior to the FI)
• 2x colored passport photocopy
• Updated resume (no cover letter needed)
• 1x formal full-length photo 10×15 cms or 4×6 inches
• 8x passport size photo 4.5×3.5cms or 1.5×2 inches
• 1x casual full-length photo 10×15 cms or 4×6 inches
• 1x casual close up photo 10×15 cms or 4×6 inches
• Photocopy of (highest) educational certificate

My Final Interview was scheduled on Feb, 23rd, 2015 at 12:15 PM. I wanted to show up early as usual. I woke up early, had breakfast, also tied my hair in a low bun, exact shoes as I wore to the OD/AD, red lipstick, and red nail polish but this time I decided to wear a dark grey shift dress and a blazer. As I thought that I would be more confident wearing this dress ;)

I arrived at 11:00 PM, asked to the concierge where the interview was held and went to bathroom to freshen up before going to the meeting room. I met a friend who had the interview schedule before me. And since the first candidate showed up late, the schedule was pushed back a bit. When the recruiter finished with the first person and invited in the second girl, she surprised to see me already waited outside the room and quickly asked is it okay if I had to wait a bit longer because we’re running late and if I had time. I answered no problem at all, with my biggest smile :D I can tell that she looked pretty happy that I showed up early, and had a really good manner by asking me if I had time or not. Well OF COURSE I had all the time in the world for an opportunity to interview with Emirates ;)

I checked on my make up once again, read through some Q&A I have prepared and learned during the waiting process. When she invited me in, she opened the door and let me through which I thanked her to show my appreciation. She greeted me nicely: “Hello! How are you?” I felt a great relieved after that. We sat between 2 desks in the middle and she started with small talks like asking if this hotel is actually located in Jakarta or outside of the city, because it is actually one hour away from Jakarta, so she was pretty confused about it. I sat up straight and put my hands on the desk while waiting her sipping her coffee.

After a little chit-chat, she went through a check list of my documents, I was glad that I had all of them in hand, so I wouldn’t need to email her later. She only picked out 2 casual photos out of 10 that I brought. Then she explained that she would ask me few questions regarding my past experiences, something that I had actually done, NOT something that I would have done. If you haven’t had such experience, don’t worry and be honest to her.

I learned that this is called behavioral interview that should be answered using STAR technique to make us easier structuring our answers.

Here are the questions she asked me:

1. Can you recall a time when you bend the rules/went extra miles for a customer?
2. Can you recall a time when you gave an idea to your boss? How did your boss react?
3. Can you recall a time when you had a conflict with your co-workers?
4. Have you ever worked with people from different cultures?
5. How you adjust dealing with people from different cultures?
6. Have you ever had to adapt to new environment at work?
7. Can you recall a time when you were feeling disappointed?

As you can see the questions are pretty personal, so you could never find the answers anywhere else, unless you review on what you had done in your past experiences.

For example, I answered yes, I had an experience regarding to question #1 and she asked further details on how I did it and why, how was the customer reaction and how my boss reacted on it, she wanted to know everything. I’m working in a restaurants business, when there was one customer called me and asked for my help. Then I had to go beyond my scope of practice to help the customer and I did it because she is our loyal customer, so I didn’t want to disappoint her. And she felt very happy as I granted her wish.

I tried to answer the questions using the Situation-Task-Action-Result Technique to keep it short and clear.

Another example, answering #7, I tried to think of a non-working related experience, as disappointment might be misunderstood as dislike towards my current employer, and I wouldn’t want to bad mouth my employer, BIG NO NO in an interview, DON’T ever do that, no matter how bad the situation is. I came up with an answer explaining about my religion activity experience where I didn’t get a role on a performance so I felt really disappointed, but that’s just a fair thing because I missed some practices due to my workload. I managed to still come and join the practices weekly and I finally got the role because they saw how determined I was. She asked (again) in details on what made me feel disappointed, why did I think I wasn’t chosen, and how did I overcome the situation.

And that’s all, to wrap it up, she asked if I had questions for her. I asked her name because she didn’t introduce herself at the beginning (different recruiter on the AD and FI), then I asked if all my answers were clear enough or not, only to show my politeness. But she smiled and said “Sorry I can’t provide you any feedback. You will get the result in 2-4 weeks” I understood that she had misinterpret my question and didn’t want to take it any further so I said sorry and I thanked her for her time, shook her hand, and made my way out. 40 minutes of interview felt longer inside that room.

Assessment Day

This is where the real thing starts!! Waking up on the next morning couldn’t be easier. I was so excited for the first Assessment Day with Emirates. I have read so many blogs and experiences from Emirates hopefuls on the Facebook group that I already knew what to expect.

