How to Get a Job as a Flight Attendant in 2021
Are you looking for a fun way to get your career off the ground? If you’re a natural born globetrotter, enjoy being around people, and hate the thought of being chained to a desk, consider a career as a flight attendant! As a key member of the cabin crew, your main responsibility is to ensure the safety of all passengers, followed by making sure that passengers are comfortable and calm during the flight. It’s a job that’s great if you love meeting new people and you have the stamina to get through the long hours and constant travel! To make it as a flight attendant, you’ll need strong communication skills and high attention to detail. Download JobFlare today and prove to employers that you’ve got the skills it takes to succeed!
Landing a job as a flight attendant is no easy matter. It’s highly competitive, with hundreds of hopeful applicants replying to each job opening. This is because the job comes with some serious perks! Air hosts enjoy free plane tickets, excellent benefits packages, free meals and housing, and can meet the occasional celebrity! Flight attendants also benefit from flexible work schedules and a strictly regulated industry, never working more than 95 hours a month as mandated by the Association of Flight Attendants (a lot less than the 160 hours most office workers have to log).
When you get hired by an airline, they will put you through all the Federal Aviation Administration training that you need to succeed as a flight attendant, including first aid training, how to evacuate an aircraft, and all the ins and outs of the job. Once you get done with training, you’ll start off on reserve status for about a year, where you’re always on call to help fill in for absent crew members. After this period is over, you’ll gain seniority and have more control over your schedule and the types of flights you work – international, domestic, long-haul, or short trips.
Flight Attendant
US Median Salary
$50,500/year
Education Requirements
High School Diploma or GED
Bachelor’s degree preferred
– Degrees in communications, hospitality, social science, or public relations make you more competitive
First Aid and CPR Certification is a plus!
You'd be great for this position if...
– You love to travel
– You’re highly empathetic
– You’re attentive to the needs of others
– You don’t get rattled in stressful situations
– You adapt easily
– You like working on a team
You'd be great for this position if...
– You love to travel
– You’re highly empathetic
– You’re attentive to the needs of others
– You don’t get rattled in stressful situations
– You adapt easily
– You like working on a team
Resume Tips for Flight Attendants
To have a successful career as a flight attendant, there are certain skills that hiring managers know to look for. Take inventory of these important qualities and emphasize them in your resume:
- Strong communication skills, especially verbal
- Polished and professional appearance
- Solid interpersonal skills
- Excellent time management
- Great attention to detail
- Conflict resolution skills
- Active listening
- Highly conscientious
If you don’t have much on-the-job experience, include things like…
- Experience working in hospitality, customer service, or waiting tables
- Any military experience
- Volunteering activities, like serving at a soup kitchen or reading to children
- Any additional strengths, like being multilingual, holding an international passport, or participation in team-based acitivities
If you’re still feeling stuck on what skills to list in your resume, check the job description! Hiring managers list the key qualities they’re looking for, so you can score serious points for including them.
Interview Pointers for Flight Attendants
Prior to your interview, be sure to think of examples of personal experience applicable to the role:
- Explain why you want to be a flight attendant and what the job means to you.
- Describe a time when you were able to calm a stressed or upset person. What techniques did you use?
- Give an example of when you had to take charge of a situation that was getting out of control. If you’ve never had to do this, consider what you would during a chaotic event to deescalate it.
- Talk about a time you had to deal with a customer that made an unreasonable demand. How did you handle the situation? If you could go back, what might you have done differently?
- Be prepared to give a short mock in-flight announcement during your interview – remember to speak clearly while being brief, factual, and polite.
Be prepared to answer questions like:
- How do you feel about being on call for more than a year?
- What would you do if you spilled a drink on a passenger?
- Why do you want to work for our specific airline?
Trouble finding Flight Attendant jobs to apply for? Try searching for these jobs as well!
Cabin Crew Member • Air Steward • Air Host or Air Hostess
Famous Former Flight Attendants
Evangeline Lilly
Actress
