Twenty three years ago I announced to my friends and family that I wanted to become a Flight Attendant for Southwest Airlines. This announcement was met with raised eyebrows, as I was considered by some as not being suited for this profession. "Why not?" you say. "You are not going to wear those shorts, are you?" my best friend asked. "What about your degree in speech therapy?" my father questioned. "You are going to abandon me?" my 17-year-old son complained. My only support came from my husband who said, "I always wanted to sleep with a Flight Attendant, but I never thought it would be you!"
For Christmas that year, all the gifts had been opened that were under the tree. Ready to disband, my brother said, "Wait - there's one more gift!" He leaves the room for a minute and comes back with a size 2 Southwest Airlines uniform; a pair of plastic Flight Attendant wings, and a roundtrip ticket to Austin. "Put these on and work a round trip to Austin and back. I bet you change your mind!"
Every night, I lay in bed thinking about interview questions I might be asked and acceptable answers. I had answers to questions I have yet to be asked! I received my letter asking me to come for a Group Interview. Now came the hard part: What am I going to wear? I decided on a red wool suit that was similar to the Flight Attendant uniform at the time. I bought new camel colored pumps (closed toe and heel) and matching purse. Looking the part, I reported to the Headquarters Building in Dallas.
The chairs in the interview room were arranged in a horseshoe shape. I headed for the middle seat. The applicant sitting beside me asked if I would put her keys in my new purse since she didn't bring one. She was to become one of my best friends to this day. We were asked to stand up, spell our names, tell something about ourselves and why we wanted to fly for SWA. When I stood up, I went to the front of the room and just knew I was going to slip and fall on my face. I should have worn those new shoes previously so the soles weren't slick! I told them that, when I reached my midlife crisis, I didn't know whether to go to medical school (the residency for brain surgery was so long) or become a fry cook at Denny's (even though I had lost my taste for that sort of thing). Then I realized I would be a perfect fit for the job of Flight Attendant because I had waited on people hand and foot; I could talk to a wrong number for fifteen minutes; and I had certainly worked for peanuts. I hoped Southwest Airlines would agree!"
Well, they did agree and I've been grateful ever since.
Comments
This is a wondeful story! My mother is a F/A for AA (Since 1965).
I will show this to her for sure....
She knows we are a proud bunch, and for good reason..... This is just another one to list. Thank you. I think you guys are awesome!
Carole, having been on the receiving end of your fantastic service, I bet Southwest is grateful as well. Now, what can I do to convince you to bid to work my holiday flights? I want my family to experience your Positively Outrageous Service, too! :D
I have read your site i think its great my dream is to become flight attentdent so please let me know what should i need to do. Thanks
Carole, your blog hit home with me. I've already threatened that as soon as my daughter graduates from High School, I'm off on a new adventure as a flight attendant for Southwest. Thanks for sharing your story of success for those of us in that mid-life crisis of wanting something different. However, I'm sure that I've never been a size 2 nor will I ever be! :)
Carole,
I read your story and smiled. Careers come and go, and luckly that's exactly what you get to do! Enjoyed your story, wishing you many more years of "peanuts, great Summer outfits, and having permission to say on a regular bases "..please be careful when opening the overhead bins...!"
Carole, your comment about your dad questioning you what you were going to do with your degree reminds me of my mom. I have an AA in Psychology & a BA in Deaf Services with an Interpreting (Sign Language) minor. She asked me what I was going to do about my education, & I told her I might serve Deaf passengers (Customers) on flights! I've been using my degree (BA), but feel like my Psychology degree will be useful, too!
Carole, Your personality came shinning through in your writing skills. I am sure your fun loving attitude makes you very popular with our customers. Keep up the great job and in your next life you might want to be a author and write about your flight experiences.
I'd like to know, please, a little more about Southwest's "decision making process" when hiring, if that makes sense! I know the Company hires for attitude & trains for skills; I also know they want people who are enthusiastic, personable, friendly, outgoing, etc., all of which I am, plus some. I have the qualities it takes to work for SWA, but am still puzzled as to why I wasn't asked back for FA training. I have some ideas why, but hopefully the Recruiter & FA who interviewed me will have a chance to respond back to my letter asking them what I can do to improve my chances; then I'll know if my ideas are right! It's strange, because I had a dream about this last night!
Jyoti -
Check out http://www.southwest.com/careers and click on Flight Attendant. It will give you an idea about the Flight Attendant Career. You can also check out several of the items that Carole has written by clicking on her name and then check out A Week In the Life of a Flight Attendant by clicking on one of my blogs and locating it from there. If Carole or I can answer any additional questions, please let us know.
Leah - Carole was on the SWA Interview Team for years before taking a much needed break this year. So, perhaps she can answer some of your questions. Do you have any specific questions?
I just have to say for those of you that haven't met Carole in person, she is one of the most delightful people you will EVER meet in your life. She is caring, funny, loyal, HONEST (weather you want her to be or not! ;-) ) and just a GREAT person to know. I'm glad I can call her FRIEND!
Regards,
James Malone
MDW FA
Thanks, James. I can post my questions here. I know SWA hires for attitude & trains for skills. I've been told that during the interview, the FA & Recruiter look for things such as, "Does this person say negative things about previous employers?", & they see if s/he is quiet or shy, they look for the ability to make quick decisions, etc. That's all I remember off the top of my head. I'd also like to know, please, what else they look for. Do the FA & Recruiter both have to agree on whether or not to ask the person back for training? My guess is yes.
I know during the interviews to be myself, make eye contact, show enthusiasm, etc. Do you or Carole have any other tips? I'm wondering if maybe I gave too many answers about one previous employer, rather than giving examples from different places I've worked. Maybe that's one reason why I didn't get asked back for training; sometimes, I feel I didn't sound confident enough & if I didn't, I'm sure that's a reason, too. I'm hoping both of them will be able to respond to my letters I sent.
I emailed my resumÃ
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