Some important tips you should remember:

1. Make sure your business attire is well pressed
2. Be friendly and stay positive!
3. Smile & mingle with everyone. Don’t treat this as a competition
4. Eat your breakfast to begin the day
5. No cell-phone, put it on silent mode or like me, I put it on flight mode
6. Listen to the instructions carefully and do exactly as she asked

I wore the business attire and tied my hair up in a bun, exactly like at the Open Day. I arrived at 8:00 AM in the hotel, freshen up in the bathroom and met some girls I knew. Mingle, mingle, and mingle. The time you walked in to the venue, you are already being ‘judged’ from head to toe, so please be kind and polite, smile to everyone you met, even with the hotel staffs in the parking lot. Smiling releases some sort of endorphin, that body natural opiates designed to relieve stress and enhance pleasure. You can also eat sweets to calm your nerves (this tips comes from my mom!) At 9:00 AM, the recruiter came and handed us a few sheets of stickers with our reference number and name on it. I took mine #55 and put it on my blazer. From + 250 people who showed up on the OD, only 103 people who got invited. After we all got our stickers, we went into the same conference room like yesterday, I managed to get the second row again, I sat up straight, smiled and looked around the room, feeling glad because everyone got their seats now :) The recruiter introduced herself again and explained how the day would be like. She would start by playing videos and present to us about the company and living in Dubai, divide us into groups for the activities, arm reach test, and English test. It usually takes up the whole day. Of course we all want to stay there the entire day.

Video about Emirates Cabin Crew & Presentation

Here is one of the videos they are playing in the beginning of my AD. I kept on smiling throughout the videos, imagining myself wearing that red hat and wearing the uniform, I felt great already.

After playing the videos and presentation, she asked if we had any questions to her. My suggestion is you do NOT need to ask questions only to get her attention, because what you would ask mostly are already answered in the videos, or printed in the paper she gave out the day before. Some people raised their hands and asked questions that actually we can easily find the answers on the paper already, I’m sure the recruiter had a thought that he/she didn’t pay attention to the videos or haven’t read the paper thoroughly or maybe they came late and didn’t get the paper. We don’t want that. So please do your RESEARCH before, and it is better to ask questions here or on the forum or everywhere else but during the OD/AD, unless you have a very important question that you can’t find the answers anywhere ;) After less than 30 minutes of the presentation and Q&A session, we were instructed to leave the room while the recruiter would divide us into groups for the next stage. She came out, and put a paper on the door with the timing for each group. From 103 people, we were divided into groups of 20-25 people. My number is #55, so I was on the third group and had to wait another 2 hours. I went to a coffee shop with some friends to get some drink and chatted a bit.

Group Activity: Object Picture Card

Around 11:15 AM, it was our turn. The recruiter invited us in and asked us to sit in circle according to our reference number (in numerical order). I sat and put my bag at the back of my chair and my hands on my lap, smiled to two girls next to me. She paired us in a group of 2 with people who sitting next to us and gave out a picture for each group.

Tips: Try to find an idea to use the object for a safety/emergency or security reason. Some examples of the object picture cards are: pillow, eye mask, apple, umbrella, lipstick, high heels, flip-flops, starfish, paper bag, mirror, chewing gum, bucket, flash light, candy, flower, vanilla, tooth brush. i.e. Use an umbrella upside down to carry water to put out fires in emergency situation

Basically it’s just a random ordinary objects that we should think of an out-of-the-box and creative ideas of using them differently. The purpose of this activity is to see how we discuss with each other, present ourselves well, and of course to see our posture and our fluency in English while presenting the ideas. I got a picture of a brown paper bag. Firstly I introduced myself to my partner and she did the same. And we started to discuss the other purposes of paper bag when the recruiter started to move around. Of course we were smiling to each other like crazy and laughed when we had crazy ideas. I got an idea to use a paper bag for a kids party by making holes on it and wear it as a mask. My partner came up with 2 ideas, to make it crumpled & use it as parts of stone-like decoration for a party and cut it into parts to stick on a dress. I somehow disagree with the second idea and told her without over-powering the discussion and stay relaxed. She said that she would use the second idea, so I accepted that. After 10 minutes of discussion, the recruiter instructed us to present the idea of EACH person, so everyone have their own chance. I stood up and took a deep breath. I greeted not only the recruiter, but also everyone in the room. I smiled and made eye contact with everyone. Holding the picture and showing it to them, I spoke loudly and clearly to explain my first idea of using the paper bag as a mask for kids party, they laughed, I took that as a good sign (the recruiter has a very flat expression though). Then I introduced my partner who’s going to explain the second idea. You don’t need to ramble on and on about it or trying to make jokes here. Make sure you speak clearly, not too quick as well. When we finished the discussion, the recruiter asked a volunteer to collect the cards, the only guy in our group helped out and we were asked to leave the room and came back in an hour, she will put the result on the paper and stick it on the door. Other recruitment event also have another group activity which is Emirates Destination Cards, where you should discuss with your 2-3 partners in a group where you will be given a picture of a destination where Emirates fly to, and 1 person as a representative of the group have to present to the floor about what you would suggest people to do or places to go in the city. I didn’t have this on my AD. After waiting for an hour, exactly on 12:15 PM, she went out and put up the result. Round 1 cuts from 103 applicants to 51.

