Who would've thought that not only getting into the airline, but LEAVING it would be so difficult and time consuming? I've just spent that past few days driving from one ulu place to another..Thank GOD I drive though because believe me, its no joke the amount of stuff I had to return, the worst were the manuals cos they were so damn heavy. Although I'm kinda pissed at myself for not keeping a set of the uniform as a keepsake, just cos I was afraid they might take count of every single item at the uniform store and HELL I didn't want to drive back there in the rain! Turns out, the uncle just told me to dump everything in a box, didn't bother counting a single thing before signing the clearance form..Sigh, it would've been nice to take it out years down the road and look at the uniform that's fitted to my body.( and probably marvel at how slim i was before! Haha) True, i may hate the job but I've always loved the uniform, it's something you can never get elsewhere except from the airline itself. And, shallow as this may sound, the uniform was one of the main reasons why I wanted to give the job a shot cos there's still a certain prestige in donning it somehow.
Yup, even though some may say or notice, anyone, ugly or fat can get in nowadays. Grin, even the admin staff at the airport whom I got clearance form said so. Quote her words, ' Aiyoh another pretty and young girl quitting ( cos u see there was another girl getting clearance at the same time as me, and she wasn't ugly and fat as some of them are). Nowadays ah, only left the old and not so pretty ones'. Well, its my sister's and my theory that its the old sods in there who wanna make your life miserable so that you'll quit in due time, leaving them to get the golden handshake. Hey CuPPleLefty, I know this is a really late reply to your note but I'd really ask you to think twice about joining the airline. I was just like you, I really REALLY wanted the job so badly. Why? Isn't it funny..because of the fact that it's so hard to get through, especially on the first try. I remember I almost didn't make it ( and this is the first time I'm admitting this to anybody) , during the uniform try-on round. This is the point where they'll scrutinise everything including your complexion, dark eye circles, oil seeds on your eye( one girl didn't make it cos of that!!), down to your walk and how good you look in the uniform. I got called back for a 2nd look along with a few others the panel couldn't decide on cos of my walk I think. Haha think I was too anxious so I started walking like a model when what they wanted was just a normal gait. I was really anxious during the results stage, I knew I would've been really dejected if I didn't make it then.
Well, yes I know there're perks to the job.. the prestige, the money and most definitely getting to travel. But I'd say don't be misled about certain things. Firstly, to most people who've never been crew, it seems like you're like this glamourous jetsetter, flying to paris one week and New york the next. However, it's really more like flying to the place, knocking out for a day, shop and eat for a few hours and you're off on the flight back. Cos don't forget, it's different from a holiday, you're actually working for 15 hours before you get to paris, so when you're actually there, you're so tired that your legs seem like they're jelly.
And the other most important point is whether your skin is thick enough to take scolding on almost every other flight you do. For me, it's not that they pick on you cos they don't like you or cos you did something wrong, but rather cos they're more SENIOR than you. You've gotta eat humble pie and that 'SENIOR' word? I've come to hate it cos its damn irritating when people use that just to humble you for nothing!! Let me relate this incident to you and if you think you can take this sort of shit, then perhaps this job's for you.. This was during my SNY flight( or what they call 'introductory' flight during training), I was attached to a mentor stewardess cos I didn't have to carry out duties then. This is a flight for you to get tio know the work flow on board. So, she asked me to go check the toilets if they're clean. I did that and this was during the meal service, meaning after I checked the loos a lot of people would use it, i.e. the toilet is definitely going to be dirty right. Turns out my mentor checked it after the meal service, and promptly called me over to the toilet and shouted at me, saying that I'm not taking my job seriously etc etc. All this within hearing range of the passengers sitting and standing nearby. It seems funny to me now but then I was so pissed at the nerve of that woman.
So you see dear girl, this is what everyone goes through in the airline. I just want anybody who's thinking of joining to go in with their eyes wide open, because it's only after you've experienced it that you know the job's not what it seems to be on the face of it.
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