Why You Are Yet To Get That Flight Attendant Job In Nigeria-Part 2

Majority of the young friends i add on any of my social media handles all have similar request, “Please help me to get a job.” “I am a trained and licensed crew, I need a job.” ‘I just finished school, how can you assist me.” “Connect me to someone for a job. “These requests are never ending…

The truth is, i am not ignorant of the large number of people who are job searching and is quite concerning…most especially as many cannot figure out why. Sadly, there is barely any form of Career guidance and mentoring available to assist this concerned group and at such, many have taken uninformed and misguided decisions only based on the “impression” they formed about their choice of career.

So which category do you fall into? A. You are young and passionate about flying with no form of previous training. B. You have taken your passion to an advanced level by getting trained and licensed or C, you are an experienced aviator, who is currently out of job. Well irrespective of the category you fall into, my advice is; don’t give up on your dreams. There are some few reasons why you are yet to get that flight attendant job and I am happy to share them with you below:

THERE ARE FEW AIRLINES AND FEW JOBS AVAILABLE
Statistics shows that no fewer than 45 domestic airlines have shut down operations in Nigeria in the last 35 years. As a result, a lot of professionals have either lost their jobs or remained unemployed. Even the functional ones are struggling to survive.

During a TV program recently, renowned Aviation Consultant, Capt. Dele Ore, stated that all Nigerian Airlines fleet put together are not more than 60 Aircrafts. Now compare this to countries where one Airline could have up to 100 aircraft in its fleet. The economic recession in the country has not helped the situation. I am quite aware of some Airlines that initially planned to start operations this year but have stalled their plans due to the recession. Now just imagine if we had more Airlines, we would have more jobs.

Well, hopefully new Airlines will come up in the nearest future. With one or two planning to commence operations this year. So in a matter of time, there will be job openings. So for now I would recommend you keep your hope alive and get yourself prepared, that way you will not miss the opportunity when it comes…

YOU ARE RATED ON THE WRONG AIRCRAFT
For those who are already trained and licensed, you have taken a very good and commendable step. However, your chances of getting a job may have been hampered by your aircraft type rating. Now what do I mean by Aircraft Type rating? Aircraft type rating is the specific Aircraft you were trained on during your ab-initio course. That is what the regulatory authority endorsed on your license. Next, you may also ask, “Does it matter?” Yes it matters a great deal.

In the different Airlines I worked, I recall that whenever job openings came up and we needed to fill them up urgently, we would refer to our pool of CVs and scan through, first, for those who were rated and current on the Aircraft type we were operating, before considering those who were rated but not current. The least to be considered were those not rated on our aircraft type at all. This process was in no way discriminatory, rather it was simply a business decision based on an urgent need to fill up job openings. But in situations where we had a long time to prepare the crew for a new aircraft, then we would consider the untrained applicants and train them over a long period of time, or do a conversion course for those who were type rated on an entirely different aircraft.

In Nigeria there are some Aircraft that are hardly in use by most Airlines and some that are commonly in use. So if you need to sponsor your training with your hard earned money, then it is advisable to first find out the aircraft type you will be rated on before you proceed. Having the wrong Aircraft type rating may hinder you from getting a job on time. For a start,  you can never go wrong if you are rated on the Boeing Aircraft.

YOU ARE NOT APPLYING FOR JOBS

Based on my constant interactions with aspiring flight attendants,  i have observed that,  though many are looking for  job,  they are not actually applying for any.

Sometime ago,  i posted a job vacancy of an Airline for the position of Flight Attendants.  I recall receiving some calls concerning assistance from some aspirants. Then i asked if they saw the advert,  they told me yes. Did they apply?  They said NO. But they wanted me to assist them get the job.

Now does it add up? How can you say you are desperate about getting a job and you are yet to drop one CV. Sincerely,  i would expect any serious job searching aspirant to have dropped their CV in all the Airlines as of today.

The reality on ground is that,  there there are few flight attendant jobs available. So if you are waiting around for someone to physically carry you and get you one,  you may just have to wait around for a longer period of time.

 

NOT APPLYING ON TIME

This is obviously one reason why many applicants miss out.

Every job opening advertised usually have deadlines. I have observed overtime that alot of people wait for last minute to apply. By then if it’s online,  the website may have crashed due to too many applicants or the Airline may have decided to take it down.

If you are serious about getting a job,  the moment you see an advert,  apply immediately. don’t pussyfoot around.

NOT FOLLOWING GUIDELINES

This is another reason why,  most applicant lose job opportunities. Before you apply for any job. Go through the guildlines carefully.

For example,  most flight attendants job adverts would require you to send your CV, full length pictures and photocopies of your licences. Sometimes in soft copies which they require you do this online. If they also require you to drop off hard copies at their offices, they will indicate. Unfortunately,  some of us maybe out of laziness would rather choose to do it their own way and then we miss out.

If you are really serious about getting a job,  then you must always have a Cv,  full length picture in both soft and hard copies and copies of your licences/Educational certificates readily available at every point in time.

Taking these steps is not 100% guarantee that you will get a job immediately, but it sets you on the right path. So why not get prepared today for tomorrow?

If you found these tips helpful, please tag and share with your friends.