Arm Reach Test & Group Discussion: Hotel Manager Scenario Case (or role-play)

At 1:15 PM, she divided us into larger group for a group discussion. When we entered the room, we saw this white paper attached on the wall. She explained that we should be able to reach above the line while tiptoeing. She called us one by one, we had to take off our shoes, unbutton our blazer or take off our blazer, tiptoeing and reach above the line confidently. She also asked if we had any tattoo and scar or birthmarks. One girl didn’t make it because she barely reached the line :( Now on to the group discussion, you will be assessed on several competencies: team-work, listening, time management, initiative, enthusiasm, and decision-making or problem-solving skills. Each of us were given a card of the scenario. It is about a hotel manager where there are 8 customers who complained because they don’t get the room they have paid for due to a system error. You should solve the situation by deciding which customers who can get 2 available rooms. You must give reasons on your decisions.

There is NO right or wrong answer for this case. You only need to smile by trying to offer a compensation for their complaints in a quick and respectful way

8 customers are coming from different background: a celebrity, a loyal customer, a politician who had to attend a meeting held at the hotel, a family with infant who needs to stay at the hotel for medical visit to a hospital near by the hotel, a guest who complained because the bathroom flooded and demand a new room, a newly wed couple on their honeymoon, a blogger, and a CEO of a famous hotel. We started to discuss with each other, everyone came up with different ideas and reasons why they turned specific customers away, it is VERY IMPORTANT to listen to everyone’s ideas and don’t interrupt when someone is talking. Disagreements are fine, as long as you can say it politely, for example: I understand your idea, but how do you think about my idea if we…. Don’t be too talkative and speak up all the time, but also don’t be too shy and reserved. Try to stay in between, you can also offer your help to be a time-keeper, as the recruiter gave you 10-15 minutes to achieve a decision. Most of the people in the group had made their decision to give 2 available rooms to: the loyal customer and the family with infant who needs to visit a hospital near by the hotel. When the recruiter asked us whether we all agreed to this decision, we all nodded except for 1 girl who said that she had different opinion and she would pick the family with infant and the guest who already stayed in the hotel but complained and demand a new room. The recruiter had no problem with it, then once again she asked to all of us if we all agreed. We said yes and nodded at the same time. Suddenly the recruiter asked a question what the reason we picked the family with infant? And she addressed it directly and called MY name!! Still a bit shocked, I managed to answer calmly that due to medical reasons it is important to accommodate the family, because the hospital is near by the hotel, so it would be easier for them to commute. She smiled and asked us to leave the room. It was almost 2:00 PM when we got out of the room and I haven’t had a proper lunch, so me and some girls from the group decided to have lunch and talked about how we went back then. I couldn’t really think if it is a good thing or not that the recruiter called out my name, maybe I didn’t speak loud enough, or maybe I was being too quiet, I couldn’t figure it out, well it’s already been done, I prayed really hard that I make it through. One hour later, the result is out, attached on the door was the paper with only 36 applicants who made it on the second round. Oh, and the girl who disagreed with the group also made it to the next stage :)

English Test

If English is not your native language, you are required to take the English test There was no essay, I’m pretty relieved about this. So I had one hour to finish the test which consists of a half-page long passage and questions regarding the passage we just read, another short passage with underlined words where we have to match them up with the definitions to test your vocabulary, also options of missing words/sentences to be filled into a passage. That’s all about it. Some questions were pretty tricky though. Practice your English if you’re concerned about it. I found this link if you want to practice on your vocabulary or grammar. Hope it helps!! The recruiter took almost 2 hours before she came back to the conference room to announce the result. This time she didn’t write it on a paper, instead of she asked the applicants with numbers she called out to enter the room. My number wasn’t on the list, I was disappointed and thought it had ended for me. We were all waiting outside of the room, being speechless and clueless about what had happened. Surprisingly the applicants who were being called into the room unfortunately didn’t pass the English test, so the rest who stayed outside the room apparently the people who were succeeded the English test. We all cheered up happily (and also pretty loud). Then the recruiter calmly said: cabin crews are expected to be able to control their emotions. 22 applicants (including 2 guys) made it to the FI

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We were invited into the room and few papers were provided for each of us. A tattoo and scars or birthmarks declaration form where we have to sign and some papers like Cabin Crew Pre-Joining Administration Form, including a list of documents and photos we should bring to the FI. 22 applicants were divided into 4 days of FI. The recruiter gave us 4 papers with date and time to fill in. I picked out the fourth day (also the last FI date) which was Jan 2nd, 2015. On Dec 31st, 2014, I got an email from my recruiter, stating that she had to return to Dubai immediately, therefore she had to postpone the January interviews until further notice. I was really shocked, apparently the waiting game had already started for me. The closest AD will be held on mid February so I was guessing my FI would be around the date. And I was right. Early February I received an email for my FI invitation that will be held on Feb, 23rd, 2015 at the same venue. I replied immediately confirming that I would come :)

The Preparation

It is important to make a research before you’re applying to a job. Either to get a better knowledge of the value of the company, or of the job description in details. Also to know what is acceptable and what is not, what to expect during the process, how to dress, many other small aspects that you might find too small to be noticed but it makes a great difference.

