How to Manage Nerves and Anxiety at Your Cabin Crew Assessment Day

Nearly everyone attending an Assessment Day is nervous – that’s completely normal, and we’d actually be a little bit concerned if you weren’t nervous. In fact, a bit of nervous energy can help you stay sharp and focused through what can be a long day.

But there’s a big difference between nervous energy and anxiety and fear that can quickly become overwhelming and stop you from putting your best foot forward. With that in mind, here are four things that really work to reduce anxiety and improve performance under pressure.

1. Turn Research Into Confidence

Anxiety feeds on uncertainty. The less you know about what’s coming, the more your mind fills the gap with worst-case scenarios. The single most effective thing you can do isn’t a breathing trick or a mindset shift, but it’s actually removing as much of the uncertainty as possible before you walk in.

That’s really the whole purpose of everything you’ll find on The Cabin Crew Forum. You don’t need to wonder what a typical Assessment Day looks like, what each exercise actually involves, or what the recruiters are looking for at each stage; we’ve tried to cover it all so you can walk in prepared.

Every unknown that you can resolve in advance is one less thing for your anxiety to attach itself to on the day. If you haven’t already, work through the Assessment Day Hub so you know exactly what to expect on the day.

2. Composure Is a Skill, Not a Performance

There’s an old piece of advice: fake it till you make it. It’s actually great advice, but only if you understand what the advice really means. It’s not about trying to be a version of yourself that isn’t real but, instead, consciously choosing composed behaviour, even while you feel nervous underneath.

Your nervousness can stay entirely internal. Nobody in the room needs to know it’s there, and acting composed isn’t fake; it’s the same skill you’ll need on the job itself.

3. Breathe Your Way to Calm

One of the fastest-acting pieces of advice in this guide. In fact, you can complete this exercise in around two minutes, and do it just before walking into your Assessment Day, should it be needed.

The physiological sigh: two short inhales through your nose, back to back, followed by one long, slow exhale through your mouth. This is a well-evidenced way to quickly bring your nervous system down a level, more effective in the short term than a single deep breath.

Box breathing: inhale for a count of four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four, and repeat for a minute or two. This is actually used by professionals in high-pressure situations specifically because it works so well. Even better, it’s discreet enough to do quietly in a bathroom stall or in your seat before your name is called.

4. Reframe Anxiety as Excitement

This is the least intuitive technique here, but the best supported by research. Anxiety and excitement produce almost identical physical sensations: a raised heart rate and that fluttery stomach feeling.

Research on this specifically found that people who reframed pre-performance nerves by saying “I’m excited” out loud, rather than trying to calm down, went on to perform measurably better than those who tried to suppress or calm the feeling. Telling yourself you’re calm when your body is clearly telling you otherwise creates a mismatch your brain doesn’t believe. Telling yourself you’re excited works with the physical sensation instead of against it.

Next time you notice your heart rate climbing before an exercise, try saying, even just in your head, “I’m excited for this,” instead of “I need to calm down.” It sounds too simple to work, but the underlying physiology is exactly why it does.