Ace the Interview: Reading Aloud

Flight attendant interviews are unlike another interview you will ever experience. Most “civilian” interview are scheduled and organized so it is just the candidate and the interviewer in a room.  They usually last thirty minutes to an hour and are wrapped up with a hand shake. This is not the case for a flight attendant interview. In these interviews, you will be interviewed with 20-40 other candidates.

You will be asked to stand in front of the group and read an inflight announcement. Even though you probably read every day, if you haven’t read aloud in front of a group since the third grade, nerves can easily get the best of you.  Here a few tips to help you keep your cool and ace the reading part of the interview.

   1)      Lower your voice.  Take a second and drop your voice an octive.  When nervous, we tend to speak higher and higher until all that’s left is a squeaky squeak.

   2)      Project into the room.  Even though you will speak deeper, make sure you don’t speak quieter. Speak toward the back of the room with a full voice.

   3)      Practice, Practice, Practice. Stand up and read out loud to yourself as if you were in the interview.  You can even record yourself reading and make adjustments based on what you hear.

Here is a fake inflight announcement to help you practice:

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard. Please take a moment to stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead bin. The Captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt sign. Please be seated and fasten your seat belt. Make sure your seat back and tray table is in its full upright position. Thank you for your cooperation.  We will be on our way shortly.

We remind you that this is a non-smoking flight. Smoking is prohibited while onboard this aircraft, this does including the lavatories. Tampering with, disabling or destroying the lavatory smoke detector is prohibited by law.

What tips do you have to prepare for the big interview?