I have listed some links from many resources below I have found during the process, feel free to add yours or any other related links if you find more.

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READ, READ, READ

• First thing first, of course the company website: http://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/ which contains of so many information about everything you need to know before applying a job, like the overview of the company, the requirements, living in Dubai, and the job description itself

• It is always lovely to meet people who share the same dream at this famous forum, check on http://www.cabincrew.com/

• Google: no need to say about this, you can find almost everything on here

• Blogs: generous people who kindly share their experiences on their blogs, I’m lucky enough to find them out. Links below:
  • Flygirl – Lulu
  • The Tarmac Tales
  • Volare Learning To Fly
  • Dubai Diaries
  • Hellow Tomorrow
  • Brittany in Dubai
  • Memoirs of a Trolley Dolley
  • Strawberry Emirates
  • Dubai and Beyond

• ​Join this Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/EmiratesAIPstatus/ where you will meet people from literally all around the world who aspired to become Emirates cabin crew, better to surround ourselves with positive and supportive people through out this (waiting) process – trust me​

• And all of those social media accounts: YouTube, Instagram, you name it.. I actually search them through the hash tags, it’s always fun to see updates from many peoples about their experiences of working as a cabin crew or the process on becoming one. One of my favorite is the famous and stunning Lisa Single for make-up and hair-do tutorials. For some Q&A, you can look up for Mahdia Beauty

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THE REQUIREMENTS

• At least 21 years of age at the time of joining

We have to serve alcohol on duties, that’s why the minimum age of 21 years old is one of the requirements. But since the process of the application sometimes takes up to 5 months, it is possible for you to start applying or coming to an OD even though you’re still 20 years old, just make sure that you are turning 21 in approximately 4 or 5 months (or by the time of joining). For example, if your 21st birthday is on September, then you are welcome to apply on May or June

• Arm reach of 212 cm while standing on tiptoes

You will have to take off your shoes for this test. For girls, while standing on tiptoes with one arm reach the minimum height of 212 cm, they are very strict about it, because you will have to be able to reach the emergency equipment on all types of aircraft. While for guys, you should reach 212 cm without tiptoeing. If your height is around 160 cm (or 5.2 feet) I believe you can reach 212 cm easily. If you aren’t as tall, don’t be disheartened, you have time to practice and stretch (yoga or swimming is good for your health too!)

• High school graduate (Grade 12)

You should at least graduated your high school and have the original certificate of Grade 12, which should be provided on your Final Interview. I once read a girl who made it to Final Interview without finishing her Grade 12, she was invited to Emirates Head Quarter at her hometown to take a specific test and eventually got her Final Approval, but I have never heard such case before, so I don’t know if it is still applicable or not

• Fluency in English (written and spoken)

Since you will be working with mix of different nationalities from all over the world, English is still the international languages they will be using during the OD, AD, FI, training, and of course while working. So, speaking and understanding English fluently is very important. Fluency in other language of course would be your advantage, but you can only declare it if you are 100% sure that you are able to read, write, and speak the language fluently

• No visible tattoos while in Emirates Cabin Crew uniform (cosmetic and bandage coverings are not permitted)

You shouldn’t have a visible tattoo while wearing Emirates Cabin Crew uniform. You all know how the uniform looks like, so tattoos on hand, leg, or neck is not allowed. They are also very strict about it and the recruiters will be sending home those who have visible tattoos on the red areas (picture below). For guys, since you’re wearing pants, tattoos on leg are still fine.

• Physically & medically fit to meet the Emirates Cabin Crew requirements

Being a cabin crew is a very physically demanding kind of job, therefore Emirates have a Medical Forms (and it’s a really long one!!) for us to fulfill once we get our Golden Call. They want to know about any sorts of surgery or any medications you had ever taken or you take at the moment. Please be honest about this, if they found out later, it would cost you your job (immediate termination of the contract) and you will be sent home on your own expenses.

Those are the requirements listed on the Emirates website. Additionally, it would be an advantage if you are fluently in other languages or if you have previous working experience in service and hospitality industry. Of course you are expected to have natural ability to provide excellent service within a team environment and capable to work with different nationalities.