How well do you know yourself? And how much have you considered the downsides and challenges of being cabin crew? It’s one thing to explain what qualities you have that make you a good candidate but no one is going to tick every box. You’ll have to examine every aspect of being cabin crew and your own abilities.
In this question, the recruiter is trying to weed out candidates who might be looking at the role of cabin crew through rose tinted glasses. They see all the benefits and positive sides of the job but they haven’t stopped to think about the negatives.
Nor have they stopped to think about their own weaknesses – and how those weaknesses might effect their ability to do the job. It’s not a problem finding out things about the cabin crew job that are going to be a personal challenge – or even being scared about your weaknesses.
I can guarantee you that every member of cabin crew around the world has gone into the job and struggled with at least one thing. It might be the intensive physical training, the long hours of study, the jetlag, being away from friends and family – the list could go on and on and on.
So if you face this question, first remember that the recruiter is going to think one of two things if you say you don’t think you’ll face any challenges:
- Your lying – and therefore, can’t you be trusted?
- You haven’t properly considered the job or your own skills – are you suitable for the job right now?
Recruiting and training a member of cabin crew is a really expensive process so the recruiter has to be sure you have considered the negatives and will be willing to fight for success.
So how should this question be answered. Well, you don’t have to go into too much detail but you do need to include certain elements:
- Knowledge of the role
- The challenge (and your weaknesses)
- What you have done to mitigate that weakness
- A commitment to the role
Knowledge of the role
First, briefly explain what you know about the role of cabin crew – that it’s a challenging and demanding job. It requires intensive training, lots of study, excellent teamworking skills, resilience, a calm disposition, empathy for others, etc.
You don’t have to go into lots of detail – just enough to show the recruiter that you’ve really carefully considered this career.
The challenge (or your weakness)
Don’t make any excuses. Everyone has a weakness or some aspect of the cabin crew job that they’ll find challenging. Own up to it.
That said. There are obviously some things that would make you clearly unsuited to the job:
- Not a good team player
- Lack of communication skills
- Don’t like being around children
- Dislike dealing with difficult customers
So stick to safe subjects – studying, long hours, being away from family, etc.
What you have to mitigate your weakness
This is the key part of your answer. It’s great that you’ve really thought about what the cabin crew job is about but how are you going to overcome your personal challenges? This shouldn’t just be something that you deal with when the time comes. The recruiter wants to know that you’re well prepared for your new career.
Again, you don’t have to go into too much detail. Just enough to show that you’re planning how to deal with aspects of the job you’ll find challenging.
Your commitment to the role
Finally, wrap up by once again confirming how much thought you have put into this career. Show the recruiter that despite you’re weaknesses or the negative sides of the job that you’ll stick with it.
