Shock after the flight attendant exam of a girl from Hai Duong

In nearly 8 years of training, Nguyen Thi Lan Anh (from Hai Duong) has supported about 7,000 flight attendant trainees. A large proportion of them have been recruited by domestic and foreign airlines.

In the early days of entering the "teaching" profession, Lan Anh was criticized as a "fraud", "why do I need to study this to take an exam"... But now when seeing many students she trained meet professional standards, people have less prejudice and she has also started to have competitors in this niche market.

After 3 years working as a flight attendant for Emirates (Dubai), Lan Anh quit her job to work as a trainer. She shared that the original idea was actually her mother's. "My mother works at the university. Sometimes, she shows off her daughter to the students. They often ask what it takes to become a flight attendant, how to take the exam... They really like this job. From there, my mother suggested 'why don't you come back and teach them?'.

After 3 years of experience as a flight attendant, I feel like I have had enough. There are even places that I get bored of because I have been to too many places. On the other hand, I like to be constantly challenged and learn, so I ask myself, 'Do I want to stick with this job or should I try something new?'".

“I also think that when I took the exam, I had no one to share with or guide me, so I struggled a lot. So why don’t I help them?”

Correcting lisp, learning English, losing weight… to become a flight attendant

The girl born in 1992 proudly shared that out of her first class of 15 students, 14 are currently working in the industry. Many of them have been promoted to chief flight attendants and deputy flight attendants of various airlines.

General selection criteria of airlines usually include the following factors: appearance, communication skills, behavior, personality and foreign language ability. Appearance is always the first round in the series of tests.

“For physical defects that can be fixed or improved, I will advise you on how to change them, such as gaining weight, losing weight, fixing your teeth, posture, etc. Even if you are between 15 and 19 years old, I still suggest exercises to improve your height.”

She said that the most important thing students need to improve is their English communication skills. “Some students come to me with almost zero English communication skills. But after a period of determined practice, their level has changed completely.

There are many people from Hai Phong and Hai Duong who have trouble pronouncing n and l, but if they are diligent and make an effort, this weakness is not too difficult to fix. Some people are determined to change their appearance through painful surgeries. Some people sincerely share that because their family is too poor, they want to change their life so they find this job.

Everyone who comes to this profession brings their own passion, purpose, and motivation. I appreciate and always try to support you as best as I can. However, to achieve success, it requires the efforts of both sides, I alone cannot do miracles."

Learn to be humble

In addition to the criteria of appearance and English, another extremely important criterion is communication skills, behavior and personality. Lan Anh said that she herself failed the Emirates flight attendant position the first time because she showed a personality trait that should not be present in the service industry.

It was a memory she would probably never forget and thanks to it she learned many lessons for herself.

Lan Anh said that in those days, applying for flight attendant jobs at domestic or foreign airlines was very difficult and highly competitive. Emirates, the airline she chose that year, had 400-600 applications. After 4 rounds of testing, they only selected 13 people for the interview round. She was one of them.

Unlike today, where companies only interview candidates for about 10-15 minutes, back then, she was “filmed” for 1-2 hours. The panel of judges would observe every gesture, look, smile, and way of communicating of the candidate to evaluate.

“I feel that I do very well in everything I do. Regarding foreign language skills, I can speak both English and Spanish to the judges. My experience is also very good because I used to work for the embassy. My academic achievements are high, I have won scholarships every year. When I was a student, I was loved by my teachers. After graduating, my teachers also introduced me to good jobs. I am gentle and skillful, so I am also loved by my colleagues.

Because my previous studies and career were very smooth, I was a bit arrogant and conceited about myself.

During the interview, she was highly praised by the judges. They did not hesitate to say that they liked her very much and wished her the best.

Sure that she would pass the exam, 3 weeks later, when she received the news that she failed, Lan Anh was shocked and "shocked" for ten days.

“I didn’t understand why I failed when all my skills and achievements were better than some of the students who were admitted that time. I started blaming everything around me. It took me more than a week to calm down and look back at myself. At the same time, I talked to some of my classmates who took the exam at the same time and discovered that they had a very modest attitude.

I sat down and analyzed each of my answers and realized that I was too arrogant when telling a story from my student days.

Specifically, when the judges asked, "Have you ever been in a situation of conflict or disagreement with your teachers or friends?", Lan Anh told the story of getting a 5 in college.

“I remember that answer clearly. Because I was always an excellent student, my scores were very high, even on the test that day I felt I did very well. So when I got a 5, I thought the problem was with the teachers, not me. What I did was to study really hard so that on the next exam, I would come out on top again to prove the teachers wrong.”

“Because of that answer, I failed. But from that failure, I learned many lessons. I changed my arrogant personality because I know that there will always be people better than me. This change in attitude not only helps me do well as a flight attendant, but also helps me in my future jobs.”

From then on, no matter what she does, Lan Anh always keeps her mind in a balanced state so that whether things succeed or fail, she won't get too emotional, the girl from Hai Duong shared.

Lan Anh shared that no matter what job she does – flight attendant or vocational teacher, the experiences she has had are all valuable experiences, contributing to the Lan Anh of today. Therefore, she is always grateful for the time working for Emirates – the place that gave her those wonderful experiences.