18th July 2023

My first interview was for Virgin Atlantic and I had no idea what to expect from the assessment day. It was nothing like a ‘normal’ job interview; ‘speed dating’ with different interviewers with only 2 minutes to sell yourself as the perfect candidate. I share how the day went and ways to impress to land your first airline role....

The day had finally arrived for my assessment day for Virgin Atlantic and I was so excited and nervous. I had done so much research and tried to prepare as much as I could using other people's past experiences to learn from. I had read that wearing the colour of the airline you are applying for is a great first impression, so that is exactly what I did. I had a red blouse on and my hair was in a bun so they could visualise me in the role and wearing the uniform. During my interview this was mentioned so I would definitely suggest doing this. I had my assessment day at the Radisson Red hotel in Heathrow which was very on-brand for a Virgin Atlantic interview 🙂 

When I arrived there were a lot of people and thats when I felt more nervous because I was going into this not really knowing what to expect. On top of this as soon as you walk into the vicinity of the assessment day atmosphere you are being assessed, everything from how you carry yourself, what you are wearing and how you interact with the other candidates. I remember coming away and feeling exhausted because its very over stimulating and tiring interacting with different people constantly. However when they had checked all our documents we were shown through to the 'photo opportunity' area. This was super fun and amazing to see. The photo set was a really big real high heel with Wilber and Orville (the iconic salt and pepper shakers from the premium and upper class cabins). We all got an opportunity to stand in the heel and they took our photo on a polaroid camera as a souvenir to take home for us to remember the day. They also provided tea and coffee and pastries for everyone. A lovely way to calm the nerves before starting, that's for sure!

We were then shown through to the conference room where they had a presentation about how the day will run and that this conference room is effectively a rendezvous point for everyone throughout the whole process. It was a place we were not being assessed and could have some fun and get to know each other better. It was also a place where we could ask questions to the 'hosts' about life in Virgin and how trips work or rosters, they were happy to answer anything really. I felt a lot more relaxed once I was in this setting and the interviewers would come in to this room and call us out to start the process. 

My first interview was the one-to-one interview with Ashleigh Berry who you may recognise from Love is Blind season 2 on Netflix or alternatively she is on the Virgin Atlantic advert currently. She was really lovely and complimented my outfit for 'looking the part'. At the stage she was asking me questions about why I wanted to be cabin crew and why Virgin Atlantic. I had prepared a lot about the company and initiatives within Virgin. However she didn't ask me any questions on these topics. (not to say other interviewers don't ask these kind of questions). This interview lasted about 15 minutes with her but honestly the time went really quickly. 

After this stage I had the group exercise so there were about 10 of us and we got called into a meeting style room. There were a few interviewers in here and they introduced us to the topic and the task. For my group exercise we had to each come up with a celebrity who we think could run the company and what our reasoning was for this decision. We then all went around the room explaining who we chose and why and came to a unanimous decision, we then had to feed this back to the main interviewer in the room, which concluded the group exercise. I struggled to think of someone in the moment but what I would say to you is its more about your reasoning than the person. So as long as you can think of some good reasons and be convincing you will do just fine. This stage of the interview is where they are looking for how you communicate in a group environment; do you open the conversation and encourage others to get involved or are you the one waiting for someone to invite you into the conversation. This is the most important thing in this setting, make sure you come across confident in what you are saying and you ask relevant questions. During this stage if you are not sure about anything, as the people next to you. The interviewers will be more impressed if you say 'shall we just confirm and double check the task, that we have covered everything it was asking' compared to not saying anything and just going along with the rest of the group. At the end of the day they are looking for future cabin crew so showing this initiative will really work in your favour. After this exercise was over I really wasn't sure how I had performed in this, its hard to judge based on everything going on, but my best advise for you would be, even if you think it didn't go too well don't let that ruin the rest of your day because you may have done fine and the rest of the interview stages could go really well. 

My last stage was the speed dating interviews. This is where I had 3 different mini interviews each with a different assessor. I had about 5 minutes with each person. This is what I found the hardest because I love a chat and to be honest someone always has to shut me up! This is where I thought I had failed the whole interview because my first question was about how I had done something wrong and how i rectified this mistake. Knowing I had 5 minutes to explain the story and come to the conclusion stressed me out and I forgot the question half way through. The interviewer had to hurry me towards the end to get to the conclusion and how I managed this. After this first one I had to regroup with myself outside the room knowing I had two more to do and I didn't want to fall flat again. Luckily my personality saved me because even though I couldn't give concise answers they liked what I was saying and ultimately how you communicate is what was most important as this is the bread and butter of cabin crew. My second speed dating interview was to explain a time I had to disappoint someone and how I did this. Thinking back to this now this question is a classic for 'its in the delivery of how you say it'. I wasn't prepared for these questions as they don't tell you in advance and it was hard to find any information online. But my example was from a time when I worked at Legoland Resort. I was happy with how I answered this question and felt a bit more composed going into it knowing what the situation was. My last question was actually a video that the interviewer played and he asked me what faults I could see. The video was a simulation of a cabin crew member dealing with a passenger. After about 2 minutes of the video he paused it and said I was finished because he was happy with my answers. 

The whole assessment day was a really good opportunity to show different strengths in your personality and the thing to remember going into one of these days is by the time you get to the assessment the company already like you they just need this final data to make the decision. Your personality is what is the most important during this whole process, being friendly, welcoming to the other candidates and showing confidence. I was not feeling super confident going in but its how you show this to others. The other thing I would say is the assessment day is a chance for you to show why they should employ you and the company (at least in my experience) really try to help you and give you the best chance to show your best self. Use the conference room where they are playing games to get to know the other candidates and the 'hosts' this will make you feel more comfortable and confident.

Overall it was really fun but tiring day. I'm so glad I had this experience because as cringy as it is, it led to one of the best adventures I have had to date, and I wouldn't have traded this for anything!